Heroes of Darkness: A Dark Dungeon Realm LitRPG Omnibus Collection

by Wolfe Locke

  “You’ll need my help,” announced Seraph, taking up a support position behind the man, ready to raise the dead and add a minion to their party. “Ready when you are.”

  Seraph and Jack began to work.

  Chapter 3: The Arcane

  * * *

  The two men set about their grim work as Jack began waving his arms back and forth like a madman, trying to activate his ability “Chained Necrotic Pet”—having already somehow managed to select Alexander’s corpse as the target of the skill. Waving his arms back and forth like a madman, Jack struggled to activate his ability on Alexander’s corpse.

  With a sheepish expression of embarrassment, Jack turned to Seraph when his efforts didn’t produce any results and asked for help.

  “Alright, Seraph. Prove to me you’re really from the future and help me get this party started. “Jack rubbed his hands together in nervous apprehension, a sign of his nerves. “I think you’re probably the only person I could try this around; the others would freak out.”

  Seraph agreed with the blunt assessment. “Take this as a warning, but they would do far more than just that. In my experience, the stranger things are from what a person knows, the more likely they are to react poorly—and often violently. I may have the body of an adolescent, but I am sure if our positions had been reversed, and that elf had attacked you, it would be your blood on the ground instead, and the rest of the group would work to justify his actions. Why? Because you’re different to the rest of the— no better, no worse, just different.”

  Jack shifted uncomfortably; he was beginning to believe that Seraph was who he claimed to be—a man from the future—but getting a serious talk from a child was difficult to process. Seeing how his words had bothered Jack, Seraph changed the subject back to the ability.

  “If you want to use it, you need to mentally choose the ability, and then you mentally select the body you wish to use as the intended target. This will start the ability, but more is needed. Most skills will use as fuel either the energy of your body, your stamina, or your mana, and you need to willingly feed one of those three towards the ability to make it work.” Explained Seraph, not waiting for Jack to respond before proceeding with a warning.

  “Based on your first ability, you will probably gain access at some point to additional abilities that are similar. Be aware that any ability that is based in necromancy, soul entrapment, or devil summoning will probably result in you being attacked by peers. If you are outed publicly as any of these things, you will probably become a pariah, and life in the World Dungeon will be difficult for you.”

  As Seraph talked, a dark cloud came over Jack’s face as his expression hardened and soured. A look of determination appeared in his eyes, as if finding a measure of resolve within himself that wasn’t there before. “I’d rather stay alive than die. If any of those things can help me survive, I’ll be using them. Easy might be nice, but living is better. So, tell me, how do I do this? What am I supposed to do now? Because I’ve been doing what you said to do—I’ve been doing it over and over—and it’s not working. It’s not as easy as you make it sound, Seraph.”

  As the excuses rolled off Jack’s tongue, Seraph felt genuine disappointment and annoyance towards the man, and a sensation of anger flooded his body with dark energy. Seraph closed a fist to reassert control and quash the impulse to lash out, and Jack noticed the shift in body posture, stopped his complaints, and let Seraph continue to explain and instruct without interruption.

  “It’s not complicated, Jack. You’re just making it complicated. Look at the body. Once you’re looking, it’s as simple as thinking I want to use “Chain Necrotic Pet.” When you feel a pulling sensation, let it go and channel your mana through the connection, and then the spell will do the rest,” explained Seraph in irritation.

  A dubious expression on his face, Jack replied, “Oh, really? I guess I should have tried that. It seems pretty obvious when you put it that way. OK, let me try it now.”

  Jack closed his eyes, put his hands out, and did as Seraph had suggested. A trail of blue and purple energy began to leech out from his hands into Alexander’s body on the ground. Seraph made a mental note that if he and Jack were to travel together in the future, he needed to make sure the man did not develop the bad habit of closing his eyes when casting a spell or ability. Seraph had seen too many people get killed that way due to poor habits and distractions

  “Seraph!” Jack shouted with concern, his voice high-pitched. “I’m getting a notification that I don’t have enough magic available to finish the spell; it’s asking me if I want to still try. If I say no, it reads that the dungeon will absorb the body, and I’ll need to find another one in the future.”

  Seraph had been hoping this might happen. This was an opportunity he didn’t want to miss. The ability itself was rare enough, and the chance to use it on a dead player rather than a monster’s corpse dramatically increased the efficacy of the spell. More so, if he could mix some of his own magic in, Seraph believed he may be able to change the ability slightly and gain some measure of control over the pet.

  “Do it, Jack, select yes,” advised Seraph. “I’ll lend you my power; you don’t want to miss this chance.” The blood drained from his face as Jack made the selection of yes, his hands shaking. In front of the two men, the body began to glow blue, outlined in a swirl of the outpouring of Jack's mana as he poured his magic into the ability.

