Labyrinth to Tartarus: A LitRPG Saga (The Eternal Journey Book 3)
Page 19
“This sounds like a fun conversation to have while hanging out and smoking weed,” Hawke broke in. “But for now, we should focus on what’s in front of us. I don’t want to find out that it was all real after I’m dead, you know?”
“Good point. Even if it’s all an illusion, we have to play it straight. The stakes are too high.”
“Yeah. Don’t forget that, or you’ll run out of lives sooner rather than later.”
* * *
“Alba has just found something,” Tava told Hawke when he and the respawned Eternals reached the chamber.
Hawke could see in the Party Interface that Girl-Has was in one of the side passageways, busy clearing traps. Alba was standing in the center of the circular chamber. A five-sided section on the floor, about five feet wide, had sunk below the surface and revealed a shaft leading to an underground room, twelve or fifteen feet below them. He spotted a metal ladder that was affixed to one of the five sides of the shaft. At the bottom was a glowing crystal, about the size of a basketball, floating a few inches off the ground. The spiky construct kept changing shape, with sharp points withdrawing into its center and new ones replacing them. Its deep purple-green energy, dotted in darkness, was familiar to Hawke. Undeath magic.
Mana Node Seed (Undeath)
Health 1,000 Mana 5,875 Endurance n/a
WTF? I thought Mana Nodes could only be attuned to an Element or Force. Which Undeath isn’t.
“Larry the Revenant is planting Node Seeds in his Dungeon. What does that mean?”
“And Larry will become a Labyrinth Master.”
We can’t let that happen, Nadia said through their mental link.
She, Tava and the Drakofoxes were listening in on the psychic conversation. Everyone else was either used to Hawke speaking to someone only he could see or, in Olaf and Grognard’s cases, were giving him sidelong glances. He had explained, but people still got uneasy when he was having one-sided conversations.
Girl returned from her trap clearing run in time to hear the condensed version.
“I explored the left hallway,” she reported after Hawke was done. “Cleared the traps and took a look. It leads to another chamber, about half the size of this one. There is a big glowing portal there and two Flayer Brutes standing guard around it. They didn’t see me. Stealth works fine against them.”
“I want to purify the Node Seed and put it in my Inventory,” Hawke said. “Before anybody gets upset, that doesn’t mean I’m claiming it for myself. Them, by the way. The Revenant must have placed Seeds on every level of the Dungeon to generate enough power to grow it into a Labyrinth. At the end of this, we should have six Seeds. Six potential Mana Nodes. I already know what I want to do with one of them.”
“A purified Node linked to a Grove of Cerunnos would greatly strengthen the spiritual power of both the holy site and the area around it,” Gosto said. “It would also help cleanse the Shadowy Foothills of the Undead plague.”
“Yep, that would be a worthy use for a Node. You get one. Does anyone else have any suggestions?”
“The Temple to Shining Father,” Olaf said. “Linking a Node to it will automatically generate five upgrades to it. I have a Quest to that effect, but I had no idea how to get a Node.”
“And using a Node would help turn the chapel of the Olympians into a full Temple, without having to spend a thousand Structural Mana to get there,” Nadia added.
“I don’t want to own anything that’s stuck in one place,” Girl said. “But I expect those of us who don’t get a Node will get their value added in their share in other loot.”
“We’ll work it out, sure,” Hawke told her. “You’ve already claimed some high-quality gear, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty more to go around as we clear this place.”
Unless the place cleared them out first, of course. Suffering two deaths on the first level of the Dungeon didn’t bode well for the expedition.
Twenty-Nine
“Need any help to purify the Node?” Olaf asked as Hawke began to climb down the ladder.
“Undeath magic is dangerous. I’d rather not risk anybody else. The rest of you, keep a sharp lookout. There may be roving patrols.”
Blaze said in his head.
Hawke didn’t want to find out what kind of explosion nearly six thousand Mana points would create if they went off at once. He turned his Advanced Mana Sight on and very carefully sent an energy tendril towards the Seed to link to it.
You have accessed: Mana Node Seed (Undeath). You have the following choices:
Leave Seed alone: No risk or reward. Y/N
Absorb Seed, becoming attuned to Undeath Magic: +250 to your Mana pool. +20% to spell effects. -30% to casting time, cooldown and Mana cost of Undeath and Death spells. Warning: Absorbing the Seed will alert the Dungeon Core and trigger a response. Y/N
Claim Seed: +1,500 Experience; +1,500 Experience towards Node Mastery. When the Seed matures into a Node, it will belong to you. Warning: Seed has been claimed by the Dungeon Core. To claim it, you must face the Dungeon Core or its champion in single combat. If you leave without clearing the Dungeon, the Seed will reset to its previous state and you will lose control over it. Y/N
Destroy Seed: +3,000 Experience, +5 Spirit. Destroying a Seed will trigger an explosive release of energy, inflicting 1-5 damage (Irresistible Pure Mana) for every Mana unit it has, to anything within a 100-foot radius, with damage halving every twenty feet beyond that. To exercise this option, simply inflict enough damage on the Seed to deplete its Health.
