From the Beginning
Page 7
A few hours later Dante spoke up still in a cheerful mood as he munched on some jerky that Terrance had handed him “So I know there was a fishing town on the coast called Darrin though even back then the castle was unused and in disrepair from the last major war. I take it that is where we are going to find the Imp-poster chief?” Laughing at his own bad pun.
Letting out a half-hearted chuckle Terrance answered “Your guess is as good as mine but that would be my first choice. Stories say he fancies himself a king like the humans and elves have in their kingdoms. The thought of seeing him in royal garb sitting on a throne would be worth the swift end he is likely give us. Last news we got in our little town he was working on leveling and had hit level eighty-four before the world seemed to be cut off from the happenings there. It is also said that they keep humans as slaves and cattle for the imps to use for leveling up on.” Anger trickling out as his words came to a sudden stop.
“What did I say about relaxing?” Shooting Terrance a dirty look “If we are able to help we’ll do what we can, but keep in mind we are just a two man army after all so subterfuge may be our best choice. So getting worked up and losing focus will not really help either of us.”
Raising his hands in surrender “As you say, getting angry over something I cannot change does nobody any good.” Then with a wry smile “Imp-poster? Really?”
“There we go!” Dante cheered a bit louder than intended before his hand went to his mouth to cover further noise “my bad, but at least you're starting to catch on. Not sure why but being out here with you I feel more…” Thinking a moment as he stopped in his tracks “Alive, almost as if I am just becoming myself for the first time. You know what I mean?”
Looking around Terrance continued walking while he spoke “I understand what you mean. It is almost as if as I am less holed up in that town I am becoming more alive almost. I am feeling like my true self is starting to shine through. For that alone I owe you more than I will be able to repay.”
Shaking his head and noticing movement out of the corner of his left eye Dante spoke up as if nothing was amiss “Now don’t go being sappy on me.”
Before Dante could strike out an arrow barely whizzed past his face leaving a thin scratch on his cheek followed by a shout “Stop where you are!” From a rather guttural scratchy voice.
Weapons at the ready Dante and Terrance waited for the owner of the voice to emerge. They were slightly surprised to find there was not one but twelve all ranging from level nineteen to twenty-six who came out from the tree line. Imps although three were riding the beasts from the night before. Larger than their earlier counterparts these worgs where each level twenty.
“Drop your weapons,” the one with the crossbow shouted at them in the same guttural scratchy voice demanding them to obey.
Standing up straight Dante looked them over and quickly came to a conclusion “As you command” and with a superfluous bow he sat his swords on the ground and seemed to be placing himself in a prone state turning just slightly to nod and wink at Terrance as if to relay something unknown.
Still aiming its crossbow at Dante’s head the first imp inched forward yelling out to the warrior “You as well” while waving the others to step forward with him.
Once the imp was in reach Dante sprung triggering one ability after another taking all the imps by surprise. In his swift movement he managed to take a third of their group out before he had to stop and catch his breath. While he had been busy trying to draw all the attention his way Terrance had moved up behind the crossbow wielding imp stunning him while Dante did his work.
Seeing this Dante shouted “Keep him alive but disarmed I have some questions when I am done here.” Then without another word he activated Chaos Dash followed by a torrent of other skills killing another four and injuring most that remained.
One of the Worg Riders attempted to flee but with a quick cast of Scatter Blades Dante cut him down and did the same with the other Worg Rider before he could even attempt to escape. Leaving only one level twenty Imp Guardian to contend with. It seemed like it took very little damage from the magical attacks or stuns that Dante had unleashed and taking note of this it did not take Dante long to strategize.
Crude sword in one hand and a shield that looked more like scrap metal firmly held aloft in the other hand the Imp Guardian charged Dante and at the last moment shifted predicting Dante’s movements and scouring a hit along his side as the Imp Guard caught him with the serrated blade of his sword before striking out with his shield knocking Dante back and briefly stunning him.
Stunned for only a moment Dante moved away and used his identify skill to gather more information from his enemy:
Elite Imp Guardian
Level: 20
Health: 1848/2000
“Fuck!” Dante shouted when he realized his mistake. He’d forgotten there were ‘Special’ or ‘Elite’ monsters in the game and the monster in front of him was one of these creatures. When he had played the game he would go ‘Special’ hunting knowing that these creatures were only a bit weaker than their boss counterparts for their spawn areas. They also had a habit of dropping somewhat good gear though the chances were about on par with their boss counterparts the exp from these things alone would be worth overcoming it.
Noticing that the one hit had taken a good twenty percent from his health Dante squared his shoulders and as the Imp Guardian eyed him he thought over his options. Moments before the Imp charged again Dante triggered Chaos Hold only to find himself face to face with the creature who shrugged off the stun as it stuck with its sword dealing another fifteen percent damage to Dante before knocking him back again.
