I heard Hoshisu calling behind me, “You jerk!”
I laughed and kept on walking.
“You still owe me a fight once we’re done here!” She jogged lightly to catch up to me.
I learned from the best, Vic.
We crossed the courtyard without trouble to reach the keep’s main entrance. There were no gates. We could see directly into the main hall. It was dark, but I had no trouble picking up details with my enhanced Darkvision.
The place was a mess. Debris and fallen stone were everywhere. It looked like the fort’s entire interior – rooms, corridors and whole floors – had simply collapsed to rubble, coming to rest on the ground floor. The interior was now essentially a single, huge open hall. A few stairs remained loosely attached to the wall, evidence of the great structure this place once was. I didn’t detect any movement, but the vastness of the place coupled with huge piles of wreckage was ideal for an enemy ambush.
“You both got low-light vision from the goblinoid template, right?” I whispered.
The twins nodded.
“Then let’s go in. Be ready for anything.”
“Acid-spitting killer rabbits, check,” Malkyr grumbled, but moved in to take point.
We cautiously made our way forward, climbing from one rubble mound to another. We tried to keep in formation, the twins at the lead, me in the back, and Bek in the middle.
As we climbed the second mound of rubble, I saw something shimmering below. “Hey what’s that?”
Malkyr squinted. “I can only see vague shapes; it’s really dark down there. Why? What do you see?”
I hesitated. “It looks like a pool.”
I moved a few steps down the mound, taking a better look. “It looks like a surface of water, about four meters in diameter. Its shimmering … I see flashes of green. I can’t tell if there’s something in it, though.” I could also feel a strong magical current emanating from the ‘pool.’ “I, err … I think it's magical.”
“Very astute observation, your goblin-highness,” Hoshisu said. “If you’re finished playing with the obviously unnatural magic pool, maybe we should continue scouting ahead?”
“Fine,” I muttered and climbed back up to join them.
We continued moving further into the hall, encountering two more such ‘pools’ randomly spread at the base of the rubble piles. We also spotted a large pit at least 20 meters in diameter at the exact center of the hall.
“Oh look,” Hoshisu said hoarsely. “The Pit of Despair.” She cleared her throat loudly. “Sorry, I meant: Oh look, the Pit of Despair. Yep, not ominous at all.”
I chuckled, getting the reference.
“Where are all the Ogres, that’s what I want to know,” her brother said.
The sound of rocks clicking together sounded from our left. We turned sharply, expecting an attack. Nothing was there.
“Great, so now we have sneaky undead Ogres.” Malkyr held his axe in both hands and continued walking.
He didn’t tread lightly enough. As he neared the pit, he slipped, sending rocks rolling down the pile. We froze, holding our breath as the stones rolled and bounced, raising a ruckus that sounded like an avalanche in the deserted, quiet hall. The stones continued to roll noisily all the way down into the pit.
“You big idiot,” Hoshisu hissed at her brother.
He opened his mouth to retort, but a rattling sound came from below. As we looked, something slithered out of the pit. At first, it looked like an orange snake with green stripes. But then I noticed its semi-humanoid head and two slender arms protruding from where its neck should have been. The monster was at least five meters long. Though it was a few meters below us, I could smell the scent of sulfur and death coming from it.
Streams of information came from the monster, feeding me with knowledge; it was a lot to take in all at once. Other streams were coming off it, burrowing down into the earth like anchors. Almost as if binding the creature to this place. Like it wasn’t from here. Like it was from …
“A demon!” I yelled in realization.
What the hell is going here? I thought as I started channeling my mana. First, possessed zombies and now a free-roaming demon?
According to the lore of NEO, demons were beings from the lower planes of existence and could only manifest in this realm if they were summoned by someone from our side. It was common to encounter them as wizards’ familiars but never as free-roaming creatures. An unbound demon in this realm could rampage, causing tremendous devastation. A year ago, there was a worldwide event where several guilds banded together to stop such a demon invasion. But here and now, we didn’t have the strength of guilds behind us. We were alone. I could only hope we wouldn’t encounter any of the higher-ranked demons, though judging by my vision, we weren’t going to be so lucky.
The creature moved before any of us could react. It opened its mouth, much wider than any human could, its two slender arms spread wide at its sides. A blazing bead of fire formed in its mouth and it lurched forward, spitting the bead at us. A fireball.
The bead sped through the air as quick as an arrow in flight and detonated. A blast of fire enveloped us all, scorching armor and singing flesh.
Fireball hit you for 62 damage.
The heat was searing, but I could endure it. The twins gave off surprised gasps but didn’t seem the worse for wear. Poor Bek, however, whimpered in pain as the blast took nearly 90 percent of his health.
“Do we engage?” Malkyr asked, lifting his axe.
I was still processing the knowledge I had received earlier, so I analyzed the creature, reading its stats.
Pyrolith, Greater [Demon]
Level: 32
HP: 210, MP: 270
Attributes: P: 10; M: 22; S: 0
Skills: Fireball 42*, Firegaze 39*, Fire Aura 42
Traits: Demon (summoned), Serpent (constrict, climb), Regeneration (fire: 10)
Resistances: Magic 40%, Fire 100%, Cold -50%, Holy -50%, Armor 54
Description: The Pyrolith are Hell’s combat acolytes and excel at wielding fire-based magic.
