by Sarah Lin
When he heard the grinding of stone, he turned and saw that the plate from the other knight was capable of lowering the door. Meara shrugged and removed it. "It seems that we do have the option of moving on. Perhaps we should?"
"Perhaps, but I suspect this statue will have another key that we'll need at the end. Most likely the fact that we can open that door is just a mistake by the box gods."
"Reasonable enough, but we haven't been able to scratch that thing yet."
"We haven't tried everything." Bloodwraith stretched his arms, got his sword into position, and reached for the rage deep inside him.
It felt just as wrong as before, for a flickering moment before his eyes went red and he felt only rage. He launched himself at the statue with a roar, hacking at it over and over. Part of him knew that he should check if he was actually dealing damage, but a larger part of him didn't care, it just wanted to tear down everything that stood in his way.
When at last he dropped to one knee, panting for breath, the red slowly drained from his vision. Danniah moved over to help support him, but he blearily tried to blink his vision clear and see if his foolish raging had accomplished anything. "Did... did it...?"
"You dealt some real damage," Gharavi said. She was standing near the statue and frowning at cracks he could only slowly make out. "But I'm afraid the statue is reacting."
"Wait, what?" Now that he was stable, Danniah moved to the statue and let out a dismayed cry. "Oh no! Bloodwraith, can you do that rage thing again?"
His entire body felt weak and loose, making it a struggle even to get to his feet. "Not any time soon. Why?" But he had his answer as he stepped closer and his vision cleared:
Even as he watched, the cracks in the statue were beginning to repair themselves. The process wasn't fast, but it was clear that attrition wouldn't work in this case. Bloodwraith would have felt angry, but all rage had been drained out of his system and he just stared at the statue with mild disgruntlement.
"If the other room was a test of defense," Gharavi said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "then perhaps this one is a test of offense. The statue is vulnerable to extreme damage, we just need to find a way to deal it in a short amount of time."
"Uh, I already gave it my best shot." Danniah put her mace and shield away and shrugged helplessly. "I guess... Meara, can you help us out with potions?"
"You're already under the effects of my normal boost." Meara walked around the statue as she spoke, examining it on a deeper level. "I can create a potion based on pure damage if you give me some time, but I'm not sure that will be enough. This thing is extremely durable."
"Should we use the Scepter of Annihilation?" Danniah asked. "We still have one charge left, right?"
"Yes, but because of that I think we should conserve it for a more desperate situation. We have time to think our way through this one."
Finally Bloodwraith's mind fully reengaged and he joined them in considering their options. He agreed that Gharavi had the logic of the room correct, but suspected that the true obstacle was not the statue's regeneration, but its ability to resist damage. Fortunately, they had someone who was specialized in piercing defenses.
"Izzy, come over here. How many Necromancy Points do you have?"
It had been a question to himself, but as Izzy scampered over to him, she waved in the direction of her box as he pulled it up. "This many!"
"Yes, very good." As it happened, she currently had 243 available NP - the boss of the last floor and all the strange creatures on the third floor had really added up while he wasn't paying attention. "What we're going to do is try to improve your ability to pierce the statue even more effectively."
His primary objective had been the Master Razor Teeth trait he had discarded earlier, but even with all the growth Izzy had experienced, she still didn't have the requisite 50 Might to take the trait. He could spend NP to raise the stat directly, but an increase from 46 to 50 would be rather expensive. Surely there was a way to sacrifice two birds with one knife...
[Spectral Bite
Cost: 94 NP
The Undead Companion's teeth will become capable of dealing spectral damage, capable of penetrating most physical defenses and damaging spiritual opponents. Taking this trait requires Intellect of at least 20 and will grant Might +2.]
An exceedingly odd trade-off. Izzy currently had only 18 Intellect, and even though it cost less to increase a lower statistic, it seemed perverse to spend on Intellect just to avoid spending on Might. Especially given the immense cost of the skill itself...
