“Who wants to risk it?” Sergeant asked his companions.
Avelia suggested drawing straws. The Philosopher suggested that the one with the most lives should do it. Sergeant had some idea of his own. The argument might last a while. So instead of waiting for them to finish, I checked that the stones were all arranged correctly on the tiles, then leaped forward and stood on tile one hundred and one. With a disgusting screech, the heavy age-darkened bronze door slowly began to raise…
Chapter 13 [Sergeant]
Hundred Skull City: Challenge
I FELT USELESS. All the other members of the group were hard at work to help solve puzzles and get past traps in Hundred Skull City. The Thief and the Swordmaiden were on point, helping us to avoid all kinds of dangers and advance toward the city center. The Philosopher solved the hardest puzzle. Few could have figured that one out. Even the cat made himself useful by giving out buffs. I was our only dead weight. Eleven Intellect and twelve Perception. With those stats, my Sergeant didn’t have a chance of successfully completing the challenges in Hundred Skull City, and my minus three Luck Modifier was a death sentence in such a dangerous place. As a fighter, my Beast Catcher wasn’t much good either, so the path through the main streets and their hordes of monsters was closed to me. All I could do was drag along behind my friends, follow their instructions to the letter.
Now the time-darkened bronze door slowly lifted, revealing a passageway into the well-preserved ancient mansion. Walls made of huge blocks of white limestone, marble columns, bas-reliefs on the ceiling. But none of my companions were quick to go in. Inside, it seemed strangely dark and… just wrong somehow. A sticky, almost living darkness waited to meet us. It swallowed up the bright midday sunlight, blotting out anything three paces beyond the hospitably open door. There were no windows or other sources of light in the room. This unexpected obstacle caused a lively discussion. The Philosopher even suggested that someone run back along the city walls and cut some sap-filled branches to use as torches.
“No need. I have a flashlight!” Finally, something I could do for the group.
Avir Tan-Hoshi took the electronic flashlight from my hands, figured out on his own how to switch it on, then clicked his tongue in excitement. It worked — the bright beam from the LED flashlight dispersed the creepy gloom. Avelia dug around in her shoulder bag and pulled out an electronic flashlight of her own, although not quite as bright. That flashlight, incidentally, was clear proof that the sherkhs did actually trade with humans, although they officially denied it. Unless she just stole it from some careless villager. That sure was possible.
I was the last one of us through, and as soon as I stepped inside, the metal door descended with a crash behind me, cutting off our exit. Everyone stopped. The Thief and Swordmaiden spent a long time lighting up the walls and the bronze door now blocking our exit. They could find no way back. Only forward.
We passed through the great hall with its tall stone columns, their tops lost in the darkness, and approached an old marble staircase. To everyone’s disappointment, the stairs went down deep underground. We couldn’t rely on having any light except from our two flashlights. Damp and cold drifted up from the tunnel. It was cut right into the rock, descending sharply down. The veyer’s familiar cry “mara!” told us that something was amiss with the staircase too.
Nobody wanted to go down, but we soon learned that there was no other way out of the great columned hall. There were actually some huge bronze gates on the far wall, but we couldn’t find any way to open them, although we tried for at least half an hour. While the Thief and Swordmaiden combed the hall in search of hidden levers and pressable tiles, I had the time to closely examine the image of a beast on the gates — a huge creature like a winged lion with a scorpion’s tail crossed with a dragon. The image was old and thoroughly covered with scratches and dents. It seemed our group was far from the first who tried to open these locked gates, and our predecessors hadn’t managed to do it by force.
“It’s useless. There’s no way through,” the sherkh Swordmaiden said, finally giving up. “We have to go down those stairs into the depths of these dangerous ruins.”
Well, there was no way back. Our only path led down into the ancient catacombs, no doubt highly dangerous and full of traps. Was I frightened? Strangely enough, no. I surprised myself, but I didn’t feel an ounce of fear. I suspected it was all down to the cat sitting on the Swordmaiden’s shoulder — I noticed long ago that sadness and grief lift in the presence of Whiskers, and Stamina Points recovered faster too. Right now, none of our group was panicking. They spoke calmly and only about the challenges we faced.
