Underworld - Through the Belly of the Beast: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  Looking at my character sheet, I saw I had only regenerated 12,311 MP. If it were Nava or another succubus with a skeleton army then we were in trouble. At least I knew Light Magic would work.

  When the first skeleton appeared in the doorway, I took a step back.

  The skeleton was about the height of a Skeleton Warrior but wore a full suit of plate mail. The mail didn’t fit right on the skeleton’s thin form, so it looked like it was being worn by a child. As the rest of the skeleton army entered, it grew more comical. One wore tight leather, another had baggy robes over its bony shoulders. It was the one that wore the leather corset that took the cake.

  When the largest skeleton appeared behind it, I was able to relax. It had the body of a Skeleton Sentinel and the head of the Skeleton General that had led the Mistress’s army again Lord Darius. I had helped Mel remove the head from the dead mob’s body myself.

  The small army of 17 skeletons filed into the room and lined up. They split at the middle where Mel in his black leather armor and bright orange hair walked forward with his skeleton captain at his side. Mel was naturally tall but had been excessively skinny. That was until he pumped his strength to 100. I knew his reasoning, as silly as it was, was to impress Olivia.

  I found her in the crowd. She saw him but didn’t really see him. She had just gotten a huge boost in power, so her mind was preoccupied.

  I saw that he noticed she was giving her character sheet extra attention. The corner of his mouth curled up.

  Using Creature Observation, I then saw what the normally overanxious guy was being so cheeky about.

  Name: Mel

  Race: Human

  Age: 18

  Level: 233

  When I saw his level, I knew that he had been able to pull it off. No wonder he hadn’t joined us here in the Bone Palace. Besides their ridiculous stats now, his minions must have leveled enough that he was able to take on the entire room of the Skeleton Sentinels, alone. Knowing how fast you leveled when you weren’t grouped, his level must have skyrocketed since we had entered the Bone Palace.

  Skirting around the old man, I extended my hand to Mel.

  He took it in his but looked at me in question.

  “Congratulations are in order, I think?” I said.

  His grin grew until it stretched from cheek to cheek.

  “Thank you. If only we had more time,” he said with a shake of his head.

  I was suddenly feeling a bit crowded as everyone approached him.

  “Are these all yours?” Aeris asked as she wrung her hands.

  What was it with her and her undead fascination?

  “Yes,” Mel answered, a bit sheepish. He changed the subject. “I brought what I thought was the best of the gear in the armory and tried to bring a variety.”

  “Awesome, man!” Russ said, walking past him wearing nothing but sweat-soaked undergarments.

  Finding a skeleton wearing plate mail that looked like it might now fit him, Russ started unstrapping it from the minion without fear that it might retaliate.

  For all I knew, Russ might have had so much HP now that he had no need to fear.

  Asking Aeris to add me to their group, I then checked his Character Sheet with Creature Observation.

  213,467 HP

  Is that even possible?!

  He had more HP than the Hell Hound had that was 1,000 levels higher. Although the Hell Hound hadn’t given me any additional Constitution when I leeched it. Its main stat had been Dexterity. That might explain why Russ could have so much more than it did.

  One thing was clear: his talent in Constitution made him a real monster.

  Glancing at Aeris who was standing close by, I saw she was still insisting on flying even though she was only floating about an inch off the ground. Should we still be considered human?

  “Follow me to the exit,” Rock Hard echoed.

  “Here,” the old man said, handing me the magic bag.

  I was already carrying Aeris’s armor in my inventory, a bunch of ore and a few additional items, like five gallons of water, about three pounds of bacon jerky, my shield, Lord Darius’s ring and, of course, my books. My inventory didn’t lighten any of the weight but magically distributed the weight on my shoulders evenly. With that and my own plate mail, it was probably affecting my endurance. With over 400 Strength, I didn’t really notice it though.

