Underworld - Level Up or Die: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  Back into the skeletons’ domain, I decided to wipe the room quickly, since it was only filled with Skeleton Warriors. Not only were the undead weak against life magic, but also fire.

  While standing in the very middle of the room, I clapped my hands together as loudly as I could. This would bring skeletons from the side rooms as well which was my intention.

  A few that were too close to reaching me I cast Lesser Heal on killing them instantly.

  When a group was within the required five meters I grinned from ear to ear. This never got old. With a deep breath, I exhaled, casting Flamethrower at the same time. Fire spewed from my mouth engulfing everything within five meter before me. Roasted bones dropped like toothpicks in a bonfire.

  I had to spin to make sure none of them got the better of me, but even though the warrior's speed was quicker than a human’s average walking pace, I still considered them slow. The room was cleared in less than two minutes.

  The experience was almost better than terrible. Doing this another 75 or 76 times would net me another level. That was because these skeletons were only around level 100 and I had just leveled. It definitely wasn’t the best place to level up at this stage in the game.

  Drops scattered the floor and two caught my eye. A rare healing potion that healed 30% of my health over a minute and the short sword I grabbed. Even with my healing ability, potions were still back up for the occasion I ran out of MP. The sword was magic but on the cheaper side. I identified it as adding +10 to strength. Since my 3 healing potions stacked in my inventory I still had a single slot left.

  Sure that I would get a drop on the way, I headed back to base. I wasn’t terribly deep in the labyrinth. Only the Skeleton Scouts and Lesser Skeleton areas came before I would reach the Decrepit Zombies, newb Skeletons and then home base, so it would be twenty minutes or so to get back.

  As I entered each room I took the time to clear it with Flame, Alpha and Heal.

  An elite Skeleton Scout with a speed aura was waiting for me in the scout area. It caught me in its sights as my Invisibility lessened due to my constant casting. Its name was Jimmy Quickshot. A single cast of Heal owned him, but his drop was nice. It was a pair of greaves that added an entire +30 Dex. The drop was a little above average for this part of the dungeon.

  This was typical. Most mobs dropped something similar to their characteristics. It followed a logical pattern like so. Only skeletons with swords dropped swords. Elite mobs with high health dropped Con items. Slimes dropped crystals or slime. Well, you get the picture.

  ***

  When I reached the base I deactivated Invisibility and headed into the dining hall. The imp that had escorted me to the Mistress was there waiting for me. His respect for me had skyrocketed after that night, and my skeleton armor had improved it even further.

  “Good evening, sir. Will it be a steak and taters again?”

  “Thank you, yes. That sounds perfect.”

  I grabbed the plate from him after handing over the 220 coins I owed him, plus and extra 10 coins for remembering what I had eaten the night before.

  He was surprisingly warm toward me as he nodded his goodbyes. I guessed after killing another imp and earning him 30 silver I had won a friend for life.

  Having second thoughts, I turned back. “Tomorrow I would like steak as well, but could you make it with pasta in red sauce instead of roasted potatoes?”

  “Of course, sir.”

  I flipped him a full silver coin to show him it pleased me. His face lit up.

  Money had become much easier for me as of late. My steak and potatoes, yes with Ranch Dressing drenching them both, cost approximately 220 coins. Currently, I had over 14,000 coins. There were a few items I was saving up for specifically in the 20k range.

  I healed myself with Heal, not Lesser Heal, since its effects refreshed me more and I had the mana to spare. Doing this before and after I ate had become my habit. It was so I wouldn’t get tired from a full belly. I didn’t want to have the Thanksgiving effect if I was going to go back to hunting as soon as I sold all my item drops.

  Because of my constant hunting, I made sure I ate at least two full meals a day, not including the free bread and some jerky on the side that I had bought to tide me over while I was gone. I saw no reason to think nutrition deficiencies wouldn’t hurt me as much here as they would before I learned magic. Besides that, I was 100% human and loved food.

  After the steak, I loaded up my bread slot. My inventory allowed 10 bread to stack and 10 water bottles as well. Not that I used this much between hunting trips, but it was still better to be safe.

  Next, I headed to the merchants. Only the dwarf was up this late, but he paid the best for weapons and armor anyway. The halfling and I did business every couple of trips, but there were only rare ingredients that he paid well for. He was happy to tell me what to look out for though.

  The dark elf was the oddball out of the group. He would make an offer on everything but was always the lowest bidder. Every once in a while though he would pay much higher than the others.

  My take this time around was nothing special, so the dwarf happily relieved me of my items and I was 2075 copper coins richer, or 20 silver and 75 copper.

  I had only upgraded my armor once. It was another dark leather armor set that helped with Conceal and Fire, Ice and Nature Resist. It looked similar enough that all that was important was that 50% of Fire, Ice and Nature magic damage was cut. The set cost me the first 10,000 coins I had made.

  With two rings on each hand, I had an additional 600 HP and 10% increase in HP regeneration. One added +25 to spot traps. It was the only one of its kind I had seen. In the two days I had been hunting I had yet to see a trap. The labyrinth had been designed by the Mistress and the old man so this was probably abnormal for the Underworld.