Wincing in pain Dante knew he was at a disadvantage but being stubborn he was determined to win. Not letting the Imp Guardian regain its stamina he activated dash after dash moving around quickly in a random pattern confusing the monster. Knowing that he needed to strike out quickly before the Imp Guardian caught on Dante triggered Intertwined Fates, Cascading Blades, Scatter Blades, and Cycle of Fate before using his tried and true Shadows of Chaos skill and slinking back while waiting for things to come off of cooldown.
Now down to thirty-two percent the Imp Guardian searched for its attacker and upon not finding him his eyes settled on Terrance still holding down the Imp Bowman. Eyes full of rage the Imp Guardian charged at the only enemy it could find. As it got within reach it was struck from the warrior in front of him as well as the magical blades from behind. With one swift flowing move Terrance activated his special Dragons Teeth and with a sword bathed in red fire he cut away the last of the Imp Guardians health to find Dante standing just behind it ready to trigger another ability.
Planting a knee into the raising Imp Bowman Terrance turned to Dante with a smile “Cutting it close aren’t we?”
Stunned for a moment Dante laughed falling back on his butt in the dirt saying between gasps of laughter “Cutting… it… close…” numbed for only a moment longer before the pain kicked in garnering a groan as he clutched first his arm then his side. Taking out one of the potions and downing the flavorless liquid he tossed the empty bottle aside and watched it vanish before he spoke again “I guess you can be punny but the timing was horrible.”
Tying off the hands of the captive monster and sitting him up Terrance shrugged “Seemed suiting for the moment.”
Letting out a small chuckle and walking over and sitting in front of the Imp Bowman Dante looked the monster in the eyes holding its angry gaze “Take me to your leader.” He said with a deadpan face before laughing again leaving the imp and Terrance both looking at him and then each other in confusion.
Dante Alexander: Knight Mage
Level: 26.19
Attack Power:114
Defense Power:236
Health:1327/1327
Mana:526/526
Stamina:418/418
Attack Speed +5
Casting Speed +4
Critical Hit +4
Movement Speed +4
> Gear:
Main Hand
+14 Blade of Chaos
Off Hand
+14 Short Sword of Chaos
Helm
+14 Hidden Circlet of Chaos
Armor
+18 Leather Breastplate of Chaos +250 HP
Gloves
+14 Leather Gloves of Chaos
Shoes
+14 Leather Shoes of Chaos
L Earring slot Empty
R Earring slot Empty
L Ring slot Empty
R Ring slot Empty
Necklace slot Empty
Belt slot Empty
Skills:
Basic Attack
Swift Strike
Cascading Blades
Scatter Blades
Chaotic Shield
Hidden Power
Cycle of Fate
Chaos Hold
Shadows of Chaos
Intertwined Fates
Chaos Dash
Plight of Chaos
Companions:
Terrance Walsh: Warrior
Level:22.64
Attack Power:102
Defense Power:242
Health:1562/1562
Stamina:733/733
Attack Speed +2
Casting Speed +1
Critical Hit +4
Movement Speed +4
Chapter Twelve
Terrance and the imp were both looking at Dante oddly after he had tried to explain irony of a person from another world saying that to one of this world. After a few more attempts he just shook it off and got down to questioning the Imp Bowman.
“So we are heading to face off with old Targith, and we want to make sure we’re heading in the right direction. Could you let us know where he happens to be staying?” Dante asked as if he were simply discussing the weather and not an attempt on the life of a legendary beast.
“Mad” was all the Imp Bowman said as he looked first from Dante to Terrence eliciting a not so gentle kick from Terrance.
“I believe he asked you a question. Mad or not we expect an answer.” Terrance growled at the monster now wincing in front of him.
“Okay, okay, Erchik will answer the madman.” The Imp Bowman answered before turning back to Dante “He’s in the castle. Tries to act a human that one and wants us to do same. Silly it is but none will speak or like Grunner we would be separated from our head and displayed on the wall with the others who challenged Chief Targith.”
Not expecting the imp to speak so much Dante gave it a single nod “Erchik was it?” which the imp nodded “Well I” pointing to himself “am an Adventurer and have already slain one legendary beast.”
Laughter that sounded something between a rabid growl and a sneeze issued from Erchik before Terrance kicked him again stopping most of the laughing as the imp responded “There aren’t any Adventurers anymore. How you think the Chief became the Chief? None could oppose him and hold his power back when all the Adventurers left.”
With a chuckle Dante turned on his title Legendary Slayer which quickly quieted down the imp who's already pale skin became colorless as the blood drained from its face as it stammered “But… but… but…”
“Impossible? Yeah I know but here I am” and with a thought he turned the title off again wanting to not draw too many questions should he need to blend in “So knowing that are you willing to work with us? You don’t seem too happy with the way things are now, so I figure we can work together to take care of this problem.”
