“Mm-hmm. You seemed really excited to drop that card, too. You didn’t tell me you were going to do those.” Erin crossed her arms as she floated lazily on top of his core. “That was brilliant.”
“Thank you.” Ryan beamed at her praise. He was sure his core brightened just a little. “I wanted a way to help adventurers learn about the mobs in my dungeon,” he said. “I got the idea of cards after absorbing countless sets of playing cards from the adventurers. It seems they really like these little cards with drawings on them.”
Erin gave him a smile, but at the same time, Ryan could feel her emotions start to drop.
“I wish I could help you come up with new ideas like that.”
Oh, no.
Ryan knew where this was going. He was not about to be guilt-tripped again. Not this time.
“You help me so much, hun,” he said quickly. “I just wanted to surprise you, show you just how much I’ve been learning from you.”
Ha, that’ll stop her in her tracks.
“Oh, stop it, you.” She started giggling and Ryan could feel her mood lifting.
Crisis averted.
“So, do you have anything else you are secretly working on?” Erin asked.
Oh, crap.
“Nothing right now, hun.”
He instinctively glanced at level two of his skeletal fight club as he spoke. So far, the new skeletal mobs seemed to need a lot more experience battling each other before reaching a new form.
Ah well, we have time.
“Oh. Maybe we can think of something together?” Erin closed her eyes and rested her chin on a tiny fist. She really was cute when she did that.
“I’m always happy to try and figure out new ways to improve our dungeon.” Ryan stressed the word ‘our’, knowing how happy it would make her. Sure enough, her eyes flew open and a giant grin erupted on her face. She gave him a hug.
“I love it when you say it’s our dungeon,” she giggled.
“I know, hun.”
Ryan was just about to go back to his card assigning task when something at the front of his dungeon caught his eye. Two figures were walking casually towards his entrance from the town. It was definitely too late for more adventurers.
For a moment, fear rushed over Ryan. What if it was the necromancer? What if he had brought someone with him?
“Erin.” Ryan’s voice was a whisper, filled with fear. “We may have company.”
She looked into his core as he focused on the duo. Erin’s face grew pale, and Ryan knew she was thinking the same thing he was. Just a few more moments and they would be able to confirm their fears.
Ryan listened closely.
“Thanks again for doing this, Blake.”
One of the figures’ voices carried over, and Ryan had to pause. Did he just say Blake?
“No problem, Todd. But remember, we can only go into the first room.”
That is definitely Blake’s voice.
“It’s Blake!” Erin’s shriek of excitement made Ryan wince.
The two figures drew closer and Ryan tried to make sense of the man that was with Blake. He was sure he’d seen him before.
“Do we know that second guy?” he asked. As he spoke, he watched Blake hold out a dark stone.
A moment later, the air in front of Ryan’s entrance seemed to shimmer and part, as if a barrier had been erected. Weird.
“He looks familiar,” Erin mumbled.
She was so helpful at times.
The two stepped in, and Ryan quickly pulled up the second figure’s information. Todd, Bronze Ten fighter.
Oh, I remember.
“It’s Squeaker,” Ryan chuckled. He had always wondered what happened to that poor adventurer. And now here he was with Blake. Wait, why was he here with Blake?
The two descended from his entrance towards his first room. Blake was leading the way, walking easily, oozing confidence. A cursory glance showed the knight had leveled up to Silver Seven after his dive earlier today. That meant he was more than a match for the first room.
“I think it is noble of you to want to pay your respects to your team,” Blake began, and Ryan turned his attention to the conversation.
Why does Squeaker want to pay his respects to the team? They were jerks.
“Yeah, I know nobody really liked Josh and the others.” Squeaker paused as they neared the entrance to the first room. “But,” the fighter went on, tearing up. “They were my team, you know? They were the first people to actually let me be a part of a team.”
“They were like your family.” Blake turned and offered the fighter a smile. “I can understand that.”
He walked into the first room, motioning for Squeaker to stay where he was.
