by A P Gore
How are we going to defeat this boss? It’s impossible. Maybe we should retreat.
Noah turned back to the entry door. It was shut. He pushed on it, but it budge.
They were stuck. There was only one way out: death.
But even that wasn’t an option. Not when Rihala couldn’t respawn.
He kept reminding her of that, but she had to keep risking her life in one way or another. But today was different. Today he would risk his life and kill the boss. “Can you shoot at the rat’s hind legs from the ceiling if I turn him around? It should slow him down for a second or two.”
“I won’t get a clear shot from the ceiling.”
“I don’t need a clear shot, just something to freeze him for a moment.”
She nodded and jumped up. The next second, she was charging her ice shot.
“Shoot as soon as he turns away!” Noah called.
Noah activated his spirit run and shot forward. The skin around his left shoe was tattered and burned. The moment he stepped out of the safe zone, the boss targeted him with his scorching ray. Noah dodged it with alacrity.
Noah’s expectation was that the boss would turn in an arc along with him, and Rihala would target the boss’s leg while he was looking away.
But the boss defied his expectations and charged him instead with his claws drawn out. Fire burst out of his claws and jumped at Noah as two different streams of fire.
Noah pushed more spirit into his working leg, stretching his channels to the limit. For a moment, he thought spirit would burst his channels. Roderich had warned him of this, but somehow his channels managed to survive brute force spirit infusion.
The boss closed on him, slicing with his claws in a horizontal motion. The swing barely missed Noah.
Noah tried to push more spirit into his left leg. Running on one leg wasn’t easy. It was more like jumping. He wanted to be a one leg jumping speedster. But the spirit channel broke, and spirit leaked out of his leg, freezing his leg on the spot. Somehow, he managed not to fall down, but he was stranded on the spot.
“Noah stop,” Rihala shouted.
Noah was already at a stop, and the boss was upon him, extending his claws toward Noah’s throat.
Then the boss froze. A wave of frost spread across his skin, freezing him in place. His life dropped to 450.
Pushing back the burning pain of spirit leaking through his leg, Noah called upon his unique spell, poison multiorb.
Spirit rushed to his hand. A large poison orb, five times larger than the normal one, formed on his right hand. Then ten small orbs separated out of the main orb and swirled around it. It was like watching bacterium multiplication—the body of bacteria splitting into two to form two new bacteria.
Noah thrust the spell at the boss’s face. A crit meter built in his vision for the first time, and one after another, the orbs hit boss’s face, torching it with poison. His skin burned away in chunks, along with brown flesh, until only a fiery red skull remained.
As the rotten smell of rat flesh encapsulated him, Noah threw up his last meal. He wanted to move away but couldn’t.
The crit meter in Noah’s vision reached one quarter full when the final small orb hit the boss. The large middle orb zipped toward the boss, bursting on his face and killing him on the spot.
You have killed the Xamphala with a Multi Poison Orb. Damage dealt: 400 (4x Crit)
Congratulations! You have beaten the Phase 1 boss. Now you can choose to go to phase 2 or open the bronze chest.
Congratulations! +1 wisdom and intelligence for not opening the chest before. You do act as an intelligent person sometimes. Kudos for the burst.
+1 spirit run.
+1 spirit strengthening.
You have gained 600 experience for killing 6 fire rats in the party.
You have gained 4200 experience for killing the level 10 fire rat boss Xamphala.
You have gained 5000 experience for completing Phase 1 of the dungeon.
Congratulations! You have reached level 8. You get 3 stat points and 3 skill points to spend.
White light washed over Noah and Rihala, recharging them to full health and leaving them satisfied. His spirit-leaking leg healed too. Thanks to the dungeon designer, the ground below them was back to normal, and they could walk over it. It was too bad that his light of level up hadn’t refresh his shoes. Maybe it only refreshed good things. Even his armor never got refreshed on level up.
Either way, it was a well-earned level up.
Noah glanced at his full character sheet. He was pretty close to the next level, too.
