Underworld - Level Up or Die: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  Soon we were turning down one of many side passages that I had never explored. The room turned into a hall and the hall became a wide enough tunnel for us all to run in side by side. It looked like a huge mine that was likely carved out by magic instead of tools of steel and iron. There was no light, so everyone had their light orbs cast so that we could see as well as possible.

  “I’ll check,” Travis called as he raced by again.

  So we ran from an enemy army into the unknown.

  ***

  It was just as the curly-haired girl said. After about a mile I had everyone stop. Travis had confirmed there was no one in here, but also that it didn’t go much deeper either. There were a few offshoots, or side tunnels, so we turned down one and rested. After a Health Bomb, I mentioned for everyone to meditate or prepare just in case we were attacked.

  About a third of the group had a talent in magic, a third in melee combat, and the others were similar to rogue classes. Two of the rogues were no use in a hand to hand fight. I had a tall wiry guy go with Travis and set some traps about 200 meters away that would warn us of any coming threat.

  From this side tunnel, it wasn’t even possible to see the main tunnel from our deep position. I went invisible to stay hidden from invisible enemies and considered casting Invisibility on everyone there. My mana regen would certainly allow it now.

  I was also able to confirm that there was a very subtle glow of red around the traps. Whether this was from being grouped with the rogue that set them or my bonus from equipment to see traps I had no idea.

  There was another thing on my mind. This was a huge opportunity.

  As a blue mage, I either had to observe a creature to acquire their skills or have them cast on me to learn them. Already, I had seen two new kinds of zombies and my first dark elf. Sneaking in from behind the army to use Force Learn to try and learn some blue magic wasn’t just a good idea, but the very reason the Mistress had given me Invisibility. I couldn’t just let this opportunity pass.

  ***

  I reappeared in front of everyone suddenly. A few people jumped.

  “Aeris!” I said loud enough for everyone to hear, especially since everyone was talking in hushed tones.

  She stood up from her meditation.

  “I want you to take the lead. I’m going to check out the threat.”

  The glare she gave me warned that she wasn’t happy. For a moment I thought I would have to say more, but she finally nodded.

  “Travis,” I called.

  He was quickly by my side.

  “Can you see through invisibility?”

  “I can.”

  A sigh of relief escaped me. That was one ability I needed to learn, quickly.

  “Keep a lookout, but don’t leave this side tunnel. You are their eyes if any assassins find them. You know the drill. Call targets and crush anything that gets close.”

  After healing everyone one last time, I dropped my buffs on them because I would soon be out of range. About 400 meters, give or take 100. As idiotic as it sounded, I was heading back to danger to try and steal as many blue spells as possible. I also considered killing any stragglers, but then I shut my mind to that to not give away my presence. I'd avoid that unless it was necessary.

  Chapter 17 – Theft From My Would Be Killers

  By the time I had snuck the mile to make it back to the main passageway the majority of the army had already passed. At the rear of the army was the same lich I had seen meeting with the imp I had killed, hovering about four feet off the ground leading the army’s progression. Was he blind? Oddly, he was looking directly at the stone wall about 15 feet in front of him.

  At the lich’s side was a pale man with soot-black hair riding upon a golden throne with two molded gargoyles perched upon the tall back of the chair. The throne was held up by eight massive shouldered orcs on either side holding a railing along its base. Orcs?! Level 400? Sweet! Fanboy moment! Who doesn’t dream about walking up to an orc and poking it with a sword?

  There were about twenty other creatures: two massive ogres with a level too high to register standing at the rear to either side of the throne, four ghoul spellcasters, also too high of a level, and a zombie general that was about 12 feet tall in greasy chainmail. The grease I feared was from rotting body fluids. I wasn’t sure how they expected to get the large platform the pale man sat on through the small doorway to the next room.

  On the other hand, how had they gotten into the room in the first place? The other wall was intact and there was no way the platform would have been able to fit through even if they broke it down into smaller pieces.

  This was only part of the army. Creatures were still funneling through the doorway, filing in behind the lich and the guy on the throne. No wonder why their progress had been so slow.

  Since they were held up, I’d begin. Casting Force Learn kept me mostly ethereal, but I was ready to run.

  I stood in a side room that would make it easy to side step out of sight after casting. My target was the pale dude on the throne.

  When I triggered Creature Observation on him as a skill, the only information I received was Vampire. His level was too high for my skill to display it for me. Next, I cast Force Learn.

  Too bad I hadn’t cast it on the dark elf earlier. That was a missed opportunity that would not happen again.

  Part of me feared that Observing a high enough level creature would alert them to my presence. Thankfully, no commotion came from the overwhelmingly high-level vampire, nor did I explode from some spell cast in response. It seemed I hadn’t been noticed at all. The Mistress hadn’t been lying when she said this form of invisibility was among the most powerful.

  Astonishingly seven trigger windows had popped up the moment I cast Force Learn. Sadly the first six had the same message.

  You are unable to learn this spell at this time.

  Thankfully the seventh window had better news.

  Wait. What kind of joke was this?

  Teeth Whitening

  A passive spell that will ensure your teeth stay healthy and white. This spell costs no mana but will cease to work if the user dies.

  Seriously? Did this just keep my teeth magically clean, or did it help with bad breath too?

