Before the Reaver lay an idyllic tapestry.
Crystal butterflies fluttered their wings as glass foxes with white mana lines darted between burrows in transparent and purple-tinted sparsely grassed soil. Gemstones and quartz glittered across the ground, small streams flowering from the depths, leading to a pristine clear water lake, its surface flawless like a modern mirror.
A harmonious song played in the air, a tune Luke never heard before, but its notes were similar to what once played in the hidden room he encountered recently.
[Mirah's full hymn halts the corruption within you. She welcomes you to the Shimmering Expanse. Her mercy allows you two hours before you must choose to either leave the Crystal Demon Point or press into the final area]
[Warning: In the case of indecision at the appointed time, you will be expunged from Crystal Demon Point, unable to return for a month as a penalty]
In other news, don't take advantage of this place—who or what is Mirah? Luke absentmindedly mused and synthesized.
A thin, earthy smell, with a bit of pine to it, wafted from the soil. The centerpiece to the Shimmering Expanse sloped giant roots into the crystal clear lake, cradling around a whirlpool in its back center. Towering into thin gray mist above, a white tree, a mix of wood and resilient crystal, branched across the sky, reaching far enough to shadow over Luke, who stood well over two hundred feet from the lake. Bird shaped lights, with a grey crystal at their center, chattered away on the branches, their bird song adding to Mirah's hymn.
Helan's group huddled near the lake's north shores. Juliana lay against a spread cloth while Kelly worked magic on the Guardian. Ludris sandwiched himself between the two curative cosmic whirls trying to purge away corruption, more successful now that the hymn halted the corruption's progress. He filled water skins from the lake with gusto, busying himself. After pouring a grey liquid potion into Juliana's mouth, Halen saw to her afflictions. Unlike Ludris or Juliana, she barely suffered any corruption, more fixing normal damage to her body and fatigue.
Poking out in corners with vitality, crystal flowers grew like weeds along valuable crystalline ores. As far as Luke could tell, no monsters patrolled the area, only the three forms of docile critters, foxes, butterflies, and light birds inhabited the sanctuary. Sooty settled upon a branch with other birds, socializing. The luminous avians gladly welcomed her into their fold, chirping away.
Towering crystal spires in gleaming silver surrounded the expanse. Luke counted three other entryways marked by a purple brand. The three glowed and pulsed with mana, while the one he used recently dimmed considerably. Based on the power remaining, he thought this entryway could support one more use, a boon to being first—or second—the Reaver believed. Take too long, and you risk finding an exit already drained—leaving you no choice but to double back in search of another.
Luke's condition endured minor wounds, soon to be taken care of by Vampiric regeneration, so he decided not to bother Kelly for healing. Floating crystals rotated in large circles far above in the sky, supporting small islands. The distance was far enough that Luke could only make out rough details. Woefully ignorant about this safe zone, Luke approached Halen, the elf now flowing through a stretch routine, water gliding along her skin, yet not soaking her robes.
Noticing Juliana appeared peacefully at rest, some of the black crystals lightening up, Luke said, "How is she? No permanent damage?"
Kelly scoffed, the comment apparently insulting to a healer. Halen answered in her stead, "Rarely is the corruption irreversible. You'd have to be on the verge of full corruption—a crystal converted. As far gone as Julie became, she'd have to go quite a ways further to get that severe. Since the hymn halted the growth, Kelly can undo about half the rest, assisted by the corruption potion I gave her and Ludris."
"That's right, Ludris isn't in the best shape either, he holding up okay?" he spotted a crystal vein encircled by similarly composed herbal flowers. He crouched over the lake edge, taking out a cup from the Inventory, filling it to drink from, and tasting it, "At least the scenery is easy on the eyes. Damn, this water is good."
Huffing, the monic filled up four water skins, handing them to the other three members while the two cosmic swirls followed him. Black energy wisps entered them, and a dulled crystal crumbled apart. Once done, he also settled down to the lake shore and said, "The anti-corruption potion and Kelly's purging cosmos can undo the majority of my corruption. I got to about fifty out of one hundred out here in the Shimmering Expanse; you can repeal up to thirty points if you have the ability and means."