  Other than that, everything was the same.

  That didn’t mean I wasn’t in the market for something. There was a cloak of shadows for 20k that concealed 50% of noise that I might make. If I bought it I would have had nearly 80% noise concealment.

  There was also a scepter that caught my eye and would give 50% bonus healing or damage to any healing spell. That was 26k, but I didn’t think was as essential as the cloak yet. I was powerful enough that safety came before damage output. About two more trips before I would buy the cloak, I figured. That would be me some extra coin and not leave me broke.

  As I turned to leave I was startled to see Aeris standing there watching me. She wore a gray cloak with padded green leather underneath. It was a fairly average armor, but good protection for the price.

  It couldn't be helped. I couldn’t exactly insist the merchants deal with me when I was invisible.

  Seeing my reaction, she placed her hands on her hips readying a rebuke. “So you are still alive!” she cheered sarcastically. “You know, if you are going to continue to insist on hunting alone you should at least check in with us instead of sneaking around. We won’t know if you get in trouble, or worse, dead!”

  This was the very reason I was sneaking around. To not be dissuaded. She didn’t understand how dangerous things really were for us. No one was safe.

  “I’m sorry. Time is of the essence.”

  “I know that. That doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk. If only there was some kind of messaging system you could at least send me group or private messages, but there isn’t.”

  “We should ask the Mistress if we can get cell phones. Do you think they would have reception down here?”

  My bad joke worked. She struggled to hold back a chuckle.

  “Very funny. But, more importantly, Elorion, are you doing okay?”

  Her question hit me hard. I didn’t answer right away. Did I even know the answer to her question? I’d been awake going at full speed for 48 hours and I wasn’t tired. That wasn’t exactly normal, or natural. “Considering everything, I am doing well. That doesn’t make us safe.”

  “You keep saying that. Whatever. Are you sure you coul
dn’t just hunt with us to level up? We are all close to level 100 already. Is the danger you are putting yourself in really worth it?”

  Not sure how to explain it without saying that they were slowing me down I decided to show her.

  “Here.” I waved her over and brought up my status page.

  Character Sheet

  Name: Elorion Edwards

  Race: Human

  Age: 19

  Level: 192

  Health Points: 590+(800 items )=1390

  Mana Points: 3460

  Endurance: 400

  Stats

  Strength: 47

  Dexterity: 58+(20 item )=78

  Constitution: 59

  Intelligence: 100

  Wisdom: 705

  “No way!” Her eyes widened. “192? How is that possible?”

  “To be honest, with my healing spells I haven’t had to sleep since I got here.”

  Somehow her eyes got even wider if that was possible. “That’s not good.”

  “I have tested it out. It rejuvenates my body just like sleep would, including my mind. Boredom is the only thing it doesn’t help. I could cast it on you if you wanted to get some hunting in tonight.”

  She immediately shook her head.

  “Hunting alone out there really isn’t my thing. Thanks though.”

  I cringed. “I know what you mean. Well.” Internally, I was rebuking myself as the words left my mouth. “You could come with me. I was planning mostly on going to Skeleton Champions to hunt for items to sell. I’m close to the coin I need for a cloak I have my eye on.”

  Though it didn’t hurt, I felt pressure where she hit my arm. “You idiot. You seriously face those things alone?”

  “Yeah… Here. Let me try something.” I cast Invisible on her and to my amazement, it actually worked. The 36 mana per minute that it normally would have cost me to cast it on myself was now doubled. This was incredibly convenient.

  “What! What happened?!”

  “You are invisible now. You should look ethereal to yourself and only visible to others if you move quickly or cast a spell. This is why I don’t fear Skeleton Champions. They are quite easy actually.”

  “Fine. I’m going with you. Try your Healing out on me too then.”

  “Sure.”

  To my surprise, I could see the outline of her features even though she wasn’t moving. Even her facial features were clear.

  When Intermediate Heal hit her she looked down at her hands and all around like the world itself had changed. “This is totally cheating! So you really have gone the last three days without sleep… Elorion.”

  I shrugged.

  “When are we leaving?” she asked.

  “Now, if you’re ready.”

  We partied up for the first time in two days. She was obviously not fully convinced being invisible would be enough, but her fears were quenched enough that she joined me. As I had feared, all it had taken for me to give in to my loneliness was to face one of the others. No, that probably wasn't completely accurate. All it had taken was for me to run into Aeris.

  Chapter 13 – Wind Magic

  As we headed through the labyrinth, I let her fight as she normally did so I could see how she had progressed. There were really only three spells that she used. Unlike blue magic where I had to learn mine from the creatures I ran across, her spells she learned from a spell tree. With enough experience she got different spells to choose from.

  We both basically ignored the decrepit skeletons. When we reached zombies, she used Gust, the original spell she started with to blow them out of the way. The word blow might be a bit of an understatement. Gust was an area of effect spell that spanned 10 meters wide and it blew out from the caster. The closer the enemy to the caster the more violent the wind they faced. At twenty feet she blew them back off their feet a few meters. At ten feet they nearly caught air. A few feet away and they were nearly launched twenty feet in the air. In that way, it could be used to damage enemies as well.

