Jer Patch
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Chapter 37: Hidden entrances
🕑 Added 2025-03-05 16:00:04 +0000 UTCDengu gnawed on the bleached bone I’d seen appear before my level shock, while Lenna had a second quiver tossed over her shoulder.
That left the round token on the edge of the fountain for me.
I lurched across the pavers, each step feeling easier as my body adjusted to its new, much more powerful stats.
[Weapon Upgrade Token, Soul Bound, Used to Upgrade a Single Weapon.]
“They are hard to find, and a high-level reward from any dungeon,” said Lenna with a grin. “You’ve earned it. Though, be very sure before you use it.”
I picked it up carefully and then sat down on the edge of the fountain, with my back to the bright blue water.
An archway stood carved in a stone wall several feet away. The jungle stood on the other side of the opening, and the difference in light made it clear it had to be almost sunset.
“Are you guys leaving?” I asked. My throat hurt, but asking the question was easier then my original attempt to speak. All my limbs tingled, like I’d taken a shower with slightly too hot water. A few swigs of water from my canteen helped, too. I was almost feeling human.
“I’m heading to the dropship, and my workshop.” Hammy nodded. “I have so many ideas and things I want to try. Plus, I think I know how I want to grow.”
“That’s great!” I replied. The words came out easier.
“I’m going to head to camp, then to my village tomorrow morning,” said Lenna. Her hand rested on her bow with a small smile, then frowned, glancing over my shoulder. “I need some answers from my father, and that will not be an easy conversation, but still it will be good to see my family.”
Family. That reminded me of my father, and the others that should be showing up any day now. Though, I had no clue how long it’d been, so they may already have crossed out of Sanctuary.
Lenna turned to Hammy, her frown vanishing. “Want to travel with me to camp? Then set off in the daylight?”
He nodded.
“Any ideas on the hidden level entrance?” I asked as they turned to the archway.
“It’s hidden?”, Lenna said as she shrugged.
Hammy chuckled, but followed behind Lenna. The crystals in his armor were pretty dim.
Dengu chirped twice, and Lenna froze.
I swore he said to wait. Maybe I was getting the hang of understanding his chirps.
He padded closer to me and lowered his head. It tilted to one side, and he stared at me with one eye.
“He wants to know if you want company,” mumbled Lenna, her face going blank.
I opened my mouth and closed it. The offer was nice.
“I gotta find the entrance still, buddy.” The weapon upgrade token went into my inventory before I scratched his neck. “I appreciate the offer, though.”
“Alpha.”
We both jerked back at the sound. My hand touched the water, and a notification popped up in front of my eyes.
[You have found the entrance to the Hidden Crystal Dungeon. Requirements: No Profession or a Profession related to Crystals, plus completion of the Dungeon of the Four Temples. You meet the requirements for this dungeon. Would you like to enter the Hidden Crystal Dungeon?]
“Dengu?!” Lenna’s voice filled the clearing. “You passed your quest!”
I sat back up, removing my hand from the water and the crystal I’d touched. I pushed the notification to one side without responding. Then I used Insight on Dengu.
[Dengu, Bonded Raptor, Level 35, Very Tasty.]
He shook his head back and forth like he had something on his snout.
Lenna moved closer and patted his shoulder.
“It’s just all the levels. Breath deep.” Her voice stayed calm. “You need to rest.”
“Tired.”
“Yes, you need sleep.” Her eyes flickered to me as if she wanted me to say something.
“Dengu, rest up. I’ll see you after this dungeon,” I said after reviewing the notification again. The requirements all had something to do with crystals and professions. I didn’t know if Beasts got professions. I pulled out the second inventory crystal.
“Lenna, wait,” I said. She turned, and I held up the second inventory crystal. “This is for you. It has most of the stuff from camp in it, along with some turtle meat. Hammy can use it if you can’t.”
“I shouldn’t take this…” She took the crystal, her eyes wide.
“Just use it to transport the stuff back to camp. Hammy can use it temporarily, until I get back.” I stared at Hammy. “Tell my dad I’ll be a few days, if you see him.”
Lenna twisted it in her hands, but turned and headed to the entrance with a confused look on her face. Hammy glanced back at me once and flashed me a thumbs-up before following her.
I waved at them as they passed under the archway, and then I turned to look at the fountain. Sunlight sparkled off the blue water and I tried to bring the notification back up, but it had vanished.
With a frown, I reached down and touched the crystal at the very bottom.
[You have found the entrance to the Hidden Crystal Dungeon. Requirements: No Profession or a Profession related to Crystals, plus completed the Dungeon of the Four Temples. You meet the requirements for this dungeon. Would you like to enter the Hidden Crystal Dungeon?]
With a smile, I said, “Yes.”
Light swirled around me, then the courtyard vanished. The fountain stayed right where it was, but everything else moved, except the pavers under my feet. Darkness took over, and the only light source was the fountain itself. The crystals in the bottom gave off a soft blue light.
I jerked back and tried to figure out where I was. After blinking several times, I realized stone covered the ceiling, and made up walls surrounding the courtyard.
“What the…”
Caverns, somehow I was in a cavern or tunnel system.
A shiver went up my spine, and I touched the crystal at the bottom of the fountain again.
Nothing popped up.
