Dungeons and Noobs
Page 37
“Jim, he’s breaking the floor,” yelled Badgelor. I stopped. The stone platform I was going to land on suddenly vanished into nothingness, as another massive Earth spell destroyed it. I was hanging alone in a sea of nothingness, floating on one of the only remaining sections of the floor.
“And done,” stated Grebthar, bowing to me. “You have been a somewhat worthy adversary, but the time limit has expired. Your immunity to my magic is at an end. Do you have any last words?”
“I’m going to kill you,” I replied.
“Charming, but we are at the evaporation portion of this evening's festivities,” stated Charles. The Godling of Magic prepared to cast something impressive. A ring of arcane energy appeared directly in front of him, his spell gathering power behind it. My Arcane Lore called the ring an Amplification Lens, a powerful spell designed to amplify the effects of basic elemental magic. It would also provide the caster with some defense from incoming spells. My BioLightning wasn’t going to be able to penetrate that.
I had one option. I glanced at my Plasma Control skill, which had leveled up to Initiate. What the hell. “Badgelor, when I’m done, make sure you finish him off.”
A second ring snapped up in front of Charles. I began feeding Mana through my intestines. I was acting as a Mage, so, as I gathered Mana into my right hand, I formed it into BioLightning. The blade seemed to amplify and empower the effect, causing the runes to glow green inside the blade. I continued gathering my Mana.
“BioLightning?” laughed the Dark Overlord. “Impressive, but not good enough!”
Switching to Sorcerer, I pulled Mana through my groin, letting it fill me for a long moment. Then, I dumped it into my other hand. Charles looked amused, as the small bead of fire formed between my fingers. My blade was already thrumming with BioLightning, when I slammed my other palm onto the hilt. The Dark Overlord’s rictus grin vanished, replaced by a look of true horror. A ball of plasma began to form at the tip of the blade.
The sword hissed and popped, as I continued dumping more Mana and Stamina into the spell. There was too much uncontrollable power. Plasma discharges ran down the length of the blade, one taking off my right hand entirely. With Badger Rage and my improved Spell Stability, I paid the price without hesitation.
You could have anything you ever wanted, as long as you were willing to pay the price.
“What are you doing? You’ll never survive that spell, you fool. You’ll kill us both!” screamed the Dark Overlord, as a massive string of discharged plasma carved another section off the floor.
The Dark Overlord was working frantically now, trying to get his third ring built. Magic continued to flare around me. My sword started to warp, even as another discharge took off my left arm. The sword magically stayed in place.
My weapon was the focus of my magic. As such, it hovered in the nexus of the spell. I poured every drop of Mana I had into it. The blade glowed red, then white, before it started to half-melt, half-disintegrate. I continued working the spell. Charles managed the third ring, just as I felt my hair begin to burn away. Steam was rising off my torso, but, by now, the spell was cast. I was operating like a battery. With my last bits of sight, I released the spell.
● Solar Flare: Flameology Spell. Empowered. 1st Tier Elemental Ring Bonus. 2nd Tier Elemental Ring Bonus. 3rd Tier Elemental Ring Bonus Damage 1500 Fire, Line Effect (Base Damage 500, +50% 1st Ring, +50% 2nd Ring, +100% 3rd Ring)
● BioPlasma Blast:
Both our spells released at once, meeting in the middle. They caused a massive, blasting explosion. The Dark Overlord’s spell was cast with the most advanced runes, through amplifiers designed to vastly increase the Damage while simultaneously protecting him. I had just cheated. On Ordinal, there were different types of Damage, and some Damage counted much more than others. Fire, no matter how well cast, was considered a lower-tier magic, whereas Plasma was considered by many to be the highest tier.
My spell flowed down the path of fire and blasted into the first ring. With only the briefest of pauses, it shattered each ring in turn. Finally, the ball of plasma ended its journey, buried inside Charles’ chest. For a brief instant, his entire body, except for that cursed amulet, went transparent. Then, there was a soul-shattering explosion.
