Labyrinth to Tartarus: A LitRPG Saga (The Eternal Journey Book 3)

by C. J. Carella

  “What are you doing?”

  She didn’t respond. The demonic mask’s grin widened as it rolled up, baring her neck. The assassin raised one of her daggers towards her exposed throat.

  “Wait!” Hawke shouted, leaping toward her. He didn’t make it. Girl slashed her throat open with one swift, unhesitating motion. Her Health dropped to zero before Hawke reached the altar, and her lifeless body collapsed and disappeared a few seconds later. The altar glowed red for several seconds before turning back into a lifeless chunk of stone.

  “What the hell?” Grognard shouted.

  “She sacrificed her life on the altar,” Gosto explained. The young Druid had gone pale. “And the altar accepted the sacrifice.”

  On Hawke’s Party Interface, Girl disappeared briefly before her icon returned to the map, back at the antechamber. He saw she was heading back to the group. Everybody looked shocked, except Gzzatt, who clearly didn’t care one way or another. Hawke had learned that suicide increased the Identity penalty, so Girl had lost at least four Identity points through that little stunt, possibly five. For what? What could be worth doing that?

 

  You’re right, Hawke thought before turning to the rest of the group. “I hope nobody else is planning to sacrifice themselves or someone else on that damned altar.”

  “Of course we wouldn’t!” Tava replied.

  “Not going to off myself for some goodies,” Grognard said. “Plenty of other ways to get killed in this place.”

  “All right. Anyone else got the quest to purify the damn altar?” Gosto, Nadia and Olaf nodded or raised their hand. “We can do it together. I’ve got Ritual Magic, so I can lead the group and you can contribute your Mana into it. You’ll all get credit for completing the Quest.”

  “Sounds good,” Olaf said.

  “Let’s get started, then.”

  The four participants joined hands and concentrated. A new notification appeared:

  Do you wish to start a Purification Ceremony?

  The Ceremony requires 1,000 Mana, including a 1-point sacrifice from all participants.

  Y/N

  Hawke asked everyone if they were okay with the Mana loss; nobody objected, so he selected ‘Yes’ and the ceremony began. Everybody began to pour energy into the process, although only Hawke’s contribution fully counted, as the ritual leader; the rest only added sixty percent of the Mana they spent. Still, between the four of them they had more than enough power to cleanse the altar. Hawke’s enhanced senses watched the process in detail. The altar was a lot more than a chunk of rock; at some point it had been exposed to massive amounts of energy in a process that had turned it into a powerful artifact, capable of all manner of magical effects. Demons had twisted that potential into something that tempted its user into performing atrocities in return for power.

  The ceremony washed off the Infernal influences and turned the altar into a vessel of Life, Light, and Nature, the Elements supported by the ritual’s participants. Hawke caught glimpses of the gods involved: the Triune Goddesses smiled at him; Shining Father spread his hands open in benediction; and Cerunnos of the Forest looked on with approval. The altar would not belong to any specific gods, but would be dedicated to the Elements of Life and Light themselves, which somehow would made it holy to any deity associated with them.

  Something clicked inside Hawke as Celestial energies washed over him. They felt like the first time he had healed himself, the way Light and Life magic removed pain and replaced it with comfort and well-being. There was more to it, however. The power reminded him of his encounters with gods and Arbiters; his senses saw that Celestial and pure Mana were very similar, and he already suspected that Mana in its most basic form could be used to alter reality without the need for spells. Access to Celestial Magic would open up a lot of options for him as he advanced on the Path, especially if he continued to develop Mana Channeling.

  Quest Complete

  Twenty-Four

  You have Purified the Altar.

  You have gained 2,400 Experience (+20% from Triune Goddess bonus, 300 diverted towards Leadership; 300 diverted towards Node Mastery).

  Congratulations! You have gained access to Celestial Magic. Celestial versions of all your Light and Life spells are now available.

  Congratulations! The Earth and Realms Defenders Guild has risen to Level Two. New Guild Powers available.

  You have gained +150 Reputation with the Triune Goddesses.

