Shadowcroft Year 3 - Chapter Thirty-Nine

Truth be told, Logan kinda liked being all of reality.

So it was a rather disappointing when Logan opened his eyes and lifted a hand to his face. He had a face again which was how he knew the experience had finally come to an end. His vision spores could tell he’d changed again. He didn’t have the thick forearms anymore. And he had four fingers now. Good thing his three magic rings were magic, or he might’ve lost them.

Nope. Ring of Armor. Ring of Blades. Ring of Pockets.

Three fingers and a thumb. Was he more human now?

“He’s coalesced!” Inga shouted. “This is not a drill. Logan has coalesced!”

Marko’s voice was uber serious. “He’s so cohesive now. I do like some good cohesion in a best friend.”

Treacle crunched his bundle of wheat jerky. “So, this is Logan as a Jade Leaf Cultivator. I think I preferred him as a cloud of golden spores.”

Logan sat up and leaned back on his palms. He was on the balcony of their suite, the sun was setting, and he had no idea how long he’d been out. Pink clouds filled the sky as stars winked on in the coming darkness. The castle ramparts glowed in the ghostly crimson light. The last bits of sunlight glittered off Loch Endless.

It was beautiful and serene. It reminded him of his time being everything and everyone.

He had to pull himself back into his body. “What did you just say, Treacle?”

The pink minotaur shrugged. “You were a cloud. Moving you was not easy, let me tell you. I built a giant fan to sort of push you around, but you were impervious to the wind.”

Marko was in chair, his hooves propped up on the railing. “But then I figured out I could just make a cube for you with my Reality Mime ability. Admittedly, getting you in the cube was rough. Professor Rick was totally freaking out. We, uh, can’t tell Lolozi Webbs that you Symbiotically bonded with a ton of fungaloids. Rick and Lori would get fired in a second.”

Logan closed one eye. “Wait. So I really was a cloud?” he asked. “I thought that was a dream.”

“No, not at all,” Inga said. “Your transitional shell was indeed not a shell at all, but a massive spore cloud. We actually lured you into the cube doing laying out rotten meat. You’re cloud flocked to it like a hungry pup. But then the cube wouldn’t fit inside, so we put it on the balcony. And here we kept you while you ascended. The headmaster, the rector prime, every professor visited you as well as your mushroom friends from your class. No one in living memory has ever seen a fungaloid ascend to A-Class. No one knew what to expect. Or how to handle you.”

“I handled him,” Marko insisted. “Mime style.”

Logan didn’t know what to say

Inga’s antennae were drawn in tight. She was frowning. “What happened to you? I felt the power surge, and then we lost our Symbiotic bond.” She leaned in close and dropped her voice. “Did you… Did you touch the Tree of Souls? I sensed that you had. And also that you found something there.”

“Mold,” Logan said. “It was rooted in a crack in the trunk. I touched it and I think that might’ve been what pushed me to A-Class. No, that’s not it. It was the power. Linking up with the other mushroom cores gave me a fourth knot, ranked me up, and then sent me to the stars. Like, right to the stars.” He ran a hand over his face. “What day is it, anyway?”

“It is the Sunday of our last week before our final exams,” Inga said. “And unofficially, it’s the week when we could compete in the Finals at any moment. The tournament judges are now waiting for the two new Celestial Nodes to open. Then the Finals will begin. Honestly, we didn’t expect you to emerge in time to compete. Suresh has been preparing someone else to take your place in the finals. I imagine he is going to be… displeased with your return.”

Treacle munched and quoted a haiku. “It sucks to be us. Final exams and other tests. Spring has finally come.” He frowned. “Six syllables on that last line. And I’ve done so well up until now.”

Marko snapped away the cube, and Logan felt the warmth in the air. He’d been out of action for quite a while. The air was warm. Winter was over. Spring was in the air, and soon school would end, and it would be summer again. Logan clambered to his feet and dusted off his hands. “I need a mirror.”

Marko titled his head. “One second.”

He stood, pantomimed a mirror, and then smiled at his supposed reflection. He adjusted the beret. “I can’t believe how different I am as an Azure Branch Cultivator. First off, I’m so much more handsome. And yet, there’s a darkness in my eyes. A mystery that wasn’t there before.”

Treacle belched up some cud. “You look exactly the same. Except for the Jaunty Beret of Hat Trickery.”

“Totally different” Marko stroked his furry chin.

