Department of Dungeon Studies: A Magic Academy LitRPG, page 8
Taking Nox and his best friend out for expeditions was always a pleasure. Lillin’s parents were his favorite airship pilots, so he never had to convince them to leave their daughter in his care. Unfortunately, the boy’s love of wandering always added to the stress of sneaking away from the Golden Isles. Since Nox was in sight, he didn’t worry too much about him heading deeper down the corridor. Then Pallav saw the objective of his attention, and his stomach sank.
“Get away from the chest, Baba!” Pallav yelled, abandoning all thought of keeping silent. He scooped up Lillin and scrambled over the rock mound. Stones shifted and rolled under his feet, forcing Pallav to his knees, but he didn’t slow.
“I found treasure!” Nox exclaimed, weaving around the debris and toward the ancient metal container. It had a cuboid body and a large, domed lid.
“That’s not treasure, Baba!” Pallav gave up on catching his son. Instead, he dropped Lillin and grabbed the metal rod hanging from his belt. The runes and spell shapes hummed to life when Pallav held it in his gloved left hand. Solid blue limbs extended from the rod, forming an elegant but stringless composite bow. A solid ice arrow crackling with lightning manifested when he fed it mana and ran his right hand over the grip. Pallav inhaled, took aim, and then fired while exhaling slowly.
When he released his arrow, it flew true. The projectile zipped over Nox’s left shoulder and struck the chest’s main body just below the lip. It sprang open, screeching. Teeth lined the container’s rim, and a disgusting tongue lashed toward Nox.
Much to Pallav’s relief, his son reacted appropriately. He dropped to his knees and rolled sideways, moving away from the mimic. Tiny legs sprung out of the rectangular base, and the monster pursued Nox.
A second projectile followed. It slipped in between the gnashing, pointed teeth and struck the soft flesh within. The mimic screeched and staggered backward. It stumbled on the tiny, asymmetrical legs, struggling to right itself. The limbs appeared ill-suited for rapid movement but didn’t make any noise.
Fortunately, little Nox moved faster than the mimic. He sprinted back toward his father, eyes wide with fear. He leaped and hugged his father’s leg as more ice arrows shot from the bow. A couple disappeared inside the beast’s maw, then the third planted itself in the hyper-flexible tongue. Pallav pumped his fist as frostfire consumed the monster, and it writhed, spitting out human remains, armor, weapons, tools, and much more.
“Hold on to these,” Pallav said, grabbing two daggers from the pile. He gave one to each of the children. “If anything grabs you—person or beast—stab it and run.”
“Run where?” Nox asked. His voice warbled, but the boy steeled himself and tightly held his now-sobbing friend’s hand.
“Look for corners or alcoves. You remember our secret knock?”
Nox tapped the wall with his dagger’s hilt in the tune he and his father loved.
“Good. Hide the best you can, and don’t come out until I reply with my part. Okay, Baba?”
Nox nodded. He remained tight-lipped, refusing to speak.
Pallav squeezed Lillin’s hand. “Make sure he doesn’t do anything silly. All right?”
Before the girl could answer, the wall behind the mimic’s remains parted. The floor under the trio tilted, and they slid through the new opening into a cavernous room with tall ceilings and a curving wall. A line of pillars stood ten feet from the wall, separating the domed space into two sections. Chests, crates, and cabinets sat along the wall, populating the outer ring with possible threats. Meanwhile, a giant, slumbering man lay snoring in the central section. He was ten times as large as any man, and his humongous belly loomed over them like a dark-brown, hairy hillock.
“Kumbhakarna,” Pallav commented, identifying the bearded face, signature bushy eyebrows, heavy golden jewelry, and the gada—a mace typically used by his ancestors. The mythical figure starred in their epics. If he was correct, they had a chance of surviving. The monster of a man was known for his uninterruptible sleep. The full-grown-adult-size platters and bowls littering the space around his head suggested Kumbhakarna hadn’t long feasted.
“Lord Ratra!” Lillin whispered, tugging on his arm frantically. “There’s a girl there.”