Name : Noah
Class : Cursemancer
Second Class : Zombiemancer
Level : 8
Stats
Strength 16
Dexterity 8
Constitution 22
Wisdom 46
Intelligence 9
Charisma 7
Chance 6
Health: 620/620
Stamina: 345 (9.84/sec)
Spirit: 460 (26.16/sec)
Mana 90 (5.81/sec)
Skills
Poison Shield (Level 4): Absorb 40 damage. Maintenance cost: 6 spirit/sec. Skill Progression: 10%
Poison Orb (Level 9): Damage 66.15. Require 45 spirit per cast. Skill Progression: 60%
Curse of Fire Ball: Damage 88.2. Requires 120 spirit per cast. Charges left: 5/50 Skill Progression: 60%
Spirit Cycling (Level 8)
Micro Spirit Cycling (Level 1)
Spirit Strengthening (Level 2)
Spirit Run (Level 2)
Raise Zombie (Level 5): Raise 5 zombies simultaneously. Zombies has 200 life, deals 30 life and last for 70 minutes.
Herbalism (Level 4)
Cooking (Level 2)
Breath of the Fire Dragon (Passive): -10% enemy fire resistance. +10% poison resistance. When fighting on the expansion site, +10% experience gained. -10% to enemy fire resistance.
Tracking (Passive level 1): Track enemy trails with efficiency. 10% chance to identify the enemy that walked on the ground next to you.
Current Experience: 40830/43000
26. The Kiss
Noah selected “no” for the next phase. He wasn’t ready for it, and neither was Rihala. He tilted his head to look at the delicious she demon standing next to him. She stared at him with half-closed eyes and then jumped on him, wrapping her legs and tail around his waist, kissing him ferociously, pushing her tongue inside his mouth. The next moment they were lying on the ground and he was fighting with her clothes, trying to remove them and taste her bare skin.
She broke the kiss. “Let’s wait for this, shall we? We haven’t even opened the chest yet, and this place stinks. Can we do this somewhere else, please?” Her voice held an edge of pleading.
Wanting a lot more than what he got in the last five seconds, Noah pulled his mouth out of the gap between her breasts and moved to kiss her lips. He wanted to fuck her there on the hard ground, but she had a point, and they could wait. They were sensible adults, not twenty-year-olds driven by lust.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. And your mom wouldn’t like this, would she?” He hauled himself up, teasing her.
She gave him an annoyed look. “She wouldn’t approve of what we are going to do. I think you are right. We shouldn’t be doing this at all.”
Fear gripped Noah’s heart. He was so looking forward to tasting her bare skin more. “No, no. We are adults, aren’t we? We shall end what we started.”
She let a hint of victory slip in her snicker. “Okay. Let’s get out of here first.” She sat up, grinning with lust, but she was quick to button her shirt. She jumped to her feet and leaned against his body, licking his neck with her long tongue. Her tail was already wrapped around his waist and moving under his pants, caressing his bare butt.
Noah moaned and pushed her away. “If you keep doing that, I don’t think I can stop myself from devouring you right here.” Holding her at arm’s length, he pleaded with her to stop.
Noah turned away, gawking at the items lying on the ground. There was a monster crystal, a golden diadem. The crystal was an Iron-3 crystal. It was a crystal of fire and provided +2 fire damage to weapons.
That’s it. The level 10 boss didn’t drop anything else.
What a disappointment.
While walking through the chamber, he found a door. With a slight push, the door opened in the room of the healing well. Out of the three chests, the bronze chest was wide open, waiting for them. A soft golden light emerged from the chest.
Rihala dashed forward, picking up a quiver from the chest.
“Wow! A quiver, and uncommon too!” Rihala beamed. “And look at this offhand. I bet this will be useful for you.” A thin metal bone appeared out of nowhere on her palm. It glowed with a green light.
Noah studied it.
Crude metal bone of zombies.
+1 to raise zombies.
Adds +2 fire damage to the main hand weapon and spells.
