The village was built mainly of stone and didn’t really have a name as far as we knew. The streets were empty even though there were quite a few houses built on the sides. The first few forms of people appeared before us only when we reached what appeared to be the village square.
“Come on.” Freya grabbed my hand and led me to one of the stalls there.
The man at the stall smiled as we walked by. “Can I interest you in something?” he asked. “Food, toys, weaponry, dresses—”
My ears perked up. “Weaponry?” I asked.
“Oh, indeed, young sir!” the man said. “Our little town here doesn’t sell many weapons, but we have quite a good collection. Would you like to see them?”
“Yes, please.” I walked up to his stall.
The man opened his menu and selected a few options. A screen emerged in front of me. It looked similar to my Equipment Inventory menu—a grid of small boxes with miniature icons of weapons within each one.
I looked through them, wondering if I really needed a weapon, and then my eyes fell on an icon toward the bottom—two blades positioned in a cross. I grinned as I tapped on the icon.
Equipment Title
Imperial Scimitars
Damage
155 – 231 ATK
Special Effects
+5% Attack
+5% Agility
+1% Health Regeneration
Grade
Three Stars
Durability
10/10
Rarity
Rare
Value
87000 Sol
Scimitars. A smile curled onto my face and grew wider as I read the weapon’s stats. I looked up to the top of the shopping screen and saw that I had about 120,000 Sol with me.
“Perfect.” I tapped on the Buy button for the Imperial Scimitars without as much as another thought.
A notification appeared before the man, and his eyes widened. “Thank you so much, young sir!” he exclaimed, smiling widely. “You will not regret this purchase. I promise!”
I nodded and kept scrolling through the screen. I’d gotten a pretty good deal with the scimitars, but I still needed one more thing.
Ah. I stopped at a large mace of the silver shade and tapped on it.
Equipment Title
King’s Mace
Damage
445 – 500 ATK
Special Effects
+5% Health
+5% Defense
Grade
Two Stars
Durability
1/10
Rarity
Very Rare
Value
87000 Sol
Ten thousand Sol? I blinked. That price is a steal. And then I noticed the weapon’s durability section.
It’s close to breaking. I chuckled. Something like that would indeed drop a weapon’s price to nearly nothing compared to its actual price. I turned to the bottom of the info screen and tapped on the Buy option.
“Sir?” The man looked at the screen before him and then at me. “The weapon you’re trying to buy was left here by a man who was adventuring the ruins. He went on and on about how it was not a good weapon at all. Are you sure you want to buy it?”
“I’m certain,” I said.
The man nodded politely. “I thank you for your business, then.”
“And this adventurer you mentioned,” I continued, “he journeyed the ruins, you say?”
“Yes, sir.” The man leaned in and whispered, “The Heartfelt Ruins.”
Freya squeezed my hand. I nodded.
“What can you tell me about these ruins?” I asked.
The man stared at me. “Are you perhaps…planning to go there?” His voice changed. “I would discourage you from doing that, sir.”
“Really?” I asked. “Did something happen there?”
He nodded. “Men from the Empire’s Court came to this village a little over a week ago,” he said. “Harassed more than half the villagers into leaving. The men have been shuttling in and out of the Heartfelt Ruins ever since. I do not know what they are doing in there, but I would suggest you stay out of it. It does not seem safe.”
“I see,” I said. “We will keep away, then. Thank you for the info.”
“My pleasure, sir.” The man bowed. “Have a good day!”
We quickly made our way out of the village, seeing only two other people as we did so.
This place really is barren, I thought.
“Are we actually going to keep away from the ruins?” Freya asked.
I shook my head. “I just said that to him so if someone comes by and asks, he won’t sell us out as people who were interested in going to the ruins.”
“What do you think about what he said, anyway?” She flipped back her hood as we walked clear of the village. “Men from the court heading to the Heartfelt Ruins? That’s the exact same place Krof said he felt the Phantom Lord’s presence too. The Dark Alliance really might be working with him, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
I nodded robotically. My mind was still stuck on that man. He was nothing like what I’d imagined people of the Empire to be like. I’d generalized everyone in the Dargonian Empire to be similar to the men of the Dark Alliance, when that had never been the case. Shouldn’t have made that assumption. I sighed.
“Zoran?” Freya asked.
“Sorry.” I looked at her. “Was just thinking about something.”
“So, do we still head to the Heartfelt Ruins?”
“Definitely. All threads seem to lead there.”
“Fine, then.”
The terrain changed from green to brown a few miles later. Even the sparse grass had disappeared, and in its place stood a desolate land. It wasn’t a desertlike place, but it was certainly close enough. Heat coated my body with every step I took, lacing my skin. We somehow kept going for another three hours or so before a structure finally showed itself before us.
Well, structure was probably the wrong word.
