by R J Triveri
You have resisted bleeding.
With a frustrated scream, River slammed her fist into the solidified spawn and dazed the creature. Its eyes glazed over like murky gray pools of frost before she kicked it from her leg and crushed the creature under her foot with a satisfying splorsh of ink and stink. She may have trusted Dante, but she was beginning to question his leadership potential as he fell back behind River’s kill line. That is, before she saw the message flash across her screen…
Dante Rior - Rank Up! - Rank 16 Seeker achieved!
Ability mutation triggered! Fulgoris has become Arc-Fulgoris!
New skill has been added - Arc-Fulgoris!
New language skills unlocked: Primal
She looked back for only a moment and saw the smile burn on his face as Dante brought his new ability to bear against a lingering shadow wolf. “Arc-Fulgoris!”
In a flash of light, the skill that Dante had been using before acted like a chain of golden links as the lightning jumped to each and every one of the surrounding creatures. The cost bled integrity from him with each jump like its name implied, leaving the shadow spawn as pools of weeping, stinking ink or writhing on the ground paralyzed while the remaining pair of wolves shivered and fell to the ground as static danced across their fur. Already down to fifty percent, he brushed off his clothes and took a deep, panting breath as he recovered from the spell. River already took back the lead position as she walked over to the paralyzed hordes.
“That was amazing, Dante,” River grinned as she casually walked over and drove her blade through the last shadow wolf’s head and moved on to the shivering spawns.
He balanced himself and looked at the piles of loot with a mad grin. With the focus still in his hand, he sighed weakly. “You’re not too mad?”
“Why would I be mad? I just wish we had that on the stream! Could you imagine what people would think of it?”
At that, he grinned. Same old River. “That you’re a good friend for letting me manipulate things to get a new ability?” Her face fell for a moment as his plan came to light. “Honestly, I didn’t think it would work, but when else would have been a good time to try?”
Watching the spawn creature dissolve, River seemed a bit lost, but anger found its way into her voice soon enough. “What?”
His smile grew a bit more nervous as he charged Arc-Fulgoris. “Think of it this way, I’ll be a better partner in doubles now.”
She thought for a moment, sighed, and picked up her blade again. “Remind me to punch you later.”
“Noted,” Dante said as he swigged two healing potions one after the other.
Damage Recovered - Dante Rior: 76% Integrity Remaining
Damage Recovered - Dante Rior: 96% Integrity Remaining
He smiled all the same. Sure, the skill cost a little more integrity now, but as long as he didn’t take damage, skill-drained integrity would recover over time thanks to his mage passives.
“Dante!” Urgency filled her voice as her blade fell into something much larger than last time with a non-lethal squishing as it held onto her blade with an oozing, muddy hand. Recognition flared in her eyes as she recognized the creature and in the same breath tried to pull her blade free from its slopping form. When it wouldn’t come quick enough, she screamed her warning and wrenched it to the side through the wet, hardening clay of its hands. “Golem!”
Calling his new ability to heel, it wasn’t hard to see its bulbous form now as Arc-Fulgoris lit the area, and River cringed. For a melee fighter, golems were only second to slimes in their difficulty. Its wet clay form could quickly recover, adapt to whatever was thrown at it, and dish it back out with clods of clay and earth. Couple that with its natural bulk and large boulder-like hands that could shift states based on its need, and a golem wasn’t something to just brush off as a trash mob. In some places, they were the dungeon boss. Not for the last time, River cursed the fallen city.
Thankfully for the pair, the Wild One’s state of mind was no better than its wet, sopping feet.
The same could not be said for Dante.
Springing to action, the golden glow dropped instantly as the focus’s glow shifted. The deep golden light was replaced by a much softer blue hue as River tried again to wrench her sword free from its grip. “Watch it, River!” he called as the spell charge completed. “Aqua Hastam!”
Skill cost extracted: Dante Rior - 82% Integrity Remaining
Once the cost was paid, the blue light erupted into a spear of water headed straight for the earthen beast. Its large hand and lumbering form weren’t fast enough to avoid the spear and the solid earth of its gripping hand turned to mud as the creature’s fist dropped with a satisfying slosh of mud. With River’s help, the sword was freed a moment later.
Pulling back from the target, River was back in position with blade in hand as Dante directed her. “Go for the mouth, River!”
She didn’t need to be told twice as she set her blade towards its target. “Piercing Strike!”
With inhuman speed, the blade and its wielder flew forward, only to be deflected by the other hand as it moved to block.
River Hexi: Damage Received - 75% Integrity Remaining
An earthen howl boomed as a finger from the hand was sliced clean, but River was still thrown from the halo of light and tumbled into the darkness.
***
Back on the defensive, Dante made the strategic call to put himself between where she landed and the golem. As the blue light glowed with dangerous intent in its flickers, Dante cocked his head back just for a moment as he called out into the darkness, “River, you alright?”
The sloshing of the golem’s form overwhelmed almost all the nearby noise as he could just barely make out the sounds of combat somewhere else in the darkness. How far had River been flung?