  Current XP/Next Level: 29,470/30,000. Leadership XP/Next Level: 20,865/25,000

  Current Node Mastery XP/Next Level: 9,130/12,000. Current Guild XP/Next Level: 1,016/2,500

  Hawke glanced at the altar. The purification process had transformed it into a slab of white marble with gold trimmings, looking completely out of place in the Infernal surroundings. It was glowing faintly with Celestial energies.

  Celestial Altar

  Any followers of a deity affiliated with Life, Light, or Nature will regain Mana at triple their normal rate by touching the altar. Attempts to pray to or otherwise communicate with a deity are 30% more likely to be successful.

  This item can offer quests. Current Quests Available: None.

  Hawke didn’t want to speak to any deities more often than he already did, although the Mana regain was a nice benefit if they needed a place to catch their breath. He wondered about the possibility of an additional quest, and reminded himself to check on the altar after they cleared the Dungeon, or on their way out if they failed.

  His Guild had leveled up! As President, he got to pick a new power, but he also asked for input from all the Guild officers present (Tava, Nadia and Gosto; Kinto and Marko were the other officers but, being in Orom, were unavailable). At second level, he had two choices available:

  Guild Headquarters: You can build an official headquarters for you Guild. This can be accomplished by spending Structural Mana. The structure provides a variety of bonuses to members and can be improved up to the Guild’s level. If this Power is selected, the Guild President will gain access to a Guild Headquarters Menu with all available options for upgrades and their benefits.

  Guild Quests: You can create quests for Guild Members. If this power is selected, the Guild President will gain access to a Quest Menu with all available options. Guild Quests award experience and prizes normally. 10% of all the experience gained by Guild Members who participate in and complete the Quest will be applied towards increasing the Guild’s level.

  “Thoughts?”

  “The Quests will help all members advance on the Path,” Tava said. “And will increase the speed at which the Guild will grow as well.”

  “Yeah, Tava has it right,” Nadia agreed. “With Guild Quests, we’ll raise the guild’s level a lot faster, and then you can pick Guild Headquarters. It’s not as if we need it right now anyway, with the Guild President also being the owner and operator of not just a town, or a Stronghold, but a gosh-darned Domain!”

  “Good points, and I was also inclined to pick the Quests over the building. I’ve already got enough building projects to keep me busy for weeks, and currently Guild members have access to all the facilities in Orom and Death Spire. Guild Quests it is.”

  A new menu appeared in Hawke’s upper field of vision. He ‘clicked’ it open but it was greyed out because the guild president was in a Dungeon. “Guess I can’t do anything for the guild until we’re done here,” he said.

  Girl entered the chamber just as Hawke dismissed the menu. Everybody stared at the assassin.

  “What?” she said. The demon mask scowled at them. “I knew what Captain Pureheart was going to do, so I jumped in before he could ruin the altar. I deserved to make my own choice.”

  “Was it worth it?” Hawke asked.

  “I got Advanced Mana Sight. You bet your ass it was worth it. I can see everything now. Your mood, your energy levels. Everything. That’s how you figured me out, and now I’ve can do
it too. Nobody can lie to me anymore.”

  “Good for you,” was his sarcastic reply. “Everything I said about the Sight goes double for the advanced version.”

  “And you even mean it. Must be hell for you, caring so much for everybody. Don’t you have enough crap going on in your life to worry about other people?”

  “It doesn’t work like that.”

  Girl shrugged. “It’s your life. Don’t expect me to live mine like that.”

  “We still have a deal. Are you sticking to it?”

  “Of course. I didn’t hurt any innocents, did I? Only myself, and nobody will ever accuse me of being an innocent.”

  “Okay. We don’t have to love each other to work together,” Hawke said.

  Everybody else seemed satisfied with that, although Nadia looked worried and Tava was angry. And Girl had changed. Hawke’s own Sight showed him that the mask was no longer a piece of armor. It had become a part of her now; if she took it off, it would be an illusionary effect. Her old face was gone, replaced with the demonic one. And the Infernal energies inside her had grown stronger.

  Girl was looking at him, examining him like a bug under a microscope. “I see I have a lot to learn,” she said.

  * * *

  For Slaying Your Foes, you have earned 960 XP (120 diverted towards Leadership; 120 diverted towards Node Mastery).