Logan inched forward to take stock of his new self in the mirror.

Unlike Marko, Logan really had transformed completely. He was no longer a dark molted black, but a brilliant crystalline blue. Several clusters of spores drifted around his head, sparkling and then disappearing. They created a striking visual. He now had a pointed head, like the toadstool version of a wizard’s hat. Very Gandalf. He was tall, lean, and muscled, with four fingers. He was wearing wizard’s robes and sleek dark blue boots. His face was still just as small and cute, like a fungal Groot. He grinned. “I feel tall, intimidating, less like a warrior, but more like a commanding general, or a wizardly strategist.”

He turned and realized he was holding a staff of gnarled wood. He held it up. “Where did this come from?”

All of his friends shrugged and shook their heads.

Marko squinted. “I think you’ve always had a staff, right? I mean, weren’t you the staff guy? Mr. Stick? Didn’t we call you the branch manager at one point?”

“No. Just no.” Logan felt the Apothos coming off his staff in waves. He was breathless for a second. “Wait, this isn’t just a staff.” He couldn’t believe it, but he knew exactly where the staff had come from. “This is a sliver off the Tree of Souls itself.”

“Cool!” Marko shouted loudly. “I get a beret. You get a stick. We’re awesome!”

Inga’s eyes were wide. “A sliver of the Tree? Logan, I can scarcely comprehend your power now.”

“I don’t feel so different,” Logan said.

But he did feel oddly wizardly now, with both an actual gnarled wizard’s staff as well as a pointed blue hat. He then knew what the next step was. “I totally want to see my Matrix. Can we get to the Tartarucha Cells, so I can practice my new skills?”

Inga shook her head. “Professor Suresh has the dungeon simulator completely booked for the Ninth Circle. As I said, he assumed you would not wake up. We had some precedent, since Chadrigoth has yet to emerge. Shadowcroft has been bending over backward to accommodate the students that are potentially taking our place.”

Logan was a bit disappointed. “Oh well. What we did with Treacle and Marko was fun. I guess I’ll get to use my upgrades soon enough. Glad I woke up when I did.”

“That’s right,” Treacle said. “We had no idea what we’d have done without you in the Finals. It was very stressful. I am relieved you are awake. So we can all die together.”

“You don’t have to join us,” Logan said. “It’s going to be dangerous.”

The pink minotaur gave him an are-you-kidding-me look? “Of course I want to join you. We’re the Terrible Twelfth. It was difficult when it was only the three of us. I missed Marko. You’d miss me.”

Marko’s mouth fell open. “You missed me.”

The minotaur looked pained. “Of course I missed you. It’s exhausting providing all the color.”

The satyr went over and slung his arms around Treacle in a big hug. “That was a pink joke. It was so funny.”

The minotaur frowned. “You’re not laughing.”

“I’m laughing on the inside, where it really counts.”

Logan wrangled his friends. “Let’s focus. We’ll bond, so we can go over my Guardian Core Matrix together. You all up for that?”

“Heck yeah! Let’s do it!” Marko took hold of Treacle’s and Inga’s hands, standing in front of Logan.

The pink minotaur shook the satyr’s hand away. “We don’t need to hold hands for this.”

Logan let the Symbiotic bonding spores fall from his gills. His trio of friends breathed deeply.

A new message appeared in Logan’s head.

The Soul Staff of Sporing has been activated. All Symbiotic Bonding parameters have been upgraded. Multiple permanent bonds available. Continue?

Yes/No.

Inga pointed, mouth agape. “Look!”

Logan looked down. Mushrooms were sprouting along the length of his new staff. Soft yellow fuzz, red and white toadstools, black shitake—all manner of fungal growth. Hundreds if not thousands of varieties, all intermingling in symbiotic harmony.

“Hold on,” Logan said. “I have no idea what in the world is going on here. The power radiating off this staff is incredible.”

“Take a minute,” Marko said. “It took me a second to figure out my Jaunty Beret of Hat Trickery.”

Logan focus on the gnarled, fungal-covered sliver of wood in his hands and pulled up its stat block.

<<< ۝ >>>

The Soul Staff of Sporing – Symbiotic Bonding Upgrades

Symbiosis – Expanded Parameters: As a Jade Leaf cultivator, it is possible to use the Symbiosis ability with more than one host, creating a unique relationship where a single dungeon guardian can host multiple cores. The Soul Staff of Sporing allows for more flexibility and expanded powers.