Chapter 47: Burning and Useless
I awoke and found myself being pulled across debris by my neck. The floor seemed to have partially reconstructed itself. I could see Charles out of my one somewhat functional eye, dragging me somewhere.
“You are one tough son of a bitch,” grunted Charles, as he found what he was looking for. I tried to strike him but realized that neither of my arms worked. Looking down, I saw that they ended in stumps. Neither of my legs worked, either.
“How did you live through that?” I groaned.
“I am a god. I have the ability to regenerate from even death,” answered Charles. He wobbled for a moment, and I could see his Mana bar depleting.
“So, I did kill you?” I questioned. Charles said nothing for a long moment.
“Yes, but I have a perk for even that,” he said, pulling up the ruined husk of my old sword. Sighing, he thrust it into my chest.
● You have suffered 4 points of Damage from Ruined Soldier’s Longsword
“Why won’t you just die?” muttered Charles.
“That kind of tickles,” I said. “Feel free to keep trying.”
“You want me to make it hurt? You don’t even know what pain. . .wait,” Charles shook his head, as if to clear it. He took a long moment to look around. Specks of his divine body flew away as he moved. “You are just trying to stall me for Badgelor. “
Suddenly, I was dropped to the ground, giving me a chance to look at the Dark Overlord’s wounds. His chest was burned away, exposing a single glowing shard, floating in his center. The light from it was dim. As I watched, more of his flesh seemed to char over. I half-wondered if I could rip the shard out of his chest or break it somehow, but that seemed impossible without arms. I also wondered if I kept him talking long enough, if he’d just blow away.
“Clever. I don’t have time to kill you, but I can’t have someone as powerful as you at my back, either,” stated Charles. “Thankfully, as usual, Ordinal provides.” Charles grabbed me by the leg and staggered toward a glowing circular door. My leg was so badly damaged that I couldn’t even feel the pain, despite it being obviously little more than cooked meat.
When we got to the door, Charles lifted me up. The grueling effort caused his arm to shatter, and he dropped me painfully to the ground. Glaring at his stump, he focused himself. His Mana bar began to deplete more quickly. “I don’t know how those pricks knew where I was, but you tell the little shits something for me. You tell them that by the time you’ve regained your levels, I’ll already be at endgame. Goodbye, Jim.”
The Dark Overlord kicked me through the Demon Door, laughing frantically. My last sight of the dungeon was the glowing red field. Charles used his last bits of Mana to teleport away. Then, blackness enveloped me.
Chapter 48: Epilogue
All my battle wounds were gone, and I was standing at attention in a large cavern. It was a place I recognized. I’d been here a month and a half ago. The fog was much less intense this time, though. I started walking toward the statues almost instantly.
The room looked eerily like the tomb I’d found Charles in. I recalled watching Shart standing somewhere. I walked over to that spot and held out my hands, just like I’d seen him do.
● Admin Privileges Recognized: Permission, Level 1
● You have access to Chat and Basic Services
A Console appeared from the ground, looking like something straight out of a high budget sci-fi, complete with the flashing red light. There was a keyboard with symbols I didn’t recognize, but there didn’t seem to be a screen in any capacity. Ordinal was weird, so I decided to just brush past that fact.
As
I looked at the keyboard area, the characters began to stabilize. Once that happened, I could actually read them. The Admin skill I’d learned from Shart by accident was even now feeding my brain, based on the limited permission I had.
I started searching, typing in a command to find Shart.
● Shart, user not found.
Wait, that wasn’t his name.
● Kevin, user found. Current location: Limbo
: End
The space between light and shadow parted, and Charles collapsed into his sanctum. Opening the portal with his diminished powers had been a challenge. The fact that he was missing two fingers had not helped. Looking down at where his legs ended in stumps, Charles groaned.
“You should have killed him when you had the chance,” came an unbidden voice.