  You have found: 12 gold, 1 Mana Potion, 1 Endurance Potion.

  Congratulations! You have reached Level Fifteen!

  You have gained 6 Attribute points to distribute.

  New spells available. New Twilight Templar and Monster Trainer abilities available. New Soul Sword Boons available. New Perk available.

  Current XP/Next Level: 30,430/35,000. Leadership XP/Next Level: 21,598/25,000

  Current Node Mastery XP/Next Level: 9,250/12,000. Current Guild XP/Next Level: 1,091/2,500

  The next room had been a narrow rectangle, guarded by six Soul Burners. Overcoming them had been fairly easy, resulting in lower experience, but the rewards had been enough to push Hawke to level fifteenth. He set the notifications aside while he examined the area. The chamber didn’t seem to have any exits. Dead end, or hidden passage? Everybody with the ability to do so searched the room but found nothing.

  “Guess we’ll check the other side of the Dungeon,” Hawke said. “After we take a break.”

  It was time for lunch; everybody munched on some cold rations. At the end of the meal, he surprised the party with some fruit-flavored Italian ice cups. He and Nadia had made them, using her Water/Ice spells to freeze the fruit juice and water mix. He had five extra-large pizzas in another slot in the inventory, but hot food inside the hellish Dungeon wouldn’t be very pleasant. People welcomed the cold dessert gladly, slurping it down it before it evaporated away.

  While people ate and drank, he went over his choices. He could save the level for an emergency, but he had so many spells and devices that increased his survivability that it didn’t make sense to wait. Besides, now that he had crossed a milestone, the next four levels would be relatively easy to gain. He would probably leave the Dungeon at level seventeen or eighteen, unless he got killed along the way. After some deliberation, he increased his Strength and Constitution by one, and Dexterity and Intelligence by two each. If Girl became a problem, having higher reflexes might be useful.

  His two spell choices weren’t difficult to make. At level fifteen, he gained access to Major versions of his known spells; they were more expensive but produced much greater effects. A spell that did up to six points of damage per level wasn’t much use against monsters who had Health pools in the thousands; he should replace as many of those as he could. He picked Major Hammer of Light and Major Burning Light.

  Hammer of Light (Major)

  Time to Cast: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 6 seconds. Cost: 10 Mana. Duration: Instant. Range: 250 feet. Effect: Creates a hammer of Light energy that inflicts 5-25 points of damage per level, doubled against Beyonders, Demons, and the Undead.

  The Celestial version of the spell costs 20 Mana and inflicts an additional 5-25 points of Celestial damage per level. This damage is tripled against Beyonders, Demons, and the Undead.

  Major Burning Light (Light Spell)

  Time to Cast: 6 seconds. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Cost: 24 Mana. Duration: Instant. Range: 200 feet. Effect: Unleash a cone of lethal Light energy, inflicting 3-18 points of damage per level. This damage is doubled against Beyonders, Demons, and the Undead.

  The Celestial version of the spell costs 48 Mana and inflicts an additional 3-18 points of Celestial damage per level. This damage is tripled against Beyonders, Demons, and the Undead.

  That wasn’t bad at all. The improvement to range was important, and the extra damage would make a big difference in combat. Saturnyx increased the damage and effect of Light spells by fifty percent and raised his effective level by three (by five counting the Party bonuses), which meant that that at maximum damage his cone of energy could hit a bunch of enemies with 540 Light and 360 Celestial damage – which would be doubled and tripled, respectively, against the kind of foes they were facing in this Dungeon.

  Of course, most of the time the spell didn’t do maximum damage, but something around half that, unless he landed a critical hit; his spell critical chance was 2% per Intelligence level over 10, currently 36%. Still, those spells were going to let him top the damage charts, which should draw all the aggro he could handle from monsters, who tended to go for the enemies who hurt them the most. Tank mage for the win!

  Perks next. He looked at the list, noticing the new Perks that had become available at fifteenth level. As usual, there were lots of good choices available, and only one he could select.

  Brute: +4 to Strength and -1 to Dexterity.

  Efficient Casting: Reduce spell Mana costs by 1 or 10%, whichever is greater.

