Swordsman of the Rift

by Brandon Varnell

  Michelle’s face went blank. “Your mom is Lilith?”

  “Yes?” Adina said, her expression curious.

  “Never mind.” Michelle ran a hand through her hair. “Anyway, I agree that we need to get our levels up. Before I was kicked out of Heaven, I was at level 80, but since that Geass was forced on me, my level has gone down to 50. I’ve lost thirty whole levels thanks to that curse.”

  “That can happen?” I asked. When Adina and Michelle looked at me like I was an idiot, I raised my hand. “Right. Stupid question. Please forget I asked.” I tried to hide my embarrassment by getting us back on track. “So, we all agree that we need to increase our level, right?”

  “Yes,” Adina said.

  “I believe that is the only option we currently have open to us,” Michelle agreed.

  “Right.” I licked my lips. “In that case, what we should be doing now is figuring out how to increase our levels.”

  There were actually multiple ways for our level to increase. The first and most obvious way was by fighting against enemies. When you battled and killed an enemy, you absorbed their Life Essence, which was why they turned to ash when you killed them. It was sort of like when gamers gained experience points while playing an RPG. It also explained that strange rush of energy I kept feeling. However, that wasn’t the only way for our levels to increase.

  “If we could find some treasures that have a lot of life essence inside of them, increasing our levels would be a simple matter,” Michelle exclaimed with a frustrated sigh. “There are things like potions and even ancient relics that we can absorb Life Essence from to increase our levels a lot quicker. The problem is finding such treasures. They are rare to come by, and I somehow doubt Naamah would leave them lying around.”

  “Maliperum might have some in her private quarters,” Adina stated. “However, she won’t have much. Naamah was never a very giving person, so while she did hand out rewards occasionally, she mostly kept any of the good stuff for herself.”

  “Let’s check Maliperum’s room first,” I decided. “After that, we can try to increase our level the hard way.”

  The two woman agreed.

  Maliperum’s room was located two floors down. To get there, we had to pass through several hallways and what resembled a kitchen. I guess even demons needed to eat. There had been quite a few imps along the way and even a couple of trolls. I noticed a distinct lack of succubus, but according to Adina, succubi were a lot more rare than imps and trolls. There apparently were not more than fifty in this entire base.

  During our journey, Adina, Michelle, and myself killed what must have been several hundred imps. We killed so many that my level actually went from 52 to 53. Actually, I think my level had been on the cusp of increasing after killing Maliperum.

  Since I gained several Status Points, I changed my stats. Now my status screen said:

  Name: Bryan Jenson

  Class: Magic Swordsman

  Level: 53

  Magic: Red/fire

  Attack: 120

  Agility: 110

  Defense: 100

  Magic Defense: 120

  Mana: 100

  Total Status Points available: 0

  Special Skills:

  Whirlwind Slash: Attack +5

  Death by Piercing: Attack +5

  Fire Slash: Attack +5

  Fireball: Attack +5

  Total Skill Points available: 4

  I didn’t use my Skill Points since I didn’t have many and they seemed more valuable than Status Points. I was saving them for when I reached the next level I needed to access more skills. My goal was to get the Dual Wield skill, which sounded like it would increase my attack speed and the damage I could inflict.

  We soon reached Maliperum’s room. Adina used the keys she stole from Maliperum to unlock the door, and we all went inside. The room on the other side was pretty nice. A large king-sized canopy bed with red drapes sat in the center, there were several massive pieces of furniture made from a type of rich-looking charcoal wood, tapestries hung from the walls, and the stone floor was covered by a soft rug. It was enough to make me forget we were in a dungeon.

  “How decadent,” Michelle said with a sneer.

  “Maliperum was always vain,” Adina agreed. “Anyway, if she has any potions or relics or something that will increase our level, they will be in that treasure chest.”

