Dungeons and Noobs

by Ryan Rimmel

  “And skills like what you did with my War Leader talent?” I asked.

  “I might have to promote you to Dum Dunce soon,” grinned Shart. “Yes, Essence manipulation allows you to manipulate the very Essence of an individual. That does include an individual’s skills. My bond, as well as Badgelor’s less complicated and weaker bond, are both Essence bond to your soul. Fair warning, this is getting boring. Only two more questions.”

  “Are there any other kinds of magic I should be worrying about?” I asked after a moment.

  “Not really. There are some variations in how to cast spells, but those are more logical progression of spellcasting than anything that’s going to surprise you. “

  “What’s the most powerful kind of magic?” I continued.

  “Plasma,” answered Shart. “It requires the most Mana and does the most Damage, point for point. Plasma magic is also the most dangerous to use and the hardest to control, and I’m done. This has been boring, and you are annoying. Later!”

  Suddenly, the space behind my eyes felt like two old-style window shades being yanked down. I knew Shart was ignoring me again.

  I turned to Bashara. “What do you know about Plasma magic?” Before she could answer, SueLeeta came into view.

  “Monsters,” hissed SueLeeta, as she snuck back into the party..

  Chapter 27: Drungeons and Drak’ish

  The long passage we had been following contained no more traps. However, it soon ended in an arched doorway. SueLeeta had taken the lead, as her Trap Finding was second only to my own. Now, she stood, back to the wall, peering into the doorway. My party map began to fill with targets.

  “There are more than a dozen of them,” I said, as we all watched the map fill up. The targets appeared to be mouths with legs. I’d like to say they looked like dinosaurs or something, but the mouths were almost comically oversized. Their stumpy bodies and large tails appeared only as tiny dots on the map.

  “We can’t see anything other than their icons,” said Sir Dalton.

  “It's a shame you don’t have the Scout Party perk,” stated Glorious Robert. “We’d be able to put SueLeeta in the scout role, and all use our perks to discover any magical talents the monsters possessed.”

  I flicked open my menus and delved into the party tab. I checked the perks and quickly found Scout Party. I had enough party experience to buy it, but only it. I considered that for a moment. If we had someone with the scout role in the party, we could see what we were fighting. However, we might need another role to defeat them, and I only had enough party experience to buy one role.

  We wouldn’t know without the scout, and I was pretty sure we could fumble our way through battle without another party perk.

  ● You have purchased the party perk, Party Scout. A scout can use all party members’ skills when determining a target's value on the party map and in Combat.

  I slotted SueLeeta into the role, which was a bit more complicated than I thought was necessary. The process involved me going into the party menu, finding SueLeeta, dropping her into the role, and then, finally, confirming it. Instantly, the information on the various monsters started to flesh out.

  ● Drak-Ish, type Dragon Kin.

  ● Level 20

  ● HP: 340/340

  ● Stamina: 220/220

  ● Mana: 100/100

  ● Skills: Unknown (Lore Check Failed)

  ● Perks: Unknown (Lore Check Failed)

  ● Dragon Kin are creatures that have blood relations to dragons. Dragon Kin are similar to normal animals, but the power of their draconic blood grants them heightened strengths and abilities.

  “Dragon Kin,” groaned Bashara, checking on the map. “It doesn’t look like this is starting out easy. Can we bypass the room?”

  “No, it dead ends here, unless you found something else, Jim,” stated Glorious Robert.

  “Let’s just go kill them,” said Badgelor.

  “Good idea, Badgelor,” smiled Fenris. “Let them go. We’ll find another way to kill them later.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said after a moment. “We need to spread them out so we can attack them in smaller groups.”

  “Fight them in detail,” said Glorious Robert. “That might work. Any idea how we could get them separated?”

  “We’d have to create a distraction,” I said, thinking. “Bashara, could you do something magical to distract the monsters, so we can fight them in smaller groups?”

  “Probably, but it will take a few minutes for me to come up with the spell,” she said. “I don’t have a specific Distract Dragon Kin spell on tap.”

  “You don’t have any distraction magic ready to go?” asked Glorious Robert incredulously.

