“Well, I don’t see anything else happening here. So I either enter it or just stand still until something else happens.”
“Fine, you have a point.”
Standing where I was, about a hundred yards from the structure, I could see its entrance — a large opening about fifteen feet high with a big, silver jewel atop it. I noticed small runes inscribed into the wall around the entrance, and I realized that this was not just any structure.
A temple, I realized.
“The runes here might have some connection to the ones we saw in the tunnel,” Acnologia said.
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“I still don’t feel any presences within this place,” Nyx said.
“You sound worried about that.” I stood before the entrance, and took a good glance at everything around it, soaking in the sight and trying to discern any valuable information.
“Well,” he said. “I feel a little suspicious about a large temple that rose from the ground without a single presence inside it. What did this thing come up for?”
“There’s one way to find out,” I grinned and stepped into the place.
Immediately, I heard a rumble and a massive slab of stone dropped down from the walls, sealing off the entrance. I didn’t need to go use Meteor Fist on it to realize this entrance had been sealed off.
“Well, that’s not a good start,” I mumbled.
“Be on your guard, Diablo,” the Shadow Dragon said, and I nodded.
I looked before me, and activated my Night Vision skill. Pillars of stone stood along the flat surface — about fifty of them in total — arranged in neat rows and columns. There was hardly more than three or four feet between each one, cramping up the pathways. I looked closer and noticed that each of the pillars — at least the ones closest to me — had a rune inscribed onto one of their sides, with the rune itself unique in each case.
“What is all this?” I mumbled as I stepped closer to the first row of runes. I looked around, trying to see if there was an entrance anywhere, but didn’t find anything.
“There’s something on your field map though,” Nyx said.
DING!
The spirit brought up my screen.
I saw an image that was a pretty good representation of all the paths I had before me, however, this map indicated there was some kind of door at the center of the place.
“But there isn’t one,” I looked forward, but didn’t see an entrance or exit.
“There is,” Acnologia said. “It’s just not on the floor.”
What? I glanced up. And there, in the ceiling, was a small section of open roof, a square opening about three feet in width.
“I can fit through that.” I walked up to the center. I was careful with every step, and made sure there was nothing off about the pillars before I walked through them. There was no telling what kind of traps one could set up in here.
I stepped to the middle of the floor and looked up, at the opening above. I could see only darkness within it, even with my Night Vision skill turned on. But that didn’t deter my will to get up there.
I launched myself off the ground, and into the air. I made sure I didn’t use too much force — just enough to get me into the hole. I passed through the square opening, and gripped onto the surface of the next floor. I pulled hard, and hoisted myself up quickly.
“This place is giving me the creeps,” Nyx said.
That does not make me feel good. I glanced around but I couldn’t see much in the darkness.
Actually, I couldn’t see anything, which was quite odd. My Night Vision skill showed me at least very rudimentary forms in a worst-case scenario.
I heard scuttling around me, and my shoulder’s tightened. My hands reached out for Dawnbreaker but on second thought, I moved them back to in front of me.
Let’s use my arts spells this time, I thought.
All of a sudden, eyes emerged from around me, about a hundred at once. At that instant, I tried to think of how many creatures there were, and then I realized something. The position of these eyes was odd. They were creepy.
And then it hit me.
Spiders.
I put my hand in the air. “Asgionis!” I yelled. A flame burst around me, increasing my speed, but also illuminating the entire room.
A multitude of massive spiders stood before me, each one taller than I was, and their bodies were as dark as the night itself. Thick webs ran across the room, and there were strands all over the walls, spinning from the floor to the ceiling. Broken bones stuck to the webbing — the remains of whatever these things had killed.
DING!
My Analyze skill screen popped up.
Race
Giant Spider
Health
10790
Level
601
Mana
6510
Race
None
Stamina
11370
Dammit, a shiver ran down my spine.
“Are you scared of spiders?” Nyx asked.
Can’t remember, I said. Hopefully not.
The insects moved toward me, with their legs scuttling along at fast speeds. I quickly put my hands up into the air. “Erkiela. Peona. Rivorka,” I said, using my Chain Casting skill to send three attacks at once.
A blast of raging fire sunk into the creatures, setting their bodies alight, but they still charged toward me, faster than before. My second spell — ‘Peona’ — activated an instant later, and a twister of wind emerged around me, expanding out in an instant.
The flames spread around, causing even more havoc, and the strong gales picked up the spiders, throwing them hard against the walls. Their health had already gone to just a fourth of what they’d been, and that was when my ‘Rivorka’ spell activated.
A dark cloud emerged above me and expanded out, filling the whole room. Before the spiders could even react, shards of sharp ice shot out of my personal storm cloud, and impaled the spiders in seconds. The creatures went down, and their health bars sunk to zero in a flash.
About five seconds later, every last one of them had died.
DING!