Charles laid there for a long moment, looking at his maimed hand. There were ways to cure even Elder Demon venom, but they would require significant effort. “I don’t know that I could have. I think he was playing with us.”
“Why kill his woman?” asked the voice.
Charles had no response to that. He looked around, truly taking in his surroundings. His hidden sanctum seemed different somehow. Almost. . .
Magical bindings shot up from a dozen different spots, wrapping around him, trapping him. Within moments, his entire Mana pool had been depleted. He could already tell that his Stamina would be insufficient to break the chains.
The smell of her perfume hit him first. It was a sickly mixture of honeysuckle and plums. The Sphinx walked from his throne to prostrate herself before him.
“Oh, mighty Lord, I have done my best to keep you. . .safe.”
……
Force Captain Grayeir stared at the magnificent wall for the umpteenth time, before returning to his Battle Map. The notion of such an impressive fortification right next to his field of battle was intolerable. The fact that it was guarded and claimed by someone who was not allied with his liege or HarCharles was just another stage of annoyance.
“What the heck is up with that Velociraptor?” asked Grayeir, gesturing to one of the large flags adorning the outside of the wall.
Sheblin looked up from her book, patiently waiting for her old friend to calm down. “It's an ancient fortress wall. It dates all the way back to the wars with the Dark Overlord. That is the mighty fortress where the First Dark Overlord’s hurricane broke, the Windfall.”
“I still can’t believe that Grebthar’s castle is in there,” stated the Force Captain.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It's probably a heap of rubble. The whole area is supposedly infested with goblins and trolls. We’ve sent a few spies in, but no one has come out recently,” she continued.
The trolls were new. She’d learned about them through her dealings with Falcon Crest. Not that it mattered much anymore. She doubted that she would be hearing from her contacts any time soon. Civil wars had a way of doing that.
The rumors regarding the Dark Overlord’s rebirth seemed to have struck up every minor border war at once. The current conflict between TimSimons and HarCharles was the perfect example. Five years ago, they had been old friends. Now. . .
Sheblin glanced back over to the king’s tent and watched the stream of messengers running in and out. She didn't have much longer. The fact that the king was on the field was causing her to become jittery. The very notion of a king being present was preposterous. The fact that the king was also carrying his Kingdom Weapon was something else.
Looking at the large crack in the ‘impossible’ to break wall made her eyebrows raise slightly. The thousand logs of flat, burnt terrain inside the circle of its destructive force was enough to make anyone question the idea of staying here. When kings fought, it was best to be elsewhere.
Not for the first time, Sheblin considered vacating the premises. However, with Falcon Crest gone, there was nowhere else to run. “We could always get a boat and sail off somewhere,” she said to no one in particular. She most certainly did not direct her comment to Grayeir.
He, of course, pretended not to hear her, for the fourth time. Obviously, she wasn’t being serious. Still, nervous tension was nervous tension.
Sheblin stood up and dusted off her robe. Glancing around, she saw the sea of Chosen that were present. There were more than one hundred, nearly a third of all active Chosen in the entire kingdom. Everyone here was at least level 20. Some notables, like herself, had levels in the 30s.
Sheblin hid a sly smile. It would be so easy to pop the heads of some of the younger Chosen, the ones who were boasting about how these battles would be quick Experience Points. Many of them would die, but those with true power would survive. Then. . .
The flap to the king’s tent opened, and a small, wizened man stepped out. He paused to survey the army with a keen, critical eye. Then, he tottered on old legs, as he took one step outside the tent. Sheblin knelt as the king followed him.
His presence was so powerful that everyone who had not already knelt dropped to their knees awkwardly. The birds grew quiet, and even the air stilled. TimSimons was here. As he stepped down from the tent, the camp seemed to shake. His alabaster plate armor, another Kingdom Artifact of lesser pedigree, glittered, as a ray of sunlight shot through the clouds. Sunlight always caused the armor to shimmer. That was all window dressing, though. At his hip sat the most powerful weapon in the kingdom.