“Oh, fuck. Hmmm….”
At the sound, several crystals lining a path glowed brightly. They led up to a stone archway I hadn’t noticed before.
“Right, crystal dungeon.” I kept up the humming and pulled my knife out. I wished I’d gotten my spare crystal back from Hammy, the one I’d used to create the handle on the shield. Having a light source would be helpful right about now.
The archway led to a room with a fireplace on one side and another opening. Next to the fireplace sat a stack of dried wood. On the other side of the fireplace was a wooden bench and a table. On the table sat a single crystal. The light from my knife cast shadows around the rest of the room, and I continued on past the bench and table, to the open doorway. Inside, there was a bed with a blanket, but nothing else.
Back out in the first room, I approached the table. The crystal glowed silver as I approached.
[Knowledge Crystal.]
That was new.
I picked it up with my left hand and a jungle folk, just like Lenna, appeared before me. He wore long green robes and his hair was a pure, ice white.
“Welcome to the Hidden Crystal Dungeon.” His lips moved, though they didn’t line up with the words I heard. “If you have found this place, then you have been selected to become a Crystal user. Beware the risks with this choice. Your resolve will be tested. The Forgers still hunt us, even now.”
Who were the Forgers?
The old man glanced over his shoulder with a frown. “This is the only time you can leave this dungeon until you pass all the trials. Just take this crystal to the courtyard and you can leave.”
Not a chance.
He let out a sigh. “If you decide to stay, take this crystal to the far side of the courtyard to reveal an archway.”
The image then flickered out, and the crystal went dark.
Holy shit, that was a hologram. Well, something like a hologram, anyway. While there were things like that on the colony ship, none of it had worked after the crash. Now, here was a crystal providing the same sort of capability.
I stared at the crystal in my hand, feeling amazement, but more importantly weariness. All the excitement in the world couldn't wash away the weight that hung on my bones. I stumbled back to the room with the bed and crashed on top of the blanket.
Out I went.
***
I felt better by the time I awoke. My stomach rumbled, asking for food, and my mouth felt dry. I climbed out of bed, and the crystal still sat right next to me. The blankets were now covered in sand, along with dried dirt and blood. I’d forgotten what shape the flier fight had left me in, then the final boss battle for the dungeon had happened.
Gingerly, I set the crystal on the stone floor and shook off the top blanket near the archway leading out of the building. I tossed it back on the bed, then grabbed the crystal, heading out to the dark courtyard.
The fountain glowed in the darkness, but I skipped by it heading to the far side. An archway that I swore wasn’t there before sparkled. The crystal in my hand pulsed, and another hologram of the man appeared.
“You have decided to remain and learn the Crystal Singing Profession. Access to the way out through the fountain has been removed from this crystal. Beyond this courtyard is a crystal mine, created from crystal seeds. Your first task is to unlock the profession itself, by singing to the first set of crystals in the mine. Once that is complete, you will need to learn how to create a crystal lantern from a crystal in the cavern.” The old man vanished, but his speech made it clear that it was in fact a recording, and they didn’t know anything about me.
[Quest Unlocked: Unlock the Crystal Singing Profession, and create a crystal lantern.]
The writing caught me by surprise, since technically I’d done both of those. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take long.
I stepped inside the archway, humming under my breath. The sound swept through the area, and a narrow pathway glowed made of specks of different crystals. I stepped inside while keeping the humming up.
Different colors glowed from the various areas in the cavern. Right up front, near the archway, a golden light came from a cluster of fire crystals. I explored the path and the cavern without stopping at the fire crystals. Beyond those, I found tree roots growing from a deep crack in the rock wall. A bright green light came off the few crystals glowing in between the roots.
The path continued around a sharp corner, and then darkness.
I raised my spear to get a better look and realized it was a sharp drop-off. A strange whistling noise echoed throughout the area. My humming didn’t do anything, since the noise drowned it out, and that forced me to actually sing.
“My cute little sunshine oh how I miss you…” My song quickly trailed off as right below the edge a strange silver light glowed. I lay on the cold stone on my stomach and inched my way to the edge, letting my head hang over. A few crystals grew from the edge of the cliff.
[Air Crystal.]
The crystal gave off the same strange light as the knowledge crystal.
I scooted my way back with a grin. Hopefully, I’d learn how to make the knowledge crystals. They’d be really useful. The path then twisted around the corner, the drop-off on one side. Water trickling over stones took over from the sound of air. A pool formed from water running down the wall.
My humming made the pool glow a brilliant blue. Crystals covered the bottom of the entire pool, which stretched several feet in each direction. Water and fire crystals had the most availability, while Forest and Air had only a few. That made sense, since the fire crystals were found in caverns, and water crystals in water.
Air and Forest weren’t naturally here, so they must have been brought somehow. The elder had mentioned crystal seeds.
The path kept going, and I couldn’t help myself. It continued around another sharp bend and ended in a smaller cavern. This one had another archway, with the center completely made of a mess of crystal.
Humming didn’t do anything for it, nor did singing. The crystal in it wouldn’t light up.
This place had plenty of secrets for me to figure out. I made my way back to the fire crystals at the beginning of the mine. I tucked the knowledge crystal in my pocket and grinned as my spear tip glowed.
It was time to get to work.
