Pendrackon

by Aaron Oster

  The hound tried to follow, but that was when Sam finally unleashed his Over-Burn ability. He’d been holding back and waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it, and now that the hound was too injured to avoid it, he unleashed his most powerful ability. There was a high-pitched howl of pain as she was engulfed in a conflagration of whirling flames, funneling up into the sky.

  You deal: -358 damage to HOS (Over-Burn)(Massive Critical).

  Sam gaped as the flames died down, leaving a scorched and burned hound in its wake. His perfect timing and aim had allowed for the maximum amount of damage to be dealt. With the huge damage bonus against the undead, he’d unleashed the single most powerful attack of his life so far.

  Unfortunately, the hound was still standing, though with only about a tenth of its health remaining. The beast staggered for a moment, then opened its mouth wide.

  “Everyone back!” Sam yelled as he recognized the stance.

  Gordon, still in his massive form turned and ran, still streaming blood from his wounds. Emma was back on her feet, though she still looked a bit pale, and Barry was ushering her away. Sam knew he wouldn’t make it in time. His Agility was too low, and his Endurance wouldn’t last if he tried to get away using his Speed Boost.

  Instead, he ran toward the hound, closing within range when it unleashed its AOE. He triggered his Mana Flare just as Howl went off. An explosion of blue mana shot out in all directions, catching the unwitting hound and shaving off another small chunk of its HP. However, Sam was right in its face and took the force of the AOE head-on.

  Shtainerzeid Hound’s Howl hits you for -199 Damage (Sonic)(Critical).

  You are Stunned! Duration: S 11

  You are Deafened! Duration: S 56

  Sam fell to the ground, his head pounding and ears ringing. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think. All he could do was lay on the floor and pray that someone would pull him out of this mess. He’d been hoping his Mana Flare would throw the attack off completely, but it seemed he’d been wrong. He’d taken on an attack headfirst and suffered critical damage.

  He was vaguely aware of figures moving around him but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Then the debuff timer ran out and Sam snapped back into focus, just in time to see Emma lop the hound’s head from its shoulders, defeating the Mini-Boss.

  MINI-BOSS DEFEATED!

  Congratulations! Your party has killed the Hound of the Shtainerzeid!

  Rewards: +4,610 XP, Cursed Fang, Prized Collar

  There was a soundless thud as the creature’s body and head hit the ground in two separate pieces, the charred corpse quickly beginning to disintegrate.

  Emma turned to give him a worried look, but when she saw him getting back to his feet, she flashed him a wide grin. Tapping his ears to show he couldn’t hear, Sam slung his staff over his back and made his way over the small group, who were gathering around the corpse to see what items it had dropped.

  Gordon chose that moment to shrink back to normal size and as soon as he did, his HP dropped by a whopping 100 points. The dog staggered, then brought a Healing Herb from his storage and quickly swallowed it. It was one of the Potent+ ones, so his HP began ticking up rapidly. He wanted to ask Gordon what that was all about, but seeing as he still couldn’t hear, he would have to wait.

  He was shocked that the fight, which had seemingly taken so long, had actually been super short. The fact that Gordon was only now changing back meant that it had been less than thirty seconds from when he’d grown until the Boss had been defeated. Emma looked to be much better now, her torn throat completely healed up thanks to Barry’s quick actions.

  Seeing as he was deaf for another half minute or so, Sam decided to look over his messages and examine the two items inside the small chest that was glowing in his vision.

  ITEMS FOUND!

  Name: Cursed Fang

  Durability: 120/120

  Rarity: Uncommon

  Quality: Sturdy

  Uses: Crafting component in weapons and elixirs

  Name: Prized Collar

  Durability: 80/80

  Rarity: Rare

  Quality: Sturdy

  Effect: +10 Armor, +5% boost to Strength Attribute

  Restrictions: Can only be worn by Canines

  The ringing in Sam’s ears faded, and sound flooded in as he closed the item descriptions and turned to Gordon.

