After emerging from the mysterious riftgate, Jake found himself in what looked like a medieval hall. He stood at one end, and on the opposite wall, he could see a statue of some sort. However, before moving all the way over there, Jake glanced around. Round columns ran the length of the hall, each adorned with a torch burning with ethereal blue flames. Jake quickly noticed that there were no windows, doors, or any exits at all.
But when he glanced over his shoulder, he saw that the riftgate he had just stepped through was still there. Unlike any other riftgates he had encountered in this world, this one was somewhat different. Instead of merely shimmering in bright colors, it resembled a window through which he could see the four-way juncture from where he had just been teleported. It seemed the riftgate was the only way out of this place.
Seeing nothing else of note, Jake began to move along the hall toward the opposite wall. As he stole his way forward, he continued to survey his surroundings. The blue flames swayed slightly as he passed, causing the shadows on the walls to shift ever so slightly. Nothing of interest caught his attention along the walls on either side, and with no enemies to take care of, he directed his full attention to the far end of the hall.
At the far end of the hall stood a detailed statue depicting two kneeling human figures—one male and one female. Their hands were elevated above their heads and brought together, creating a cupped shape with their palms. Positioned before the statue was a cylindrical pedestal, approximately three feet tall and one foot in diameter. From the pedestal’s top, a radiant shaft of golden light ascended, reaching all the way to the ceiling.
Two similar pedestals flanked the statue on either side. Unlike the front one, they were shorter and thicker. From each of them, a shaft of light rose, but of a different color—white instead of gold. Jake wondered what the meaning of the scene before him was. He glanced around one more time, searching for clues, but once again he found there was nothing else of interest in this place—the Void Temple, as it was called.
The statue and the three pedestals, each with shafts of light rising from them, were clearly the centerpiece of the temple. Jake walked around the front pedestal to get a closer look at the statue. The cupped hands of the kneeling figures seemed to beckon for something to be placed within them. Yet, the way the figures extended their hands toward him gave the impression that they were offering something instead. Their palms remained empty for now, but Jake couldn’t shake the feeling that something might materialize in them for him to take later on.
He tried appraising the statue with a thought, and immediately a system message emerged in his mind.
In this sacred place, you can claim an artifact and trade your earned Essence Points for a reward of your choice, honoring your worthy deeds.
No more additional information appeared, but Jake now knew he was right in thinking that something was supposed to materialize in the cup formed by the statue’s hands later on.
He then shifted his attention to one of the two shafts rising from the pedestal on either side of the statue and gave a mental command to appraise it.
Unlock the slot for 250,000 EP (Insufficient EP)
Obviously, he couldn’t unlock whatever it was at the moment because he didn’t have enough of some new resource. He checked the shaft of light on the other side of the statue and received the same message.
Unlock the slot for 250,000 EP (Insufficient EP)
He tried to summon additional information, but no helpful tips popped up. He figured he would learn what those mysterious slots were only after gathering enough EP, whatever this new resource was.
He then turned and walked around the central pedestal situated in front of the statue. As he had noticed before, the shaft of light rising from it was golden, unlike the other two, which were white. He issued a mental command to appraise it, and immediately, another piece of information appeared in his mind, along with three buttons displayed beneath it.
[Tiers] [Curses] [Help]
Jake chose to bypass the first two buttons and focused on the third. When he mentally pressed it, a piece of information explaining what it all meant emerged in his mind.
At the Void Temple, you can exchange your earned Essence Points to unlock new tiers, each offering a different set of rewards. To accumulate EP, simply engage in battles against various enemy types while carrying one or more curses. You can stack as many curses as you desire. The greater the number, the more EP you will get.
To earn EP, you don’t necessarily have to defeat enemies that deal the same type of damage as your curse. For instance, if you have the curse of Lightness Weakness and are up against an enemy that only deals fire elemental damage, you can still gain some EP for defeating it, though the amount you earn will be less compared to defeating an enemy whose damage type aligns with your curse.
The EP you earn is determined by various factors, including the number of curses you possess at the same time, the alignment of enemy damage types with your curses, enemy levels, whether the foes are ordinary or elite, the current tier of the world, the number of enemies you confront at once, and several other factors.
