by Hugo Huesca
In a corner of the screen, a notification was demanding his attention. He clicked on it, to discover he had a new quest offer. “Well, well, well. Speak of the devil…” Ryan smiled triumphantly. The quest said:
The Militant Church has issued a command to all available Heroes to step into the nearest summoning portal to investigate the suspected presence of Dungeon Lords in the previously pacified province of Starevos. Have you missed fighting werewolves in the dark woods and facing vampires in the forgotten mansions of Galtia’s mountaintops? Battle awaits, adventurer, in Ivalis Online’s most recent Expansion: “A Return to Starevos.”
Difficulty: Medium. Exp Gain: High. Loot: Medium.
“Finally,” Ryan said. “Some new content! I was beginning to think the developers had forgotten all about me.”
He accepted the quest.
Edward Wright
Species: Human
Total Exp: 450
Unused Exp: 137
Claims: Lordship.
Attributes
Brawn: 11
Agility: 10
Endurance: 12
Mind: 13
Spirit: 14 (+1 Dungeon Lord mantle)=15
Charm: 13 (+1 Dungeon Lord mantle)=14
Skills
Athletics: Basic (VIII) - The owner has trained his body to perform continuous physical activity without penalties to their Endurance. For a while.
-Basic ranks allows them to perform mild energy-consuming tasks (non-combat) such as running or swimming without tiring. Unlocks stamina-related talents.
Melee: Basic (III) - Martial skill, represents the user’s fighting technique. Allows access to some martial-related talents.
Dungeon Engineering: Improved (IV) - This skill represents the user’s knowledge of magical constructs pertaining to dungeoncraft. As it improves, it opens new rooms and traps, as well as adding to the Dungeon Lord Mantle’s capacity of storing the user’s own blueprints.
Combat Casting: Basic (V) - Pertains to the speed and efficiency of spells cast during combat or life-threatening situations.
-Basic status allows the caster to use spells every 20 seconds minus 1 second per extra rank. The caster must say their names aloud and perform the appropriate hand gestures.
Leadership: Basic (VIII) - Reflects the owner’s capacity of inspiring and managing his troops and minions. For a Dungeon Lord, improving this skill adds to the bonus he and his minions receive.
Talents
Evil Eye - Allows the Dungeon Lord to see the Objectivity of any creature or item. If the targets of his gaze possess a strong Spirit (or related Attribute or Skill) they may hide their information if the Lord’s own Spirit is not high enough.
Energy Drain: Active. Very Low.
Dungeon Lord Mantle - The mantle is the heart of the Dungeon Lord and represents the dark pact made in exchange for power.
-It allows the Dungeon Lord access to the Dungeon Lord status and powers, as defined by the Dungeon Screen.
-It allows the Dungeon Lord to create and control dungeons, as per the limitations of his Dungeon Screen.
Energy Drain: None.
Improved Reflexes - Allows the owner to experience increased reaction time for a small periods.
-Basic status elevates the owner’s reaction speed to a degree dictated by the owner’s Agility, for a duration of 3 seconds per use.
Energy Drain: Activated. High.
Resist Sickness: Basic - Allows its owner to resist disease and sickness.
-Basic status allows the owner to resist non-magical sickness as if they had an Endurance of 15 and were in optimal conditions (clean, well-fed, rested).
Spellcasting: Basic (III) - Domains: General. Forbidden: Healing - Represents the owner’s magical ability.
-Basic status allows the caster to use and learn all related basic spells of their domain. Extra ranks improve each individual spell’s characteristics, such as range or damage.
-Efficient status grants the owner 1 extra basic spell.
-Allowed spells: 1 basic per day + 1 basic spell due to Dungeon Lordship
Energy Drain: Active. Varies per Spell.
Ancient Lord Aura — The owner creates an aura around him that enhances allied beings inside its area of effect. Affected beings can use the Dungeon Lord’s Spirit as their own while this aura is active. Their physical attributes are also bolstered by one while this aura is active. If the creature is a minion of the Dungeon Lord, they are immune to fear while affected by this aura.
Duration: 1 minute.
Energy Drain: Activated. Moderate.
Pledge of Armor - Any armor that the Dungeon Lord wears is considered magical, as if it had a minor protection enchantment. This bonus stacks with any protection enchantment the armor may have, or any other similar defensive enchantment. Magical armor can deflect spells of similar power-category, as well as normal weaponry.
Restriction: Selecting this talent locks out the Pledge of Bloodshed advancement option.
Energy Drain: Passive.
Spell List
Minor Order - Command. The caster forces a target creature to follow a simple order as long as said order is not immediately against the creature’s moral code or presents a threat to its life.
Eldritch Edge - Enchantment. The caster adds a magical flame to the edge of a weapon. This flame makes the weapon magical for the duration, allowing it to bypass weak magical defenses and mundane ones.
Duration: 1 minute per Spellcraft rank.
Murmur’s Reach - Command (Mantle) - The caster possesses a minion located in the same dungeon as the caster. The caster’s body is left defenseless during this time.
Duration: Ten minutes per Spellcraft rank.
Afterword
Thank you for reading Otherworldly Powers! I hope you had as great a time reading it as you did with Dungeon Lord.
Please, consider leaving a review about Otherworldly Powers. A couple sentences are enough to let the book better reach other readers who will enjoy it (and it really helps me out!)
I bet you don’t need me to tell you that Ed’s adventures will continue in the next installment of the Wraith’s Haunt, but just in case: they will! As you may have guessed by now, it’s time for him to square off against those pesky Heroes that have been hunting the Dungeon Lords almost to extinction. Can he avoid the fate of his predecessors, or will he collapse under the overwhelming strength of the Light’s Chosen?
Having said that, let me also say that I love writing stories for you—it’s a dream come true, and I hope to keep doing it for a long, long time. Thank you for sharing this journey with me, and thank you for all your emails and words of encouragement—they mean a lot to me, and are always very welcome, even if I don’t always manage to answer them all (I promise I’m using that time to write an even better book than the last one you read!)
And speaking about writing, it’s time for me to go and work on a certain book three.
Until the next time,
Hugo.
If you’d like to contact me, you can do so at [email protected]
Keep in Touch!
If you want to find out about Dungeon Lord’s next installments before anyone else, you can do so here:
www.subscribepage.com/dungeonlord
There’s also a couple pages in Facebook where I’m known to hang out. These following are dedicated to the LitRPG and GameLit genres, which are about fantasy and science fiction that mix a game-like element to the story. They’re growing genres with a lot of cool, experimental fiction being written every day. If you enjoy RPGs, check them out, maybe you’ll find something you like.
www.facebook.com/groups/litrpgsociety
www.facebook.com/groups/gamelit
www.facebook.com/groups/gamelitsociety
If you’re looking for a community wholly dedicated around videogame-related fiction, check out
www.facebook.com/groups/litrpggroup
It’s the biggest one around, and there you’ll usually find
authors and readers living in harmony.
Also by Hugo Huesca
RUNE UNIVERSE
Space Opera, Videogames, and Cyberpunk meet for this action-packed thriller.
There are infinite worlds in Rune Universe, but only one of them holds the key to Cole’s salvation.
The Complete Rune Universe Trilogy is available now.