  Once she reached lesser skeletons she showed me her spell Gale. It was similar to Gust, but it funneled air into a tighter area and could literally launch even a fairly aerodynamic skeleton with little air resistance against the wall if it was close enough. She seemed to enjoy blowing one skeleton into another.

  Such a kind girl was getting a kick out of skeleton bowling?

  When we got to the scouts, she got serious. We weren’t in any danger because of Invisibility, but she was used to having to fight after this point. The last spell she was hiding was called Wind Slash, and then she started to shine!

  Depending on which way she swung her hand while casting it, an intensely compressed torrent slashed out toward the skeletons like the slash of a giant blade. If she swung it up and down a single skeleton would receive most of the damage from skull to groin. She could easily one hit even the Skeleton Scouts. If she swung her arm from side to side while casting, a slash about three meters in width cut across anything in her path. In this way, she could slash multiple monsters if they were close enough.

  “Do you have control over how wide the slash is?”

  “To a point, yes. I can try just flicking my wrist and the slash is only about a foot long. The more concentrated the slash the higher the damage, but it doesn’t work well for skeletons since it’s harder to aim. I have a tendency to get them between the ribs.”

  “It really is amazing.” This is the power of elemental mages I guess.

  If I didn’t know better I’d think I saw her blush.

  “Let me show you a few tricks I have learned myself.” I redirected the conversation. “Honestly I was only brave enough to try this because of invisibility. It’s pretty easy once you get the hang of it even without it though. Stand behind me. You get the monsters that come from that direction.”

  “Wait. What are you going to do?”

  I grinned like a maniac and started to clap for all the skeletons to hear. They were really only a little stronger than Lesser Skeletons and wielded knives.

  “All you have to do if you run low on mana is stop casting for about two seconds and you will disappear. They will try to hit where you are, but can’t see you. The trick is just to walk to a new location without running into an enemy on the way. Oh, and don’t run or your invisibility will be hindered.”

  “I hate you.”

  “You won’t in a moment. Now the real fun begins!”

  Continuing to clap, I cast Decay on all the skeletons in my range. Only one had to be taken out by Alpha because it was closer than the others. I liked things even. It just felt better to take out the largest group possible.

  Aeris was attacking her skeletons way too early, but I didn’t correct her. She would get the timing down soon enough.

  I waited like normal and let them come. When about six had gathered within range, I turned on the furnace by casting Flame Breath. It created a wide fan of flame catching all six skeletons in its radius.

  My partner screamed, not because of the skeletons, but the sudden bright light and heat coming from behind her.

  After that group was finished, I teased, “Sorry. Forget to tell you about that part.”

  She growled from behind me, cast another Gust, then I felt a sharp kick to my rear that sent me to my knees.

  “Elorion! You need to work on your manners!” Even if I had obviously frightened her, there was also humor in her voice.

  Getting back to my feet I had to poke at her a little more, for fun’s sake of course. “Forgive me, my lady. Could you turn on the air conditioning? Things are about to heat up again.”

  “Why don’t you turn on the AC yourself! Guys are so lazy!”

  “Suit yourself!”

  I had to admit, while cooking some more skeletons, I hadn’t felt this light-hearted since I was kidnapped.

  We continued on and I explained more to her about what spells I had as we progressed. She agreed that Skeletal Breastplate, plus Skeleton Warrior’s Shield and Sword were cool looking; handy
too. I explained Alpha’s element neutrality, Decay, and what I had learned about Healing magic.

  I cast Lesser Heal on us after the fight and as she regained mana.

  “Is that why your wisdom is so high? So you don’t have to rest as often while you hunt?”

  “Basically. The Mistress also recommended it because the bonuses would be worth it in the long run. She told me to get intelligence to 100 though. The Attribute Bonuses only come at 100, 1000, 10000 and so on.”

  “Oh, that’s good news! I got lucky I guess,” she mentioned. “I started out staggering my points between Wisdom and Intelligence because I wasn’t sure which way to go. I think I will follow that advice as well and focus on Wisdom. I haven’t put any stats in since I got 100 in each. Well, besides about 20 in Constitution. Do you think I should do Con before Wisdom?”

  “I don’t think it would be a bad idea. The only reason I haven’t yet is that I have defensive spells. Do you have any?”

  “Besides wind magic being great for crowd control, my only defensive magic is an increase in speed if I ever have to run. No armor like that.” She gestured toward my skeletal armor.

  “Then I’d definitely do it. Perhaps later you can learn another elemental magic that has more defense options.”

  “I was thinking the same thing. I heard the new element spell book costs over 50,000 coins.”

  I stopped short. That meant there were other options than just sticking with blue and healing magic. “That’s not too bad.”

  “Well, there’s a catch. You can’t learn a new element from the book itself. It just directs you to the location in the Underworld where you can learn it. There’s more to it, but it’s probably like a high-level quest.”

  It struck me then that everyone here really was a gamer. She thought like a gamer. It seemed ironic that the Underworld worked on similar principles that had only recently been created in the gaming world. Our experience with games made it easier to understand this world.