“Let me clear out the mobs in here,” Blake said. “Then you can come in and pay your respects.”
“Thanks, Blake.” Squeaker stood by and Ryan watched as Blake closed his eyes.
The skuirrels in the room hadn’t seemed to notice him yet. That was, until Blake opened his eyes and sent a wave of celestial energy throughout the room. It was the same taunt as earlier, but this time with celestial energy.
“Oh, so you got celestial energy?” Squeaker exclaimed. “That’s so cool!”
He watched in awe as Blake offered the man a smile, his sword and shield erupting in golden light.
Strange. Why isn’t he using his darkness affinity?
A moment later, all the mobs in the room came rushing from their holes, leaping crazily towards Blake. The knight grinned, slashing at them with his glowing sword. His movement was noticeably faster and smoother than it had been earlier in the day.
Ryan found himself transfixed as he watched Blake cut down each mob. The knight had no reason to infuse his shield with mana, as no skuirrel, not even the victorious skuirrels, got past his sword.
As the last mob fell, Blake turned towards Squeaker and sheathed his sword. The knight had a huge smile on his face, and Ryan knew he had enjoyed that.
“Alright, Todd, that should be—“
Blake’s voice stopped as a bone spike suddenly shot through Squeaker.
The attack seemed to come from the darkness behind him, and caught even Ryan by surprise. He hadn’t sensed anything. No one else had entered his dungeon, he was sure of it.
Squeaker fell to the ground, a look of confusion on his face. A moment later, dark laughter filled the dungeon, and a figure clad in shadows stepped forward.
“Oh no,” Erin whispered, and Ryan felt a chill fill him. He knew that laughter. He knew that form.
Viktor the necromancer had returned.
Chapter Sixty-Six
“Todd,” Blake cried, drawing his sword. Ryan had to give it to the knight; Blake definitely responded a lot quicker than he used to.
“Ah, was that the poor soul’s name?” The necromancer, Viktor, spoke as if bored. He motioned towards the body and a moment later it rose up. The zombie Squeaker turned towards Blake and drew its own sword.
“Pity he was so weak,” Viktor went on. “But this should at least offer me a moment of amusement.”
Darkness flowed from the necromancer, swirling around the zombie. The gloom seemed to infuse him, and Ryan watched as Squeaker’s muscles bulged. Then the blackness started to solidify over his body, covering him in a shadowy armor.
“What… what have you done?” Blake breathed, his face suffused with horror. Ryan noticed Blake’s sword shaking. Squeaker’s death had definitely scared him. The fighter’s sudden undeath had likely shaken him up even more.
“What’s he doing?” Ryan whispered to Erin, watching as the darkness finished its enhancements of Squeaker’s form.
At the same time, Ryan began going through his list of contingency plans for Viktor. Because Blake was in the dungeon, Ryan couldn’t use most of his plans, one of which included dropping the entire room on the necromancer. That meant he would need to get a little more creative.
Erin’s voice cut into his thoughts.
“I thin
k he is using his mana to upgrade Squeaker from a basic zombie to an armored zombie.”
A what?
Ryan scanned his mob list as fast as he could. It really was hard to prepare a modified contingency plan, scan a mob list, watch a zombie getting enhanced, and talk at the same time. His mob list showed zombie and hardened zombie as possibilities. If he had to guess, armored was the Gold version of a zombie.
“I think Blake’s in trouble,” Ryan whispered as the Armored Squeaker Zombie, or ASZ, advanced.
“Me too,” Erin whimpered, wrapping herself in her silk cloth. The poor fairy was shaking. Then again, Ryan was certain he was shaking a little too. He needed to do something, and fast. He was already formulating a plan, but he needed time.
Stupid. If Viktor was going to use a mob against Blake, what was stopping Ryan from using mobs against the necromancer? He literally had an army of mobs at his disposal. Yeah, the necromancer was strong, but Ryan had gotten a lot stronger since last time. He sent mental commands to all of his mobs, ordering them to assemble in the second room of his first floor.