  Adina pointed to a treasure chest on the other side of the room. It was a lot more ornate than what Adina used to stash her items in, with gold inlays creating unique symbols and patterns along the surface. The wood was polished to a brilliant shine too. I’d say it went well with the rest of this opulence.

  “Do you have the key to unlock it?” asked Michelle.

  “It should be here,” Adina said, jangling the keys. She walked up to the chest, but as she did, a strange feeling in my gut told me something dangerous would happen if she got too close. The hairs on my neck were raising. I wasn’t one to ignore my feelings.

  “Get back, Adina!” I shouted.

  “What?”

  Adina turned around as I rushed toward her. Just then, four legs and two arms extended from the chest, and it tried to grab her, but I wrapped my arms around her waist and yanked her back. She squealed as we landed on our respective backsides. However, she didn’t say anything, because she too had seen that this chest was not quite what it seemed.

  The chest had become a monster. It was an ugly looking thing. While it still maintained the basic appearance of a chest, it now looked like a creature with four spindly spider legs, two claw-like pincer arms, and a mouth with sharp, saw-like teeth.

  “A mimic?!” Adina shouted in shock.

  “So that’s what that is?” I demanded. “How do we kill it?”

  “The same way we kill any living creature,” Michelle said as she created a sword of light in her hand. “Cut it into enough pieces, and it will die like everything else.”

  I wasn’t really the kind of guy who approved of that kind of answer, but I knew she was right. Scrambling to my feet, I unsheathed my sword and charged toward the creature. I let my mana drain from me as I used Death by Piercing to damage the monster, but this mimic or whatever was stronger than it appeared. My sword glanced off its hard body despite using a skill.

  “Its body is too tough!” Adina shouted. “Aim for its arms and legs!”

  After leaping back to avoid its sharp pincers, Michelle and I charged forward again, dodging its arms before running underneath the monster. We swung as one, each of us cutting through a leg before running out the other side. The mimic screeched as it fell to the ground. That was when Adina raced forward and sliced one of its arms off with her nails.

  As the mimic flailed around, I swung my sword into its remaining left leg, dis-legging the creature. No blood spurted out, but I guessed mimics didn’t have blood since they were made of wood. Just like me, Michelle swung her sword and removed the last remaining leg before it could try and attack me. Then Adina finished it off by cutting its remaining arm off. The mimic screeched some more, but then its body shook before it once again transformed into a chest.

  “Well… that wasn’t too hard,” Michelle admitted.

  Adina smiled wryly. “Mimics are easy to kill once you know how… though they never actually die. This will revive again soon, so we need to check its contents and see if Maliperum has any treasure before that happens.”

  “Would you do the honors?” I asked with a chuckle.

  “I’d love to.”

  With a skip and a bounce, Adina bent over to unlock the chest, giving me a perfect look at her amazing ass. I knew Michelle was glaring at me as I checked the succubus out. I ignored her. No matter what, I was still a man, and I had two sexy and strong women as traveling companions. I’d never do something like force them into a relationship with me, but I wasn’t above admiring them every now and again, especially since one of them wore practically nothing.

  “Heh. We hit the jackpot,” Adina said
, raising her body and shaking several vials filled with bright red liquid. The contents inside were bubbling. “Check these out.”

  “What are they?” I asked.

  “Life Essence potions,” Adina said while wearing her brightest smile.

  Chapter 7

  I ran down the hall, my feet slamming into the stone, causing the sound of my footsteps to echo all around me. Of course, that sound was drowned out by another sound. The sound of several dozen feet chasing after me and the loud croaking war cries being released by those creatures. I craned my neck to look behind me, grimacing when I saw two trolls and over a dozen imps hot on my tail.

  “Why do I have to be the bait?”

  It was a question I had asked myself several times. I still hadn’t found the answer. Maybe it was just because I sucked at rock, paper, scissors. Even after doing this nearly twenty times, I still hadn’t won a single time.

  Lady Luck was a bitch to me.