  Taking a peek in the magic bag, I was astounded at what I saw. Russ’s anvil was there and had to weight 400 lbs. There were about 100 lbs. of clothing, everything from t-shirts to thick cotton pants. There looked to be an extra pair of boots for everyone and food… There were a lot of canned goods with general things like sweet potatoes, green beans, and corn, but also sacks of rice and pasta. I was happy to see salted and cured meats wrapped and sacked up. All in all, there was close to 1,000 lbs. of goodies inside. I was not happy at only seeing three pounds of the cave-swine bacon though. And there was no ranch dressing. Nada!

  The most interesting addition was a handful of books the Lich had added. I would have to wait for later to examine them.

  Taking out Aeris’s armor, I deposited it in the magic bag before moving to place the bag in my inventory.

  “I’ll carry it,” Russ said with a big grin. “Weight doesn’t affect me like it affects everyone else.”

  With a nod, I handed it to him.

  He deposited it in his inventory.

  “Mind if I take the Hell Hound’s skull?!” Mel called out, unsure who to ask.

  Before anyone else could answer, I stepped over, grabbed it around the neck, and yanked the skull from its spine.

  “Sorry. It looks like the jaw is not attached,” I said, handing it to him.

  “That’s not an issue.” He grabbed the jaw on the ground a few feet away. “I can easily fix it.”

  Waving his hand toward the exit, he directed us on. “I’ll follow at the rear with my minions. If there is a surprise attack, they are disposable.”

  “I got the front!” Travis called, as he sped past us and into the next room.

  “So, I guess that’s it,” I said out loud to no one in particular.

  “Yes, for now. The Head Mistress hasn’t abandoned you though, and neither have I,” the Lich replied. “This is probably for the best.”

  “Come, Skeletor!” Olivia called, perky as an alley cat that had just devoured a giant rat.

  There was a tapping on my shoulder, causing me to look back. Seeing Aeris’s shoe, I looked up to see her standing on my shoulders. She was as light as air and beaming down at me with a big grin.

  “You’re going to run face first into the wall as we pass through the doorway,” I pestered.

  “Is this better?” she replied as she lowered herself to sit on my head. Her legs dangled down past both of my shoulders and she held on to the bullhorn spikes of my Skeleton General’s Helmet. They almost worked like the steel bars that might secure her in a rollercoaster.

  I shook my head, which shook her at the same time.

  “Hey, this is great! Keep it up!” she teased.

  “You know, we could die anytime,” I reminded her.

  “Sometimes you just have to have a little faith. Onward!”

  I was starting to think the old man was wrong. Was he sure the muck-cow milk didn’t have any side effects?

  The twenty of us followed Rock Hard, a Master Earth Elemental, as he swam through the stone of the ceiling like a mole in the ground. With a beautiful but loopy Wind Mage riding upon my helm, a bunch of gamers-turned-warriors-and-mages at my side, and a squad of skeletons following up behind, we reached another arching bone door. It was the exit from the Bone Palace.

  Zorik, the servant imp that had become as close to friendly as I suspected an imp could, flapped his wings in a slow cadence as he hovered at the exit waiting for us. Rock Hard removed a key from an opening in his chest and unlocked the exit.

  As the door rose up from the floor, I didn’t know what to expect. Groups of monsters scattered ab
out a large cavern? Instead, we entered a cave with an opening as large as a house and dark with a musty smell.

  Chapter 14 – Into the Unknown

  I let Mana Sight amp up to five times my normal perception as we sat down to meditate before we headed out. It gave me extra time to consider the strategies we could use as we left the Head Mistress’s dungeon and entered into the unknown Dungeon Level of the Underworld.

  The first idea that came to mind was for me to cast Invisible on everyone. The problem was that the creatures we really had to be worried about were the mobs most likely to possess something that could see past Invisibility. Just like Rock Hard, who could feel us through the ground, or the Hell Hound that could probably have smelled us, my Invisibility spell would not disguise us against such abilities and possibly would just give us a false sense of security.