The damage was mediocre at best, but the +1 to zombie raising was a nice to have. Plus, he didn’t have any weapon other than the knife. Even with the knife, he could use this.
“Thanks, sweetie. This is useful.” He pulled her closer, planting a kiss on her lips. Her arms wrapped around his torso, and she sucked his tongue in.
He once again resisted her and looked away. “I’m going with your advice. Let’s wait.” He smirked at her and bent down to check on his loot. The bronze box popped up in his vision with loot. He received 10 gold, 100 silver, 100 copper, and a pair of gloves.
Uncommon socketed pair of leather gloves
+5 to armor
+1 to attack speed
Socket: 1
He showed the gloves to Rihala. “Look, these gloves have a heart-shaped socket.”
She took them from him and studied them. “Yes, you can use a monster crystal inside it to enhance it. But you need to have the enhancer profession to enhance one, and it’s a rare profession. Look at the socket size. You need a tool kit to cut the crystal in the proper shape, and then socket it inside it. My mom says enhancer is the most luxurious profession anyone can study in BlackFlame.”
“I missed your mom!” Noah teased her, wondering if that was the only use of crystals, to get socketed into items.
She rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder playfully. “I know, I overdo it. But you don’t have to mention it like that.”
“I was just kidding. Anyway, I think I have something for you.” He checked his bag. One of the Iron-I crystals had a +1 to ice damage property. It would be useful for her. “I’ll make something and gift it to you soon.”
Rihala beamed with pride and hugged him tightly, kissing all over his face. With every new kiss, his urges were getting out of control. He covered her lips with his hand and signaled her to head out.
Noah’s heart was overflowing with joy as they walked out of the dark cave. He would be getting laid after all. The bright light outside the cave blinded him for a moment, but the late afternoon sun had lost his power to the chilly weather. Along with the sun’s rays, he received a metallic black arrow in his leg, pinning him to the ground.
Rihala zipped forward and dropped to her knees, looking to the sky. “High Priest, please don’t kill him.” Rihala’s voice shuddered. “He has a blessing from Goddess Sumara and was accompanying me in clearing the dungeon. He’s a good guy, Priest Jethro. Please let him live.” Tears rolled down her beautiful round face, and it pained Noah to see her like that.
Noah stretched his neck, but the bright light blinded him. Someone towered over him in the sky, someone big, someone with wings. Who was this high priest?
“Slaves don’t have will, or friends. You’ve made me more than enough trouble, having to come all the way here. Prepare for your punishment, child.” His voice had an edge of authority, but at the same time his tone didn’t match the intensity of the words he spoke.
“Yes, High Priest. I’m ready for whatever punishment comes my way. My mom...”
A silent cry pierced Noah’s heart. He realized how much Rihala meant to him. He opened his mouth to say something, but a black tendril shot out of Rihala’s hand, wrapping around his mouth and silencing him.
“You were an obedient child, but I can’t help you anymore. You’ll have to go through the trials and see it for yourself. You’ll have two month’s time to prepare.”
“…” Noah wanted to shout, but he couldn’t. His mouth was tightly shut.
“May I say a final goodbye to my accomplice, High Priest?” Rihala’s low-pitched voice asked the mystery man in the sky.
“Be quick, child.” His voice was as soft as a father’s would be with his child.
Rihala turned to Noah, tears streaming from her eyes. “I’m sorry, but this is the end of our journey together. My culture doesn’t allow training in combat arts. At least not when you are a slave.” She sighed deeply. “The high priest owns my mother and father, hence the courtesy. But that doesn’t save me from punishment. Anyway, this is our final goodbye. I didn’t want it to end this way. I wanted to kiss you, feel you, give myself to you. But...” She wept.
Noah’s heart fractured further with each word.
“The time I spent with you is the most precious time in my life. Please stay safe and meet me in the realm of Zedusania.” She breathed, lowering her voice further. “Listen, Xynnar is planning to attack your town. Flee from there, find some other place.” Her fingers brushed Noah’s cheeks and then she moved on.