River Hexi: Damage Received - 73% Integrity Remaining
Far enough for him to be concerned as the sound of steel and unearthly cries echoed for a moment. As the golem gurgled again, Dante had to return his attention to the creature lumbering towards him. Though slow and off balance, the weight of its remaining hand and the muddy stub had gravity on their side as it came in for another attack as soon as it got into range. Dante had to do his best impression of a tuck-and-roll to avoid the larger fist as it came down and pulverized the floor like it had been Styrofoam rather than stone. The sheer force of the impact clouded the area with debris, sending up all sorts of pleasant things into the air. The cloud of dust that made up what was once the floor bricks lingered in the air and sent Dante into a fit of coughs and wheezing.
Dante Rior: You have been silenced (Duration: 0:10)!
Unable to steady himself, Dante was a sitting duck as the golem struck again. A silent scream erupted from his lips as his body temporarily decided that gravity no longer applied after the boulder of a hand collided with his stomach and sent him through the window of the nearest storefront. The shattering of the remaining glass and the following crash was quickly followed by more bad news for Dante.
Critical Hit!
Dante Rior: Damage Received - 62% Integrity Remaining
Warning: You have been affected by the condition - Paralyzed (Duration: 0:30).
Warning: You have been affected by the condition - Bleeding (Duration: 0:30).
Warning: You have been affected by the condition - Silenced (Duration: 0:02).
As the dust settled and the pain began to subside, at least things couldn’t get any worse for him.
River Hexi: Damage Received - 61% Integrity Remaining
River was another case.
Dante Rior: Your voice has been restored!
His face contorted as he saw her life drop. He couldn’t see, but at least he could talk now. “River!” came the choking first word he chose to yell, but to no avail. There was no answer from his partner, but the sounds of lumbering steps grew closer. “River, I need help!”
For a moment, only the sloshing, lumbering sound of the golem filled his ears.
The fact that she couldn’t answer him normally worried him almost as much as the echoing noise that only pressed further against his solitude. The steps grew louder and louder as a heaping ball of clay shot through the already-broken window and landed within feet of his head. Dante braced himself as the creature’s eyes and form began to push forward to fill the entirety of his view of the storefront.
Well, he reasoned as the creature finished forming the majority of its upper body in the small space, at least I can’t die in a Pit run.
The shadow of doubt began to loom over him as he tried to come to terms with his thoughts. Each moment the golem took getting to him, Dante watched each of the remaining twenty seconds tick away on his helplessness. Soon, both of its hands had reformed, and its one large ruby eye was staring down at him.
Shit.
The word repeated every second he stared at the creature. Every moment that passed as a much larger, growing shit-storm that refused to relent until the entire beast had gotten itself into the now much smaller room. He could smell the wet, earthen scent that lingered around the creature. It had gotten so close that Dante could make out each facet of the stones that made up its glowing red eyes, and hear the soft slosh and gurgle that its body made as it reformed and filled out the rest of the storefront. He could only watch as it lumbered another step, then another, and another until it finally raised its hand to strike.
And there was nothing he could do about it as he looked at his status.
Dante Rior: Paralyzed (Duration: 0:10)
“Piercing strike!”
Thankfully, River still could.
Critical hit!
Like something out of legend, River burst from the creature’s head as the blade exploded from its mouth. Better than words ever could, she showed him once again why she was the muscle of their operation. On the end of her aquamarine blade, the animation charm left the creature’s body and dissolved back into the nothingness of data, dictating a kill shot on the creature. As the coded magical charm vanished from the creature, its form dried out and fell to the ground as dust, a glittering pile of bytes, and its glowing, red ruby eyes.
***
Standing triumphant above the pile of dust, River was more than proud of herself. She knew that Dante was watching her proud strut as she stepped off of the pile but waited for him to stop gawking as the dust settled around the pair before she pulled herself back together. As she approached, he was still staring. Taking his shoulder, she gave him a good shake and a smile. “Are you okay or am I just still too much to look at?”
He took a deep breath and shook off her self-satisfied smirk. “What took you so long?”
“Shadow Spawn decided to pay me a visit while I was paralyzed,” she said simply as she offered him a hand. “Consider it payback for using me for your ability. It was a bit of a dick move there, Dante.”
A little embarrassed, Dante took her hand and gave her a grin that would rival her best. “Even?” he asked as he got back to his feet.
She smiled. “Almost.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond as she punched him in the shoulder hard enough to send him back to the ground with an ear-filling thud.
Dante Rior: Damage Received - 53% Integrity Remaining
“Now we are.”
Whether it was the shock of her attack or the pain in his shoulder, all Dante could say to that was a resounding, “Ow.”
Chapter Sixteen: Raiding the Dungeon
“Now that was kick-ass.” River grinned as the pair continued down the empty street.
“Not something I want to fight again, but I can’t argue with these rubies or the bytes,” he pointed out as he brought up the items to look at one last time.
2x Elemental Source - Golem Ruby
Rare Crafting Material
Rare Variant: Earthen
Elementals gain their form from infused sources of elemental energy. This ruby has been infused heavily with earth-elemental magic, and though it’s not as powerful removed from its host, it is still both powerful and valuable as a source of crafting and as a rare gemstone.