  No. As much as I wished it were that easy, Invisibility was not something we could solely depend upon.

  Most creatures, including the Earth Elementals, even the Intermediate kind, were mobs that would quickly fall if the twenty of us all attacked at once. Well, not all of us. Our bashers would need to form a line and primarily defend as the casters battered our targets into dust.

  It was a simple strategy and probably the most practical one that we could be successful at without a lot of experience fighting as such a large group.

  The only question left was whether we should let Travis scout. He was more than willing, but even after he reached 1,000 Dexterity, there was no guarantee that would keep him alive. He had the ability to use invisibility, but his main strength was speed. I remembered back when we faced Dark Elves. We had easily dispatched them during Lord Darius’s attack. They hadn’t been anticipating us and we easily took care of them before they could flee or turn invisible.

  I might add, I didn’t entirely trust his Invisibility skill either. It seemed to cloak him in shadow like my Shadow Step spell instead of making him see through. I wished that I had tested his ability more.

  Then there was the issue of traps. I had rings that were supposed to let me spot traps and he had a skill. Except for the traps Travis made himself, we really had no idea if we would be able to spot more advanced ones. We had never run into them before in the Mistress’s dungeon.

  The conversation about how we should approach the Underworld had already begun among those of us meditating. We were huddled in a loose bunch before the exit.

  Olivia was recommending we use me to cast Invisibility on everyone when I interrupted. “It’s a good idea, but it won’t work.”

  “But it worked so well before,” Audrey said with a sigh.

  I told them about Rock Hard’s ability and the Hell Hound’s scent skill that I had stolen from him.

  A number of additional ideas were given, so I waited for everyone to have their say. Most of it was worked out without me having to say anything, but when Travis’s scouting was mentioned I interrupted. “I will go with Travis and scout ahead. I know speed is essential right now, but because we have little experience with traps, keeping a steady pace will keep us alive longer than running off as quickly as we can. Otherwise, I could just buff everyone and we could run the entire way there.”

  “He’s right,” the old man said, halting all objections. “This is the dungeon level. It’s a given that there will be traps. Not to mention there are many creatures that take a hide-and-wait approach to hunting. A steady pace will serve you best now. Don’t rush unless you must.”

  ***

  After that, things were sorted out in short order. Without hesitation, Aeris was selected to direct the casters and Skyler was chosen to lead the bashers. Steve, our assassin, would stay to the left flank of the group and only focus on disrupting invisible mobs if we happened to run into them. It seemed his ability to see through invisibility was as good as Travis’s. Mel would watch the rear and only advance to the front line if we ended up facing a large force. Olivia, who also had a skill to detect traps, would be back up in case Travis and I missed any.

  Light orbs from our casters lit up the cavern like the noonday sun.

  Approaching the serving imp, I noticed the muscles in his neck were twitching as his eyes darted toward the dark cavern every couple of seconds.

  Seeing the fear in him, I swallowed deeply.

  “Zorik,” I said in a soft tone so as not to spook him.

  The edges of his mouth turned up in greeting, but they immediately fled into a grimace as his eyes wandered back to the dark unknown.

  “Have you traveled the dungeon level before?” I asked.

  He gave multiple quick short nods before responding. “Many times, sir, but always with the Mistress or a caravan. Our odds of survival aren’t good.”

  “That is what I wanted to ask you about,” I said pointedly. “We will need your help and your experience.”

  “Of course, new master,” he said with false cheerfulness. His eyes only met mine briefly before they returned to spy out the darkness.

  “Good. What dangers do you think we are most likely to run across?”

  “Er, the dungeon level has many dungeons, many of them the size of great cities, but most of the level is a maze of endless caverns like the one we are in now. There are two types of creatures that linger here. The weak that can’t survive long on the main level of the Underworld and those that want to go unseen. Many of you have grown beyond me, but both such creatures are capable of ending us. There is such a variety that I can’t say what we will meet for sure… You are also wise to beware of traps. Many of the lesser creatures depend upon such things because they can offer them an advantage against creatures stronger than themselves.”