“I’ve improved your friend,” Viktor said. “He is now a Gold-level zombie. Fastest advancement from Bronze to Gold ever.”
Viktor let out a dark laugh.
“If you can defeat him, perhaps I’ll let you live long enough to tell you who I am.”
ASZ lunged at Blake. The knight parried the attack with his sword, stepping back.
Blake surrounded his sword and shield in celestial light as he eyed ASZ warily. Ryan could tell he didn’t like the idea of cutting down his former friend.
“Oh, a celestial knight? Were you hoping to become a paladin?” Viktor laughed and his mob lunged once again at Blake.
ASZ’s sword smashed against Blake’s shield, and to Ryan’s surprise, the light around it wavered as Blake was forced back.
“Tell me, O noble knight, do you know about affinity bonuses?” Viktor chuckled as ASZ swung again. Blake blocked with his shield, and Ryan saw the knight wince. That zombie was tough.
“Most affinities have strengths and weaknesses against other affinities.” Viktor’s voice carried a hint of glee. The necromancer was enjoying this, which was both creepy and perfectly fine for Ryan right now. His mobs had been making their way to his second room on the first floor at an impressive pace for undead creatures.
Obviously, Steve and the skeletal rodents had already arrived there, and as Ryan checked on his mobs from his second floor, he saw they were already in the tunnel leading to Steve’s room. Just a few more minutes and they would be ready. His other task was taking longer than he would like, but it was also much more complex.
“For instance, wind affinity is strong against earth affinity. And fire affinity is strong against wind affinity.”
Another strike from ASZ; another grunt from Blake. The knight swung at ASZ, and his golden sword smashed into the mob’s side. For a second, the zombie was knocked sideways, and appeared surprised. That blow seemed to have done some damage.
“One set of affinities are both strong and weak against each other.” Viktor’s voice was reaching a higher level of amusement. “Can you guess which?”
“Celestial and dark?” Blake’s voice was strained, and Ryan could tell it was taking all his willpower to fight the zombie.
“Correct.” Viktor cackled. He was like a child playing with a toy. “So, while your holy light is great for cutting down the darkness, it is actually making you take more damage when you try to defend with it. How unfortunate for you.”
At this, Blake’s grimace turned to a dark smile. A moment later the light from his shield faded and dark mana enveloped it.
“What in the name of the God of Death?” Viktor staggered back in surprise, and for a second, even the zombie faltered in its advance on Blake.
“Fortunately for me, celestial isn’t my only affinity.” Blake had a grin on his face, but it did not extend to his eyes. The knight was not enjoying this.
ASZ swung at him, and this time when Blake absorbed the blow with his shield, he didn’t grunt. Instead, he was able to push against the zombie’s sword, and land another blow against the creature. The light from his sword cut easily into the mob’s side, leaving a large wound.
“Well, aren’t you an interesting specimen.” The way Viktor said those words would have made Ryan’s skin crawl, if he had any. “It seems this job comes with an unexpected bonus.”
ASZ swung at Blake for a last time, but the knight stepped in, easily blocking the attack and severing the head from the body. The corpse fell to the ground as the dark mana animating it dissipated.
Yes!
Ryan’s forces had finally assembled. Now he just needed to send them from his second room to his first, across his narrow walkway.
Darn it. In his panic to work on the main part of his contingency plan, which was still taking him a frustrating amount of time, he had forgotten to enlarge the pathway from his second room to his first. That narrow walkway wouldn’t do to send his forces across. At the same time, Ryan realized he could have easily just unsummoned his mobs from his second floor and re-summoned them here, saving even more time.
No use crying over lost time. He could only hope his error wouldn’t cost Blake his life. With a silent growl he rapidly began enlarging the bridge.
Surely Blake can hold out for a few more minutes.
“You’re going to pay for what you did to Todd,” Blake growled, turning his full attention to Viktor. The necromancer simply laughed, and a moment later a bone spear flew out of Squeaker’s corpse, impaling Blake through his sternum.
