Tasim stumbled backwards, an expression of worry painting his face.
'H-how does it know my name? What is that? What does it mean to be unmarked? What is my vitality and resonance? A-and what is a title? I have so many questions.' Tasim stood there in disbelief as he watched the words inscribed begin to fade away, not leaving a trace.
Tasim was not his normal self in this moment; he felt watched, he felt as though maybe there was more to this world than meets the eye. There were more questions than one could muster on a whim, such as what or who was 'Nothing,' what does it mean to manifest will onto the world, and what does it mean to impose your thoughts onto the world? And was this writing about Tasim, the 'power within'? He wouldn't know unless he got answers. It was unlike him to ask questions, but a mysterious power was born before his very eyes; he just wanted to know if he was in harm's way.
Tasim made his way back around the throne, where he focused on the 'god' sitting upon the throne. He currently seemed like a weak and pitiful being. How could a god die? The mark? That must be a fake. Tasim was strong already, and he had no mark. Tasim was becoming skeptical as the moments passed, and then he turned around to see Anemone still resting, Astrape still excited, and Father worrying for Anemone; they had yet to collect any treasures.
Tasim bent down, finding a simple ring with a purple gem embedded in the pile of gold coins. It was made of gold and had a simple line of gold around the gem to ensure it didn't break out.
Once he did, a slight tingle fell upon his inner wrist, located where the sensation was; there was a single chain now embedded into his skin. It was two chain links broken on either side, made of a black material, and it had no color or detail. Once the chain fully appeared, the sensation subsided, leaving him questioning if this was the 'mark' that was in the last line. It freaked him out, and he went back to the sigil, wanting to see if any changes were made under his name. He tossed the ring into the goblet as it was the closest thing, and as he stood upon the sigil, his heart began to race.
Tasim - Branded
Vitality: Low
Will: Brown
Resonance: None
Title: None
Spatial Ring
Tier - Fragment, three out of five
Gem - Taafeit
Description - a powerful spatial ring capable of storing a finite amount of items, materials, etc, and may be withdrawn with a single thought.
Capacity zero out of thirty
'What…' Tasim stood there, stunned as he read.
The word beside his name had changed from unmarked to branded, and there was something called a spatial ring as well.
'W-wait… is that-' Tasim picked the ring up from the goblet where it had been resting, and the runes about the spatial ring began to disappear.
'…' Tasim stood there, silenced by the events he had just witnessed, he then tossed in his own spatial ring which lived on the fourth digit of his hand, and tossed it in.
Spatial Ring
Tier - Fragment, one out of five
Gem - Amethyst
Description - a powerful spatial ring capable of storing a finite amount of items, materials, etc, and may be withdrawn with a single thought.
Capacity three out of ten - pig fat, staff, shield
The description talked about the gem that he had put into this ring, an amethyst, but also had a different tier, the tier was fragment, one out of five, instead of fragment, three out of five.
Tasim put back on his ring and summoned a mana potion, which he had never used and had kept in case of emergency, as they were extremely rare.
Mana Potion
Tier - Fragment four out of five
Description - capable of restoring a vast amount of mana; mana restored is equivalent to a potion drink.
Mana - 256/256
Tasim, in a rare moment, had a faint smile on his face. He somehow found a way to learn more about items he may find. Tasim put the potion back in his spatial ring and came around the throne.
"Anemone, catch."
He tossed the spatial ring he had found to Anemone, as she caught it before it touched the ground.
"What is this?"
"It's a spatial ring I had found."
Anemone stood up with Father's help.
'That's not like him to strike a conversation first.' Father thought while Anemone responded to Tasim.
"What is that?"
"It can store items somewhere else."
"Where?"
"I don't know. Don't ask me." Tasim was slowly becoming his normal self, and Father took over, answering Anemone.
"Wear it, and keep it. It's a relic of some sort. To use it, just imagine another item you are holding just vanishing, and when you want it back, imagine it appearing in your hand. Now, no more using a bag."
"Oh wow, that's cool."
Tasim watched, watching her body to see if a mark appeared somewhere on her body. Anemone suddenly twitched, slapping the left side of her stomach, freaking Father out.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, I thought I felt something on my stomach, but it went away."
'So it doesn't only appear in one spot.'
Anemone put the ring on, grabbed the knife kept in her bracers, holding it in her hand, then imagined it disappearing, and it did. Vanished before her very eyes, surprising her. Then she visualized the knife coming back into her hand, and it did. She did this many times before, finally letting it stay inside her spatial ring.
"I love this! Thank you, Tasim."
"Mhm.."
Tasim then began to hoard some treasure himself, coin after coin, dagger after dagger, jewel after jewel; they all went straight to his own spatial ring, but it quickly filled up. Anemone did the same, but at a much slower rate, as she was getting used to stuff vanishing before her very eyes, transporting to another dimension.