"Ooh! I wanna bite ghosts!" Izzy nodded eagerly, so he decided to go with her instincts. He invested NP in increasing her Intellect to 20, then increased her Might to 48 before allowing her to take the Spectral Bite trait. As he'd hoped, that brought her up to the requirement for her other trait...
[Master Razor Teeth
Cost: 117 NP
The Undead Companion's teeth will become dangerous weapons, gaining +10/+25 to damage and scaling with Tier development. Their bite will become usable against any opponent and ignore regeneration abilities. Taking this trait requires Might of at least 50 and will also grant Might +3 if Might is below 100.]
When both traits took effect, Izzy eagerly snapped her teeth together and ran off to show Danniah. Meanwhile, Gharavi watched her with a look of strange concern. "Your daughter has become a troublingly powerful ghoul, Bloodwraith."
"As she should, given her father." He nodded in satisfaction, but Gharavi only shook her head.
"I really don't think the Earthians intended the system to be used in this way. That is a vote in its favor, in my opinion, I'm just noting it."
In any case, the real test was whether or not Izzy's new bite would be able to overcome the statue's defenses. She hopped up onto the statue and bit into its head. Though she gagged and spat out stone, a large chunk of the statue was gone.
Unfortunately, the statue began to regenerate faster than before. Though Izzy kept biting and was barely able to keep up, it became obvious that she wasn't going to be able to destroy the statue alone. They could all join in the attack, but unfortunately most of their efforts weren't capable of breaking the statue's defenses. It was rather a frustrating situation.
Frowning, Danniah turned back to look at him. "Somebody needs to help Izzy out... Bloodwraith, do you think you can do a rage thing again?"
"Possibly, but I'm not sure it would be enough. I wouldn't intentionally hurt Izzy, but I don't have much control in that state, so she would need to retreat. I'm not sure that would be enough." Furthermore, he didn't like the idea of pushing himself into the barbarian rage again so soon.
Still, they might not have a choice. Bloodwraith sat down and began searching for the anger inside himself again, this time struggling to bring it to the surface. While he worked, Meara sat down beside him and handed him a potion.
[Brute's Potion
Drink to temporarily increase physical damage by 50%, while decreasing barbarian skill damage by 50%.
Rarity: Very Uncommon]
"This is the best I can do on short notice, sorry," Meara said. "I noticed that you don't really use your Fist of Rage or Sword of Rage skills in that form, so I figured that was an acceptable sacrifice."
"It should help, thank you."
"But if you want to be absolutely certain that you can destroy the statue, I think that you might be able to go a step further. The Savages Guild taught you to enhance the strength of your other skills, right?"
"Yes, they called it 'empowering' a skill and the boxes call it 'Enraging' one. But I can't do it consciously in my raging state. I don't use mana at all, just exhaust my physical stamina."
"That wasn't what I had in mind." Meara's lips twitched as if she wanted to smirk, but she was offering a serious idea. "What if you used that skill on the barbarian rage itself?"
Bloodwraith blinked, having never considered that idea before. Though he wasn't an expert on such brute magic, it went against his magical instincts
: surely that was drawing one pool of power back into itself, creating a useless loop. Yet... the barbarian rage sat in his list of skills, taunting him with its stupid redundant name. If the technique worked on other skills, why not this one?
Accepting her logic, Bloodwraith drank the potion and then focused inward. This time he struggled to access the ability, so he tried to think of everything that had ever angered him. He thought back to every injustice done to him, every annoyance with the boxes, everything about Raigar, and the threat to his world. It wasn't enough to enter a state of anger, he needed to fuel it into a new form...
All at once it came together and a new box appeared. It offered other details, but Bloodwraith only managed to read the first line:
[New Skill Form: Enraged Rage of Rage]
Seeing that, his anger boiled over and his vision went red.
