Challenge Dungeon:

  Level - 21

  Scenario: The Herbalist’s Tower

  Goal: Discover the tower's secrets and revive its lost power.

  Reward: Completion of the goal will grant you a powerful skill that has been lost to time.

  Limitations: There is no time limit for this dungeon. However, your Spirit will not refill while within this dungeon. Spirit is filled to max on entry. Once someone has attempted this dungeon, they may not do so again.

  Jay looked around the dusty tower he now found himself in after dismissing the scenario notification. It was a small circular room, only filled by a large desk covered with stacks of old-looking papers. There was also a cluttered workbench with an assortment of tools and glass containers. A rack containing more tools made of brass and other materials he had never seen before hung above the bench. After getting a good sense of the room, he turned back to his favorite well of knowledge.

  So, Lan, what is this?

  He waited for a few moments, but got no response.

  Lan?

  Panic welled up in his chest as he called out a third time, but still heard nothing back. It had only been about two weeks, but Jay had forgotten how it felt to not have someone he could always talk to. It left him feeling cold and alone. Emotions that he thought he had stopped tried to well up again, but he pushed them back down. Lan wasn’t here, for some reason, but that wasn’t an excuse for him to break down. He needed to keep moving.

  He walked over to the old desk and started looking over the papers. He flipped through them, finding hastily-scribbled notes with a few images depicting arrangements of tools and vials on the workbench, resulting in different concoctions when ingredients he had never heard of were added together.

  He sighed, rubbing his head. With a groan, he looked over at the door he had entered through and considered leaving the dungeon for a few moments. On one hand, it would’ve been nice to have Lan back. He was never really good at anything to do with his brain. On the other hand, this had been just the distraction he needed at that moment. Even if he wasn’t very good at them, he did love slamming his head against puzzles and math problems. It was just another fun way to see what would break first–his will, or the issue he was slamming into. Nodding and letting a small smile slip onto his lips, Jay threw himself back into the notes, looking for any sort of clue.

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  At the same moment in time, Jett wasn’t so lucky. He stood outside the old library, where Izzy had stationed herself. He was flanked by Frank on his right and Auzi on his left. They were surrounded by a group of heavily-augmented people, with more appearing by the second. Jett crossed his arms, glaring at the crowd. A slight golden glow began emanating from him, but it vanished as Frank put his hand on his shoulder.

  “Stay calm. We don’t know what they want yet,” Frank said.

  Jett let out a sigh, but nodded.

  He had heard from Izzy that there was a lot of movement outside her building. She’d asked for help, just in case, prompting Jett to round up and bring his crew over. Most of them had gone inside, but he had chosen to meet whoever was coming head-on. Frank had opted to join him so that there could at least be an attempt at peace. He had asked Auzi to stay. Even if the man was still very childish. By his estimations, he was probably the second-strongest member of his faction.

  A lone figure stepped forward. It was a younger-looking man dressed in a large black hoodie and ripped blue jeans. He had several piercings covering his eyebrows, ears, and upper lip. His hands were held high in a “I mean you no harm” pose as he stepped from the crowd.

  “Hello there,” the young man said with a slight wave. “We are here on behalf of the newly-formed Offshore Alliance. We’re not looking to fight, or to cause you any harm, we just want to talk.”

  “You bring this many people to talk, huh?” Jett asked, letting a bit of heat creep into his voice as a vicious smile flashed across his face.

  Frank pulled him back and whispered into his ear. “Calm down. The plan was to let me do the talking, remember?”

  “Yeah, sorry,” Jett responded with a grumble. Still, he stepped back and let Frank move in front.

  “Hey, there. Sorry about him, but he gets a bit cranky when people show up unannounced. Unless they are looking for a fight, of course,” Frank said with a fake smile. “So, please do tell. Why are you here?”

  “Not for a fight, sadly. I just want information about what happened two nights ago at the compound Deric Sanders’ son was running.”

  “And what made you think we know anything about that?”

  “Several artifacts went missing, meaning the person responsible for raiding multiple museums just might have something to do with it.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Hmm, may I ask who you are?”

  “I am one of Regina’s children, and emissary of the alliance,” the young man said with a bow. “You can call me Phalanx.”

  “Regina, huh? So, the mad mother and grieving father have teamed up,” Jett muttered.

  Frank glared at him before turning his eyes back to Phalanx, happy he seemed to have missed Jett’s remark. While his nickname for the two wasn’t wrong, it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea to call them that in front of anyone who worked for them. Especially not one of Regina’s so-called children.

  “What information are you looking for?”

  “Well, we know the prime suspect of the case. We have multiple eyewitness accounts, as well as a door guard who had some key insights about the culprit.”

  “So you know it wasn't Izzy, then,” Jett interjected.