  “Look what I’ve got for you,” he said, holding up the collar.

  “Excuse me!” Gordon said. “I am not a pet!”

  Sam rolled his eyes at the egotistical dog. “Calm down. It’ll give your Strength a boost and give you some much-needed armor.”

  Gordon hesitated at that and looked over to Emma, who was holding a small ring out and trying to convince Barry to let her clip it to his leg. It seemed this Boss had dropped an item for him as well, although he didn’t look too thrilled about it.

  “Oh, very well,” Gordon huffed, walking over and allowing him to fasten the collar. “So long as it will help me.”

  “I wanted to ask,” Sam said as he fastened the collar. “Why did your HP drop when you shrank back to normal size?”

  “It is the price I must pay to use the ability. You see, unlike all my other abilities, the Beast Transformation requires my own life force to work. However, the price is not extracted until after the transformation has worn off.”

  “Is that why you disengaged the hound before your time ran out? I know you were taking some damage, but you were hitting it pretty hard, too.”

  “Indeed,” Gordon replied, pulling a stick from his storage. “The ability increases my damage and speed by 50%. However, the toll is a heavy one to pay. It may very well decrease as I level the skill, but that is not a guarantee.”

  Sam nodded as the dog sprawled out to begin gnawing on the stick. Placing the Cursed Fang in their bag, he rose and turned to see Emma approaching.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “Better than before,” she replied with a shudder. “Not gonna lie, I thought I was a goner there for a few seconds.”

  “Sorry about that,” Sam replied.

  “It’s not your fault, so don’t worry about it. My penalty from the Overlord’s curse is gone, so I only have myself to blame.”

  Sam wasn’t so sure. Had he not attacked, the hound wouldn’t have been able to inflict such a horrible wound. Then again, had he not attacked, Emma may very well have had her throat crushed, so maybe he’d done the right thing. Either way, the battle was now over, and there was nothing he could do about it.

  There was a creaking groan, and they all turned to see the trees on the opposite end of the clearing pulling apart. The creaking and groaning set their teeth on edge, but thankfully, it only lasted a few seconds. When the trees finally stopped moving, a new path stretched outward and into the fog. It served as a reminder that they hadn’t cleared the Dungeon just yet and that they still had a quest to complete.

  13

  “Is it just me, or is this section of the forest even creepier than the last?” Emma asked as they cautiously made their way forward.

  “Nope, definitely not just you,” Sam replied. “This section gives a whole new meaning to ‘creepy as fuck.’”

  He wasn’t exaggerating. As soon as they’d exited the small clearing, the forest had taken on an even more sinister cast. An eerie green light now tinged the heavy fog, small creaks and groans filled the air, and the wind moaned through the branches above. Though the earlier silence had been almost deafening, this was much creepier.

  It set all their nerves on edge, especially seeing as the smell of rot was even stronger now. They had yet to run into any monsters, but Sam had a feeling that whatever they would run into here would be a lot more dangerous than the ones they’d come across so far. The fog twisted and whirled, carried along by the wind. It was only because of the wind that they caught sight of their ambusher.

  The creature was sticking low to the ground, crawling along on all fours. Even though it appeared much
the same as the other monsters, this one had an elongated spine, and its fingers were abnormally long, stretching into four-inch-long claws of bone.

  DUNGEON MONSTER

  Name: Beastly Young

  Gender: ???

  Level: 22 - HP: 530/530 - MP: 100/100 - STA: 360/360

  Status: Enraged

  Greatest Threat: Fear Flurry

  The Beastly Young wander the Vaald of the Shtainerzeid. Suffering horribly at the hands of the Shtainerzeid before death, these creatures were warped, transforming into beastly versions of their previous selves.

  “Damn! What’s up with its stats?!” Sam exclaimed as the monster slung forward.

  “It seems that the creatures from here and onward will not have their attributes reduced, like those of the earlier monsters,” Gordon said, sounding worried.

