"Ambrose, congratulations on hitting level thirty," Lord Isaac Hamilton ca to congratulate her as she announced her level up.
It was day forty-five of our delve and we would soon need to start hiking back. As we went on a mostly spiraling pattern and kept our depth low, we could go back easily.
"Thank you, milord," she curtsied.
"You may call Isaac."
If I could kill with a glare, this Isaac fellow would be dead. But I would need eyes and it's been quite so ti since I had any.
"I'm sorry," Barbara replied as she avoided his gaze.
"It's okay. Anyway, congratulations," he said and backed away right after that.
He seed concerned he made her uncomfortable but it couldn't be helped. The other four girls were friendly with Barbara after a month and a half together but they still claid dibs on the hunk of a nobleman. She was uncomfortable not because of him, regrettably. Barbara had lied to them. She wasn't level thirty but actually thirty-six. But Eleanora the half-satyr-human [Sorceress], the lowest-leveled had reached level thirty-two and Barbara didn't want to stay behind.
I talked to the centaurs and was forced to use my daily {Suppress Curse} to access the item box.
*
*
"That's a huge demon," Mrs. Blatherwick remarked. "We need to go back to the surface now. This delve is over. If demons this big are roaming the tunnels, we might not get so lucky next ti."
"The tiny book was a huge help," Atrion remarked, embarrassed he needed help. "He dove inside the monster and killed it by striking the brain with its magic. My ax was useless against that carapace."
After I awakened my true self by suppressing the curse, I took one of the crab-like blue demons I had thousands of (despite Haru's efforts to convert all of them into blue iron and copper) and prepared it with the correct battle damage. The demon was of a proper level to have pushed Barbara all the way to level forty and since the Adventurers were bound to secrecy with a Geas, everything should be fine.
"Your bravery is impressive, Netherbane," Hamilton remarked. "This demon would've killed all of us. We owe you our life. This is a debt I won't forget, ever."
It was very convenient for him to owe (and Barbara by association) a favor. It gave him the pretext to stay close to us. Isaac's intentions involving us were unknown and so far he didn't do anything untoward, which only put more and more on guard. I could read his mind as I had three-quarters of an hour before the curse returned but I refrained from doing so. Netherbane wouldn't retain the mories of this hour and I shouldn't interfere with their lives more than the bare minimum.
Which involved storing the spear back in the item box now that I had the opportunity. And enlarging the silk dust cover's storage by making it pick the proper Perks. Speaking of which, I found that I could force a Perk combination by using one out of ten first-rank Perks Netherbane had. I left him a note.
Acquire the Perk called "Bard's Lute".
She sighed but went along with my advice. "Mrs. Blatherwick, Nethe said the demon wanted to break the shrine. It's dedicated to Bit, the Guardian Urchin, god of Monsters, Challenges, and Dungeons. He's an ally of the Matriarch, so I'm going to pray by the shrine."
I sent via telepathy to the centaur. Atrion widened his eyes and he huffed a long sigh.
Barbara prayed and I hoped Bit would deign to communicate with . Without Pandora, I had no way to initiate the conversation from my side. {Administrator Hotline} might work but I had no desire to contact Loki. I slled his greasy half-Jotunn hands all over my predicant. It was too big a coincidence that I ended up in the vault Lorna's reincarnation happened to explore. Or that I had waited that long to think about breaking free.
After everyone paid their respects to Bit, the strange glowing tunnel remained a mystery. Mrs. Blatherwick wanted us to start on the trek back to the surface ASAP but I was curious. After so convincing argunts, they agreed to check the tunnel.
My ti expired, and the curse returned. Good luck, Netherbane.
*
*
I ca back to my senses and noticed the giant carcass of a large blue demon. If I still had a mouth, I would grin. My plan worked perfectly. Everyone was walking down the glowing tunnel to check what surprise Bit had for us.
As we cleared the last bend in the tunnel, we found a forest of bioluminescent mushrooms. They ca in all colors and sizes. So towering a dozen ters and others barely the size of one of Barbara's fingernails. We couldn't see the end of the cave. The roof was covered in the sa glowing lichen as the Necropolis although we were several thousand kiloters to the south. I an, we had Fulgen between us and the northern mountains.
"Beware. These mushrooms may be poisonous," Mrs. Blatherwick warned. "Belay that, I am sure a few poisonous ones are mixed in there."
"We should back away," Atrion added. "Even breathing the spores may be dangerous."
Bards' Lute, Glissando, Fortissimo, Pianissimo, A Capella, Adagio, Staccato, Chord, Arpeggio, Reprise, Ritornello, Coloratura, Falsetto, Major Chord, Allegro, Sonata, Adagio, Minuetto, Scherzo, Fugue, Rondo, Fermata, and Grand Fermata combined into Siren's Song.
Siren's Song (1/7): 10 all ntal, Magical, and Spiritual Attributes. Select one spell-song as your anthem. It gains 100% effect and 50% cost. You can change it once every year. You can cast spells with songs. Select tempo, pitch, rhythm, and intensity. By doubling the cost of your spell-song, you can triple one aspect of the spell, either Effect, Duration, Casting speed, Accuracy, Critical hit, or Dispel Resistance. You can repeat a spell-song up to five tis, each ti lowering the MP cost by 25%.
My leveling up, combined with the recent acquisition of {Pinnacle of Magic} had the ridiculous effect of lowering the MP necessary to break the curse to 7.5 trillion, or just 18 centuries. Way more manageable. I might make so progress if I gained a few levels.
I found most of the known mushrooms and a lot of new ones. I collected samples and spores of each and every one of them so I could grow them in the future. The cavern wasn't humongous large. Only a couple hundred ters on each side, which for a cavern might be big but not Necropolis big.
Bit was working on breaking the monotony of the Labyrinth. Introducing bios, thes, even natural treasures other than ore veins. As I spent most of the day in the mushroom cavern, I noticed a few soul fragnts floating in from the various tunnels connecting to the place. It seed this location was created very recently and it used up the available energy to spawn these mushrooms.
Before I went to rejoin Barbara, I spent my Perks. Out of the twelve from this rank, I had nine left. As I pulled my Status sheet, I found an important notification.
> You reached the limit for this form and must evolve to continue to grow. Select an evolution.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Adult Mimic (very rare).
Adult mimics are the ordinary run-of-the-mill chest impersonators. They are dium-sized and can take the shape of any common object, not only chests.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Necronomimicon (unique)
Embrace the dark arts and beco the ultimate compendium on death magic. Maybe even kill people whose nas are written on you.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Greater Bibliomimic (unique)
Expand your horizons and soak yourself in the mysteries of the Arcane.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Biblemimic (unique)
Dedicate yourself to the Goddess and write a new Gospel.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Gray Almimicnac (unique)
Gain powers of divination and predict the future, if you can only keep yourself away from the bullies' hands.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Deck of Mimic Things (unique)
It's in the cards. Learn how to summon other mimics to do your bidding.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Malefimimic (unique)
Beco a cursed to with many maledictions and hexes.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Furnishimic (ultra-rare)
A mimic who Imitates ordinary furniture and tools.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> The Neither Scroll (unique).
Blank pages are all the rage. Abandon conventional magic and embrace free-form magic.
Bibliomimic (unique) -> Voynich Mimicscript (unique)
Forget the arcane, catalog every living thing under the sky.
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