Congratulations! You have defeated a Giant Spider Nest (Lv. 640)! Reward: Silk of the Giant Spider. Reward: Fangs of the Giant Spider. Reward: 16700000 XP. Reward: 1800000 Sol.
I looked at the XP reward. Wow, that was worth it.
DING!
Congratulations! Your Wind Arts spell — ‘Peona: Storm Gale’ — has increased to Level 3! Wind speeds will now be increased, and will cause greater damage. 1% chance of an enemy falling unconscious when they enter the winds due to breathlessness. Agility is increased by +1% for the first move performed right after the attack is over.
DING!
Congratulations! Your Water Arts spell ‘Rivorka: Ice storm’ has increased to Level 4! More Ice will now fall at faster rates. Attack increased by +5% if performed in confined spaces.
I closed the screens, and I picked out an odd humming sound that resonated all around. A wall of white light emerged out of nowhere, and surged into me.
One moment I was in the chamber, and then next I was in a small room. What the heck? I looked at the darkness around me.
“We seem to be on the top floor,” Nyx spoke. “At least, that’s what your map says.”
“This place does not look safe,” Acnologia said.
“What do you mean?” I asked, and then I noticed the floor. There was about a foot of spider webs rising from the surface. I looked past it all, and saw that there was something at the far end of the room, covered completely by strings of webbing. I heard a noise come from above it and I looked up.
Shivers ran down my spine once more as a massive spider, even larger than the rest, looked at me, its eyes of orange glaring at my form. I quickly used my Analyze skill on it.
DING!
Race
Giant Spider Queen
Health
12790
Level
Mana
8510
Race
None
Stamina
13370
Holy hell. My muscles tightened.
“Well,” Nyx said. “This is weird.”
The Spider Queen jumped down, and shot a web at me. I dived out of the way, and rolled back onto my feet.
I put my hand into the air. “Uher!” I yelled. The Dark Phoenix emerged from the ground, its form too large to fit the room. It slammed into the queen, throwing her against the wall. Much to my surprise, nearly a fourth of her health had disappeared just from that one attack.
And then I realized that my Dark Arts spells were hell of a lot stronger here because this room was pitch black.
I grinned. Places of darkness give me a huge advantage, I realized. I used my Chain Castingskill and cast two spells. “Beltair. Uher!”
The room turned even darker, as if that was possible, and my phoenix surged out. The bird smashed through the side walls, and smashed into the spider. The chamber started breaking apart, the spider queen now immobile on the floor. I looked at her health bar.
A third left, I noticed. I rushed up to her, and slid Dawnbreaker out. “Bladestorm!” I yelled. I sped around her, and struck her multiple times a second, her health coming down significantly with each strike
The queen tried to stand up, but it was too late. I held my hands up. “Oskis!”
A burst of fire surged onto her body, setting it alight. She screeched, and the sound echoed past the now crumbling walls. And then she died.
DING!
Congratulations! You have defeated Giant Spider Queen (Lv. 867)! Reward: Spider Silk. Reward: Poison of the Giant Spider Queen. Reward: 3900000 XP
I closed my screen, once again not too interested in the rewards. A section of the roof came down, along with the walls holding it up. Much needed sunlight entered the chamber, lighting up the forms within.
I walked to the object covered in spider silk, and ran my hands along it. The silk was smooth, but it was something I could cut into. I held Dawnbreaker before the strands and sliced them open with a few slashes.
The torn silk fell to the side, and a statue of white stone appeared from within. The form of a dragon stood before me, and a large ruby was studded into the space between its eyes. Before I could utter a single word, the jewel caught the sunlight, and glowed vibrantly, sending a loud hum through the floor.
All of a sudden, the entire temple rumbled, and in seconds the whole structure collapsed to the ground. I threw my hands up, bracing myself for the fall. But it never came. I opened my eyes a second later and saw that I was not in a field of grass and trees but a pure white space instead.
“You have done well.” A voice spoke — a lady.
“Thanks,” I said. “But who are you?” I looked around.
“Espaniona.”
“The Dragon of Light,” Acnologia said.
“I see you are here, Shadow Dragon.” She sounded annoyed.
“You’re the one that brought us here,” Nyx said. “You did all this.”
“Indeed,” she chuckled. “As you can probably tell, I am just a spirit, a dead Dragon unable to move on. I was tortured by the fiends you call Eternals. Tortured to death because they wanted to find a way to harness my powers.”
Wait, does she know I’m an Eternal too? I wondered
“In my state of horrid anger, I was unable to pass on,” she said. “This temple within your space is the physical manifestation of all the anger I harbored. I tried to get rid of it, but I was unable to. Thus, I searched for someone else to do so. When I found a man with a high mental power coming through my chamber under the Itamori Mountains, I seized the chance.”
“So that’s what happened,” I sighed.
“Thank you, Eternal,” Espaniona said.
“So you did know I was an Eternal.”