The figure appeared immobile at first. Nothing but a dirty and ripped length of cloth covered the girl. Her golden hair was a frazzled mess, and blood stained her face. Pallav’s enhanced eyes detected shallow breathing.
“Stay here,” he told the children. Pallav removed his shoes before approaching the girl. Even though Kumbhakarna was known for his near-uninterruptible slumber, he refused to take any risks with his son in tow. At the same time, Pallav would never forgive himself if he didn’t help a needy young person. She was probably left alive as the giant’s plaything. He doubted she’d survive Kumbhakarna’s carnal interests.
Pallav kneeled next to the girl and shook her gently. “Hey!” he whispered. “Wake up. I’m going to get you out of here.”
When she didn’t respond, Pallav unhooked the flask hanging from his waist and took a sip. The brew eased his throbbing hip, and the dull ache dominating the left side of his head eased up, too. Then he slid an arm under the girl, lifted her shoulders and head, and tipped the vessel’s contents into her mouth. She coughed at first but then stirred, grabbed the flask with both hands, and drank the contents hungrily.
“Easy there,” he told her. “You don’t want to burn your throat and stomach. If you need water, we’ve got plenty on our vessel.”
The girl’s eyelids fluttered open, revealing blue irises flecked with gold. “Thank you,” she told him through another fit of coughs.
“Can you walk? We need to get moving.”
Pallav only got a smile in response. Before he could press her for an answer, a high-pitched yelp made him jump to attention. It was Lillin. He spotted a giant tongue dragging her toward the outer ring when he spun around.
“No!” he hissed, releasing the girl and jumping to his feet. Her surprisingly strong hands grabbed his arm before he could race to her rescue.
“Don’t leave me,” she said weakly. Despite her appearance, she didn’t carry an Imperial accent. Then her eyes left his face and drifted beyond him. She frowned. “No!”
Nox had rushed to his friend’s rescue. He had one foot on the writhing tongue and both arms raised high above his head. He held the dagger in his hands.
The girl blurred. She released Pallav and shot across the room. Her hands grabbed Nox’s forearms just past the elbow. He screamed as smoke rose from where their bodies touched. “Don’t you dare hurt my child!”
Pallav’s breath caught in his chest as realization struck. Kumbhakarna wasn’t a god but just a mythical figure. He likely served as the blossoming dungeon’s guard but didn’t serve as its lord. The girl did. He summoned his bow without a second thought and conjured an arrow. The head spun at blinding speeds, and an aura of frost surrounded the projectile. When he released it, the arrow shot forth at near-blinding speeds and struck the goddess’s shoulder.
She screamed, and the world shook. “You dare strike me in my own domain!” her voice thundered. Kumbhakarna stirred, the walls cracked, and all the furniture along the walls came alive, gnashing ugly teeth and extending even uglier fleshy tongues.
Fortune favored the three humans. Godfalls, birthing dungeons, and their first residents left deities weak. Even though he was only an adept-ranked mage, his arrow had done enough damage to injure the goddess momentarily. He sprinted toward her weak, stunned form and cast a minor barrier spell. An ice wall burst from the ground between her and Nox. It raked the skinny upper arms, forcing the girl to release his son. The mimic tongue had released Lillin, so he scooped the children and sprinted into the outer ring. More fleshy appendages lashed at him, but he slipped past them and through a crack in the wall.
Then they fell. The trio landed in a heap on a rocky island sitting in the middle of a purple lake. A narrow pathway connected it to an archway in the far wall. Nox coughed as the thick miasma rising from the water washed over him. The stench was enough for Pallav to recognize the toxin.
Lillin was uninjured and would likely survive its effects. Her head hadn’t dipped in the thick fog hanging over the floor. Meanwhile, Nox wasn’t in good shape. Pallav didn’t know enough to diagnose his son, but dark burns banded his upper arms like thick, uneven bracelets. Angry, angular lines spread from them, suggesting damage to the mana circuits underneath. The goddess had assaulted him with a manaburn attack. It would’ve killed him instantly if she weren’t weakened from the godfall.