To check how many EPs you currently have and how much you’ve earned since your last check-in, you must visit the Void Temple. You can open a rift gate to the Void Temple at any time, but you’re limited to once every twenty-four hours.
After reading the info, Jake returned his attention to the main menu.
[Tiers] [Curses] [Help]
He then pressed the first button, and a new piece of information emerged in his mind.
Tier 1 – Gublab – Unlock: 100,000 EP
Tier 2 – Zelvok – Unlock: 250,000 EP
Tier 3 – Ilbiut – Unlock: 450,000 EP
Tier 4 – Mouryah – Unlock: 700,000 EP
Tier 5 – Saphivern – Unlock: 1,000,000 EP
Tier 6 – Yekjiul – Unlock: 1,350,000 EP
Tier 7 – Ravekjaz – Unlock: 1,750,000 EP
Each of the tiers had a name, but Jake had no idea what those mysterious words meant. He tried focusing on the tiers and issuing mental commands, but no additional information materialized, leaving him uncertain about what exactly he could earn after unlocking a tier. Obviously, since he didn’t have any EP, he couldn’t unlock any tiers at the moment and see for himself. The costs for unlocking tiers seemed steep, but without knowing how much EP he would earn and how quickly, it was hard to determine whether the costs were truly too high.
Having found nothing else of interest in the Tier menu, he navigated back to the main menu and selected the final option he needed to explore, titled Curses.
Fragile Body: Your resistance against being physically damaged is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Oozing Wounds: Your resistance against Mana Bleeding is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Evil Poison: Your resistances against Corrosive and Poison are decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Lightness Weakness: Your resistance against Lightning is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Frozen: Your resistance against Cryo is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Radiation Sickness: Your resistance against Radiation is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Fear of Fire: Your resistance against Fire is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Simple-minded: Your resistance against the Mind Control magic is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Easily Stunned: Your resistance against Stun is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Fear of Chaos: Your resistance against Chaos is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Ethereal Weakness: Your resistance against Ethereal is decreased. (Apply Curse: Y/N)
Remove Curses: You currently don’t have any curses.
Before doing anything, Jake decided to give the matter some thought. He closed his eyes and checked his resistances.
Elemental Resistances:
Jake noticed that most of his resistances remained the same as the last time he checked the menu. However, two of them—Pierce and Mana Bleeding—had increased somewhat. This was due to their reliance on the Body and Magick attributes, respectively. When he allocated skill points to these attributes, those two resistances improved. Certain skills, like Enhanced Durability, also boosted his Pierce resistance. Currently, his strongest resistance was to physical damage, Pierce.
After giving the matter some thought, Jake decided against placing many curses on himself. While he was excited to discover what new powers or advantages he could obtain with EP, applying too many curses would obviously put him at a significant disadvantage, especially in this dungeon. His recent clash with the beefed-up flame skeleton had taught him just how much damage elemental attacks could cause, given that most of his resistances were at zero. Allowing those resistances to dip into negative numbers didn’t seem wise. However, he was well aware that not all enemies dealt elemental damage. Most of the damage he received was physical.
Ultimately, Jake chose to place only the Fragile Body curse on himself. Afterward, he checked the resistances menu once more, focusing solely on his Pierce resistance.
Pierce: -33% (-100% from Fragile Body)
So, his Pierce resistance dropped into the negative. This wasn’t good, but he reasoned it might not be as bad as he initially thought. He chose to take the risk. If he ended up suffering too much damage from physical attacks, he could always return to the Void Temple to lift the curse, though he would need to wait twenty-four hours to do so. Nevertheless, he opted to keep the curse active. After all, his remarkable agility and speed, combined with skills like Feral Instincts and Adaptive Armor, offered him considerable protection against most attacks.
With that settled, Jake turned and headed back to the riftgate hovering above the floor on the other side of the hall. When he stepped through, he was instantly teleported back to the dungeon, standing once more at the four-way intersection. A quick glance behind him revealed that the portal had disappeared. Now, it was time to resume exploring the depths of the dungeon.