Anemone eventually cleared out a small pile of stuff herself, picking up gold coins and many random rings. She never ran out of storage, but decided to stop to save room for the other challenges that they will face in the dungeon. Astrape and Father both then began to hoard a small amount of items, Astrape's hands now decorated with rings, and Father's wrists each having a bracelet. Now everyone inside this dungeon looked like royalty.
As Astrape and Father both picked up items, they had similar experiences to Anemone, suddenly feeling as if something was on them, but each at different places. Father, his chest, and Astrape, her left thigh, but they all treated it as though nothing was there.
"Let's go do the maze now!" Anemone said, excited for the new items, acting as though they didn't have to walk back the whole way.
The cohort looked towards the door, and the fairy that once sat overhead the throne, now swirled around them all with incredible speed, blinding them with bright blue light until each person was covering their own eyes.
"What is happening, Father?"
Suddenly, it went quiet, and then they found themselves back at the beginning of the dungeon, where all three tablets lay.
"I don't know, young one."
A high-pitched ring resounded in the air, then loud growls as a hoard of goblins appeared.
"Oh, that's just great," Tasim announced
A goblin shot towards Astrape, and despite being freaked out, she reacted well, pulling out her Terra Blade and swatting the goblin down like they were just a pest. Noticing that she suddenly felt stronger than when coming to this dungeon, Astrape actually took the lead, using her short sword to cut through the enemies while Anemone saved her mana, and Father and Tasim stood beside Anemone to protect her and heal Astrape.
Astrape didn't encounter a single struggle until an ogre appeared. The most classical representation of an ogre now stood in front of the cohort. White, greenish skin, with a large loincloth hanging between its legs. Stubby feet that created a thud each time they connected with stone, two large teeth growing from the bottom of its mouth, a bald head, and a large club decorated with stone stubs to create a newfound lethality.
Adorning the neck of the ogre was a leather necklace decorated with shards of bone from random animals, and at the center, a human skull.
The ogre looked down onto the humans in front of him, laughing mockingly.
"ha ha, ants." The ogre pointed at the cohort, a grotesque smile riding across his face, small drips of blood flowing out the side. "Me kill ant."
The ogre laughed, swinging his club down onto Astrape, who dodged swiftly. Astrape swiped her sword at the ogre, the strike leaving not a mark. In the back, Father, Tasim, and Anemone stood side by side, focused on the ogre as no other threats lived currently.
As Astrape turned to ensure everyone was okay, the ogre swung his wooden club.
"Astrape! Watch o-" Anemone, didn't finish her words before she watched Astrape move with grace, dancing across the battlefield, acting completely different from earlier.
Astrape moved swiftly behind the ogre, slicing at the back of the knee, causing a gush of blood to come out.
"Me love fight." The ogre said, then looked to the three people grouped together. "Human scared."
The ogre, assuming the three were scared, focused purely on Astrape who was dancing around the battlefield with her jade blade.
"Wind Blade." A whistle flew through the air as a sharp blade of wind pierced the ogre's large stomach.
"Water Jet." A stream of water appeared from Father's staff, flying through the air like a solid whip and shot a small, but clean hole through the ogre's side, the size of a fist.
"Water-" Tasim began to speak, but then stayed quiet. 'Close your mouth, silence your words, let the mind dominate.' Those words that were inscribed on the throne repeated in his mind, and he did just that. He didn't speak; he imagined a razor-sharp blade made of solid water, curved at the end to resemble a cutlass that curves at the end, and it began to form in front of him, water droplets falling from the blade colliding with the ground. Once he finished and opened his eyes, the blade was in front of him, almost exactly as he imagined. Then it flew through the air, spinning rapidly and cutting off the left arm of the ogre.
Father looked towards Tasim, stunned by his power, but decided not to let his astonishment stagger him and instead focused on the battle. Anemone fired another Wind Blade while Astrape distracted the monster.
"Me strong, you weak." The ogre said, using his club as support from all the damage that had happened to him at once.
Astrape sliced the other leg, and the situation repeated itself perfectly. Tasim's blade flew through the air, missing and cutting into the stone, then began to act like water again, flowing down onto the ground.
'Damnit, I missed.'
Tasim decided to go back to his roots, firing Water Arrow at the ogre, which was a lot more powerful than when he last used it. The ogre's stomach opened, revealing his intestines as they began to pour out.
The ogre fell to his knees, and Astrape stepped in front of him, the club falling from his hands and creating a loud thud, then she stood on his muscular, unstable back and executed him. His large head rolled like a ball, directly in front of the three tablets.
Astrape put her sword away and then returned to the cohort.
"You were… amazing."
Astrape smiled and responded to Anemone, "I think these rings made me more powerful."
"Maybe I can find some that will do the same for me then, what do you think, Father?"
Father looked down at Astrape, "If there are more treasures similar to the room earlier, then yes, young one, you will find many relics to wear."