  “I have plenty of distraction spells. What I don’t have is a spell designed to push Dragon Kin away from us in a large room without revealing the Wizard doing the casting,” stated Bashara with a glare.

  “Why didn't you just say that?” asked Glorious Robert.

  This was going to work out, I thought, instantly cursing myself. One of the Drak-ish turned its head toward the doorway and began to sniff loudly. I looked at the party map. The closed eye icon over SueLeeta started to slowly open.

  “Come up with something quick,” I yelled, as the first creature roared.

  SueLeeta twisted around the corner of the doorway and fired a five-arrow Multi Shot directly into the first monster’s chest. Two of the arrows deflected off its tough scales. The other three dug in deeply, causing gaping chest wounds that the creature ignored. Pink blood oozed from the gashes.

  The ostrich-sized monster charged toward SueLeeta, inspiring its nearby companions to do the same. The wounded creature was much faster than anyone expected, however. It managed to close the distance to SueLeeta before I was able to get there. Fortunately, SueLeeta’s hunting pet was able to launch itself at the monster, just in the nick of time.

  Cat Thirty-Three leapt straight into the Dragon Kin’s oversized mouth and was promptly devoured. The feline’s sacrifice didn’t slow the creature at all. It prepared to lunge at SueLeeta again.

  I activated my Thrust maneuver. Magical energy propelled me across the room faster than I could sprint. I buried my entire blade deeply into the creature’s gut. It snapped its jaw onto my helmet, bending the metal before ripping it from my armor. For a brief moment, all I could see was the inside of its mouth and teeth. So many teeth. So many sharp, pointy teeth.

  “Blazing Sword,” I yelled hollowly, as three more monsters exploded out of the room. Smoke and fire erupted from the back of the injured creature, as my Blazing Sword doubled the Damage of my initial attack. Still, the creature kept biting at me. I was forced to shove my left forearm into its jaws. Dangerous teeth locked onto my magical bracer and began to chew.

  SueLeeta fired an arrow into the chest of another creature. It stumbled backward, as her arrow impacted its chest. She moved past Fenris, just as he blurred forward. The Warden slammed his shield into the monster’s frame, sending it sprawling.

  A third creature had moved past us and was pursuing SueLeeta, when Sir Dalton’s mighty blade smashed onto its head. The creature was annoyed enough at that point to focus solely on the Knight. With the monster’s attention diverted, Zorlando was able to execute a follow-up attack, carving into its ankle. A sickening scraping sound followed, as the mercenary’s sword met bone.

  A moment later, Glorious Robert was on my other side. He was armed with a gaff hook and what appeared to be half a barrel. The weapons looked almost comedic, until I watched him smash and bash the creature with his gaff and shield.

  “This isn’t going to work long! There are more coming,” yelled Glorious Robert.

  I executed a Hack and Slash, but, shoulder to shoulder with Fenris and Glorious Robert, the strikes spread out, slashing into each of the nearby creatures. Had I landed all three blows on the same creature, I might have slain it. Spread out as we were, I succeed in little more than annoying the monsters.<
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  Suddenly, as it rested its weight on its tail and brought both its feet off the ground, my creature dragged me forward. Dark memories of a puma-filled forest permeated my mind, as claws prepared to tear into me.

  Screaming with a terror-filled rage, I leapt over the creature. I was able to flip over it perfectly, due to it still having my arm in its mouth. The motion was too much, though, and it brought the creature off balance. It began to fall. I descended with it, driving my sword into its gut a second time, using all of my weight. The creature spasmed violently, broken.

  I took in the rest of the scene in an instant. Sir Dalton had his monster on the ropes, but Fenris’ and Glorious Roberts’ shields were not well-suited for the strong, heavy creatures. The creatures’ heads were simply too well-armored for most strikes to do very much. They would grab at the shields and pull them aside while reaching in with clawed legs.

  Already, I had watched one preparing for a devastating strike on Fenris, only to take an arrow between the toes. The creature howled, and Fenris slashed into its leg another time for good measure.