Expansion Alert! As a Jade Leaf cultivator (A-Class, Rank 10), you have the natural ability to bond with up to ten unique dungeon cores at the same time.

Relaxed Restrictions! All fungaloids can naturally bond with one Prime Host but maintaining a symbiotic connection with more than the Prime Host is a taxing process. The Soul Staff of Sporing can alleviate much the effort. Upgraded parameters below:

Prime Host = Permanent Bond

Prime Host + 1 = Permanent Bond

Prime Host + 2 = Permanent Bond

Prime Host + 3 = Permanent Bond

Prime Host + 4 = 1 Month

Prime Host + 5 or more = Variable

Expanded Apothos Leeching: All Apothos values are tripled. As a Jade Leaf cultivator, you will receive 30% of all Apothos cultivated by your hosts.

Note:Other abilities have been increased by your new staff! Would you like to see your expanded Digestion ability? Yes/No?

<<< ۝ >>>

Logan blinked away the message. “Hold on a sec, I’m getting more messages now. Let’s just bond, so you all can see what’s happening. That’ll be quicker than trying to explain thing. But on the surface, I gotta say this thing is awesome. It allowed me to permanently bond with up to four cores.”

“Yikes. And I have such commitment issues,” Marko sputtered.

But Logan saw the normal Symbiotic bonding messages appear in his head.

<<< ۝ >>>

Inga Thosa Therian has accepted Symbiotic Bonding!

Marko Laskarelis has accepted Symbiotic Bonding!

Treacle Glimmerhappy has accepted Symbiotic Bonding!

Notice: As the Infecting Agent, you alone can terminate the Symbiotic bond. In addition, you will receive 30% (Staff Infection Upgrade) of all Apothos cultivated by your three hosts from this point forward. Bonding initiating in 3… 2… 1…

<<< ۝ >>>

Inga sighed. <It’s so great to be back with you, Logan!>

Marko’s voice came next. <Thirty percent? Loan shark much?>

Treacle hooked in last. <Hello, friends. While we might die fighting Lou Shador, at least we’ll die together.>

<That’s not going to happen,> Logan sent.

Inga’s antennae were going crazy. <You’re right. I can feel the amount of Apothos running through your core. With the four knots, and with the staff, you’ve become a powerhouse. There is much energy! Your core is leeching more from us, but I can feel it strengthen me too, because I can draw on our collective power. It’s incredible.>

Treacle’s smile almost broke his face. <Even with my AFS Core Improvement I’m not generating the Apothos you are. But I can see how I can take that power and craft a great many interesting things.>

“Why do I want coffee all of a sudden?” Marko asked out of the blue.

Logan had sometimes learned to ignore his friend. <Okay, let’s look at my initial innate ability, Digestion. I’ve used it a lot in the intraschool tournament. Let’s see what the upgrade parameters are:

<<< ۝ >>>

Digestion:Consume immobile and dead creatures to absorb more of their core-essence, and instantlyconvert it to usable Apothos. Fungi are nothing if not efficient, and that efficiency is on full display in the Digestion ability!

At A Class

- Digestion converts 25% (Staff Infection upgrade) consumable mass directly into additional Apothos, dramatically increasing experienced gained

- Digestion instantly converts 85% (Staff Infection Upgrade) of all Apothos with an Elemental Affinity into Pure Apothos.

- Create up to (5) (Staff Infection Upgrade) Acidic Digestion Pits in your Dungeon to aid in your digestion efforts!

- Reclamation. The Fungi can consume inorganic matter such as weapons, armor, metals, and fabrics, breaking them down and reclaiming the items as base usable crafting components. Reclaim 55% (Staff Infection Upgrade) of the item into raw material!

- Muscle Memory. As the saying goes, You are what you eat, and that has never been truer than for a Fungaloid. Gain an 8.5% (Staff Infection Upgrade) chance to randomly learn a physical skill or melee ability from a digested foe!

- Arcane Memory: Man cannot live on bread alone. There has to be some magic in a meal! Gain a 5% (Staff Infection Upgrade) chance to randomly learn a magical or arcane ability from a digested foe!

Note:The Soul Staff of Sporing has augmented your A-Class upgrades. Would you like to see your Active Fungal Form Abilities? Yes/No?