Half-broken pillars of marble and stone lay on the ground, covered with dust and sand. The ground inclined as we walked closer, and flattened out at the very entrance of the ruins. A large staircase lay in the middle of the ground, surrounded by broken stone and shattered statues stuck halfway in. I peeked down the stairs, but darkness was all that stared back at me.
Well, that’s nothing new. I chuckled and walked down into it. The smell of dry dust lingered in the air, tickling my nose. I touched the stone at my side, and felt an oddly cool sensation on my fingertips.
My leg hit a hard piece of rock and I tripped, tumbling down the stairwell. The darkness spun around and around me before I came thudding to the floor, dust on my skin and sand in my hair.
I sat up. “That was not the best entrance,” I mumbled and ran my hands over my body. There was a light bruise on my wrist, but other than that, I was fine. A small square of light shone about a few hundred feet up, and I blinked at it.
That fall was longer than I’d thought, I realized.
“Zoran,” Freya whispered, and her form emerged on the last step of the staircase. She put up her hand, and an orb of light emerged, illuminating our immediate vicinity. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I said. “I just need to figure out where we are right now.”
I turned around and saw that we were standing on a long stone bridge. I looked at the other end, but as expected, all I could see was darkness.
“What on earth is this place?” I asked. “It seems like a—”
A loud hiss echoed through the air. I froze, as did the Moon Elf. My ears perked up and I heard something big shift in front of us. Red eyes emerged out of the dark—the color of blood—and a massive body rose from the edge of the bridge, towering over me.
Of course this happens to us. I clenched my fists.
We’d just woken a giant snake.
***
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Things had taken a turn for the worse so many ti
mes now that I wasn’t even surprised anymore. Either that or I really have turned into some super-calm monk. I sighed.
I stared at the creature in front of me, at the red eyes that pierced my presence. Freya stood in the corner of my vision, her body completely still. Her arm hovered over her sword, but she hadn’t pulled the weapon out yet. I kept my gaze on the creature and tried not to make any sudden movements. It’s large, but it definitely isn’t slow.
I concentrated on its head and brought up its Analyze screen.
DING!
Race
Desert Snake
Level
71
It’s Level 71, but it only has 910 health? I blinked. That meant most of its points were in its other stats—probably Strength and Agility—and that didn’t bode well for us at all.
I looked to Freya, but her focus was completely on the snake. I turned my eyes to the ends of the bridge. There’s no way to get out of this without fighting, is there? I wondered.
The snake hissed and quickly lunged, taking me off guard. Its red eyes shot down to me, much faster than I could move. Freya jumped between us, her reflexes blazing fast, and her sword slashed into the creature before I could even blink. The beast hissed painfully and threw itself back into the darkness.
“Come on!” Freya grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the other end of the bridge.
“It’s too far away!” I yelled. “We won’t—”
The snake shot up from the side again and jumped into the air about a hundred feet ahead of us. The massive beast thudded down onto the bridge. And then the obvious happened.
The bridge broke.
Stone and rock fissured as the Desert Snake hit the surface, and big chunks of the bridge collapsed.
“We need to head back!” I turned.
“It’s too late for that.” Freya pulled me closer and wrapped her arm around my waist.
“What are you—”
“Hang on.” She pushed off the floor, sending us into the air and over the side of the bridge.
I struggled between keeping my eyes open and shutting them as the chilling wind hit my face. The darkness around threatened to consume us, acting like another enemy we had to take down. The sound of collapsing rock and stone echoed from above, followed by a sharp hiss.
It’s still up there, I thought.
“Hold tight.” Freya gripped me with one hand and pointed her other one downward. “Lakiri,” she said, and a blast of wind surged out of her palm, sinking down to the lost floor.
Wind Arts. I blinked. Didn’t know she knew them as well. The spell she’d cast pushed against our fall and slowed us down, bringing us to the surface a few seconds later.
Freya let go off me as our feet touched solid ground, and I immediately looked up, searching for the bridge. It took me a second to concentrate and activate my Night Vision skill, but even when I did, I could only vaguely make out the shape of a broken bridge, at more than a thousand feet above us.
That’s a long way up from here. My eyes drifted to the place we were in now. “Where is here exactly?” I mumbled.
“A lower section of the ruins, I think,” Freya said from beside me. She had her longsword in her hand and pointed in front of us. “We need to be careful. The Desert Snake is still somewhere close by.”
How big is that thing if it jumped a thousand feet to get onto the bridge? I wondered. Maybe there was a ledge somewhere it had climbed onto. Right now, I was willing to think of any alternative to accepting that this beast was much more massive than I’d expected it to be.
I need to get ready too. I quickly opened my Equipment Inventory menu and equipped my Imperial Scimitars. Two scabbards formed over my back and positioned themselves in a classic X formation.
I caught sight of a shield icon in my Equipment grid. Oh yeah, I realized. The item drop from the Golem battle. I thought about equipping it for a moment, but figured my scimitars were more than enough.