  “OK, Seraph. So, how will I know when it’s working?” grunted Jack as he strained from the heavy use of his limited mana pool. Collapsing right as he asked onto one knee, his cheeks reddened, flushed from exertion, and the rest of his face went gaunt, sucked in from mana exhaustion.

  Seraph laughed, exhilarated and excited. If Jack had just opened his eyes, he would have seen the magic was working. For him, this would be a good learning point for the future. “Pay attention, Jack, and just stay focused. If this fails, you lose the chance to use the body; I’m sure you’ll know soon enough if the ability fails.”

  No reply came from Jack as the corners of his mouth began to foam, and his lips began to dry as the waves of mana were being pulled from his body faster and faster. Jack’s eyes were open wide in fear, and as panic set in as he looked at the speed of the flow of the mana leaving his body, he struggled to control it. For a moment, to Seraph, it seemed that Jack would manage. That was until the speed increased again with enough force to knock the man entirely over, this time sending him sprawling on the ground, landing on his hands and knees.

  This was a cause for concern, noted Seraph. The man must not have any innate talent for magic, reasoned Seraph. It was still too early in the spell for Jack to be struggling this much.

  “Don’t stop now! Keep concentrating. Don’t lose control!” screamed Seraph to encourage the man. He had made a mistake and underestimated how little mana Jack actually had. The ability was beyond him.

  The bright office space of the briefing room went dark as if an eclipse overhead had blocked out the sun from the windows. The overhead lights blew out one at a time, starting from the exterior and working inwards until the last light above the two of them went out, and a dim-blue light shone from the body.

  “Help me, please, Seraph. I feel like I’m dying. This is killing me,” begged Jack, his voice low, cracking from hoarseness and exhaustion.

  Mana and stamina exhaustion, thought Seraph as the ground began to rumble beneath both of them. I’ll need to interfere a lot more than I had originally anticipated.

  “You’re going to be fine, Jack. I’ll make sure of that. I still have plans for you,” reassured Seraph with calm resolve. He had a plan, but the idea would never see fruition if Jack quit now and died. “Stay in there just a little longer so I can help you.”

  It was a plan that Seraph would soon need to put into motion as the entire pool of blood seeping into the carpet beneath Alexander’s body began to move in droplets, reforming themselves into an arcane circle with an inscribed soul square connectin
g the edges. The arcane symbol of necromancy radiated a gradient of red, purple, and black, as the last of Jack’s mana was gradually fed into the pentagram to power the ability.

  “The spell didn’t fail, Jack. This is almost done. Just a little more,” said Seraph in response to what he saw, pleased with the assets he would gain in Jack and the bound pet.

  But no reply came from Jack. All Seraph could hear was ragged breathing and a hollow sucking noise. Bending low, Seraph went to check on Jack’s vitals, and though the man was still alive, his pain threshold had passed the point of conscious thought, rendering Jack effectively comatose. He was unable to reciprocate communication. The room darkened with the effect of the ability; Seraph was able to clearly see the pitiful state Jack was in due to his dark vision. He was able to see how the strain was getting to the man as the veins bulged from pressure in his extremities. He would not last much longer.

  Jack began to shake and quiver. Even braced on his hands and knees, his strength failing, he was falling into muscle failure. His forehead was drenched as sweat fell across his face like rain, and his eyes squinted shut. Gritting his teeth, he was all in. Nothing Seraph could say at this point would reach him.

  That’s his limit, but is it enough? thought Seraph as he realized Jack was moments away from death. This was an example of the folly of using abilities prematurely before you were ready to handle them.

  “I’ve been saving these five stat points for a reason,” reasoned Seraph as he mentally pulled up his status screen and quickly put two points into wisdom, two points into intelligence, and the last point into endurance.

  Name

  Luca Fernandez

  Race

  Aliases

  Seraph

  Fallen

  Passives

  Body of Mana

  (+50 Melee Damage)

  (-50% Healing Received)

  (Weakness to Light)

  (Dark Vision)

  Abilities

  Thousand Handed (31-1000)

  Cold Hands (0-1000)

  Starfall (18-1000)

  Level

  Current Unassigned Stat Points

  1

  9 of 999

  Current Experience

  57 of 135

  STR

  2

  INT

  3

  AGI

  3

  WIS

  3

  LCK

  1

  PHY

  1*

  END

  5

  PER

  3

  SOL

  $4470*

  Seraph finished applying his unused stat points just in time to catch Jack as the man finally collapsed, unconscious. Though he was unconscious, Jack’s mana, now slowed to a trickle, continued to flow into the circle.

  “I’ve got it from here,” Seraph told the unconscious man. For a brief moment, the circle flickered as Seraph mentally grabbed control of the failing magic from Jack and released him. He then took his place as the conduit of the ability.