Noah wanted to say things to her, wanted to tell her how much she meant to him. But his mouth was bound by the black tendrils, and his leg by the arrow.
A humongous griffin landed beside him. With slumped shoulders, Rihala climbed on its wing and sat next to a man in golden armor.
Noah couldn’t get a good look at the man’s face before the bird left off, leaving him alone.
She left him high and dry, frustrated and helpless. He couldn’t even help her in the end. All his promises to her remained only promises.
27. The Quest
Once the griffin left, the black tendrils around Noah’s mouth disappeared. He shouted for Rihala, calling her back, but she was gone like the scent of the morning lily leaving the farm after sunrise. The scent always returned the next day, but he wasn’t sure if Rihala would, ever.
He pulled the arrow from his leg. It was a painful process, and after removing it his leg started bleeding like flood gates left open. Noah didn’t care. He was better off dead and back in the temple than walking back alone.
He didn’t die, though. His destiny was a painful walk back to town. His life stopped dropping after reaching the 300 mark. There was no other option but to walk on the road, alone.
The sun went down as he trudged on the less-traveled dirt path with a bleeding heart. The chilly winds didn’t annoy him anymore. There would be no soothing his heart until he found Rihala and held her close. Realizing he might have lost her forever made his heart frigging stop for few moments.
He kicked a stone down the road and trudged onward.
Rihala went away with a piece of his heart, and now he only had one month to get her back. Maybe she was just a few lines of code for everyone else, but for him she represented a heart beating in sync with his. He wanted to be with her as much as he wanted to be with Thia—and his own girl, Tia. The game, which should have been a simple path to his goal, had become complicated and frustrating.
“Stupid developers! Your game sucks!” He roared as the town gate came into view.
As the grimy gate closed behind him, a plan began forming in his mind. Two months. He had exactly one month to save Rihala. He’d make good use of it, and no matter what, he would save her. Sumara had said he had a uniquely powerful class, and he would use every ounce of that power to get to the top of the food chain and save Rihala from slavery and whatever stupid trials the high priest was going to put her through.
I’l
l save you, sweetie.
Instead of going to the inn, he headed for the council hall. Every quest that could give him experience was vitally important now. If he was going to save Rihala, he needed every level and scrap of power he could gather.
The demon in blue pants was hanging around the council hall. Scowling, he stopped Noah, but when Noah showed him the diadem, he let Noah pass.
When he’d visited this place before, a faint light from an unknown source had illuminated the hall. There was no light in the council hall today. It took a while for Noah’s eyes to adjust to the darkness.
The hall was empty. Not even the head demon was there. He was about to turn back when he heard a rustle behind the main throne at the center of the room.
The high priest stepped out from behind the throne. He stiffened when he spotted Noah. “Human, what are you doing here? Do you think you can come and go in this place any time you want?”
“Esteemed High Priest,” Noah said, buttering him up as best he could. “I have an item the head demon asked me for.” He bowed deeply and presented the golden diadem.
The high priest dashed toward him and snatched the diadem from his hands. He waved his hand, and an unknown light source sprang to life, spreading a faint yellow light across the hall. The diadem glowed with the faint light as he traced his fingers over it.
“Ah, the diadem. You brought it back. Very well, human. You’ve completed your quest.”
Congratulations! You have completed The Inaccessible Cave. You have conquered the cave and obtained the head demon’s lost item. Experience Gained: 4000. Silver: 200. Reputation with demon town of Sumara : +2000. MAP: Get your map from the high mage.
A white light washed over him. He had gained level 9.
“Thank you, esteemed High Priest.”
The high priest waved his hand, dismissing Noah as he walked back to the throne.
Noah watched the nosy priest walk away, noticing a slight limp. The high priest was favoring his right leg, but that wasn’t all. The high priest was bleeding—no, there was blood on his light gray pants, and there was a trail of blood coming out from behind the throne.