Or not.
“Blake!” Erin screamed out in panic, watching as the knight struggled against the bone spike.
Blake managed to pull it out of his stomach, and the moment he did, golden light began healing the wound, but too slowly. Ryan winced at Blake’s state, but hoped the knight could hold out a little longer. He was almost ready to stop the necromancer.
“Funny, no one expects a bone attack from a zombie corpse.” Viktor floated lazily towards Blake, now lying on the ground clutching his stomach.
“You would think,” the necromancer went on, “people would expect necromancers to use bones whenever they were available.”
More bones shot from the corpse towards Blake, but this time, the knight summoned a shield-shaped wall of dark mana.
“Ah, it seems you have a bit of fight left in you, eh?” Viktor raised a dark-clad hand, and bones began swirling around it, forming into tiny points. A second later, the bone pieces flew into Blake’s shield of darkness. With each strike, Ryan could see Blake’s shield waver and the knight’s face grow strained. Still, the boy struggled to his feet.
“Why?“ Blake managed as he started to push forward, trying to draw closer to the necromancer. His wound was healed, and his sword was wrapped in golden light.
How much mana does Blake have?
“Personally, I have nothing against you,” Viktor said. “But that ring of yours – I need it.” Blake glanced at his left hand, and Ryan noticed a wolf-shaped ring sitting on his finger.
“I’d rather die.”
With that, Blake dissipated his shield, charging at the necromancer. His sword cut deep into Viktor’s dark aura.
I won’t let you die, Blake.
Even as the knight cut at Viktor, Ryan’s skeletal army was approaching the first room. In just a few more seconds, the reinforcements would arrive.
In the light of the celestial blade, Ryan could see Viktor’s form, and waves of disgust filled him – an impressive feat, given Ryan’s constant interaction with zombies and skeletons. The necromancer’s body was a strange collection of various mismatched body parts. Many appeared to be in a state of decay, and all were seemingly connected with flowing dark mana. He was a monster made from corpses. The only part of him that didn’t appear to be rotting was his head.
Viktor’s true form seemed to catch Blake off guard as well. The knight was frozen, staring at Vik
tor even as the darkness began to reform around the necromancer. That moment of pause proved costly, as Viktor’s dark tendrils sent more bone spikes flying.
The shards cut deep, lodging deep into Blake’s torso. He fell to a knee, gasping as his golden light began trying to heal his wounds.
But Ryan could see Viktor’s dark mana pouring into the wounds, keeping the celestial energy from dislodging the bones.
“Now, I could kill you quickly, and just take the ring.” A bone scythe emerged from Squeaker’s body, the corpse now limp from its deboning. “But that wouldn’t be fun.”
The scythe lashed forward, severing Blake’s left hand. The knight cried out, and Erin’s scream of anguish accompanied it.
“Make it stop,” the fairy whispered.
“Gladly,” Ryan said.
A split second later, Steve and his skeletal gang burst into the room. The cavalry had arrived.
“Really, dungeon?” Viktor’s tone suggested he was more annoyed than startled as he turned away from Blake to face the new threat. Blake’s severed hand disappeared into Viktor’s robe.
“This completes my task,” Viktor said, bowing with a flourish, as a bard might at the end of a performance. “Now for the encore.”
Black spikes shot from the cocoon of darkness that surrounded him, skewering any mob that came within five feet of him. Bones scattered all across the room, and every time one of Ryan’s mobs fell, Viktor’s bone armor grew stronger.
It was a losing battle, fighting the necromancer with skeletons, but Ryan wasn’t planning on winning. He was stalling, trying to buy time to finish his plans.
Ryan glanced at the battle for a split second, just in time to watch Steve burst into a thousand pieces. That was the last of the reinforcements. Blake was on his own once more.
Ryan really hadn’t expected Steve to put up much of a fight, but how had his army been defeated so quickly? Where was Buttercup?
Bone Dungeon (Elemental Dungeon #1) - A Dungeon Core LitRPG Page 30