~ ~ ~
An unknown amount of time later, Bloodwraith found himself repeatedly punching the ground through a haze of red. He had no memory at all of anything that had occurred since the rage overwhelmed him. Even now he could see only a pinpoint ahead of him as he kept smashing what appeared to be stone dust, his hearing filled with the sound of his own heartbeat hammering in his chest.
Memories of the idiotic skill name almost made the anger rise in him again, but he had exhausted his potential for raging. Its grip on him faded enough that he heard the sounds of others calling his name. Gradually he managed to regain himself and remember that he was Bloodwraith, Corrupter of Worlds and Father to the Undead, not some barbarian.
Though admittedly, he was taking a barbarian approach to many of his problems lately.
Finally he pulled back, his body aching. He saw that his allies were watching him from a distance with looks of concern and he couldn't help but wonder how monstrous he had seemed before. Aside from the triviality of an annoying name, the enhanced barbarian rage must have made him lose himself for a time.
"Did..." It hurt to speak, his voice coming out raw and scratchy. "Did we get it?"
"If you didn't smash it apart." Meara approached with a soft smile, her eyes suggesting that she understood his frustration. She touched him on the shoulder as she passed, then leaned down to the pummeled area of the floor to pick up the metal plate. "Looks like it worked."
"I am never doing that again."
Danniah came up beside him, putting an arm around his waist. "I'll admit that one was pretty scary, but you were also really strong. It's a nice power to have on our side, you know?"
He could only shake his head. Perhaps it was the bloodlust still swirling in his mind, but he couldn't put his thoughts into words. While in the rage, he hadn't felt like himself at all. Even if he had been in control on some level and stayed focused on his objective, that wasn't him. Accepting his new body was one thing, but this...
As they recovered and moved on, Bloodwraith took a better look at the box that he hadn't been able to read earlier:
[New Skill Form: Enraged Rage of Rage
Core Skill Level +3
EXP +10,000]
So this was only another form of the skill, not a new skill. Achieving it apparently improved the core skill, but he had to wonder what that meant. Would he gain further control of the barbarian rage as it improved, or would it actually be the opposite? Neither option really made him happy.
While they walked, Meara kept pace beside him and spoke in a low voice. "Are you okay?"
"I am, I just... I do not like that skill." He considered saying more, arguing that he was not simply being disagreeable this time, but couldn't put it into words. Meara saw his conflict, but after a time nodded and accepted what he said.
"Yes, they certainly stuck to a theme with your class. I'm surprised it's named Barbarian instead of Rager." Meara turned to the others with a smirk on her face. "I'm sure that Bloodwraith doesn't want you to know this, but his new ability is called Enraged Rage of Rage."
After staring for a moment, Danniah giggled. Gharavi kept staring with a look of disgust he found simultaneously gratifying and irritating. Izzy just cocked her head to the side, not getting it.
Barely overcoming her giggling, Danniah managed to speak. "Is it possible that he can make the ability even more angry? Could it be Enraged Rage of Enraged Rage?"
"Nonsense," Meara said with mock seriousness. "That would be too repetitive. What about Raging Enraged Rage of Rage?"
"Heehee... soon it'll be Furious Raging Frenzy of Anger... and Rage."
"That will become unwieldy." Gharavi arched an eyebrow at the other women. "I propose that we simply count the number of Rages as they increase. Currently Bloodwraith has access to Rage #3, but I fully expect him to develop Rage #4 and Rage #5 in time."
Bloodwraith stared at her. "Gharavi... not you too."
"Beware the wrath of a woman scorned, Bloodwraith." Despite her words, her expression was gentle.
Meara, on the other hand, was merciless. "I believe you mean the Enraged Rage of a woman scorned."
The others laughed and Bloodwraith found himself laughing too at the absurdity of it all. They kept mocking him, which once would have sent him into a very different kind of rage. But now, even with the laughter echoing around him, Bloodwraith felt at peace. For the first time since he had fallen into the other state, the bloodlust faded from his mind.