Eagle Eye skill increased to level twenty-three!
Uhh… Now I had no idea what had happened. I imagined that something moving and warm flashed in the darkness of the hall, a blurry red streak. I asked Avelia to shine her flashlight in that direction. Nothing. Just ranges of tall columns disappearing into the darkness. Well, night vision wasn’t always reliable. It could have been reacting to a gust of warm air in the room. Just in case, I put the IR goggles on and they confirmed it was a false alarm. Anyway, the veyer had already disarmed the trap on the stairs. Judging by the winged boy’s gestures, we couldn’t set foot on the first two steps. The rest of the staircase was safe.
We carefully began to descend down the seemingly endless stairs. We walked slowly, giving the Thief time to examine the steps in case of traps. It got colder and colder. Even I started to shiver, let alone my companions. Avelia was the first to notice the dim light at the end of the long staircase. Soon, everyone was staring raptly at the bluish light that awaited us at the end of our descent. With the greatest possible care, we went down the final few steps and looked through the doorway. The source of the light was a pedestal at the center of a large circular room. More precisely, it was the items on the pedestal.
A large two-handed hammer, two identical one-handed crossbows, a heap of some dark clothing, a thick ancient tome and a couple of scrolls. I got the impression that these items were the reward for overcoming the dangers of Hundred Skull City. And a reward crafted specially for our group members. The hammer must have been for me. The crossbows would go to the Thief… or actually, the Swordmaiden. The Thief would get the set of dark gear. The book and scrolls were for the Philosopher. That seemed right.
The Philosopher echoed my thoughts, confirming that we were thinking along the same lines. But he also added that the aura around the items meant that they had magical properties, although that was obvious anyway. All the items lying on the altar contained magic. ‘My’ two-handed hammer glowed blue, although I couldn’t read its attributes.
Your character does not have enough Intellect to determine this item’s properties.
Yeah, I know. According to the game system, Sergeant was a little on the slow side. ‘Muscles for brains’ was an apt description for my character. But hey, couldn’t I just pick the hammer up to see what it was like? I didn’t have to be able to read its stats, right?
“Don’t go near the pedestal!” Avelia snapped, stopping me as soon as I took my first step.
To Avir Tan-Hoshi, who had also begun to approach the altar behind me, the Swordmaiden snapped a word that was now familiar to us all: “mara!”. “It could be dangerous. I’ve seen this before in an old fortress. I barely got away.”
Did I imagine it, or did the cat sitting on the girl’s shoulder nod approvingly? No, it couldn’t be. Just a coincidence. Animals can’t understand human speech. The Philosopher’s words rang out clearly in the silence that fell.
“Colleagues, does it not occur to you that this was all… kind of… a little too easy?” The Philosopher wasn’t looking at the trophies themselves so much as the room at large, and especially the heavy bars on the opposite wall. A breeze blew through them. “We haven’t even reached the center of Hundred Skull City yet. We’re only two thirds of the way there. Our job isn’t done, so why are we being offered rewards?”
The Swordmaid
en froze, slowly turned to our ‘Diogenes’ and… suddenly clapped her hand on his shoulder in a gesture of approval so unexpectedly informal that the Philosopher seemed shocked.
“You’re right, old man! Father said that in Hundred Skull City, each player can take only one reward, and its value depends on how far the player gets. How could I have forgotten?! These items on offer to us are a trap in themselves! If we take them, then we’ll get nothing else of value even if we get to the very center of the ancient ruins!”
Choice made.
Avelia’s words and the game message floating before my eyes were like a trigger — the altar of trophies began to slowly and soundlessly descend, disappearing into the floor. With growing alarm, the Thief looked from us to the disappearing loot, but still stayed where he was. As soon as the altar disappeared completely into the floor, a stone tile moved over it as if it had never been. At the same time, the portcullis at the far wall rose silently, inviting us to go further, to continue the trials.
* * *
ATTENTION! You found the first of eight hidden areas in the game’s starter zone!
The rate at which you gain experience and skills has been tripled.