Purify Seed: +750 Experience, +750 Experience towards Node Mastery. Changing the Seed’s attunement to another Element will remove it from the control of the Dungeon Core. Warning: Purifying the Seed will alert the Dungeon Core and trigger a response. Y/N
Remove Seed: +250 Experience, +250 Experience towards Node Mastery. To take the Seed, you must either Claim or Purify it. Prerequisites not met to accept this option.
Hawke read the options out loud to the rest of the party, who were gathered near the shaft while still keeping a sharp lookout around the chamber. Whatever he decided to do, it involved all of them, so they should they have a say in it.
“What does ‘trigger a response’ mean?” Olaf asked.
“It means another attack. I don’t think they can come at us in overwhelming force, though,” Hawke said. “That’s not how the rules work. They have limits on how many critters they can throw at us at once. I think. If anybody knows better, please let me know.”
“By how much?”
Grognard frowned. “So at worst, we could be attacked by a dozen of the monsters that killed Olaf and me, plus the level’s Boss and maybe the D
ungeon Boss on top of that? Doesn’t sound survivable to me.”
“I think it’s more like a dozen monsters, or the level’s Boss, but not both. The Dungeon has limits, too. If it draws too much energy to attack us, it will be weaker afterward.”
“Maybe we should clear the rest of the level before you do something that someone might construe as, well, stupid,” Girl chimed in.
“I was about to say the same thing,” Nadia said.
“Point taken,” Hawke agreed. “We’ll save the Seeds until after we’re done with the whole Dungeon. If the Dungeon Core and Master aren’t an issue, then we won’t have to worry about their reaction.”
He didn’t like leaving the incredibly useful item behind, but that was just the sort of stupid stunt that had gotten him in trouble time and again. It wasn’t like he could use it right away, unless he wanted to consume the darn thing. Being methodical would be a lot safer. He climbed back up, and Alba used the trigger mechanism that covered up the shaft leading down, closing it. No sense leaving a big hole in the middle of a room where they might end up fighting.
“All right. Girl, can you explore the next two exits?”
“This girl will do just that,” she replied.
She turned invisible a moment later. Hawke activated Advanced Mana Sight and saw her as a blurry outline that bent the flows of energy around her in a way that worked even against his enhanced senses. That was a damn good stealth ability. After she was thirty feet away from him, he couldn’t see her anymore. The realization that she could sneak up on him despite all his special abilities left him feeling unsettled.
Saturnyx said.
And you can detect her because of her demon-skin armor?
Blaze reported.
Good to know, Hawke told his headspace-roommates. It was getting crowded inside his skull, but at least he had an extra pair of eyes looking out for him.
With an ally that scared him as much as the enemy, he was going to need all the help he could get.
* * *
A short while later, they had a good idea of where the three corridors led. All they had to do was to choose which one to invade first.
The left side passage led to what must be one of the portals to the Gates of Tartarus Labyrinth, guarded by two Flayer Brutes. The one in the center ended in a large door, heavily defended and trapped. Girl had disarmed the traps but hadn’t opened it. A sign at the door had the words ‘Dergal Pain Giver’ written on it in Vulgate, along with writing in a bunch of other languages Girl didn’t understand, although she had identified Japanese script and possibly Chinese as two of them. Presumably they all spelled out the same name and title. The level boss was on the other side of the door.
The hallway on the right ended in what seemed to be a natural cavern, so big that the Assassin had not been able to see the end of it. It was infested by at least three wandering patrols consisting of two Flayer Brutes and six Soul Burners. There also was a large underground lake with an island near the center. She had seen a small building on the island but had been too far away from it too see any details.
Armed with that information, the party discussed what to do next. Grognard and Tava were for taking out the level boss first, and mopping up the other two chambers afterward. Nadia and Olaf wanted to destroy the portal first, to prevent it from bringing in reinforcements. The rest didn’t care much one way or another, and nobody proposed starting with the big natural chamber with the lake and the island, with one exception.
“We should clear that place first,” Girl said. “We could be in the middle of a fight with the level boss and end up with one or even all those patrols hitting us from behind.”
“Yeah, that would ruin our day,” Hawke agreed. “The portal chamber seems like the easiest chamber to take. Only two guards. But if it looks easy, it probably isn’t. Also, we know it’s a portal, but we don’t know if it’s the portal from our Quest. The one we’re supposed to destroy could be on that island.”
“Gonna be tough, trying to swim there in armor,” Grognard pointed out.
“I didn’t do a tour of the whole lake. There might be a bridge somewhere.”
“I think that’s the place we should hit first,” Hawke concluded. “Wipe out those patrols, check the island, collect valuable prizes.”
“You make it sound easy. And fun,” Nadia said.