“It’s level 32, but it’s only a mob. We can take it,” I said. “Bek, step away from the fight and heal yourself, you guys –”
The Pyrolith raised its head and bellowed a hissing roar. “HAAAASSSSSHSHHHHSHSAAA!”
From all around us erupted sounds of hissings and screaming, answering back. The noise of clicking and slithering bodies soon followed.
We all took a few steps back from the still-hissing monster. Smaller Pyrolith and other hellish creatures appeared on top of mounds all around us. There were at least 20 of them and it sounded like more were on their way.
Malkyr flinched at the overwhelming odds. “Ohhh …”
“… Shit,” Hoshisu finished.
The assorted monsters around us opened their maws and raised their limbs. Beads of fire and other forms of fire came to life. They all released at once, sending a hail of flame and destruction upon us.
***
Bek looked up and down, patting down his chest and head as if having a hard time believing he was still alive. The twins looked at each other in amazement, then at the dark shimmering field of energy that surrounded us.
In a desperate move to keep everyone alive, I activated Mana Shield, expanding it to surround our entire party. It significantly increased the mana consumption rate, but it worked. The hail of fireballs, firedarts, and flamewaves were repelled by my shield, rapidly draining my mana pool. I clenched my teeth as the hits kept coming, pouring mana into the shield as fast as I could, struggling to keep it active. My mana pool was already down to 20 percent. At this size, keeping the shield active was extremely taxing. In a few moments, I would run out and the shield would collapse. Luckily, the bombardment ha
d raised a mass of smoke and dust, obscuring us from the monsters.
Straining to maintain the shield, I said, “The shield is about to collapse. When I say ‘go,’ run as fast as you can out to the hall.”
“But …” Malkyr started to protest.
“No buts,” I growled. “Go!”
I disengaged the shield, stumbling from the exertion, breathing heavily. I watched the others scramble over the rubble piles, making for the exit. They would never get out in time. I had to provide a distraction. I had only 75 mana left, ten percent of my max. I needed more. I had no more mana potions, but I did have alternatives. Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out a level 13 void crystal. Holding it in the palm of my hand, I concentrated briefly, drawing its energy. The void crystal disintegrated into a puff of black dust as I absorbed its power, fueling me with 130 MP.
The others made it past the cloud of smoke and dust. I could hear them running and slipping as they dodged spells, explosions following the echoes of their footsteps. I had to hurry.
I cast the Shadow Hound spell. There were plenty of shadows around to work with.
“Sorry buddy,” I told Vic. “I’m afraid it’s decoy time again for you.”
Vic slipped off my shoulders. “I figured we’d get to this eventually.”
To my surprise, he jumped on the back of one of the mastiffs, his own nearly weightless body easily finding a perch on the creature’s back. “Besides,” he said with a grin, “I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. Hi-Ho Blacky, away!”
The dust around me begun to dissipate. Three mastiffs, one carrying a purple goblin, sped away from me, each in a different direction.
“Hey you fiery puppets, try and get me,” Vic cackled maniacally.
My plan was working. The demons were concentrating on my summoned minions, aiming their spells at them. I ordered the mastiffs to run as fast as they could. Having four paws helped them move easily over the uneven ground. They continued forward, fiery explosions hitting the ground all around them.
The others were almost all the way through, though I could see they had taken some hits. One of my mastiffs was hit by two crossing firebolts, fell and dissipated. His insubstantial body offered little protection against spells.
The cloud of dust had fully dispersed. I was suddenly detected by dozens of eyes.
Time to leave, I realized.
Still, I lingered. I wanted to draw as many of the creatures’ spells toward me as I could. I stood waiting until the very last moment when the air was full of flying spells. Just before the first fireball hit, I used Shadow Teleport, appearing halfway toward the exit. I activated Mana Infusion and sprinted on, reaching the exit just as the others did. Together, we burst out into the courtyard and kept running, increasing the distance between ourselves and what was sure to be our fiery tomb.
Your companion Vic has died
We stopped running moments later once we realized we were not being pursued
“Damn … that was …” Malkyr panted, “… close!”
”It’s clear there are no longer any Ogres here.” Hoshisu had a much easier time speaking than her brother. “It looks like they suffered a mild case of demon invasion and were all killed. I’d say our reason for being here just evaporated.”
I shook my head. “No, there must be more to it. What I saw in my vi–”
The woman cocked an eyebrow. “Yes? What you saw where?”
“I was shown certain evidence.” I chose my words carefully; nothing passed by that one. “A boss is down there, guarding an altar. Even if no Ogres remain here, I still need to get to that altar.”
“And just how do you suggest we make it down there?” she inquired, her eyes scrutinizing me.
“I noticed some things when we were inside. The first mob that appeared was some sort of a guardian. He summoned all the other demons from the pools we encountered. They were all much lower-level than him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Duh, that was pretty obvious. So what?”
“Now that I know what they are, I think I can manipulate the pools.” It looked fairly simple. The Pyrolith’s roar was imbued with mana that resonated with the magic of the pools. “It shouldn’t be too hard to draw them out.”