“Of course. I am quite perplexed about why I thought it was a good idea to make you cleanse my temple of hatred. Maybe the Shadow Dragon’s presence inside you made you seem familiar.”
“Okay, now that we’re done,” I said. “Can we go?”
“Indeed,” she smiled. “However—”
“Ugh, ‘However’s are not good,” Nyx said.
“I wish to help you for what you have done for me.”
“Oh never mind, this one sounds good.”
“What do you wish to do?” I asked.
“I understand you are seeking the man beyond the mountains,” she said.
My eyes widened. “Why do you know that?”
“When minds are joined there is much I can learn of the other.”
“She was able to hear of that since it is what you desire most at the moment,” Acnologia said.
How does that even work? I blinked.
“Do you know anything about this man, Espaniona?” the Dragon asked.
“Of the man? No,” she said. “However, I do know of his castle, and of where it is. I can take you there.”
“You can?”
“You and your friends will find yourselves in a close by forest when you wake up,” Espaniona said. “Even the ones who have been trapped outside of this tunnel. They will be brought to the forest as well.”
“You know too much,” I mumbled.
“The time has come for me to leave, Eternal,” the Dragon of Light said. “I bid you a fair thank you. My spirit will happily pass on.”
I smiled. “If you ever decide to build another temple, just don’t put any spiders in it.”
“So you ARE afraid of them,” Nyx chuckled.
“I will consider it,” Espaniona said. “And remember Eternal, no amount of blood can mend a wound to the heart.”
My chest tightened. “What?”
“Farewell, Diablo.”
***
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I hated it when someone gave me an obscure piece of information, and then just disappeared.
“Yeah, that’s always pretty annoying,” Nyx said.
I opened my eyes, and felt a gentle chill under my body. I sat myself up and saw that I was now in a small forest, with a few trees standing around me. Acnologia lay on the ground before me, and lifted his head up as I looked at him.
“ZORAN!” A voice yelled.
I turned around, just in time to see Irmeia throw herself at me. I caught her in a panic, and the Eternal put her arms around my shoulders, hugging me tight. “You’re okay.”
“Yeah,” I said awkwardly. “Could you stop crushing me?”
She pulled back. “Sorry,” she chuckled.
“Is this really a time to be chummy?” Oris stood behind her, an annoyed expression on his face.
“Hello there,” I smiled. “I’m surprised you haven’t tried to kill anyone yet.”.
“You don’t know that,” he said and walked away, as if that was all he had come to say.
I stood myself up, and noticed that Raffyr, Viola and Freya were on the ground before me, with the three of them slowly stirring as well.
DING!
A screen popped up.
Congratulations! You have cleansed Espaniona’s spirit of the hatred plaguing it. In return, the Dragon has rewarded you with an accessory. Reward: Ring of Vengeful Light.
Ooooh, I thought, tapping on the Reward name and bringing up the equipment’s info menu.
Equipment Title
Ring of Vengeful Light
Grade
Six Stars
Special Effects
+10% attack to all Light Arts Spells
+10% attack bonus after 10 revenge kills
+5% Health Regeneration
+5% Mana Regeneration
+50% agility after taking damage from Dark Arts Spells
+40% Agility if health is below 20%.
Durability
Unbreakable
Quality
Godly
Rarity
Legendary
Value
Price
less
My eyes widened. Holy hell.
“Espaniona was quite generous,” Acnologia said.
“Generous?” Nyx exclaimed. “This thing is freaking Legendary-class equipment!”
“When a Dragon has lived for so many years, they collect things.”
Still. I read its stats once again. This is amazing.
I hit the ‘Equip’ button at the bottom of the screen. The screen shut down and a stream of lights surged out of nowhere, collecting around my finger as a ring of light. In seconds the brightness died down, and in its place was a ring of metallic silver. A black line ran through the middle, all the way around the ring, and a single dark rune was inscribed onto it.
I held my hand up. It’s beautiful.
“Zoran,” Freya walked up to me, properly awake, with Raffyr and Viola at her side. Viola smiled at me widely as she approached, and I returned the gesture.
“How are you guys feeling?” I asked.
“We’re fine,” she said. “What happened to you?”
“A Dragon summoned me.”
“Eh?” Raffyr blinked.
I spent the next ten minutes explaining to them and everyone else what exactly we’d gone through — about Espaniona and her quest to release her spirit, and how the Dragon was the one who had teleported all of us here. At the end of it, Freya seemed really exasperated.
She smiled. “Only you could end up finding problems like this to solve.”
“Hey, it wasn’t my fault okay?” I complained. “That Dragon made me do this. I did not agree to solve this problem for her. I was forced to.”
“What’s that?” Viola pointed to my hand. Everyone glanced at my ring, and a confused expression showed on their faces.
“You got…married?” Raffyr blinked.
“What?” I stared at him. “Wait, how on earth does one get there from—”
The Eternal: Transcend - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 3) Page 19