Trying not to appear as an ignorant hillbilly, Luke sealed his lips. He wanted to know why you couldn't just reverse all the corruption while staying here. Two hours seemed plenty to him.
Reading the puzzled facial expression, Ludris faintly smiled, "Your first time to the Shimmering Expanse, Defier?"
"Painfully obvious, isn't it?"
"That is so, allow me to educate you a measure." Ludris widely gestured with his left arm to a densely packed resource node, "This is a gathering point, most of the herbs and mineral deposits are valuable on the outside, help yourself to them. The supply appears plentiful this time, a greater crop than most."
"I'll get around to picking some flowers then. No clue how to mine nodes properly, though."
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Rubbing his jaw, Ludris said, "Shall we cut a deal, then, Defier?"
"You can propose, and I can decide."
"As fair as they come, my party gains most of the mineral haul, but I can teach you basics on deposit mining in return. I'll throw in a mining pick, so the next time you run into a vein, you're not left scratching your head, cursing the moons."
"I can live with that." Becoming more at ease, Luke asked, "You said something about a corruption limit?"
"That," Ludris stood up, "think of it as this dungeon's rules. The previous two zone hazards would mean little if you could undo all the corruption mistakes as you got here. Hence, a thirty point cleansing. If you've the skill, taking off more in the Demon Crucible is a strategy some hunters employ."
The pair went off to nearby resource points, Luke gathering up some of the crystalline herbs, while Ludris offered pointers on mining ore deposits, he gave Luke a Mithril made pick axe of rare quality—free of charge. When Luke politely refused, Ludris insisted, "I'm buying you off, Luke. After witnessing the strength you have, making sure I don't stay on your bad side is important for my party's future."
Working around the Shimmering Expanse, Halen joined them, being so kind as to give efficient tips on herbal gathering to Luke. While carefully preserving the roots around a transparent Silver Sage plant with white flecks, the Reaver asked, "If thirty points is all you can knock off, is your Guardian going to be in good enough condition to go to the third area?"
Ludris stopped mining a demon ore deposit off to the side. He remorsefully signed, deferring to Halen, "Your judgment, captain?"
The gallant elf swirled a water orb in her hand with consternation, "If we understood better means to passively reverse the corruption, we could delve into the Crucible, but…none of us—not even Kelly—are adept enough to do that." She ceased the swirl, the moisture returning to the air, "No amount of possible gains are worth losing a party member full of potential like Juliana. Most hunters lack the spine to get to level fifty, and I think we could manage to go a tier higher in the distant future. Planning on that, we stop here. We're out of contention for the final boss, since our key belongs to you now, Ninth."
Rolling his shoulders to ease up tension induced by mining labor, Ludris gazed out to the distant floating islands in the sky. He said, "There you have it, and I support the opinion as a monic does on the full moons. Coming here was predicated by the pressure the Tide thrusts upon all hunters. We weren't ready for this place, the harshest dungeon before the Tower." Resuming his mining, Ludris continued, "Some of my more accomplished acquaintances speak about how they found the greenback raids in the first ten levels safer than here. It's not for the typical Tier one hunter."
Picking up the hints, Luke asked to be sure, "You're leaving then?"
Halen crossed her arms, "We are, once Kelly's done what she can, this is the end of the road for us here. We're just making the best of our situation, hauling off the easy pickings. On that note," She started to return to Kelly and Juliana's resting spot, "Keep some of the herbs and ore mines spared. Mirah heavily frowns upon anyone who picks the place clean, against her desire for the sproutlings to regrow in time for the next round."
At the warning, the Reaver surveyed the circular expanse, while acknowledging he could've missed a portion of herbs or ore veins, he surmised the three of them harvested about two-thirds of what the place offered up. "Mirah's name has been thrown around a lot lately, who is she? Is there a real downside to sweeping the resources out?"