“Err, not trying to kill the mood here or anything,” Malkyr butted in, “but don’t we want to avoid doing just that?”
I shook my head again. “No. We can handle the big guy, but not while he has all those little helpers supporting him. If we can sneak in and clear each pool one at a time …”
Malkyr grinned broadly. “Divide and conquer, I like that!”
“Yeah, but only if you can actually activate the pools while not unleashing the entire horde at us,” Hoshisu remarked coldly.
“Don’t worry.” I winked at her brother. “I’m the magic guy, remember?”
Malkyr bellowed a laugh.
We rested for about ten minutes until my mana was fully replenished. Deciding there was little point in hiding it from the twins, I summoned Vic. It had been a long time since I last had to form his body. My mana and health were much higher now, and I could make him twice as strong as before. But I hesitated. The process involved draining me of health and mana, which made me vulnerable. I didn’t exactly think our lithe assassin would take advantage of my momentarily weakened state, but her desire to fight me left me guarded. As a result, I invested only 100 health and 200 mana to summon Vic back from the dead.
Hoshisu stared and Malkyr gasped at the red and blue tendrils of blood and mana coming out of my body, feeding into a hovering, amorphous blob. Once I cut the flow, the purple blob fell to the ground, then shifted into my familiar goblin companion.
“Hey, meat suits! Missed me?” he asked jubilantly.
“Vic!” I chastised him.
“Sorry, sorry, my bad!” He raised both hands apologetically, then turned and bowed to the bewildered Bek. “And one puppet.”
“Just ignore him,” I told the others. “He can be insufferable, occasionally.”
“Excuse me!” Vic demanded, hands on his hips.
“Sorry, sorry, my bad!” I raised my hand apologetically. “I meant always.”
Vic actually laughed out loud.
I winked at him.
Shadow Hound skill level increased to 19.
Shadow Teleport skill level increased to 7.
…
Shadow Teleport skill level increased to 10.
It looked like using a single Shadow Teleport spell to dodge a couple dozen spells at once contributed significantly to its progress. I didn’t mind at all. I was one skill level away from reaching its Apprentice rank and was curious to see what new ability that would unlock.
We walked back to the fort’s main entrance and peeked inside apprehensively. Flames engulfed the rubble and Pyroliths crawled over them.
We quietly tiptoed backward.
“So now what?” Malkyr asked gloomily. “I’m all for bravely charging into battle, but we’ll be slaughtered if we go in now.”
“Cooked, more like it,” Hoshisu said.
I massaged my neck. “Except for the first big demon, all the other ones were summoned from those pools. It stands to reason the summon duration will expire eventually. So for now, we wait.”
“Great.” Malkyr sat down grumpily, placing the axe in his lap.
I looked at his axe for a long moment before realizing where my thoughts were taking me. Malkyr’s axe, a gift from me, was easily the best weapon I’d encountered so far. But it was a non-magical item. The power it displayed when we fought the oxsaurian came from Malkyr’s own skills.
“You’ve been ogling my axe for a whole minute now,” the big man said. “You two want to be left alone or something?”
“Actually …” I looked up at him. “Yes.”
He stared at me, incredulous.
“So I can enchant it. That would
come in handy for our next fight, don’t you think?”
His wide grin was his only answer. He handed me the Greataxe and stood up. “Well, since we’re waiting anyway, might as well go out for some lunch. Coming, sis?”
Hoshisu nodded, stood as well, and the two of them logged out, vanishing into thin air.
I brought up the Greataxe’s details.
High-Quality Greataxe
Description: Greataxe meant to be wielded by both hands, of excellent craftsmanship.
Runecraft Viability: 5 runes
Type: Weapon, two-handed.
Rank: Standard
Durability: 47/80 Damage: 15-28
Base Price: 80
“Malkyr hasn’t been treating you properly?” I asked sympathetically, seeing the weapon’s decreased durability. I put my hand on the axe’s pommel and brought up the Runecraft Design Mode. A transparent replica of the weapon hovered in the middle of the screen.
“Can take up to five runes. That’s good,” I murmured to myself.
Now, what should I enchant it with? I wondered. Adding the MaKoTe schema to it was the obvious answer. Done properly, the enchantment would significantly increase the weapon’s durability. But that was boring and not really powerful. Due to the lack of available shops until now, Malkyr had been using this axe since level 1. He deserved a weapon to match his power. That said, MaKoTe involved using two of the most common runes; Te, the connector rune, was a basic component of almost every Runecrafting design, and Ko, the strengthening rune, was imperative to bring up the full potential of any enchantment. So those two would have to go in. But what should I add on top of that and in what fashion?
The left side of the design mode displayed a list of all my known runes. My eyes lingered on my latest acquisition, the Og rune of binding – the same one Nihilator carved into my chest. It was time to test it out.
Concentrating on what I wanted to accomplish, the rune grafted itself on the axe’s holographic projection. It looked different than my own rune. Like a fractured window, spiraling lines snaked from its center. I frowned. It almost looked like the rune was grasping at its surroundings.
Life Reset- EvP Page 17
