System Escape, page 19
“If it was made with a core, that dungeon core he wanted will allow the Safe Zone to expand and grow, they also offer a few free upgrades that are included in the expansions,” Marc said. “Hang on a second.”
Analyze, he thought, focusing on the dungeon core.
Dungeon Core – End Zone Dungeon (goblin/hobgoblin/creature mutation options)
Item grade: uncommon
Item quality: good
Todd was staring at him.
“Does figuring the cores out require an Identify or Analyze?” he asked
“Analyze, why?”
“You've got that too, don't you?”
Marc nodded.
“Would you?” Todd asked, proffering another, smaller, dungeon core.
“Sure,” Marc said.
Analyze, he thought.
Dungeon Core – Crosse Dungeon (goblin/hobgoblin)
Item grade: common
Item quality: common
He shared the results with Todd, who just stared at the information.
“What's it mean?” he asked, finally.
“Well, they named it the Crosse dungeon, so it was probably the Crosse Safe Zone before it was taken over. It was populated by goblins and hobgoblins. If it works the same way ours does, then if the dungeon core is added to the Safe Zone you'll be able to create both those types of spawns.”
“And how much will this allow us to expand?” Todd asked.
“I don't know if I have all of this correct yet,” Marc said, “but if my theory is right then if Uni Safe Zone was built with a core and this core is added in, then you'll probably get four more expansions from it. You still need the materials to expand though.”
“Materials we'll have,” Todd said. “You were right about the recycler being a good investment, I even got two, one for each of the destroyed dungeons. I almost bought a third for the last one, glad I held off on that now though.”
“Anyway, if you want we can go check your pedestal later tonight and I can show you how to find out if the Safe Zone was made with tokens or a core, and if what you have to expand it is compatible or not.”
“Yes, please, and I'm sorry to have interrupted you. You were talking about spells?”
The rest of the Mages didn't seem very perturbed at having to wait, they'd been crowding in to hear the conversation and Marc was pretty sure that at least one of the other co-holders was in this group, if not both of them.
“Okay everyone. I'm teaching this one to all of you at the same time, so I need you to agree on a single spell. Would you rather learn Fireball or Flamethrower?”
“What are the differences between them?” the female Mage asked.
“Well, Fireball is kind of the classic, except it doesn't expand as much as it does in games, at least not until you work the spell level up a bit. Flamethrower is just like it sounds, you shoot a jet of flame from your hand, moving it around as you like. Flamethrower is a channeled spell though, so keep that in mind.”
“A channeled spell?” she asked.
“It has a set casting cost to establish the jet of flame,” Marc said. “After that you can keep it going at a cost per second in mana. It will last until you dismiss it or run out of mana, although I highly recommend never running out of mana while casting a channeled spell. You can Mana Burn yourself easily and the headache if you run through too much mana too quickly is nothing to write home about even if you don't hit Mana Burn.”
After a few more questions the Mages ascertained that Flamethrower was a close range spell, and if you were using it you'd have to be really close to being in melee combat. Upon learning that Fireball had a much longer range, they made their choice.
Between two and three hours later, they'd all learned the spell. Todd was leading them out back so they could try it out in an open area when a single bell tolled.
“What's that, an alarm?” Marc asked, looking around.
Todd shook his head.
“Nah, alarms are a constant bell tolling for thirty seconds or more. One toll is just a gathering announcement. It probably means that the catfish fry is ready. We'll head down after we all try our new spell a couple of times.”
Marc stuck with the Mages, mainly to make sure they'd all gotten it learned correctly. Plus, he wasn't exactly sure where the courtyard with the catfish fry was from where they currently were. So, less than half an hour later he and five happy Mages made their way into the courtyard where the smell of cooking corn and catfish permeated the air.
* * *
Marc was still with the other Mages when Felicia tracked him down. She came up right next to him and Marc noticed that a couple of the guys that she'd been working with were following her. He leaned over and gave her a kiss, and she wrapped her arms around him, drew him in close, and kissed him back fervently.
“They giving you a problem?” he asked.
“Not overtly, but maybe now they'll stop following me around like puppy dogs.”
“Hey, Felicia,” Todd said.
Marc turned around and realized that four of the people he was with didn't know Felicia.
“Hey guys? This is Felicia, part of my group. Felicia, these are Betty, Rod, Herschel, and Jay. I got your names right, yes?” Marc said.
He got a bunch of nods from the Mages.
“All five of them, including Todd, know Fireball now,” Marc said.
“Cool, that ought to boost your firepower some,” Felicia said. “Are you all the Mages from here?”
Todd nodded.
“Damn, they really did cripple the Safe Zone some, didn't they?” Felicia said. “We've got more than twice this many Mages and only about fifty more people in the Safe Zone.”
They started chatting and Felicia mentioned that she'd been working on helping set up an herb garden for the Herbalists and that's where her fan club had come from.
The fan club had already dispersed, after seeing Marc and Felicia greet one another, but Betty latched on to that.
“You're an Herbalist?” she asked.
Felicia shook her head.