He grinned at her. “If we do it right, it will be.”
Thirty
Hawke walked into the great cavern, glowing brightly, all his auras on. Digger was by his side, and Blaze was clinging to his back, giving a few excited yips every few seconds and wagging his fluffy tail.
Glad someone is happy to be here.
Only because I have a plan. I love it when a plan comes together.
The large chamber was noticeably cooler than the rest of the Dungeon, maybe because of the large body of water serving as a heat sink. The warm, muggy air wasn’t a huge improvement, though. Hawke started sweating in his armor, stewing instead of cooking as he had in the smaller chambers. He ignored the unpleasant sensation as he spotted the first demon patrol. Two big uglies and six flaming skeletons, just as Girl had said.
There are two other patrols, Tava warned him through their mental link. One is on the far side of the lake, the other is halfway into the cavern.
She, Girl, Luna and Rabbit had gone in first, hidden under a Mantle of Twilight the Shadow Assassin had created. They were tracking the patrols’ movements, with Tava communicating directly with Hawke. If the map Girl had projected into the Party Interface was accurate, that meant that the closest patrol to the group Hawke was rushing to attack would not get there for a good minute or so, even if they were alerted immediately. Plenty of time to get things done. The plan had a lot of moving parts, but it wasn’t very complicated, as long as everybody stuck to it.
“Hey, morons!” he shouted at the monsters came up a slight rise on the ground and spotted him. “Come and get me!”
The Undead-Infernal weren’t big on talking. Their response consisted of six Soul Burns and two Vomitous Bone attacks. Hawke was ready for them, however. He called forth a Dome of Force, one of Saturnyx’s special tricks. The energy shield would absorb the first six hundred points of damage from any attack. It was an awesome ability, even if it only lasted three seconds and could only be used once a day. The curses and the bone bursts failed to hurt him. The monsters didn’t hesitate when their ranged attacks failed; they rushed forward. Hawke and Blaze retaliated with their ranged spells, picking off two Soul Burners and doing a lot of damage to all the other critters before they arrived. The energy dome dissipated and the Flayer Brutes began to fire another torrent of high-pressure bone slivers at him, but Hawke used Twilight Step to teleport behind them while Blaze flew up and Digger darted out of the line of fire. The ranged attacks hit nothing but air and dirt, and Hawke backstabbed two Soul Burners to death before the aberrations realized their enemy was in their midst.
Digger pounced on one of the Brutes, keeping it busy while Hawke attacked the other big guy. Two Soul Burners were still alive. One targeted Blaze, who was flying overhead and dropping spells on the enemy; the other hit Hawke. It hurt, but any second now…
A Lesser Healing from Olaf removed the continuous damage effect from Hawke and let him know the cavalry had arrived.
Stealth magic tended to be more effective the farther away you were from the target. Alba was using Twilight Mantle on the rest of the group. It wouldn’t obscure them if they got too close to the demonic Undead, but they had stayed over fifty feet behind Hawke, who had been working on being as conspicuous as po
ssible. As Gosto and Olaf healed him, Digger, Nadia and Grognard wiped out the last two Soul Burners and Gzzatt used Battle Charge to cover the distance to the Flayer Brutes in under a second, buzzing and clicking like a maniac.
One of the patrols is rushing towards you, Tava warned him. We are moving to ambush them. The other hasn’t reacted yet.
Got it, Hawke replied as he drove both swords into the lower pair of eyes of the Flayer Brute he was fighting. One of the strikes was a critical that did well over four hundred damage to the monster. A moment later, Gzzatt delivered a Crushing Blow, a Warrior finisher ability similar to Korgam’s Coup de Grace. The oversized creature collapsed under the impact. Its fellow fugly was already down, thanks to Nadia’s spells, with big assists from Grognard. Scratch one patrol.
The timing worked out just right. By the time the second patrol arrived, Nadia’s team was back in hiding. Girl’s team struck the monsters by surprise as they saw Hawke and his pet, cutting down half of the Soul Burners before they could do anything. The rest still managed to hurt Hawke quite a bit, but he ignored the pain and let his In Extremis spell and Blaze’s healing keep him alive while he pressed his attack. Once again, the third team waited until the monsters were fully engaged before hitting them, wiping out the second patrol with plenty of time to go back into stealth before the last one arrived. Hawke downed a couple of Mana potions and got ready for round three.
Rinse, repeat. It wasn’t exactly fun. Being burned and slashed open was never fun. But in the moment, with adrenaline rushing through him, Hawke could ignore the pain and concentrate on making the monsters die. Things got hairy enough he had to be bailed out by In Extremis a second time, plus some assistance from Transference, which was more than a little unnerving, but he survived and nobody else faceplanted. And the Arbiters or the automated systems they set up decided that the party had earned its rewards fair and square.
For Slaying Your Foes, you have earned 2,304 XP (288 diverted towards Leadership; 288 diverted towards Node Mastery).