  Elemental Affinity: Reduce Mana costs of one Element by 3 or 30%, whichever is greater.

  Fae Regeneration: Your Half-Elven blood lets you regain 2 extra Health per level every minute.

  Gifted: +1 to three Attributes of your choice, or +3 to a single Attribute.

  Hardy: +5 Health and +3 Endurance per level.

  Inexhaustible: All Endurance losses are halved.

  Magic Resistance: Increase your Resistance to all Elements and Forces by 1% per level.

  Mana Adept: Increase Mana regeneration by 1 point per level every minute.

  Skilled: Increase three Skills you know by 1 level.

  Sorcerous Aptitude: Gain two new eligible spells or Class abilities.

  Spell Penetration: Ignore a target’s Resistance against Elements or Forces by 1% per level.

  Hawke was torn between Elemental Affinity and Spell Penetration. He had a ton of Mana, but the higher-grade spells used a lot of energy. On the other hand, Elite monsters and Proving Ground bosses had high Resistance values against Elements and even Forces. He ended up picking up Spell Penetration. With his bonuses, that would let him avoid 20% of a target’s Resistance, allowing him to do a lot of extra damage. With an underpowered Party, he had to carry a lot of weight.

  His new Sword Boon increased his damage-dealing capabilities even more:

  Elemental Strike: You can unleash Mana through your sword, sending a bolt of Elemental energy to strike a target up to 300 feet away. Elemental Strike inflicts 1-5 points of your chosen Element’s damage per point of Mana spent.

  The ability wasn’t as cost-effective as most combat spells, but with no limit to the amount of Mana he could use. If he had to, he could drop a five- or six-hundred Mana attack on someone. That would add up to 600-3,000 Light damage, just the thing to ruin someone’s day. The range was also better than all his current spells. Still not as good as a rifle or even a good longbow, but getting there. Feeling a lot better about his chances for the expedition, he turned to his two Classes next. As a Monster Trainer, he now had three Evolve Monster slots, meaning he could transform Digger three times or save the power for a more useful monster down the
line; he also gained a new Ability that could have some interesting applications:

  Soul Rider: You can project your mind into a creature you have Tamed, assuming full control over it. This Ability has a range of 100 feet per level, costs 50 Mana, and lasts up to five minutes per level. During that time, your physical body is in a trance state, and you assume control over the Monster’s body. Your actions are limited by the creature’s physical constraints (most weapons can only be wielded effectively by beasts with fingers and opposable thumbs, for example, and spells with verbal components cannot be cast by creatures that lack the ability to speak).

  As a Twilight Templar, he had two abilities to choose from. Create Shadows allowed him to dim all lights in a large area, plunging it into darkness. The power could turn day into night over an entire city block; that could be useful, but Hawke decided to select the other choice, which had more immediate utility:

  Living Shadow: Calls forth a Greater Darkness Elemental, more powerful and useful than an Animated Shadow. This ability costs 100 Mana, which cannot be recovered until the entity is dismissed. The Living Shadow has the same Health, Mana and Endurance you do, and inflicts Darkness damage (average damage is equal to your Strength and Intelligence). It also knows all your mundane skills at the same skill level. Additionally, it can cast any Darkness spells you know at your current level. The Living Shadow has 50% Resistance to Physical and Darkness damage, but suffers double damage from Light and Fire magic and has no other defenses against magical attacks. It can be healed by Life spells, but Light-based healing spells will inflict damage instead. The summoned entity lasts until dismissed or the caster goes to sleep or becomes unconscious. If dismissed or destroyed, the Living Shadow cannot be summoned again for 24 hours.

  “Now that’s a pet,” Hawke said as he added the ability to his ‘character sheet.’

  It wasn’t perfect – most of Hawke’s healing spells would only hurt the critter – but it could serve as a ‘meat shield’ during a fight, soaking up damage that might be aimed at another Party member. And having a pet with access to Darkness spells would come in handy. Hawke went over his entire character, reminding himself to keep his new abilities in mind; in the heat of battle, it was too easy to rely on his tried and true spells and skills and forget better, more useful additions that he hadn’t practiced using.