Duration: 48 hours.
The message came up as soon as I walked through the now open passageway. Judging by my companions’ comments, they saw similar game messages. It seemed our Diogenes was right — we had successfully completed another challenge. The corridor was short and straight, and it ended with a big hole in the floor. We couldn’t see the bottom even with our flashlights. The drop was maybe five yards across. If I gave it a good run-up, I could jump across to the other side if necessary. But I suspected that such an obvious solution would be wrong, and the alarmed cry of ‘mara!’ from the veyer also stopped me from doing anything too hasty.
A hanging walkway had once led across the gap, but only the ropes remained, stretched from one end to the other. It would take a tightrope walker to cross along them. However, there was a whole pile of wooden planks next to us that looked suitable for building a bridge. A few more planks were nailed to the right wall. Must be some kind of clue.
The Philosopher took the first piece of wood from the pile and placed it across the taut ropes. None of us expected what happened next. A bright flash of fire, and the charred crosspiece fell into the abyss. The Philosopher himself barely had time to jump back, and then we all had to help beat out the flames on his clothes.
“Damn, that hurt…” the Philosopher grimaced, examining what was left of his trousers and the inflamed blisters on his legs. “That took half my hit points. And look, the fire didn’t burn away the ropes. It seems we do have to build a bridge, but we have to place the planks in a specific order.”
The Thief quickly found the solution. He knocked the pommel of his knife against the pieces of wood fixed to the wall and realized that they all sounded different. Apparently, the challengers had to find the right planks by ear and put them in the right order. I didn’t bother getting involved, just left them to it — I’ve never been good at music, and I’d always been tone-deaf. My music teacher in school gave me a C out of sympathy and noted that “Andrei Bestuzhev-Kislyakov couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Music is not his calling.” It seemed Avelia Un Ponar was similarly musically challenged — the sherkh girl blushed and moved away, letting the others try and solve it. But the Thief and the Philosopher seemed to have no trouble, and the bridge was soon built. The kitten was the first to run across the walkway and confirm that it was safe.
Your character is now level twenty!
Reward: three skill points (total available: nine) and one mutation point (total available: seven).
ATTENTION! You have reached level twenty. You can now choose another three skills.
An entirely unearned reward, since I hadn’t done anything to help solve the musical puzzle. All the same, the game flooded me generously with experience — that must have been the effect of my triple EXP bonus. The Philosopher got a new level too, which healed all his burns. So did the Thief, and even my Whiskers was now a level twenty-six Shadow Hexxer. Only the Swordmaiden didn’t level up — apparently, Avelia Un Ponar needed a lot more experience to reach the substantial level of fifty-three than us low-level scrubs.
A short corridor, then another staircase leading still deeper into the catacombs of Hundred Skull City. Another two hundred steps and more traps on them found by Avir Tan-Hoshi. Finally, we ended the descent and stopped before some massive bronze gates that looked identical to the ones we saw in the dark hall full of columns. The same image of some kind of dragon or winged lion adorned the darkened metal, the same countless scratches and dints. If we hadn’t been going deeper and deeper all this time, I would have sworn that we were back in that dark hall. Only there was one important difference — unlike the last gate, this one was ajar! And I could see a flickering light behind it, like someone was holding a torch.
ATTENTION! As soon as you walk through the gates, there will be no way back. Death, victory or triumph awaits. Prepare for your final challenge and fight the ancient guardian!
* * *
The whole group could see the alarming red message. The smiles slipped off all our faces and all conversation ceased. A battle with an ancient guardian… That sounded sinister. We couldn’t see or identify the enemy that awaited us, although Avelia did look through the crack between the doors and told us the beast was huge, shrouded in flames and very agile. Could it be a dragon?
Should we prepare, maybe take some new skills? Thankfully, I had three whole skill slots left. I’d need to spend my nine free skill points somehow too.