  Glorious Roberts’ shield suddenly came away from his arm. Before I could move to help, he had a second weapon out and was beating the creature mercilessly. It snapped and rushed at him, but the fireplug of a man always seemed to be where it wasn’t.

  Realizing I had a few moments, I checked the doorway. Six more of the creatures were rushing straight toward us.

  “Bashara, get a distraction working now,” I yelled out, as the Drak-ish fighting Sir Dalton suddenly went limp. A burning black spot appeared on its spine. Badgelor turned his head toward the doorway and grinned at me. His eyes were glowing a dark purple.

  “Jim, let's get the door,” suggested the badger. He jumped and expanded to his maximum size in midair. He was broad enough that he occupied the entire doorway, except for a small triangle above him. He snarled as the monsters rushed him.

  “Now, Bashara,” I yelled, as one of the creatures lowered its massive head like a battering ram and tried to knock Badgelor out of the doorway. Badgelor slammed his clawed paw into the creature’s head, driving much of the force into the wall. I double cast Fire Stream onto it.

  Well, mostly it. Some of the Fire Stream hit Badgelor. Most of it. Okay, Badgelor was a much easier target than the Drak-ish. The fire seemed to surround Badgelor while causing almost no Damage. That said, it still felt wrong to admit I was using a flamethrower on my pet badger.

  It seemed to do the trick, though. Badgelor lit up. All the remaining creatures on the other side of the doorway started to rush toward him. Behind me, I heard Fenris and Glorious Robert both dispatch their enemies. It seemed that the Dragon Kin really liked bright lights.

  That, however, didn’t help Badgelor. As tough as he was, I could see his Health bar starting to drop as he took more and more Hit Points of Damage. If he pulled back, though, the creatures would swarm through the door.

  “Jim, I need to heal him,” stated Jarra the Healer.

  I cut the flames and noticed that, while the creatures were still focused on him, they seemed to lose the laser-like focus they had before. Jarra quickly sprinted forward and slammed a patch onto Badgelor’s back. Instantly, I saw his Hit Points shoot back up, as the Unstable Greater Healing Potion did its thing.

  “Health patches?” I asked.

  “It’s a combat medic thing,” replied Jarra, as she stepped backward.

  “We need to pull Badgelor out of there,” stated Sir Dalton.

  “If we do that, they will swarm us,” replied Glorious Robert.

  “It's not going to matter soon, anyway,” stated Fenris. A second creature tried to ram past Badgelor, and my companion’s health began to drop again.

  I opened my mouth to yell at Bashara, but she was already through most of the motions of a spell. Suddenly, she was finished. Magic surrounded me, penetrated me, and bound me up in its casting.

  And man, oh man, did I sparkle.

  “What the hell is this?” I yelled, as the creatures redoubled their efforts to get through Badgelor.

  “Die, ya wee beasties,” screamed the badger, activating his badger rage. He immediately reclaimed some Hit Points, as he tore one of the creature’s heads off.

  “Get Badgelor clear,” I said, looking at the small gap and shrugging.

  I leapt through it, landing in front of Badgelor and executing a Blazing Cleave. My flaming sword slashed through several of the creatures nearby, killing at least one of them. Next, I spotted one further in the rear. I used Thrust to propel myself toward him. Its jaw opened at the last moment. For an instant, I thought I was going to be able to drive my sword into its open mouth. Shockingly, he slammed his jaw shut, holding my blade in place.

  Releasing it, I rolled back to my glowing, sparkly feet and ran further into the large room that was the Drak-ish nest. I focused Mana into both of my palms and fired streams of flame behind me, as I tore off into the cavern. Five of the seven creatures began chasing me, as I charged through the room.

  The cavern was much larger than I had anticipated. It was nearly a hundred yards across, though large piles of bones were scattered throughout. Those piles were oftentimes taller than I was. Unfortunately, they were also too loose for me to make much use of them for climbing. The floor was also covered in scattered debris from the creatures’ earlier kills.

