Poor Cultivation (The Slayer of Heaven Book 1): A LitRPG Wuxia Series
Page 27
There were two loud bangs, like firecrackers, and the barrier shattered. Extending my arms forward, I fell, jumped up, and ran on. My gut was telling me that we were close. After another turn, we found ourselves in front of four caves.
We’ve made it.
Chapter 28
PRIVATE
“So what’s next?” Eli said impatiently. “Can they track us?”
No one answered, save for the system.
Attention, Nick! You are approaching a high-risk zone, the Old Quarry.
Threat level: 3.5/5
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
Wrong time and place to be playing hide and seek, kids.
“Screw you, you useless thing.”
Victoria walked past the first two caves and entered the third. We followed.
The cave was dark and fairly large. The air was pleasantly cool, but it was damp and smelled of mold. The faint echo of our footsteps reverberated throughout the cave. The stones were slippery from the water dripping from the stalactites. The deeper we went, the less I could see. Soon, it was pitch black all around us.
“Do we have a flashlight or a lighter?” Eli whispered.
“Hush, you idiot,” Victoria hissed.
I groped around, but found no one in front of me. A hand touched my shoulder. I wasn’t sure whose tiny little fingers were touching me, Victoria or Jelena’s.
“Hey, don’t slow down,” Victoria whispered. “Hold on to each other and go.”
I became more worried and nervous with each new step. I was almost certain that there was no plan “B” and that we’d be forever stuck here. Until we died, that is.
We heard Zeke’s chopped up voice from somewhere.
“Wha… sh…have—?”
“Act…”
A message flashed before my eyes.
Zeke has activated the [Spy] artifact.
All units of other cohorts below the rank of a Corporal within a 300 feet radius will be seen for 10 minutes.
Attention! The artifact does not work on those specialized in acrobatics and scouting.
“Run!” Victoria whispered, her voice harsh.
Not letting go of each other, we ran.
Once she hit a wall, Victoria turned on a tiny flashlight. A thin ray of light penetrated the gloom, and bounced across the wet walls. As our eyes adjusted to the dark, we began to see faint shapes. Every thirty feet, there were narrow corridors.
“Follow me, and don’t lose each other!” Victoria hissed.
She paused and shone the light into one of the corridors.
“This way.”
I was close to her, but didn’t see what had caught her eye. I didn’t like that there was nothing I could do.
Stop, you idiots! You’ll die. The locals will tear you apart! There was steel in Zeke’s voice.
“Mental Block!” Victoria snapped her fingers, and we kept on running.
I was straining to see my feet, but there was nothing there—my only guide was Eli’s breathing that could be heard ahead of me. It seemed that Zeke and Simon didn’t pursue us, but that didn’t help put my mind at ease.
We made another sharp turn and found ourselves in a spacious room.
And then, I heard a roaring laugh. A ray of light hit our eyes—we had walked right into Zeke’s hands.
We barely had time to duck back into the corridor when an explosion happened. There was a deafening clamor, and something hit my head. My ears were ringing. I didn’t know what I was doing or why—I just felt like crawling.
My head was killing me. I felt as if I was about to be sick.
Degree of Deformation: +0.3%
The message helped me get my shit together. I was like the Hulk—getting hurt and angry only made me stronger. A thought crossed my mind that I could maybe use the abyss to protect myself from Zeke. However, this probably wasn’t a good time for experiments.
“Is everyone all right?” I asked in a hushed voice.
Victoria was silent. I groped my way around the rubble, found her buried body, and pulled her out. She was breathing, thank God, but her face was covered with something sticky.
“What was that?” Eli croaked. “What just happened?”
The fireball exploded like a grenade, that was my guess. I was more interested to see whether the shock wave hit Zeke and Simon, too. Maybe this was our chance to take down their entire gang before they came to their senses. They hadn’t turned on their flashlights, so I was willing to bet that they were unconscious.
“Eli, get your cleaver ready.”
“What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“We’re gonna slay those Alliance bastards while they’re out.”
“Are you sure?” Rio put in.
“I’m sold,” Eli said with determination in his voice. “Let’s finish off these assholes.”
The unfortunate thing was that Victoria had dropped her flashlight and that we would have to manage in complete darkness. I stretched out my hands and carefully stepped over the debris. I took a few more steps forward and almost tripped over a rock.
“Are we stuck?” Eli asked.
“Change of plans, lads—the passage is blocked.”
“Shit,” Rio cursed under his breath.
The silence was interrupted only by Rio’s nervous breathing. I was wondering what was happening on the other side of the rubble. And then I got an idea.
“Be quiet, and give me a few minutes,” I said and sat down, leaning my back against the rock.
I tipped my head back and let my mind wander around the cave, trying to find other beings. After a little while, I felt something. It was neither human nor animal. Whatever it was, it had gotten scared by the explosion and was running away. My subconscious found the leader of the pack of the strange beings and connected to it, and I saw the world around me in infrared.
The mind of the creature was so alien, so weird. A whir of fear, a burning desire to kill—it was full of crazy thoughts and strange feelings. Half animal, half human… it was hungry.
