Chapter 183

Rune of Bonding (Mythic)

[1]: Bond. Release seed onto or inside target and activate to Bond.

[1]: Alacrity. Bonded targets evolve runes with greater speed.

[1]: Bolster. Provides a powerful, temporary boost in strength to Bonded target.

[2]: Growth. Shards provide additional experience for each day spent between entry. Applies to both rune-holder and bonded targets.

[3]: Share. All bonded targets receive a small percentage of each other’s stats. Maximum bonds: {5}.

[4]: Solidify Bond. Amplifies and cements bond, turning it permanent.

Rune of Arcana (High)

[1]: First Circle. Cast spells up to one Circle in complexity.

[1]: Element: Ice.

[2]: Influence. Cast spells that inflame or mute internal statuses.

[3]: Arcane Link. Join with target and control their mana, allowing for greater castings.

[3]: Second Circle. Cast spells up to two Circles in complexity.

Rune of Sensuality (Superior)

[1]: Lust. Mana replaced with resource system Lust. Symbols are activated by expending Lust.

[1]: Harvest. Perform erotic acts onto self or others to harvest Lust. Bonded targets provide greater yield.

[2]: Pressure Point. Identify sensitive areas.

[2]: Accommodate. Tight spaces are more obliging.

[3]: Burst. Lust can be consumed in greater quantities to amplify potency of certain other skills.

[4]: Afterglow. Any bonded target’s orgasm provides a long-lasting health and mana regeneration effect.

Rune of the Alchemist (Common)

[1]: Identify. Ascertain name and use of basic alchemy reagents when using Inspect.

[2]: Potent Additive. Sexual fluids can be used to amplify potions in various ways.

[3]: Resourceful. Potions created inside a shard from ingredients found within that shard are much more likely to catalyze.

[4]: Alternate Ingestion. Consuming a potion through less-common holes provides bonus effects.

Generalist Skills

[1]: Inspect. Discern basic information about equipment linked to the System.

[1]: Inventory. Store items in personal inventory-space.

“Okay, so,” Maddy said. “Two squishy mages. Not ideal, but that’s wayfaring. We hardly ever get ‘ideal’.”

“I make the better frontline between us, right?” Zoey asked. “Because of my ice armor?”

Back in Mel’s shard, when they’d been coming to the slime girl’s rescue, Zoey had done some solo delving for practice’s sake. Her ice armor had kept her fairly well-defended. But that wasn’t a great benchmark to go by, since that’d been a first-advancement shard when she’d been third. Now, they were in a third advancement shard, with Zoey hovering between third and fourth—most runes at four, but her primary combat one, arcana, still at three.

“Neither of us are good front-liners,” Maddy said. “I mean, yes, technically, you would be better. But we want to engage physically as little as possible.”

“How? Seems unavoidable.”

“I’m an illusionist, silly. That’s my whole thing.” She scratched her cheek. “Well, no, we’ll still have to be hands-on at least a little bit, but if I focus entirely on illusions and disorientation, then I can keep most monsters at bay. Maybe enough you can kill them before the effect breaks, and they get up close and personal with us.”

Zoey pursed her lips. She could be honest with herself: she was hardly her team’s star player. Leaving most of the damage-dealing in her hands was going to be rough.

“I’ll do my best, but it might take a while for me to put them down, if it’s just me.”

“That’s okay. I know you’re a bit new, still. As long as we don’t get hurt, we’re good. And it won’t be that bad—you have been getting better.”

“If you say so.”

“You have! I promise. I think you’ll surprise yourself.”

Maddy’s optimism was endearing as always. Zoey would find out when the time arrived whether it was deserved, though.

“Should we link up?”

“Hm,” Maddy said, considering that.

During their travels, she and Maddy had gotten some practice in with Arcane Link. But only some. Most of their effort had gone to Zoey adapting her current ice and influence spells to function with a second Circle, significantly empowering them.

“No, I don’t think so,” Maddy finally said. “The combined spells are stronger, but we each have specific roles to play. When Rosalie and Delta are back, we can make use of that skill more. Besides, it turns me into a battery—you control the spells. While there are some situations that’ll be amazing, I think it won’t be a staple in a typical fight.”

“That’s fair.”

She and Maddy got down to the nitty-gritty details of how they wanted to engage, considering their unexpected two-person composition. Powerful single-target monsters, a few weaker ones, or swarms—how they would handle each. They discussed possible encounter types coming up based on the rocky, magma-infused surroundings. And other wayfaring particulars. Maddy guided the conversation, with Zoey mostly listening.

“And be ready for weird stuff,” Zoey added, after they’d hashed out the ‘real’ half of shard exploration. “We’ve only been through two shards, but both had some ... uh, interesting encounters. You know what I mean. Could be anything. So keep an eye out, especially for traps.”

“Right,” Maddy said, obviously flustered by the idea. “Don’t think I could forget about that.” She idly tugged at her unyielding neckline, and Zoey’s eyes flicked down her lithe, hugged-tight body. Maddy’s nipples stood out against her flat, glossy chest. It really was a flattering look.

“Then we should get to it?” Zoey asked.

“We don’t want to keep them waiting,” Maddy agreed. “So yeah. Let’s do it.”

The two of them set out, picking across rocky terrain. The glowing red veins guided their way, illuminating the space and radiating heat. Zoey intended to collect some of the material, but seeing how abundant it was, the task could wait. She wanted to get a feel for the monsters they were up against first. Especially since she didn’t have Rosalie and Delta there to guard her. The training wheels had come off.

Though admittedly, Maddy’s presence meant she still had some safety net. Just, if a monster came rampaging toward them and Maddy’s confusion and illusion spells didn’t stop it, there wasn’t much the mage could do. She was powerful, but in indirect ways, in contrast to Rosalie’s phenomenal strength and physical prowess.

They took a cautious pace down the tunnel, going slow and searching for traps. It didn’t take long for the shard’s dangerous nature to reveal itself.

The rocky golem peeled itself out of the wall with the noise of tumbling rocks, having camouflaged itself by embedding itself into the natural terrain. Pebbles pattered into the ground as the rocky surface splintered to let the creature detach. The beast turned, and rather than just rock, glowing orange crystal made up its front: like a geode split open. It had a spiky, alien face with four onyx eyes.