  Turning a sharp corner, I followed the path my party and I had laid out. There were no windows in this dungeon, which was built underneath the very crust of this planet, or dimension, or whatever this place was. All I saw were stone walls, a stone floor, stone ceiling, and the occasional stone column.

  It didn’t take more than five minutes before my target came in sight. A large door at the end of the hall I was in stood wide open. I raced through the door with barely sixty seconds to spare, then turned around, unsheathed my sword, and prepared for combat.

  I wasn’t even winded.

  Even as a US Marine, running for several hours at a full-paced sprint would have at least left me winded and sweaty, but I no longer felt even mildly out of breath. I believed that was because of my current level. The last time I had checked my stats, they were much higher than what they’d been previously.

  My current stats were:

  Name: Bryan Jenson

  Class: Magic Swordsman

  Level: 57

  Magic: Red/fire

  Attack: 140

  Agility: 130

  Defense: 140

  Magic Defense: 120

  Mana: 100

  Total Status Points available: 0

  Special Skills:

  Whirlwind Slash: Attack +5

  Death by Piercing: Attack +5

  Fire Slash: Attack +5

  Fireball: Attack +5

  Total Skill Points available: 12

  Whether it was because of my level or some other reason, I was in a lot better shape now than I had been before.

  On either side of the door stood Michelle and Adina. The two did not look any different now than they had been before. Michelle wore her toga-like robes and Adina was practically naked. However, Adina did have a few additional changes. Her tail was a little longer, and she now had horns that curved elegantly around her head. She gained those features after reaching level 30. I wasn’t sure what level she was at now, but she said that she would gain wings after reaching level 50.

  At that very moment, the imps and trolls raced in through the doorway, which Michelle and Adina slammed shut. The demons didn’t seem to notice. Their eyes were focused solely on me.

  I bared my teeth at them as I charged forward, moving my body into a Whirlwind Slash, which decimated the entire front force of imps, about half a dozen of them, and then I leapt back and unleashed a fireball that killed another two. The imps I had slain were cut in half, and their bodies fell to the floor before turning to dust. The imps I incinerated were burnt to cinders. The scent of burning flesh filled my nose, causing it to wrinkle.

  Just then, Michelle and Adina threw themselves into the back flank, tearing apart the imps that were present.

  Michelle’s sword flashed out as she swung it. It buzzed and thrummed like a lightsaber. Because it was made from the light element, or the holy element, her attacks easily sliced through these creatures, which fell like wheat before a scythe. I heard that at her current level, one sword was all she could make, but after reaching level 60, she would be able to acquire a several new skills that allowed her to make more.

  Meanwhile, Adina viciously tore into her opponents with her claw-like nails. Her attacks were nowhere near as elegant as Michelle’s, who fought with a methodical style that was designed to minimize how much energy she spent. Wild and ferocious, she ripped flesh from bone and tore off limbs like a madwoman. If she started randomly cackling at some point, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

  Of course, for all the ferocity in her attacks, Adina wore a surprisingly stern face. Like Michelle. Neither of them seemed to take any joy in killing these demons. I was honestly glad for that. This task wasn’t a pleasurable one, and someone who took pleasure in killing so much probably had issues I didn’t want to deal with.

  It wasn’t long before only the trolls were left. Adina and Michelle each took one.

  The one on the left tried to smash Adina into the stone floor, raising its big hands and slamming them on the ground like it was attempting to nail a hammer into wood. A loud rumbling echoed around us. The floor shook. However, his target had leapt into the air and was now descending toward him.

  Adina reared her hand back and brought it down. The troll roared in anguish as her nails sliced through the flesh of its face like a hot knife through butter, blood splattering against the floor as it stumbled backward. With her teeth set in a thin line, Adina leapt forward, used its stomach to launch herself into the air, and spun around to launch a powerful kick that caught it underneath the chin.