I looked around. There were about two dozen of my brethren around me, and all they felt was insatiable hunger. They were knuckle-walking, their hands long and clawed. They had huge fangs, and their deep-set eyes seemed forever open. In my humble opinion, they could’ve easily finished off Zeke and his gang. The creatures had the advantage; they could see in the dark, and there were so many of them. The only thing that the mages could do was blow up the place sky-high, killing both themselves and the creatures. That honestly sounded good to me.
I just wished I had enough energy for such a feat.
Attention!
The current level of your skills does not allow you to control the [Leader of the Cave Draugrs] for more than 20 seconds.
Cooldown: If you want to learn that, you need to become the guinea pig of your own little experiment.
I made it think that the humans nearby weren’t dangerous. That they were weakened and that there was no point in running away. That they needed to attack for those humans were their prey.
They were starved, so further interference on my part was unnecessary. The Leader sniffed the air as it searched… I saved some energy in case the Draugrs found us—there was still a chance that they’d decide that we were a better target.
Come on! Attack them, my pets!
I grinned as I saw a message about the increase in intelligence and Transformation appear in front of me.
At first, there was silence, and then I heard footsteps and curses. My pets hadn’t come yet, and our pursuers were yelling at Simon. It seemed that he was the one who threw the fireball. I could hear their voices, but they were muffled so it was hard to figure out what exactly they were saying. But they were making a lot of noise, which was good. I wasn’t sure if the Draugurs would find them without it.
I got back to Victoria and tried to figure out what had happened to her. I ran my fingers through her hair. It didn’t look like she had any serious wounds but she was bleeding.
“I can’t see anything, Nick. I’m scared. I can hear something scratching behind the wall.”
“Come here, Jeco. I’ll protect you.”
“I can’t see shit,” she whispered.
“Follow my voice. I stretched out my hands, you’ll find me.”
I was also getting nervous. We couldn’t really do much without light, and I had no idea where we could find a source of it.
“Talk to me,” I continued. “Imagine that you’re a bat. They don’t see shit either, but they don’t care.”
“They use echolocation,” Rio said. He either didn’t realize what I was doing, or was just fucking around with us. I didn’t blame him though, he was also scared and confused.
“I don’t know what to talk about…” I heard her footsteps approaching me. “I’m dizzy, my ears are ringing… I think we all got a concussion.”
I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward me, and then put her cold hand on Victoria’s hot forehead.
“Her head is bleeding,” I murmured. “But I felt no serious wounds or abrasions.”
Jelena’s eyes flashed, as did her hands.
“It’s just a nosebleed. Her concussion is worse than ours, but she’ll wake up soon.” She froze, and then whispered, surprised, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
A member of your cohort has been promoted to the rank of a Private.
[Jelena] has received the rank of a Private.
“Congrats on the level-up!” Eli said, joyous.
“Where am I?” Victoria whispered. “What happened—?”
Her voice was lost in a sea of shouts and curses. Our “friends” from the Alliance were screaming like they were being skinned alive. My pets had finally found them. I heard growls. You couldn’t say which sounds were being made by people and which by the Draugrs, it all got mixed together. It smelled of burnt flesh. Simon had cast his fireballs.
Wild screams echoed throughout the dungeon, and then all was still once more. The only thing that remained was the putrid stench. Victoria repeated her question. However, no one answered; I was the only one who knew what had happened, but I wasn’t up to telling them now. I came close to the rubble, bile rising in my throat at the smell, and put my ear to the stone. My hearing seemed to have been enhanced.
“—I’ll roast you worse than I’ve roasted them, you fucking moron. Why the hell did I listen to you and went after her? She didn’t pose a threat, and now we’re screwed. This whole thing is so stupid.”
Simon kept talking, his voice loud and cold, “I’ve wasted so much energy on burning these Draugrs. A few more fireballs, and I’m done.”
“Stop worrying, Si. My guys will deal with Vicki and her gang without your magic.” Zeke’s voice was firm.
“You and your slaves can do whatever you want. But neither I nor my people are gonna stay here. Nobody—”
“You’re not going anywhere!” Zeke said. I felt a weird pressure in the back of my head. His psychic powers spread beyond their room and reached my mind. I tried to suppress and block it with the abyss. I sensed something—it was as if I had put a key in a lock, and a door swung open. But I wasn’t sure whether that was enough…
“Vicki, use your Mental Block. I’ll explain later.”
I heard a snap, and a faint whisper.
And then… a scream.
“You rat-face! I’m not letting anyone boss me around. You’re gonna pay for this! Get him, boys!”
Simon was clearly powerful enough to protect himself. However, I had no idea if he could cover everyone else under his command.
There were screams. Clanging of metal. Bellowing. And curses of people fighting for their life. Something was telling me that I needed to step in and help out one side a little bit—I’d rather have Simon survive.
Sinking into the darkness, I found the scared Draugrs. Their leader was dead, and they were running away in utmost terror. Giving it a second thought, I took control of the nearest one, and the system immediately estimated my capabilities.