Ceasing the mining once he exhausted the current vein he labored upon, Ludris put the pickaxe back in his spatial bag. He said, "Mirah is the spirit that inhabits the colossal white crystal tree in the middle of this place. Over the years, hunters have figured out her rules. Break them, and she'll turn the hymn into a curse—a great way to turn into a crystal convert in minutes. Worse than that, she'll haunt any of your future attempts in Crystal Demon Point for months—stay your greed. The other teams could be here any minute now, and won't be happy we took most of the resources here without running into the penalty. I'm leaving a small portion, but," The monic smiled slyly, "A hunter can't just shy away from gains because it'll step on some toes, don't you think?"
Already satisfied with the herbal and ore gains, plus a free mining axe, Luke silently agreed. The two men came back to the central lake. Luke settled his eyes upon the whirlpool sloshing about, most of the water in the back center of the water body. Thinking, he set his jaw back, That's the way to the next level. It's calling out, tugging at my spirit. The Reaver eyed the timer in the corner of his periphery, roughly ten minutes left. In his short study of the place, the text mentioned a whirlpool leading to the third hostile dungeon area. It seemed fantastical at the time, but no other section of the sanctuary belied a way forward.
Meaning the way would be down.
The voice in the back of his head told him to get on to the next zone. One glance at Sooty, who enjoyed herself immensely around the light crystal-cored birds in the white crystal wood branched above, and he figured staying another ten minutes wouldn't hurt anyone or anything. He eyed Juliana, the woman unconscious, breathing heavily, sweat perspiring all over her body, the black crystals resisting the star swirls flanking them. The cleansing effect burdened the Guardian greatly—Kelly's body language screamed worried. She bit at her nails as all her healing spells worked in tandem. She asked Halen, "Shouldn't we go ahead and leave now? The hymn and my spells might not be enough."
Halen and Ludris exchanged glances, untold information exchanged. The golden-skinned elf fed Juliana water, hoisting her up. Inspecting the black crystals individually, she said, "The best treatment is to use the hymn to its fullest extent. She's healing, but slowly, far worse than expected. The elemental agitation introduced by the Ninth complicated things greatly."
Pounding the ground, Kelly said, "I knew it! The bastard-"
Crouching beside Kelly, anticipating the outburst, Ludris put a finger against her forehead, pushing her back. Completely caught off guard, the Astralist spasmed backward, barely recapturing her posture to prevent a complete collapse.
Rubbing her forehead, Kelly said, "What was that for, Ludris? I'm right, aren't I?"
"In the truest sense of the world, yes, you are. But tell me, Kelly, what would you do in the Ninth's shoes? Let yourself die?"
"We wouldn't have killed him—just taken the crystal key and left him behind. There was no need to go this far with us. He could've taken a more gentle approach. He's obviously strong enough for it." Her eyes dropped, scanning Juliana, "I'm worried about Julie here, why are you defending that ice monster? He's not your teammate, Julie is."
"He didn't know that, and even if he did, only a fool expects an enemy hunter in this dungeon to give up their key peacefully." Raising a finger again when he saw Kelly about to retort, "especially when said hunter can win the battle. This is a consequence of our decision as a team. The Ninth could've done far worse than he did. You're too new to the hunter world; he bordered on merciful. The other two teams absolutely would've killed one of us before allowing us to flee. Did you not see the other teams cost of failure before they limped away, each nearly as injured as Juliana is?"
Mental lightning seemed to strike the Astralist. She returned her focus to healing Juliana, ensuring her back faced Luke—and Ludris. Helena tried to soothe Kelly, rubbing one of her shoulders. Two sharp rings spread across the Shimmering Expanse, one after the other. The sound caught Luke's attention, and he searched for the source.
If one considered the crystal portcullis they used the south direction in this sanctuary, then two groups came from the east and west openings with the same design. Glass foxes hid away, no longer content to cautiously observe Luke and Halen's party. The crystal butterflies scattered to the sanctuary edge, near behind the white crystal wood tree. Luke stood up, and walked onto the water, essence draining light in return for the effort. He sat in the middle of the lake, not wanting to be bothered by other hunters.
Flanking each side of the lake, Vathen's and Garic's group had arrived, disrupting the previous balance between the Reaver and Halen's party.
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