  The snapping of a jaw at my feet caused me to redouble my pace, as I tried to outmaneuver the monsters. Looking for a quick exit, I leapt over an entire pile of bones, only to discover that one of Drak-ish had beaten me to the other side. Rotating my body in midair, I pointed both hands at the creature and let streams of fire roll over him. I came down, feet first, onto his burning snout.

  I flipped off him, just as another monster smashed into the burning one. Both slammed into a pile of bones which collapsed, burying them.

  “Jim, come back by,” mentally yelled SueLeeta through the party communication system.

  I attempted to sprint toward the entrance, even as the creatures charged from behind me. “Be ready for me!”

  “That won’t be hard,” I heard Fenris think.

  I was glowing like a disco ball. They could probably guess where I was, down to a few feet. Growling as I had to jerk left and then right, I avoided two more of the creatures, as they tried to snap at my ankles. I dug in harder, trying to find some extra speed as I turned the corner, the creatures coming up fast behind me.

  ● Sprint Check, Failed: You are attempting to sprint on uneven ground.

  My shoulder hit first. I tried to get my feet beneath me, but I was skidding off a slick covering and bits of bones. The Drak-ish didn’t seem to have any trouble with it. Their massive claws dug into the ground, keeping them from experiencing balance issues. Both of my spells failed as I tumbled, but I was close enough to the entrance to see my sword. I summoned it to my hand, even as I jammed one of my feet into the ground. I flew skyward.

  It probably looked awesome. I hope it looked awesome. My sword slammed into my palm. I was ready to strike at the creatures, as they closed. The fact that they weren’t there slightly ruined the image, however. I continued backward, until I struck the floor and managed to roll onto my feet.

  Both creatures had diverted from me and were charging toward the rest of my party. One of the creatures was on fire. The other had several arrows sticking out of its chest. My party had found a spot by the entrance with two of the massive bone piles on either side. They had used this position to form a defensive line.

  The creatures struck at the same moment. Fenris took one on his shield by countercharging at the same time. Both met with an audible crack that seemed to stun them. Glorious Robert was there to pounce on the creature. Zorlando had attempted a similar tactic but fared less well. He was knocked backward onto his ass. That would have gone poorly for him, but Sir Dalton had timed an attack for that exact moment. His powerful overhand chop drove the advancing Drak-ish to the ground.

  “We have this,” though
t SueLeeta. “Keep the rest of the pack away, until we are ready for them.”

  That I could do. Finding one of the creatures in the back, I executed a Thrust. Blasting through the remaining eight creatures, I drove my sword into its eye. Two more attempted to grab at me, but they were out of position. I executed Cleave with Powerful Blow, knocking them aside. I found another avenue of escape and started running again.

  “There are eight now,” I thought to the party.

  “We must be picking up strays from somewhere else,” replied Glorious Robert. “Try to find out if there are more entrances.”

  One of the Dragon Kin leapt at me, coming in from the side. My Fancy Footwork kicked on, and I managed to avoid the blow by a hair's breadth. Next my Riposte talent activated, and I slashed into the creature with a powerful blow, knocking it into the air.

  As I watched it fly, I realized I had a moment to use the new talent I’d unlocked from all that practice with Glorious Robert. While every even level granted me a talent point to use with my Duelist talent tree, I could also earn them very slowly by earning Experience. I’d been practicing a lot with Glorious Robert.

  I activated the skill as I jumped, feeling the power surge around me. Deciding to go for broke, I activated Powerful Blow and Blazing Sword at the same time.

  ● You have struck multiple targets with Blazing Powerful Falling Star Strike. Damage 47 for 45 Slashing and 2 Severing Damage + 12 Powerful Blow (rank 3). Blazing adds 63 Fire (47 base + 4 Flameology + 12 Improved Elemental Attunement). Effect: Shockwave diameter 3 logs ( Rank 6 divided by 2), Powerful Blow 3 (+3 logs to knockback), Cost: Falling Star Strike (cooldown) Stamina 30, Mana 47

  I hit him like a comet, fire blazing off me. My sword slammed into its armored back. The strike forced both of us to the ground. The flames surrounded us, right until the point of impact. As we struck the ground, the collected force exploded outward. All the nearby creatures and humans were knocked aside.