River nodded and swigged the last of her healing potion to return to full integrity. They had been well-spent on the pair and had them both back to full health. Indeed, spirits were high from their victory, but something in the distance caught their attention as the world went white and silent. The flash of light abolished the darkness on the horizon of the domed city, leaving it just for a moment as if dawn had approached but just as promptly vanished back into the nothingness of shadow and darkness.
River was feeling pretty confident about what it was, gripped her blade a little tighter, and stared off into the distance.
“Think we should head towards it?” Dante asked, beating her to the punch. After an intense moment of silence, he turned to look at his friend.
They both knew what the light meant. It was the light of victory. It was the light that banished a floor guardian and activated whatever treasure they were hiding. It was Athos Aramis, and he had just hit a milestone on the dungeon floor.
Knowing that they were pressed for time, Dante did his best to break her train of thought. “River? You still with me here?”
“It isn’t our problem,” she said only a moment later as she brought up her map of the floor and began to break down the events they just witnessed. “If he was being honest with us, that light should be the travel arch powering on, so Athos will be long gone.” Her mind was working fast as she continued her train of thought, “He must have taken out the floor guardian to trigger it.”
The thought of any solo combatant clearing a floor guardian of Tenebrae’s caliber made Dante a little jealous. “Gotta admit, event creature or not, Athos is an impressive fighter.”
And she had to begrudgingly agree. “He isn’t a slouch. I’ll say that much, but, if he was an event, we were meant to see him leave. Besides, if it’s anything like the Caves of Ice you told me about, only an event would have been able to clear the grounds that fast alone.”
Absently, Dante rubbed his shoulder. “That makes sense to me,” Dante said rather plainly, “but now that he’s gone, we might be home free. If the floor guardian’s down, the spawn rate’s going to drop like a rock.”
“You’re kidding?” River did her best not to sound too excited at the prospect and failed miserably once Dante nodded in confirmation. “That means a free run to the boss!” Her grin would have made even the most somber child giddy with excitement. Her voice almost rose as the words escaped from her lips. “Oh, Dante... We’re going to fuck up a Shadow Lord’s day.”
A smile crossed his face as he balanced his focus and ran it across his fingers in a proper display of balance. “Yeah, but that doesn’t give me a direction.”
The woman continued to study her map for a few moments before answering again. “Well, if our last dungeon was any indication, the boss’s lair should be pretty easy to find.”
It wasn’t a terrible thought in Dante’s opinion. “Yeah. Rodda didn’t even try to hide where that mermaid boss was, but then again Rodda wasn’t high in difficulty either. It didn’t even have a real floor guardian.”
“Yeah, just some obvious traps and monitors,” River agreed as she ran unseen numbers in a way that only seemed to matter to her. “But that’s not going to be a problem now, is it?”
“Not if we hurry,” Dante confirmed. “Guardians have a bad habit of not staying dead forever though.”
“We could take it,” River quipped.
“I rather wouldn’t.” Dante watched as her eyes raced from side to side while she continued her unseen calculations. “Well, which way?”
Her eyes continued to scan the map, and finally finding what she was searching for, her finger pointed due east. “It looks like the wall’s broken that way. It sticks out weirdly on the map, and dungeons don’t break design patterns for no reason, especially if it was a city first. City blocks exist for a r
eason, right?” Dante simply nodded, unwilling to put the real world back into words. “Take two and two, and that has to be it.”
“You sure?”
River nodded as she sheathed her sword. “Of course I am. Besides, even if I wasn’t, it’s our best option. Let’s get moving!”
Sure enough, the trip was quick and quiet. Without the floor guardian’s lingering presence, whatever was left from Athos’s attacks or Dante and River’s slaughter lost whatever confidence they had. Not that they had much left after being nearly wiped out by three adventurers. Every few blocks, a small creature’s eyes would glow in the darkness only to be snuffed out by River’s blade and turn into bytes and reagents.
Through the darkened, abandoned streets of the city, the pair continued to move faster and faster towards River’s directional choice. For the most part, the abandoned houses and broken shops painted the picture of a war zone. Walls were blown out and in, pavers were thrown like dust into the wind and landed wherever they pleased, and gashes continued to connect everything like a macabre puzzle of death and destruction. The deeper they went, the worse things became. Reaching the center of the city’s floor, only two things seemed to break the pattern of destruction. The first wafted in from their opposite side and assaulted their senses as surely as any attack could have. Though they couldn’t see the source, it smelt like piles of rot and decay laced just slightly with rotten eggs and piles upon piles of the most unpleasant trash. The only indication of what lay beyond was a collection of broken carts and a sandwich board with the word “market” barely legible under a deep claw mark.
“Oh god,” River groaned as she covered her nose the best she could. “What is that?”
Dante only looked at her for a moment before putting his fingers to his nose. “Don’t think too hard about it,” he warned.
She didn’t have to be told twice as she mimicked her friend. Without another thought of the source, they continued towards the source of the flash from earlier.
Sitting alone in the center of the city square was a large, stone gateway wreathed in light. The travel arch was a thing of beauty. Carved from the living stone and decorated with small gemstones, the archway pulsed with a sky-blue light promising an escape from the darkness for anyone that wished it.