“He’s too weak to survive this,” Pallav whispered. He checked his belt and bandolier. Most of his vials had shattered from the multiple falls. He doubted he had an antidote for the toxin anyway. A pit formed in Pallav’s stomach as he realized what he needed to do. “Keep your head above the fog,” he told Lillin, releasing the girl’s hand.
She only nodded.
Pallav conjured a shard of ice and unbuttoned his shirt. He sliced his skin across the Sigil of Immunity tattoo on his sternum and let the blood flow. Then he ripped open Nox’s tunic and accurately drew the pattern in blood. Finally, Pallav forced open the boy’s mouth and pressed a bloody finger on his mouth. “I give you my resistance to all toxins, natural and manmade.” Magic boiled in Pallav’s star as he spoke. “Take my lifeforce and immunity, and live.”
Pallav’s knees wobbled as the sigil left him. He collapsed, and breathing grew difficult. Meanwhile, a dark tattoo formed on Nox’s chest. Of the three sections on the kite shield, only one had any art. It was faint but enough. Nox would live, but Pallav knew what it meant for him. He picked up his son and slung him over his shoulder.
“Let’s go,” he told Lillin while heavy footsteps thundered overhead. Kumbhakarna was awake. “We need to get back to the schooner before the poison takes us.”
The little girl nodded and took his hand. Then the duo ran across the stone bridge. They didn’t know where it would take them and could only hope no greater threats awaited them. Pallav hoped Lillin’s parents were still alive. It was likely he wouldn’t see the day’s end and needed them to get Nox back to the Golden Isles.
TEN
PRINCELY QUARTERS
“Sure. Aether Warriors are weaker than mages in the long run. They sacrifice their mana system’s growth for physical enhancement and swift recovery, limiting their arcane arsenal and foregoing mental acuity. The arrogant will call us impatient, stupid, or lazy for taking the swifter path to power, but how many mages make it past the adept rank? The truth is, without Aether Warriors, mages wouldn’t survive. We do the hard work. We stand at the front lines and take the brunt of whatever god-born beast mages wish to bring down. Aether Warrior mortality rates are higher than mages because we risk ourselves to ensure they—our strongest weapons against the gods and their domains—survive.”
—Logan Gerrick
When Nox returned to the deck the following morning, Ygg was in sight. A titanic ash tree with a canopy as big as the Golden Isles peeked its head above the clouds. Birds fluttered around the dense green.
The airship started its descent within the hour. As they dipped below the clouds, Nox spotted the ocean’s blue beyond the distant mountains. It disappeared as they lost altitude, and then he saw the city that was to be his home. It expanded in concentric circles from the tree’s base. The walls grew taller further from the center. A grand stone structure grew out of the trunk. All the buildings between it and the first major wall featured matching architecture. Nox had read about the city before. It was Woodson University.
The magical tree appeared around the same time as the first godfall. Nox had heard the two were somehow related but hadn’t done enough research to confirm the claim. Instead, he studied the city below them. It didn’t rival the Golden Isles in opulence. The structures, though grand, appeared utilitarian.
Markets and workshop chimneys populated the circle just beyond the university buildings. The volume left Nox wondering whether the city seriously lacked skilled artisans or if they focused on a small pool of products. They likely charged a fortune since their clientele were mostly dungeon delvers and students from rich noble families.
The outer sections of the city appeared mostly residential. Nox would have to save exploring for another day. The airship passed over the docks along the city’s perimeter and flew straight to its heart. Woodson University had its own docking platform. It appeared just about large enough for a galley. Nox imagined vessels ferried student delvers to and from rifts and dungeons regularly. They likely needed ample cargo space for materials collected in the divine domains, too.
“I’ve never seen so many people in one place,” Lillin commented, leaning against the railing next to him. The crew darted around the pair, busy with the landing procedure. Nox wanted to stand at the bough to get a better view, but he worried they’d get in the way.
“Don’t get any ideas?” Nox told her.
“Who? Me? I don’t get ideas. I’m just an innocent young woman.”
“Innocent young woman?” He laughed. “And I’m still a spoiled prince.”
“We’re going to have fun here. It’s so much bigger than your mother’s cramped home.”