  As he finished, I stroked the stubble on my chin so that he could see that I was taking what he said seriously. In truth, I had sped up my perception as he spoke, so I could quickly process the information. I needed him to feel comfortable offering information. Something his relationship with the Mistress most definitely lacked.

  “Thank you, Zorik. Will you join my group?” I asked and sent him an invite.

  His eyes went wide as if it was something he had not expected.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Wonderful, sir. Servants aren’t commonly given the honor of being part of a group, to share experience. Imps especially,” he replied.

  “Why is that?”

  He looked at me suspiciously for a long moment before exhaling a long breath. His shoulders drooped forward as his eyes turned down and he answered. “If we gain too much experience imps evolve.”

  I inclined a brow to indicate that I didn’t understand.

  “Once we reach level 1,000, we transform into our true form, an incubus.”

  “As in, a male succubus?”

  His face contorted like he had just tasted something that he didn’t like.

  “Heavens no,” he spat, but then seemed to reconsider. “You could say we are the male version of an imp’s evolution, but we are much different than succubi. For one, we keep our wings and we don’t have to seduce human women to stay strong.”

  “Oh. Why don’t they want you to transform?”

  For the first time since our conversation started, he forgot about the darkness of the cavern we were getting ready to head into. A reminiscent grin spread across his face and he replied. “Female imps can transform as early as level 100. This allows them to get stronger faster, but if a male imp ever transforms, we are far more powerful than all but the strongest succubi. This is why we are kept at such a low level. They can’t control us like they do if we evolve. Most imps aren’t allowed to live if they get too close to their transformation.”

  “What level are you now?” I asked.

  Once again, he seemed to deflate, but he did respond. “Level 204.”

  I nodded slowly, letting him see the smile reach my eyes and said, “We will need you to get stronger if we are going to survive out here.”

  He almost buzzed like a bumblebee as he straightened up.

/>   “Oh, thank you, sir! I know many spells of both Water and Earth Magic. I can manage some Nature Magic as well. I’ll make myself useful. I swear it!” he assured me.

  With that, I turned from him and found the old man waiting for me with Travis at the head of the group. I began the walk to meet them.

  Aeris was hovering about ten feet in the air over everyone as she studied the cavern we were about to explore.

  I nodded in her direction.

  She offered me a smile, but her attention quickly returned to her observations.

  The emotions of the day were being blown about like fallen leaves on a windy day. It comforted me to see that she was starting to sober. Not that I really believed she was drunk from the muck-cow milk, but because she had just had a fantastical dream fulfilled, in being able to fly, and minutes later had faced a hellacious death in the clutches of a Hell Hound. It was almost too much for anyone to have to manage.

  The old man greeted me first. His eyes were studying me.

  “Did you hear my conversation with the imp?” I asked.

  “I did,” the old man responded. “It is true that incubi aren’t led by a lustful appetite in the same way succubi are, but they are more prone to lust for power. They will not be ruled over as male imps are. They are males, though, that have received a huge boost in strength. Many of them feed off of women just as greedily as succubi feed off of men, because, for the first time in their lives, they have the power to dominate others. Be wary of letting Zorik evolve. Either kill him first or make sure you are many times more powerful than he is before he transforms, otherwise you may regret it.

  “For now, he is probably the best source of information you have. The Head Mistress has given him to you. Use him wisely.”

  “He is our slave, then?” I asked, cringing at the very thought.

  “No. He is your slave. He belongs to you, not the others. I know your mind, human. Be careful of the amount of freedom you give him. You cannot attribute human nature to him. Just as a lion can be made a pet, it can still kill you on a whim just because it’s in a grumpy mood. Even if Zorik grows to like you, he still has impulses that humans do not. Be fair and even offer him friendship, which is far more than his race is ever given, but remember what he is, or it will come back to bite you.”