  “Wait, what?”

  “Dungeon monsters, except Bosses, normally have their stats reduced somewhat,” Barry answered. “Since they have numbers on their side, the Overlord only thought it fair. But this motherfucker has regular stats! They’re not reduced at all!”

  Sam’s staff came up, and he used Mana Burn, but the monster was way faster than he’d thought, nimbly dodging to one side. The ability flashed past as it ran forward on all fours, letting out a high-pitched squeal that sent shivers running down his spine. However, the Fear debuff he was sure the monster was trying to slap him with didn’t take, due to his Master ranked skill.

  The creature leaped at him, flashing between Emma and Gordon and slammed full force into his Mana Flare. The attack took the creature off guard, and it was sent hurling through the air, slamming into a tree. Emma was there in an instant, following the attack up by slashing down at is throat. The monster shrieked, twisting to one side and avoiding the strike, but Gordon’s claws didn’t miss their mark and neither did Barry’s new attack.

  The bird’s newest and biggest attack is exploding poop?!

  “What the fuck, you damn bird?” Emma screamed as she jumped back.

  Gordon wasn’t so quick and was hurled from his feet, rolling away as almost twenty percent of his HP was knocked off.

  “Not my fault you were in the way!” Barry shrieked, diving in to attack the staggering monster.

  Barry’s aim had been uncanny, and the small dropping had exploded upon impact, dishing out a whopping 108 points of damage. Barry’s HP had taken a dip with it, decreasing by 54 points. Sam hadn’t checked the bird’s sub-class yet, but he would be sure to do so when this was all over. For now, though, he figured he should get some revenge on Gordon’s behalf.

  Even as Barry slammed into the monster, Sam used Mage Bolt, hitting the creature squarely in the chest and catching the bird in one of the arcing bolts.

  “Damn you, you bastard!” Barry shrieked, winging away from the monster who stood frozen, locked in place.

  Sam was confused for a few moments, but his confusion cleared up when he remembered the secondary effect of his Mage Bolt.

  “It’s Stunned! Now’s your chance!” he called out.

  Emma and Gordon reacted immediately, moving in to finish the frozen monster off.

  “Man, that was a tough battle!” Emma said, wiping at her forehead.

  “Tell me about it!” Sam groaned, checking his MP.

  Mage Bolt was a very taxing ability, costing a whopping 180 per cast, but seeing as he was level 21 and had dumped all his attribute points from the level into Intelligence, he now had nearly 1,000 MP to work with. He was planning on dedicating several more levels’ worth of points into Intelligence, too. Seeing as it was his primary source of attack, he couldn’t afford to run out in the middle of a battle, no matter what.

  He’d need to invest a bit more into Constitution before going to fight the Boss, but he had a feeling that by the time they faced this monster, he’d have grown at least another level. The creature that had just died had awarded him over 2,000 XP, which was a nice haul for a single monster.

  “Are we ready to move on?” Gordon asked, sending a glare up at Baron Von Tweet, who was perched in a branch above.

  “Yeah,” Emma replied, checking over her status. “I really need to put more into Constitution next level. It’s becoming obvious that unless my Agility is through the roof, I won’t be able to dodge everything.”

  “Yeah,” Sam said with a nod. “You might…”

  Beeeehhhhhh!

  Sam froze as the terrifying cry rang through the forest. He could feel his muscles trying to lock up by thankfully, he was still able to move. Emma, Gordon, and even Barry were all frozen in place, staring straight ahead in terror.

  We’re not ready! Sam thought desperately, tackling Emma to the ground and dragging her off the path.

  His meager Strength barely allowed him to do that much, and he cursed his pitiful score of 6. Gordon was even harder to move, and he watched his Stamina dropping fast as he tried to get him off the path as well.

  Beeeehhhhhh!