Nox tore his eyes from the city of Ygg and the monstrous tree it was named after and faced his dearest friend. He gripped Lillin’s forearms. “Promise me you won’t do any of your usual nonsense unless we’re in a dungeon.”
“Nonsense?!” Lillin feigned offense. “I’m a saint.”
“You’re a terror, and you know it,” Nox whispered. “Listen.” He forced Lillin to face him. “We need everything to go well here. Promise you won’t do anything crazy.”
“Chill your biscuits, will you?” She chuckled. “I know how important this place is to you. I promise not to do anything to jeopardize your ambitions. That’s a part of our deal, isn’t it?” He nodded. “However, if I feel you’re in mortal danger or someone poses a risk, I’ll step in.”
“If it’s the latter, promise you’ll talk to me first.”
“I promise,” Lillin said. She planted a soft peck on his cheek before returning her interest to the city below.
The schooner circled the giant tree as it slowed and lost altitude. Half an hour passed before they stopped. The crew lowered two ramps. One connected to the upper deck and the other to the cargo deck. Two large crates had already left the vessel before Kris joined them.
“Are you ready to go?” the woman asked.
“We never really unpacked,” Nox answered.
“Good. We’ll need to be quick with the tour. I’d like to catch Dean Myrina before this afternoon’s staff meeting. She needs to know about you two and approve your curriculum.”
“Shouldn’t you discuss it with us first?” Lillin asked.
“You can decide for yourself after the first semester,” Kris answered. “You need to get caught up on the compulsory modules first. I’d also like to have you approved for dungeon delving as soon as possible.”
“Just leave me enough time for alchemy on the side,” Nox commented. “I doubt novice and apprentice-ranked dungeons will earn us enough money to pay for the rest of the semester and next.”
The crew paused when Kris approached the gangplank. The captain thanked Kris—he didn’t say why—and he shook hands with all three of them as they disembarked. The docking platform was a hive of activity, and they had to weave through traffic to reach its exit. A suited woman stopped the trio. She and Kris shared hushed words and exchanged paperwork. They both glanced at Nox and Lillin. Their conversation grew more heated, but eventually, the trio was allowed through.
As the trio walked, Nox spotted a familiar crest. A small group of servants fussed and struggled with chests, cases, and crates as tall as Edward. Their clothes carried the Merchant Queen’s crest. A handful also featured the Gedge house’s emblem. Nox ducked behind the two women, hoping to avoid their line of sight. It was likely his half- and step-brothers accompanied them. The pair likely didn’t know Nox had gained admission to Woodson University, and he wanted to lay under the radar for as long as possible.
Armored guards lined every entrance and operated checkpoints in between. One or more individuals in robes or long coats accompanied them. They occasionally stopped passing pedestrians and checked their paperwork.
“Tight security,” Lillin commented.
“Woodson University leads the continent in arcane and dungeon research. We lead in spell development, too. The Imperium and Divine Tribes might be the city’s allies, but even they have agents hoping to pull off a heist.”
Kris paused to greet a gaggle of chatty teenagers. Despite her rush, Kris spoke to them patiently. When they continued five minutes later, she picked up the pace.
“This is the Department of Production.” She waved at the buildings along the circular city’s outer wall. “You can’t reach the docking platforms without passing through them. I’d dare to say our arcane artisans rival the Golden Isles. We prioritize weapons and defensive equipment, and the quality can be inconsistent. Keep that in mind when commissioning anything. Students with good portfolios might demand an arm and a leg for their time. Those without will charge less and will more than often submit inferior products, but you might get lucky and find something exceptional.”
Eventually, the trio ended up on a wide street that connected the gate on the nearby wall to the central structure around Ygg’s base. Kris pointed at the distant structure. “That’s where you’ll spend most of your time. The Department of Dungeon Studies shares the building with the Department of Arcane Research. We work pretty closely. I’d advise you to stay away from all buildings with the sword and shield crest above the door. The war mage department see us Dungeon Studies folk as their rivals. They don’t realize that most of us don’t give a shit about the petty conflicts between city-states and the greater powers. Things have gotten heated in the past. I’d suggest you just keep away from them.”