Attention!
The current level of your skills does not allow you to control the [Cave Draugr] for longer than 30 seconds.
Cooldown: Ain’t it about time for experiments?
Once inside its mind, I led the creature to the scene of the fight, exciting it with images of succulent, delicious meat. For the first few seconds, the beast panicked, but soon it accepted my wishes as its own.
Come on, Snuffles, hurry up. I was nervous. Time was running out.
Good name for a pet. The sound of Alpha’s voice startled me. It’s good that you finally decided to use the abyss, even if just for protecting yourself. It was waiting for you. As were we.
I wanted to ask him what had happened, figure out the details, learn more about the Deformation—he clearly knew more about it—but it was not the right moment. I was glad to hear him again. His presence gave me that extra bit of confidence needed to pull this whole thing off.
Moving silently, the Draugr approached the group without being spotted. I saw two red-and-yellow silhouettes holding someone by the arms; two more were lying on the ground. In infrared, I couldn’t make out their faces. All I saw was a short figure and two figures holding a big one.
Zeke had won, but he wouldn’t win always. The time had come for me to draw the line.
Red digits were blinking before my eyes, counting down from thirty seconds.
12… 11… 10…
Come on, Snuffles, Shorty’s weak. He won’t resist, you just need to sneak up and grab him by the throat.
It won’t work out… Alpha remarked; his voice held a curious note. Your pet won’t get to him at his rank, even if he’s just a mage. Use the abyss, Nick!
Huh?
9… 8… 7…
I felt it stirring within. The abyss stretched out from the trunk toward the Core, mixing with my energy. It surrounded both Snuffles and me, protecting and giving us strength at the same time.
You have used 10 units of Deformation.
The abyss energy increases your stats for 10 seconds.
The abyss covers you with a power barrier, the strength of which depends on your endurance.
Strength: +20%
Dexterity: +20%
Endurance: +20%
6… 5… 4…
You deserve to die, Zeke! Enhanced with the abyss, the Draugr’s claws flashed with a brown light.
3…
The claws ripped through the protective barrier. The fangs sank into yielding flesh.
2…
A lust for blood, a savage desire to rip and tear…
1…
A wild cry echoed throughout the cave, and I tasted blood.
Goodbye, Zeke! I thought before I was pushed out of the Draugr’s body.
“God damn it, I killed the bastard!” I whispered, and started to laugh. A horrible, mirthless laugh filled the cave. “Shit, I killed Zeke…”
Once I said that, it dawned on me that no one had any idea what I was talking about. So I filled them in. Not completely, of course.
“That’s my man, ha!” Eli cried excitedly. Rio also said something, but I didn’t make out what.
And then it hit me like a bolt of lightning.
You have completed the first stage of [Transformation] and raised your rank.
Your current rank: Private
Our congratulations on your first step on your path. We hope you know whether it’s a highway to hell, or a stairway to heaven…
Everything stopped for much, much more than an instant. The level-up made me feel ecstatic. Once that had died down, the interface flashed before my eyes, and I clicked a highlighted button at the bottom of it.
Cohort’s Status
Name: [Dominant]
The cohort has reached 8th place in the overall rating. To view the list…
Interesting as all of that was, I was
unable to read anything.
“Nick, tell us more about the fight. Spare no details,” Victoria demanded. She seemed only partially comforted by my story, her relief clouded by my mysterious abilities.
“Well, I told Snuffles to kick Zeke’s ass…”
“Wait, what?’ asked Eli.
“That’s what I called the Cave Draugr. I sensed their pack, and asked for help… Vicki, can’t you feel them?”
“Not really. Well, I guess they’re more animals than they’re humans, or it’s all because I still feel dizzy.”
“Hey, how about you control Simon? He’s right there, dead tired and vulnerable.”
“Nah, our abilities don’t work like that. His mental resistance is too high thanks to his will. It’d take way, waaay too long.”
She was probably right. It was likely that Zeke had been working on bending their will for a while, but still failed in the end.
I got dizzy; red and brown spots danced before my eyes. I staggered. Horrible nausea stifled all words and thoughts.
Attention, Nick! Seek calorie intake.
If you do not take action, your physical characteristics will decrease by 55%.
You have depleted your body’s resources.
Degree of Deformation: +0.05%
I got Deformation from hunger. Not units. Something was telling me that there would be no conversion or further progress until I had some rest and a snack.
Smiling cheerfully, I whispered, “I gotta get some sleep, guys. Have fun without me for a while.”
I got on the ground, placed my cheek against the cold stone. Before the darkness engulfed me, I recalled with great joy that Zeke was dead.
There was one enemy less.
Chapter 29
DARKNESS
I dreamed that I was frozen in a block of ice. I couldn’t move or breathe, but for some reason, I was still alive. Shadows were passing by. I was suffocating. My body was dying.
And then I felt the icy pressure melt, and I opened my eyes. There was darkness all around me, and for a moment I thought that I had been buried alive. There was nothing but the redness of the interface in this void.