  The horrible wail came again, this time sounding from their left. It seemed like it was a lot closer now. Chills crept down his spine, and adrenaline from the fear lent him the strength he shouldn’t have had. Shoving for all he was worth, he got Gordon off the main path and dropped to the ground next to the frozen pair. Barry was up in a tree, so Sam just had to hope he wouldn’t be spotted.

  The thick fog clung close to the ground, and although there was no bush cover, it hid them just as well. His eyes flicked over to Emma, whose face was locked in a rictus of terror. She didn’t react at all when he waved his hand before her face and neither did Gordon.

  Damn it! I’m really gonna be in this all alone, aren’t I?

  The Mind Over All skill should mitigate some of the damage from the mental attack, cutting down the amount of time it affected them, but they’d still be out of it for at least a few more seconds.

  BEEEEHHHHHH!

  Sam froze as a shadowy figure slunk out of the fog and onto the path. It was tall and lanky, though it walked with a stooped, shuffling posture. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a good view of the creature, just a general outline. He tried to use Inspect, but because he couldn’t clearly see it, the skill didn’t activate.

  The monster shuffled around a bit, sniffing loudly. As it drew closer, Sam had to stifle the urge to gag. This creature’s stench was so horrible that Sam could see his HP beginning to drop. It made the pal-tees smell like rosy bouquets in comparison.

  You suffer: -5 HP from Shtainerzeid’s Odor

  You suffer: -5 HP from Shtainerzeid’s Odor

  You suffer: -5 HP from Shtainerzeid’s Odor

  He was losing 5 HP per second, and his regen couldn’t keep up. Slowly, Sam’s health began to drop, and he had a feeling that he wasn’t the only one. The monster came closer and Sam began to fear that they would need to fight it right now, but at the last moment, it veered to the side, its attention caught by something else.

  It raised its head, letting out its bleating, deep-throated roar, then lumbered off into the woods. Sam didn’t dare to move for the next several minutes, and when the debuffs wore off from the others, neither did they. They remained where they were, still terrified of the monster they knew they would soon have to face.

  “Sam?” Emma whispered.

  “Yeah?” he answered, equally as quiet.

  “Do you really think we can beat that thing?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” he replied. “I mean, none of you could even move, and my HP was dropping just by standing near it. No matter how you look at it, it’s going to be one hell of a fight.”

  Sighing, Emma got back to her feet. Sam could see that she was trembling but was doing her best to hide it. He couldn’t blame her. He was terrified, and had there not been a quest keeping them here, he would have left immediately. He valued his life more than gaining a few levels but if he left before the quest was completed, he could be killed by an Inquirer.

  “From now on, we don’t take quests we’re unsure about.”

  E
mma nodded, seeming to take a little strength from that.

  “At least my skill progressed from that crippling terror, so it’s not all bad,” she said with a light laugh.

  “Fucking hell! That thing was scary!”

  They both looked up to see Baron Von Tweet plummeting out of the sky, landing to perch on Emma’s shoulder.

  His head swiveled from side to side, his body trembling as he looked for signs of the monster.

  “It has gone for now,” Gordon said, trying to inject some of his usual pompousness into his words.

  However, Sam could tell that he was rattled as well. Back when Millicent had been about to kill them, both he and Baron Von Tweet had resisted her fear debuff. Sam had been sure that the animals were immune to such things, but it seemed that they were merely resistant. Coming across such a terrifying monster must have been a new and very harrowing experience for both of them, and it was clear that it was one they weren’t eager to repeat.

  “Let’s get a move-on,” Sam said, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over them. “If we want to kill that thing, we’ll need to be stronger, and that means gaining more levels.”

  “That was well said, Sam,” Gordon replied with a head nod. “We need to fight and keep our spirits alive. That is the only way we can persevere!”

  For once, Sam didn’t mind as Gordon marched out in front, nose pointed into the air. It would be good for them to fight a few monsters and put the memory of that beast out of their minds, if only for a little while.

  14

  “This looks to be the place,” Sam said, keeping his voice low.