  She was a lot stronger than she looked, and that kick, which lifted the troll off its feet and made it crash onto its back, was the proof. The floor rumbled. I nearly fell on my ass, but I bent my knees and redistributed my balance to remain upright.

  Once it was down, Adina landed on its chest. She raised her right hand, fingers extended to form a knife-shape, and brought the hand down. More blood sprayed from its body as she sliced into its throat. The troll spasmed several times but quickly died. Its body would take a little longer to disintegrate than the imps as Adina absorbed its Life Essence.

  While Adina took care of her enemy, Michelle dealt with the one she had targeted. Unlike Adina, who still didn’t have wings, Michelle flew through the air faster than a jet fighter. She flitted about like a hummingbird, which was a little shocking to see. The troll tried to swat her away. However, its attacks never came anywhere close to her. It always seemed to hit an afterimage or something similar.

  Michelle darted in close and ran her sword along its stomach. Blood spilled from the wound. I nearly vomited when its intestines also tried to fall out, though the troll held a hand to its belly to keep them in—not that it mattered. Michelle darted back in, swung her sword, and removed its hands next. The hands fell to the ground. Then its guts spilled onto the floor, splattering with a sickening sound that churned my insides.

  As the troll landed on its knees, a bloodcurdling scream escaping its throat, Michelle flew forward and swung one last time. The screaming abruptly stopped. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then, ever so slowly, the troll’s head fell off its body and rolled across the floor. Its body came not long after. It hit the floor with a loud rumble and went still.

  I looked at the two as they both walked away from their kills and checked my stats. I ignored the one that told my level and looked at how much Life Essence I needed before I regained my next level.

  Name: Bryan Jenson

  Level: 57

  Life Essence needed to reach next level: 1,259/1,500

  I sighed. It looked like I still had a ways to go before I could reach the next level.

  “Good work bringing those things here,” Michelle said. “You’ve become very gifted at pulling in larger hordes of demons.”

  “Thanks, Chris!” Adina said with a cheerful yet beautiful smile. “It’s only because of your hard work that I’ve managed to reach level 43 in such a short time!”

  I wasn’t sure how much time had passed in this place, but after using the Life Essence Poti
ons to raise our levels, the three of us had begun grinding. We had one person find a group of enemies. Meanwhile, the other two would wait at a predetermined location, then ambush the horde chasing after the bait. Thus far, I was the only person who had played the bait.

  “I’m happy I can help you two, really, but could someone else please be the bait next time?” I asked.

  Michelle sighed, then nodded. “I suppose it is not fair to have you keep acting as the bait, so I will be the bait next time.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Adina waved her hand. “I’ll be the bait after Michelle’s turn. I think I’m at a high enough level now where I can do that and not get killed.”

  “Speaking of.” I frowned. “How many more times should we do this today?”

  “Let’s do this… six more times,” Michelle said after thinking about it for a moment. “I know we shouldn’t rush this, but I really want to at least reach level 60. Once I’ve done that, I can use the skill Dance of a Thousand Swords. It will allow me to create multiple swords in the air and launch them at several enemies at once.”

  “I think level 60 is a good level to aim for,” I admitted. At that level, I’d also unlock two new skills. The first was called Dual Wielding, which I guess would let me use two weapons at the same time. The second was called Shielder, which lets me wield a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

  “And I’ll gain my wings once I reach level 60,” Adina said, her eyes vibrant and glowing. “Once I get my wings, I can learn new skills too.”

  “What kind of skills do you learn at level 60?” I asked.

  “I can learn Energy Blast,” Adina said. “It’s a skill that lets me fire energy balls from my hands. It can be linked with other skills as well. If I learn the Flight skill and Energy Blast, I can also learn Energy Bombardment, which lets me fire multiple energy balls at the ground, creating a series of massive explosions. It’s a good skill for attacking small fries, though it’s not as effective on a single powerful opponent—not unless my level is higher than theirs.”