Sheblin swallowed involuntarily. She knew her aunt would ask her if she’d actually seen Excalibur, Grebthar’s ancient sword.
As TimSimons walked, the very land responded to his presence. Flowers bloomed behind him. The adoration for the Chosen was tempered; the adoration for this man was absolute. His aura was so strong, the men had no other choice. Sheblin felt the edge of his power, as he walked toward the Force Commander. The king paused to nod curtly to both of them before examining the map.
“The Northern Garrison has fallen. We will meet the enemy north of here, where the road cuts through the fens.”
“That’s going to bottleneck the regular troops, but it will leave the Chosen free to battle,” said Grayeir. “Hopefully, that will be enough.”
“It shall be,” stated TimSimons, his voice resonating through the camp. “I have every confidence that we can blunt this invasion, here and now.”
“And Windfall?” asked Grayeir.
“If they didn’t respond when I knocked, I don’t see them coming out until later. We might even breach their wall, after the battle,” stated TimSimons.
“It would be easier to just sail around, like we always do,” huffed Grayeir.
TimSimons nodded. He’d sailed by the Windfall coast a few times. There was apparently a port with a pretty nice beach tucked in there somewhere. That assumed one was willing to trace the craggy coast, while avoiding the various dangerous reefs. Most sailors just kept the edge of the coast in sight and sailed right past.
“Sir Dalton is supposedly in a dungeon,” stated Sheblin. “Lord Dookie has reported that he expects to be back to us prior to the march north. Sir Dalton is trying to lure away a few Chosen from Windfall.
TimSimons chuckled slightly though his armor. “The Forces of Windfall in the field? It's like the battles against the Dark Overlord all over again.”
“I saw the comet,” Sheblin said flatly.
“Sheblin,” said Grayeir calmly, “There are always comets. Just because you saw one falling into Windfall Valley doesn’t mean Grebthar is coming back.”
Sheblin bowed her head before nodding. “I suppose those are all legends anyway. Would you mind, your Majesty?”
TimSimons paused for a moment, before reaching into his pouch and drawing out a small shard attached to
an ancient leather cord. “You realize that I’m using one of the kingdom’s greatest artifacts just to make you happy?”
She grinned like a schoolgirl at him, and King TimSimons grinned right back. “Thank you, cousin,” she stated. As she took the token from his hand, she was hit by a strong memory. When they had been children, Sheblin would often ‘steal’ cookies from her larger than life cousin.
In reality, there was little risk to using the Eye of Sier like this. It was a trophy from Grebthar’s time, if one believed that sort of thing. Stories claimed that Grebthar had taken it out of the head of one of the Dark Overlord’s lieutenants. By pouring a bit of the kingdom's Mana into it, the Eye could be used to find the Dark Overlord, finally putting Sheblin’s mind at ease. Technically, it could be used to find just about anything you asked for. Even if the Dark Overlord was hidden away, the Eye would at least tell you if he was back or not. The problem was the cooldown; it lasted one whole month. That, and if the Dark Overlord was hiding in an extradimensional space, the Eye couldn't find him.
Getting the head priest to hand the Eye over to him had required TimSimons to actually wheel and deal a bit. His exalted level 57 self was not used to those kinds of dealings. Then again, the high priest had been level 54, and it was always better to have the church on your side. TimSimons had been forced to make a few concessions, but none of them were particularly onerous. Where was he going to find a War Badger for Grebthar Day, though?
Grayeir nodded at the king and went back to staring at the map. Sheblin watched the rock closely. Leave it to Grayeir to do something useful, thought TimSimons. Digging through his menus, TimSimons got to the kingdom interface and found the Mana tab. His class didn’t use Mana, so he had to power up the artifact with the kingdom’s Mana. The interface was clunky here, and it was taking him a long moment. Finally, he finished. The small rock started glowing, awaiting his question.