After the trouble with the statue, everything else on the third floor seemed simple by comparison. He hoped that they were nearing the end, as there would be only one more key if the pattern held. As they walked, he noted just how linear this floor had been. Though all the floor layouts had been nonsense on some level, he saw the logic if the previous floors were viewed as a game. With this one, there were only dead ends along a single path forward.
He was so wrapped up in thoughts of finishing the dungeon and returning to the conflict that he was completely taken off guard by a new box:
[Your Piety statistic has reached 0, which grants both advantages and disadvantages:
- You are restricted from accessing the cleric class or healing skills.
- You have unlocked access to unique options such as becoming undead.
- Holy spells will deal increased damage to you.
- Life draining spells will deal decreased damage to you.
Piety can be increased by holy rituals and decreased by unholy rituals.]
[SYNERGY: The Undead Companion skill will be enhanced by 0 Piety, granting control of an increased number of undead.]
Though it surprised him, he realized that his Piety statistic had been decreasing for a long time, possibly ever since he had taken this body. Puzzling, since aside from a few simple necromantic rituals, he hadn't done much that would lower the statistic. The decline had begun before that... perhaps his soul itself reduced the statistic, if he was still a lich at heart.
Given this new advantage, he apparently had the option of becoming a lich in truth. Yet as he looked around his companions, talking and laughing freely, he felt no urge to pursue that path. Though he would never be the adventurer he pretended to be, he no longer sought a life of completely solitary study.
Setting it out of mind, Bloodwraith focused on the task ahead of them. And it was good that he did, because thumping down the corridor toward them was... a giant severed foot? He sighed and joined the others in fighting it.
Eventually the simple blocks of the passage were replaced by black stone. The stone walls were simple and without any patterns, yet much more finely wrought than the rest of the dungeon and without any random details. As they continued forward, the passage widened until eventually they reached a vast door. It was completely featureless except for two slots to accept the metal plates.
"One way or another, this must be the end." Bloodwraith looked to all of the others and saw the determination in their eyes. "On the other side there may be some new absurdity, but we should remain focused to the end. We rest one last time, then head through the door."
They all agreed to that and sat down to rest for
a time. He even considered trying to sleep, hoping that it would put the memories of the rage behind him, but he was too restless for that. After so long in this dungeon, they were finally near the end. It seemed the others felt similarly and their conversation was muted.
At last they rose, checked their equipment, and walked up to the door. Bloodwraith and Meara each took one plate and set them into the door simultaneously.
The doors opened to reveal a large chamber of black stone beyond, intricately carved with patterns of eyes. Bloodwraith sent all of his skeletons in to investigate, looking for the source of the threat. Overall the room was simple: circular walls with obelisks and standing mirrors evenly spaced along them. At first he looked for something hiding behind or within the mirrors, but eventually he noticed a strange crease of darkness in the air.
Then it opened, revealing a single vast eye. It floated in a golden glow, unconnected to any larger creature. Though it seemed absurd, unlike the other nonsensical creatures, this one gave Bloodwraith a sense of dread. The eye hung still in the air, but just then a box appeared in his vision.
[I put so much damn effort into this boss and AdventureCorp just scrapped it. They said that it was unbalanced, but what they really mean is that brain dead adventurers can't figure it out. I'm telling you, gamers are getting worse with every generation.
Hopefully the person reading this message is an admin looking for a dynamic encounter. Please, I'd be happy if anyone actually used my boss. You might want to tone down the stats, though, as I was testing using the vectors and players won't be at that level.]
That did not bode well. As Bloodwraith opened his mouth to call a warning, the golden eye shifted to look down.
All of his skeletons instantly shattered into shards of bone.
Bloodwraith cursed under his breath and prepared for a real fight.
Chapter 22
They headed in, splitting up as quickly as possible so that the eye couldn't look at all of them at once. The eye first focused down on Danniah and she cried out in pain - not only was she frozen in place, Bloodwraith saw in her box that her Health was rapidly draining.