“Nope, I'm a Healer by class, but one of my skills is Alchemy. Because of that I also learned Herbalism so I can provide a lot of my own ingredients.”
Betty had broken into a wide grin while Felicia spoke.
“Stay right here, please?” she said, then darted off into the crowd.
Felicia look at Marc, but he just shrugged. A few minutes later Betty was back, dragging another woman by the arm.
“Elisa, you need to talk to Felicia here,” Betty said, pushing Elisa towards Felicia.
“What, why?” Elisa said, turning back towards Betty, who started talking to Felicia.
“Elisa was a chemistry major when the System showed up and she got a class based on that. Tell her Elisa,” Betty said.
“I don't want to get laughed at, again,” Elisa said, glaring at Betty.
“You won't,” Betty said, eagerly, “just tell her.”
“I'm an Alchemist. Not that I've been able to do anything with it. I volunteered to brew potions for the Safe Zone and Professor Bey laughed me out of the room,” Elisa said.
Felicia smiled at her.
“It's not my class, but I've got the skill,” she said.
“Wait, you're an alchemist, as in you've actually used the skill?” Elisa said.
“Todd?” Marc said.
“What, Marc?”
“Can you get a room assigned for Elisa? If I remember right, ten gold can get the basic alchemy setup and if she can get the ingredients that will allow her to do mana, healing, and stamina potions.”
“Really, it's that easy?” Todd asked.
“If she's got the class, I bet she even has some recipes since it's her class.”
Elisa nodded eagerly.
“Yes, I do. All three he mentioned, plus a couple of others.”
Over the next couple of hours Marc managed to eat his fill and spent the rest of the time doing something he'd never thought he'd be doing: networking.
By the time the catfish fry was over Felicia and Marc were happy to return to the room they'd been given.
“That was insane,” Felicia said. “I can't believe that they suppressed people from learning magic, even alchemy. Talk about handicapping yourselves.”
“Well, if there are more people without classes still, they may get some more Mages,” Marc replied. “The ones I taught Fireball to were talking about using it to pot spawns from the walls when they have guard duty. Evidently that's something else that was discouraged because they don't have a lot of ammunition for their missile weapons and couldn't guarantee they could recover the missiles.”
“Weren't they doing that with Mana Darts?” she asked.
Marc nodded.
“Some, but they had to be careful about who they were around. Evidently Bey had some snitches looking for people with magic. No clue what he intended to do with them since he never caught any of them, but still, a Fireball is going to attract a lot more attention than Mana Darts, plus I think it's more likely to entice people to be interested in the class.”
“That could be. Marc, are we going to be here for a bit?”
“Probably, why?”
“Elisa was asking me if I could help her get set up and brew her first few potions. She's... a little insecure about it, especially after Bey's reaction when she volunteered.”
“Well, if I had my way, we'd be here for at least nine more days, assuming Maya agrees to meet Octavius. Then I could get him completely fluent in English before we leave. I'd rather not have any risk of misunderstanding the Dungeon Master if I can help it, or of him being misunderstood.”
“Yeah, that could be bad,” she said. “So I can help her?”
“We haven't set a date to leave yet so sure, help her out. We came out here to help Safe Zones, right? And to find out as much as we could about the city here? I think that helping her fits right in with the rest of what we're doing.”
“Thank you. I think she just needs a little encouragement and she'll be even better than I am. Having Alchemist as your class as opposed to Alchemy as a skill should see to that.”
Marc nodded before falling back into the bed. It wasn't the worst bed he'd been in since the System arrived. He remembered sleeping on the wrestling mats in the high school gym the very first night after the change, so he refrained from commenting, despite the bed being far inferior to what they had back at Any Port.
Felicia joined him on the bed and a few minutes later, neither of them were even thinking about the bed itself any more.
* * *
In the morning Marc was waiting for people to join him on his next visit to Octavius. Rob was there with him, but Felicia had begged off, wanting to help Elisa set up her lab. Ella stopped by briefly, but only to tell him that she and Jeff wouldn't be there. She was going to talk to an actual psychologist who'd survived and was in the Safe Zone and then sit down for a serious talk with Jeff.
Todd had also begged off. After finding that the Uni Safe Zone had been based on a core, and the surrounding ones on tokens, he'd fed the Crosse dungeon core to the build pedestal and, with the recycling of the destroyed dungeons bringing in lots of materials, was trying to determine exactly where to expand and what to add to the Safe Zone.
Derrick stopped by momentarily.
“I'm sorry, Marc. I can't go back down there.”
“Why not?” Marc asked.
“Let's just say I read a lot of Lovecraft in my youth, even played that Call of Cthulhu RPG for a few years. I can't look at that thing again, I might just go mad if I do,” Derrick said, shaking his head and trembling.
Chris never even showed up, so Marc and Rob entered the dungeon. Once again the gates opened for them and a Squidspawn escorted them to the lowest level where Octavius was waiting.
“Where Maya?” Octavius asked.
Marc stepped forward and held out his hand. Octavius immediately took it. Marc triggered his skill, then started talking.
“She did not believe me. She asked for proof. Maya said that if I had proof it was you, then she would come herself. I was hoping that you might have something of the sort,” Marc said.