  Seraph felt the same pull of force from the body that Jack had felt as his mana was torn from him in a torrent of dark crimson red. The circle flared as it hungrily drank and lapped up Seraph’s free-flowing magic energy, the droplets of blood creating another layer to the spell as the pentagram of arcane conjuration overlaid the arcane symbol of a necromancer.

  The rate of the mana drain dramatically increased as Seraph’s dark mana flowed freely. Gritting his teeth with the strain as he wrestled control of his mana flow to a manageable level, Seraph thought, What manner of monster has latched on in the nether realm? Seraph knew on the other side of the arcane circle, something as dark as he fed.

  It was a concern, as his power was not inexhaustible, and though he had a far larger pool of magic than Jack, Seraph was not sure if even his mana was enough for the spell. It was certainly not without risk. But, for Seraph, the potential gains were worth the risk, and he was unwilling to lose an ally—or at least a minion—so quickly when the other players had viewed him openly with hostility and reserve.

  “No second chances,” Seraph muttered to himself. Now was not the time to doubt his course of action. The process of second-guessing himself and wondering ‘what if’ could come later. As he made up his mind to commit fully, he stepped into the circle, cutting open a gash in his arm with his Cat’s Claw. His blood would have to suffice if his magic faltered, and he let both mana and blood flow out of him in even measure. Without resistance, Seraph kept nothing in reserve. Whatever manner of beast lay on the other side would either accept, or the both of them would die.

  As his eyesight began to blacken, the edges of his vision going dark and blurring, his head grew heavy, and he began to grow groggy, struggling to remain awake. Then movement within the circle jolted Seraph back to awareness. The ability near completion, his mana stopped flowing, and the wound in his arm began to close over.

  From within the arcane symbol of necromancy, Alexander’s body began to twitch. Coagulated blood and dark wastes expelled from the body as the arms and legs began to spasm. From the other circle of conjuration, leather straps ascended up out of the arcane circle from whatever Nether dimension had fed from the mana of the two men. The straps enveloped the entirety of Alexander’s corpse, covering it in a full bodysuit. The only portion uncovered was the ruined face of the dead man, flesh and bone still exposed from Seraph’s fatal attack.

  The arcane circle flashed brightly three times—once red, once purple, and once black—before it began to disappear. The remaining blood and residual energy floated up into the air, swirling together and forming a small orb before flying downwards, shoving itself into the dead man’s mouth.

  Alexander’s face began to bubble, distorting and pulling in unnatural ways as worms and maggots crawled beneath the skin. Slowly, a white, almost plastic substance secreted through the pores of the skin. A mask of white ivory covered the entire face, revealing nothing of the man beneath it—the only features showing through were the exaggerated smile carved into the mask and the two eye slits showing yellow pupils, the face a mocked expression of delight.

  Exhausted, Seraph persisted, needing to see this through to completion. He struggled against unconsciousness as the sea of black in his vision continued to expand.

  The ominous presence on the floor abruptly sat up, turning to Seraph, a voice speaking out from beneath the mask—a low voice, wholly alien, threatening, and differential— asked, “What is to be my name, Cousin?“ The face of ivory peered down at the two men with its permanent smile hiding those yellow eyes.

  As he slipped into unconsciousness next to Jack, Seraph responded with the first thing that came to his tired mind, “Rosebud.”

  Chapter 4: Hometown Hero

  The night air was full of smoke as a haze descended on the city, making it difficult to see for those without advanced senses. The false moon of the night sky was obscured, granting a near-perfect darkness

  It begins, thought Seraph as he looked down from his vantage point on the rocky hilltop near the guild headquarters of Carrion Crow on the outskirts of the woods. Watching as humans and elves ran around in panic. Watching with keen interest as they tried to put out multiple fires set on his orders by the saboteurs seeded throughout the city.

  “Brothers, sisters,” said Seraph, speaking to the assembled group, his tone steady but hushed as he addressed the men and women under his command, prompting them to group up around him to better hear what he had to say. “It’s been a long three years since I first was thrown into the dungeon, and in all those days, I have never been happier than I am now; I am proud of all of you. Some of you have been with me since the early days, and some of you have joined our family more recently. But tonight, we are all equal in this fight.”

  Pausing to look around, Seraph saw the reverence of his guild members towards him as they nodded their heads in approval and cheered. In their eyes, he saw a reflection of his own bloodlust—an attitude
that Seraph both cultivated in his subordinates and was attracted to in the recruitment of prospects.

  “Our guild, Carrion Crow, moves to cement control of Hometown. Our enemies, the guilds ‘Legend’ led by the three, and ‘Chaos’ led by the Demon Dominic are near total collapse. Even now, our brothers in the field do their diligent work, their operations paramount to our success if we are to bring our enemies to heel,” Seraph explained as he worked to elicit emotions of elation from the crowd.