<<< ۝ >>>

Logan was blown away. He looked down at his meaty mushroom staff. <Wow, this baby is really gonna come in handy. To think, now there’s a chance that if I digest a turtle shifter like Shellex Aldabra, I could get his shape-shifting ability.>

<It’s very powerful, indeed,> Inga agreed. <Perhaps dangerously so. With this, there’s no telling what powers or abilities you might be able to use in the future. And it doesn’t limit it to dungeoneers. If you were to digest a fellow Dungeon Core, it seems highly probably that you would gain some portion of their power set.>

Marko spoke out loud. “Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Let’s see your Active Fungal Form Abilities. Not sure that those are, but I am so loving this.”

<Why not use the telepathy?> Treacle asked.

“Have you met me?” Marko smirked. “I love the sound of my own voice. But you guys can telepathy away!”

Logan pulled up his Active Abilities.

<<<>>>

Fungal Form 1: Exoskeleton. Trigger Harden to temporarily calcify your exterior by 30% (Staff Infection Upgrade), reducing damage, though with a minor reduction to speed of 10% (Staff Infection Upgrade). Harden is a stackable ability and can stack up to four times. At higher levels, this turns into Chitin Armor, creating hardened plates of chitin similar to an insect’s exoskeleton. Light but resilient, the chitin reinforces the body without being cumbersome. Note: Due to the Soul Staff of Sporing, you can create fungal walls outside of your person.

At E-Class – Minor Harden

At C-Class – Execute Exoskeleton

At B-Class – Chitinous Armor

At A-Class – Create Fungal Walls (Staff Infection Upgrade)

Fungal Form 2: Pneumacity. Trigger this ability to absorb additional oxygen into the fungal form, creating pockets of air that make you incredibly fast, but at a cost: your cellular integrity is compromised, meaning you are far more susceptible to physical damage—if they can catch you, that is. Note: The Soul Staff of Sporing will nullify the physical drawbacks of this ability.

At C-Class – Speed increase

At B-Class – Gentle Float/Limited Flight

At A-Class – Full Flight/Fleet Feet (Staff Infection Upgrade)

Fungal Form 3: Mycological Rage. Release a potent chemical cocktail of hormones, narcotics, and psychedelics into your own system, throwing you into a Strength Boosting Rage. During this state you are strong, fast, and feel no pain, but you also have the IQ of an actual fungal colony! Note: At A-Class, with the Soul Staff of Sporing, you will have limited intellect. However, please do not make any major life decisions during your altered state.

At B-Class – Fungal Fury

At A-Class –Mycotic Juggernaut (Staff Infection Upgrade)

<<<>>>

Logan’s mouth went dry. He would try stacking his armor abilities more. But he was really interested in trying out his Full Flight and Mycotic Juggernaut skills. Could he really fly? Could he fly while at the same time being a huge unstoppable fungal tank?

He probably could because he was A-Class now, and he had his nifty new staff, peeled off from the Tree of Souls itself.

He then remembered he had Passive Abilities as well. He pulled up those while his friends watched.

<<<>>>

· At E Class, Ranks 10 – 6 Fungal Vision, Current Status: Unlocked

· At E-Class, Ranks 5 – 1 Disease Immunity, Current Status: Unlocked

· At C-Class, Ranks 10 – 6 Poison Immunity, Current Status: Unlocked

· At C-Class, Ranks 5 – 1 Ability: Replicate, Current Status: Unlocked

· At B-Class, Ranks 10 – 6 Blindness Immunity, Current Status: Unlocked

· At B-Class Ranks 5 – 1 Deafness Immunity, Current Status: Unlocked

· At A-Class, Ranks 10 – 6 Partial Mental Immunity, Current Status: Unlocked

· At A-Class, Ranks 5 – 1 Complete Psionic Immunity, Current Status: Locked

<<<>>>

“If you would’ve had this when Hellmutt tried to take you over, he wouldn’t have had a chance,” Marko said out loud. He paused. “Hey, my jaunty beret works kinda like Hellmutt. You know, we can test your immunity out real quick. Wanna try on my hat?”

<Not right now,> Logan sent. <I need a second to digest this all.>

“Ha! That should go quick now that you have five digestion pits. Zing!”

Jokes aside, this really was a lot to take in, and he hadn’t even chosen his new proto-spore cultures. However, he’d been preparing this moment all year long. He knew exactly which new mushrooms he wanted. For the most part. He had a couple of options. The real question? What kind of Jade Leaf cultivator did he want to be?