  Phalanx smiled. “Yes, we know it wasn’t Izzy. We do, however, know that the perpetrator, Blue Raven, came into direct contact with you yesterday. Why is that?”

  Jett’s smile turned to a frown as Frank glared at him.

  “What the fuck is he talking about, Jett?” Frank shout-whispered.

  Jett rubbed the back of his head. “Uhh, you know that new friend I told you about? The one that outlasted me in a fight? That’s him.”

  Frank squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “At least tell me you didn’t know about this…”

  “I didn’t know about this.”

  “You're not just saying that because I asked, right?”

  “No, Frank, he didn’t tell me about this. He came over yesterday wanting to find a way to communicate.”

  “Can you contact him now?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Tell him to get over here and clean up his own mess.”

  Jett sighed, but went to send a message.

  **Recipient unavailable. They are currently not in the same dimension as you.**

  “He’s unavailable.”

  “Why?” Frank asked.

  “It gave me the ‘not in the same dimension’ error that pops up when someone is in a dungeon.”

  “Did you deliver it anyway?”

  “Of course.”

  “Gentlemen, I’m all for letting you two talk things out, but I believe I deserve an answer,” Phalanx said, tapping his foot impatiently.

  “Ja–uhh, Blue Raven is currently in a dungeon, but I will tell him you're looking for him. Izzy, however, had nothing to do with this, so buzz off and take it up with him. I’m sure he would be happy for the opportunity to crack a few more of your people's skulls, after what he did the other night,” Jett said.

  Frank sighed and shook his head. “Can we please not provoke the other factions?”

  Phalanx nodded. “Fair enough.”

  **Phalanx has invited you to chat. Would you like to accept?: Y/N**

  “I’m expecting you to send me something when you hear from him.”

  Jett sighed and accepted the notification. “Fine, now leave.”

  “Very well,” the young man said with one final bow before he walked away, followed by the crowd that had surrounded the building.

  “That was interesting,” Jett said when they were finally out of sight.

  Frank slowly turned toward him, glaring. “That’s a way to put it. So, when were you planning to tell me that you made friends with someone who is looking to start a goddamn war?”

  “Uhh, when it was relevant?” Jett said with an unknowing shrug.

  Frank sighed. “For fuck’s sake, Jett. For fuck’s sake.”

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  Jay groaned as he watched another vial full of liquid slowly turn from violet to a bright red color, marking another failure. He didn’t understand what he was doing wrong. He had read over every paper carefully and followed the instructions perfectly. Still, every attempt he made resulted in failure. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. He hadn’t realized until that moment just how long he had been in the tower. It hadn’t been the most productive day, but at least he knew how to use the tools he was given now.

  He stood from the workstation he had been glued to all day and made his way to a small bedroom connected to the main room of the tower. He had discovered it earlier in the day while searching for the ingredients he needed. Those had luckily been found not long after in a collection of five large pots in another room that looked like it should have been a janitor's closet. Jay had originally worried about only having a limited number of attempts when he’d found the plants. To his surprise, though, the pots refilled every time he closed and opened the door. When he’d first realized, he’d tried loading his storage space with the plants. Sadly, he’d found that as soon as they entered the space, they would instantly turn to dust.

  He thought back, looking for anything on the papers he could have missed or forgotten. He had no luck, and he climbed into the bed. His eyes went wide as he did. It was the most comfortable thing he had ever lain on. It felt like floating on a cloud, but still with the perfect amount of support that his body needed. Jay tried to continue working on a solution in his mind, but soon found the task impossible as the bed whisked him to sleep.

  He awoke early the next morning. At least, he thought it was early. The low sun came from somewhere out in the distance, finally creeping through the windows once more. It was still unsettling to look outside, but the natural lighting felt good, so he kept them open anyway. The part of the tower he was stuck in seemed to reach above the clouds. There was nothing but white, fluffy-looking ground in all directions, only contrasted by the sky above. Jay walked back out of the room, pulling out a new suit and putting it on with a sigh. He only had three more before he would need to wash everything. Hopefully, that was still an option.

  “I can’t imagine the laundromats are closed–” He stopped himself as he thought back to the current state of the city. “Well, I know there were also a few smaller towns around this city. Maybe I can try one of them.”

  Jay nodded, resolving himself to do that as soon as he was done here. Maybe he could find some better clothing, as well. These suits were hot as hell and hard to move in. Not to mention the few that were completely destroyed from his recent fights. He sighed, pushing those plans away for now as he once again sat down and reorganized the papers, bringing the final goal back to the top.

  “You won’t evade me forever,” he muttered, looking over the paper titled “Lesser Stat Increase Potion.”

  He tapped his finger against the desk as he read with a smile on his face, annoyed to see he indeed had done everything correctly the day before.