I checked my armor, lowered my helmet visor and took out my axe. Heh… I shook my head at myself. What kind of fighter was I? I didn’t even have the Axes skill to help me better use the only weapon I had. Should I take that skill now? I thought for a moment, then rejected the idea. Even if I put all nine of my free points into the new skill and got it up to level ten, I’d still be a pathetic excuse for a melee fighter. I doubted I’d be able to do any damage to the ancient guardian. I was no DPSer. My job was to tank, keeping the monster’s aggro for as long as I could, so that the skilled Swordmaiden and sharp-eyed Thief could pepper the beast with arrows. I said just that to my allies.
“Yes, I think that’s the only strategy here,” the Philosopher agreed. “The Thief should fly up and attack from the air while the lovely Swordmaiden shoots the enemy from stealth and Sergeant keeps it occupied. If they manage to finish off the ancient monster while our tank is still alive, then great. If not, then I’ll have to tank, although I’m sure you already know I’ll only be able to buy you a few seconds,” our Diogenes shrugged guiltily. “My character is completely non-combative, has no weapon or armor skills and possesses nothing more dangerous than a knife and fork. In any case, friends, I want to say thank you to all of you. It’s been fun and enlightening.”
The Swordmaiden nodded and even bowed slightly to the Philosopher. Then she shared some crossbow bolts with the winged Thief and moved her throwing knives into pockets on her belt. Even Whiskers the cat got ready, bristling up his fur to look twice as big as normal. The Philosopher was about to pick him up, but the cat chose to jump onto the Swordmaiden’s shoulder instead.
Instead of Axes, I decided to take the Tenacity skill, which increased my character’s resistance to fire and other environmental threats. That would come in handy against a monster shrouded in flame. Also, the additional protection was added to the 25% I already had from the Resilience ability from my high Physique and the Hardy Brute ability from my low Luck.
Level one Tenacity skill learned.
11 of 13 possible character skills at level 20 chosen.
My fire resistance rose to 25.25%. Just a quarter of a percent per skill level? Not much, to put it lightly. All the same, I put my seven free points into Tenacity, raising the skill to level eight and my resistance to fire and other environmental damage to 27%. I put the two remaining points into Heavy Armor. Al
right, now I was ready. The other group members also declared they were ready to fight the monster.
“Well, let’s go!” I pushed on the heavy gates, opening the path into the lair of Hundred Skull City’s ancient guardian.
Chapter 14 [Kitten]
Final Boss
A MANTICORE. I knew that before I read the info on the guardian of the ancient ruins. Lying in wait for us was a giant black lion with a scorpion’s tail, broad wings and an aura of flame.
☠ Fiery Manticore. Level 80 Female.
A mythical beast mentioned in many legends of old Earth. On the one hand, it seemed strange to see a legendary creature here in the new world. But on the other, I’d seen dragons here too, so why not? In any case, standing before us now was a truly fearsome foe. It was fast, with vicious claws and sharp, deadly teeth. On top of that, all the legends depicted the manticore with incredible regeneration and a capacity for healing even grievous wounds in mere moments. The venom at the tip of its horrifying scorpion tail is the deadliest of all, and has no antidote. It was eight feet across at the shoulders, had broad wings behind its back and its twenty-foot-long tail ended in an eleven-inch stinger gleaming with venom. I didn’t know how closely this manticore matched the legends, but the monster’s size and power was astounding.
Sergeant was in no hurry to advance. He stood by the door and examined both the enemy and the theater of the upcoming battle. There was no cover at all in the hall — no columns or alcoves, only one entrance and a round arena about forty yards in diameter, with a very high ceiling above. The arena was well lit in the center thanks to the monster’s flames, but it was gloomy by the walls. Avelia went straight into stealth and crept in that direction. I sat on the Swordmaiden’s shoulder and activated stealth too, then translucency, although I hoped the manticore wouldn’t bother attacking me, tiny critter that I was. Our opponent obviously belonged to the ‘large and very large’ category of creatures, so my Little Furball skill should activate and make the manticore ignore me. Theoretically. But that was if I planned to stay passive, and on the contrary, I was going to be casting spells and attacking the enemy as hard as I could. There was no guarantee that the manticore would ignore my use of painful magic.
In Service of the Pharaoh (League of Losers Book #2): LitRPG Series Page 12