“That is her,” Octavius said. “Always problems trust others.”
“There is one other thing as well,” Marc said. “I hesitate to say it, but after gifting you more of the language I hope that we can resolve it.”
“What?” Octavius asked.
“Yesterday, you said that she was your mate. In this language the word mate tends to be used to suggest something sexual. Was that your intent?”
Octavius stared at him for a moment, obviously trying to process what Marc had said.
“You mean, make baby? Mates make babies, yes I see. I use wrong word. Not mother, not sister, not mate...”
“Did you mean friend maybe? Someone to be company, to have near, and share things with?” Marc asked.
“Friends spend long time together? No need for speech, just comfort?” Octavius asked.
Marc nodded.
“Yes, that can be part of a friendship.”
“Then yes, friend is word, I think. Also, Maya spend much time near tank. When she leave last in panic, she leave this. Please protect? Want back, but may convince.”
Octavius pulled out a battered notebook with a mechanical pencil clipped to it. He handed it to Marc, who opened it. Inside were the type of doodles a bored person might make along with some sketches that were of a better quality, including several that very strongly resembled the head portion of Octavius, with more tentacles than it had currently.
“This may well be enough to do that,” Marc said.
“Too, tell her I say bye-bye Cutie-pie, she say to me many time,” Octavius said.
Marc winced slightly.
“This more work for you,” Octavius said. “Would reward effort. You hold Safe Zone as I hold Dungeon?”
Marc's eyes snapped open.
“You can tell that?”
“You know I Dungeon Master, I know you Safe Zone holder.”
“Then you know that I am.”
“Wanted know true. This for you. Was here when I took dungeon before goblins could. Absorbed and received plans. These creatures need this not now, they have area in dungeon without. You use.”
Octavius proffered a sheaf of paper. Marc took it and immediately Analyzed it.
Blueprint – Crustacean/Mollusk tank
This blueprint will allow a tank to be built that will support crustaceans and mollusks. Multiple samples of these creatures will be created along with the tank. These creatures are capable of reproducing and may be farmed.
Marc's eyes shot wide open as he read the blueprint.
Mmm, Marc thought. Lobster, crab, shrimp, clams, oysters, and maybe more. I've seen all that stuff in here, so hopefully it's all in the tank when we build it. I'm very amused that my landlocked Safe Zone somehow seems to be producing lots of fish already, and now there will be even more seafood on the menu. This is an incredible gift, if the other rewards are on par I'm not sorry for doing this at all. Besides he seems like a nice guy, fish, octopus? Whatever he is, he's just trying to reconnect with a friend. There's been a lot of that since the System showed up so if I can help, I will.
“Thank you, very much. This is a valuable gift.”
“I need it not. You can use?”
Marc nodded.
“It will be very welcome in my Safe Zone. I'm sure.”
“You speak Maya again?”
“Yes, I'll do that as soon as I leave. If she agrees, I will bring her down here tomorrow morning, as soon as I can gift you with more of the language. That way there will be less of a chance for a misunderstanding between the two of you.”
Marc knew, from his own newly acquired knowledge of octopus communication, that the fluttering of the tentacles on Octavius' face was the equivalent of a smile. Even so, it creeped him out a little, the motion just looked wrong.
“I will go and speak with her now, if you like,” Marc said.
“Please?” Octavius said.
Marc nodded and headed for the door out with Rob in tow. Once more the door opened before they got to it. It was a quick trip out of the dungeon.
“Do you still need me?” Rob asked.
“No, but thank you. I'd rather not have to do that myself.”
“It is a little creepy in there, isn't it?”
That's an understatement, Marc thought.
“Yeah, it is.”
“What did he give you that's so valuable?” Rob asked.
Marc told him and Rob broke into a grin.
“You mean we'll be able to farm all that stuff inside our Safe Zone?” he asked.
“That's how it reads. We'll have to see what animals it actually provides, but it looks like it.”
“I can deal with a little bit of creepy to help some people out when the rewards are like that,” Rob said.
“I was thinking a lot along those lines myself,” Marc said. “Now I need to go and find Maya again. You can go do whatever you like, I think I can handle this myself.”
“Good, I'm going to go play with the kids again,” Rob said, waving as he turned and headed towards the area the children were normally found in.
Marc slowly made his way to the greenhouses, hoping that Maya was still going to be working in them today.
He was lucky, when he arrived at the greenhouses, she was in the first one that he checked. He opened the door and stepped in. When she turned and saw who it was, her eyes sparked angrily.
“You asked for proof,” Marc said, pulling the battered notebook from his inventory. He handed it to her and she opened it, fanning through the pages with confusion in her eyes.
Slowly she looked up, the confusion gone and unshed tears glinting in her eyes.
“Where did you get this?” she asked.
“Octavius also asked me to tell you something else, in case that wasn't enough proof for you. He asked me to tell you that he said bye-bye Cutie-pie.”
Now the unshed tears changed their state, flooding down her cheeks.
“He's really alive? And he can talk now?” she asked.
Marc nodded.