Mouth opening and closing in shock Erchik nodded absently before throwing himself at Dante’s feet screeching “Don’t take my exp please!” Before he was dragged back gruffly by Terrance.
Standing Dante motioned Terrance to let up with a wave of his hand “Chill dude, no need to be so rough.” Looking down at the still slobbering imp Dante helped him up “Keep your exp, but don’t get me wrong should you cause us any trouble or betray us I want to remind you that I can come back even if you can’t, and believe me when I say I will make sure you don’t come back should you try to betray us.”
Walking over Dante left Erchik in Terrance’s care with a look that said ‘Go easy’ as he looted the corpses quickly. Mostly all he got was trash drops which he left and a couple hundred in gold. The Elite Imp Guardian though had something of use but Dante decided it was not for him:
Rare Belt of Resistance
+20% magic and physical damage mitigation.
After reading it over he tossed it at Terrance declaring “I figure we will have to start teaming up more going forward, so I want to make sure you can keep up.”
Not arguing Terrence shook his head before putting on the belt and following behind Dante leading Erchik as they headed further into the forest. All of them traveled in silence each trapped in thought while keeping an eye out for trouble. Only stopping a few times to deal with random packs of Worg and Imps who were getting higher in level as they moved forward. There had only been one more special and though it had a decent item drop it was what Dante would call a ‘Spot holder’ until he found some gear better suited for his fighting style. By the end of that night both him and Terrance had gained another five levels. Noticing that Terrance was gaining experience as fast as himself Dante was even more glad to have him along.
Setting up camp that night Dante commented to Erchik “I noticed you didn’t try to stop us or run when your friends attacked. Why is that?”
Erchik was staring at the fire as he spoke “Why run? You promised to hunt me if I betrayed you and you are an Adventurer and if legends are true you would find me in time and I would have gotten nothing but a moment of freedom.”
Nodding agreement but a little curious as to why Erchik was speaking more like a human and with less broken words or phrases he pressed on. “Could you tell me a bit about yourself. Such as do you have family? What gender are you?”
Shaking his head “None have family with Chief Targith for all wives are his to be had or given as you win favor. What is gender?” Eyeing Dante strangely now.
It took Dante a moment to find a way to broach the subject without offending the imp “Would you be one of your race to give birth?”
A chuckle could be heard from Terrance who was out gathering more wood for the fire as Erchik replied with an annoyed tone “Are you blind human? I am obviously not a birthing imp!”
Hands raised as if in surrender Dante laughed “Sorry I apologize if I have insulted you. It would seem there is a lot I have to learn of this world and those who inhabit it.”
“Adventurers sure are strange. Threaten me one moment then apologize for supposed insult the next. Erchik does not understand but I do hope to learn many new things from you as we move on. Should be one more day of steady travel if we keep today's pace.” Looking first at Dante and settling with a small glare at Terrance he finished speaking.
Dante Alexander: Knight Mage
Level: 26.19
Attack Power:114
Defense Power:236
Health:1327/1327
Mana:526/526
Stamina:418/418
Attack Speed +5
Casting Speed +4
Critical Hit +4
Movement Speed +4
Gear:
Main Hand
+14 Blade of Chaos
Off Hand
+14 Short Sword of Chaos
Helm
+14 Hidden Circlet of Chaos
Armor
+18 Leather Breastplate of Chaos
Gloves
+14 Leather Gloves of Chaos
Shoes
+14 Leather Shoes of Chaos
L Earring slot Empty
R Earring slot Empty
L Ring slot Ring of Attack +1 to attack speed
R Ring slot Empty
Necklace slot Empty
Belt slot Empty
Skills:
Basic Attack
Swift Strike
Cascading Blades
Scatter Blades
Chaotic
Shield
Hidden Power
Cycle of Fate
Chaos Hold
Shadows of Chaos
Intertwined Fates
Chaos Dash
Plight of Chaos
Chaotic Blast
Chaotic Subterfuge
Companions:
Terrance Walsh: Warrior
Level:22.64
Attack Power:102
Defense Power:242
Health:1562/1562
Stamina:733/733
Attack Speed +2
Casting Speed +1
Critical Hit +4
Movement Speed +4
Chapter Thirteen
True to his word by afternoon the next day they could see the beginnings of a city through the trees. The imps and worgs were more dense now as Dante, Terrance, and Erchik made their way closer. Try as they might the two humans could not come up with a viable plan to get into the castle without having to deal with a whole arm of level thirty plus imps. Erchik though had a thought and spoke up about it to Dante’s surprise.
“Just a thought…. But I could act like I caught you and bring you to Chief Targith so that you can face him. If you can defeat him none will challenge you on your way out.” Erchik explained his idea.