I slid the weapons out and held them in front of me. The silver blades contrasted against the gold-plated base, and both of them contrasted against the black around me.
Imperial indeed. I smiled.
A hiss sounded and a rough crackling echoed right after. My eyes darted around the darkness. It’s on the move. Broken marble and stone shifted as the beast slithered closer.
I stepped closer to Freya. “We can take it together, can’t we?” I asked.
“Maybe,” she said. “Its health is really low for its level, but that’s expected given it’s a Desert Snake. What I’m worried about is what its defenses are like. They’re probably quite high, and that’s a problem.”
“But even then—”
Freya put her finger to my lips. She turned around, facing the noise coming diagonally from our right. Familiar red eyes showed up once again.
It’s here. My arms tensed, and I gripped my blades tighter than I needed to.
A violet glow suddenly emerged around my body. An Agility boost? I blinked. Freya’s lips moved and a similar glow surrounded her as well. She cast it on me, I realized. I nodded at her and received a silent nod in return.
Freya turned to the beast and raised her weaponless hand to shoulder level. Her lips moved again, and the orb of white emerged once more, summoning a bright flash of light as it did. The snake recoiled from the sudden burst.
A blast of wind spurred behind Freya as she shot across the ground. Her form thudded into the beast, right beneath its eyes, and she sank her blade deep into its skin. The snake squirmed and hissed, thrashing about wildly.
Its health bar went down by a tiny fraction, maybe a twentieth. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t too bad either. I charged toward it and got within a few yards before it noticed me. I stopped short and jumped to the side just as it lunged. Its teeth sliced into the rocks I’d stood on and minced them all into pebbles. I quickly pushed myself off the ground and leapt onto the back of its head.
“Let’s see if this works.” I grinned. “Heavy Swing!” My move landed hard and made a shallow cut on its skin.
The beast jerked its body and threw me off its head. I put my hand down and rolled as I hit the ground. Stray shards of marble and stone cut into me as I slid across them, and my blood streaked their surface.
“Zoran.” Freya knelt next to me. “I need you to buy me some time.”
“How long?” I asked, my eyes fixed on the snake.
“Twenty seconds.”
I stood up. “You got it.” I flicked my Ga’em menu open, switching to the Equipment Inventory in half a second and equipping a weapon. A stream of lights collected in my hand, forming a massive mace a second later.
I stared at the snake. I’m taking you down. I charged.
The Desert Snake looked at me for a second and then sprang at my form.
Perfect. I hunched down, lowering my body weight and sliding to a stop. The snake lunged at me, its fangs just a few yards away. I focused all my strength into my wrists and threw the club at its head.
“Weapon Shatter!” I yelled. The club smacked into its mouth and exploded. A shockwave blasted out of the impact point and threw me back to the floor.
The beast squirmed in pain and hissed wildly. I got back onto my feet and looked up to its health bar. About half of its health had been completely taken down.
Hasn’t been twenty seconds yet, I thought. Need to stall more.
The snake slithered toward me. “Bet you like fire, big guy.” I grinned. “Asgionis.” A flame shrouded my body, and my Agility increased to even higher levels.
The snake sprung at me, faster than I’d expected, its fangs ready to snap me into two. I stood where I was, undeterred, and threw my hand into the air, palms pointed right at the beast’s open mouth.
“Erkiela!”
A blast of flames surged out of me and right into the creature.
“Zoran, move!” Freya yelled, and I dived to the side.
A word echoed, and the tone reverberated through the chamber.
A twister of wind summoned from the floor and surged up, howling as it rose to the bridge above. The strong gales caught the snake and trapped it within, suffocating it. I watched as the beast’s remaining health went down to zero. Just like that. The wind died a few seconds later, revealing a massive snake coiled silently on the floor.
Dead.
DING!
Congratulations! Your party has defeated:
Desert Snake (Lv 71).
Huge beast vs tiny human. You certainly weren’t projected to win. Reward: 10000XP. Reward: Fang of the Desert Snake.
DING!
Congratulations! You have advanced a skill.
Swordsmanship Level 6!
You’ve been swinging your sword around a lot. Remember to let that hand rest once in a while.
Effect 1
Agility increased by +6% while wielding a sword.
DING!
Congratulations! You have advanced a skill.
Fire Art Level 2!
Where there is passion, there is always a burning flame. How large can yours grow?
Effect 1
Attack Damage increased by +11%
DING!
Congratulations! You have learned a new Fire Arts Spell:
Oskis: Incineration Beam.
Fires a beam of intense flames straight at a target. Strong chances of inflicting burn status on target. Strength diminishes the further away target is.
Mana Cost
40
Casting Time
2 seconds
Cooldown Time
The Eternal: A Boxed Set (World of Ga'em Book 6) Page 18