  With my attention back on the party before me, I was just in time to see the lich place his hand on the stone wall and cast a spell that made it turn to translucent fluid before my eyes.

  The rest of the lead group passed through the wall like it wasn’t even there. My mouth dropped. How powerful were these guys? They were crazy enough to go up against the Mistress so I imagined they must be pretty powerful. I had a feeling I was about to find out my 237 levels were little more than an advanced newbie.

  I followed carefully, taking my time and only using Force Learn when I was behind the safety of a side passage.

  My second target had been the lich. He had over 70 trigger windows but none of them were learnable. Insane!

  A dark elf was next. Even with the earlier lost opportunity, I’d get to learn all their secrets!

  Shadow Step

  Manipulates shadows to make you difficult to see.

  Another stealth skill that wasn’t as good as the one I had. If it was the same one the dark elf used, I would prefer to be in an ethereal state than a foggy one. The fog would be helpful in low light settings, but in the mild lighting of the Mistress’s labyrinth, it had given him away.

  The zombie general gave one spell as well.

  Stench

  Invited to an undead block party? Here’s the latest in aromas to die for! Now is your chance to smell like all the cool corpses!

  Okay, maybe it didn’t actually say that, but you get the picture.

  The only other creature that gave me any blue magic was the ghoul.

  Lesser Wail of the Banshee

  Sonic damage expelled through one’s cry. Dead mages who are resurrected for whatever unknown evil become ghouls and have this ability naturally.

  Fin
ally, a useful spell! Just like taking candy from a banshee! Actually, I had a feeling real banshees were pretty high level and would probably whip me like a cupcake in need of icing. There was no time to test anything, so I stuck with what I knew.

  It seemed that these creatures were difficult to learn blue magic from because they were of such a high level in comparison to me. Bummer.

  When the army of about 250 reached the realm of the Decrepit Skeletons, a shiver shot down my spine. The entire area had changed. Before, there had been the typical large stone room with countless side rooms. The ceiling was now nearly impossible to see, reaching at least 10 stories high. Walls that had been separating each of the large rooms had been knocked down, or blasted away, leaving a flat battlefield that was at least half a mile long. Any side rooms were also non-existent leaving rough jagged stone to either side for walls.

  I couldn’t decide what took more strength. Decimating a number of walls and side rooms in a few minutes or liquefying walls to allow someone to pass through.

  Suddenly, I felt very unsafe. Many of these creatures were too high a level for me to even determine. The highest level Creature Observation would register currently was in the 700s, about 500 levels higher than my own.

  Should I try and make my way to the Mistress’s line or just flee and head back to camp where my friends were?

  The answer was soon answered for me. For the first time since being kidnapped, I received a pop-up requesting permission for someone to whisper to me with magic. When I accepted I immediately heard an unfamiliar voice in a frantic hushed tone.

  “Elorion. My name is Richard. Aeris wanted me to tell you we are in trouble. About 30 zombies are marching our way. Somehow they found us!”

  “I’m coming!” I whispered in panic.

  “They are here!” he responded. The connection cut off.

  Backing out of the entrance of the newly constructed room, I started to sprint at full speed when I was at a safe distance from the army. Why had I left their side? How had the group found them in the first place? My group was at least a mile away from the main hall. They had either followed us, or had some really good scouts.

  To increase my speed even more, I charged up Muscular Buff by 500 MPM. The excess mana gave me an extra 125 to strength and dexterity. I ran like a mad skeleton cheetah standing up!

  ***

  I almost missed the turn I was going so fast. Another mile to go.

  Almost as soon as I entered the tunnel I heard the clash of weapons. Pumping up Muscular Buff with another 500 mana only gave me another plus 25 to stats, so I lessened my mana use to what I used before. Charging had a limit it seemed. Wasting mana was not an option either if I was going to be useful to my friends when I arrived.

  The mind does odd things when you fear your friends might die or are already dead. Try as I might to block out all the images of gruesome deaths my imagination was taunting me with.

  As I neared, I readied the largest healing bomb I could manage. If you call a compressed barrel-sized yellow energy ball manageable. It was like trying hold down the lid on 1000 starving, caffeinated guinea pigs in a trash can. The energy itself didn’t want to stay put. When the side tunnel came into view I had 3000 mana ready to go. Thankfully it hadn’t exploded, taking my arm with it.

  I was only just barely able to see over the heads of the 30 odd zombie soldiers that my group had wedged themselves into a narrow space between two large boulders to let the tanks hold them back from the rest of the group as they lobbed spells at them.

  Olivia had large thick vines tangled from ceiling to floor narrowing the entrance to their hideout even more. Spells flew even as I rounded the corner.

  Afraid the blast from my Heal Bomb would be powerful enough to hurt my teammates, I tossed it at the rear of the 25 zombie foot soldiers still left standing. With so many monsters of level 300 and above, I was surprised anyone was still left alive to save.

  The tunnel lit up like the surface of the sun, blinding even me who had been clenching my eyes tightly in preparation for the explosion. There was a large pressure that knocked me back. A literal zombie foot flew at my head, nearly knocking me over. Zombie shrapnel flew everywhere.

  A chorus of level ups floated up from the floor. With my vision refocusing I saw most of the zombies were not just dead but left in pieces. A few were still alive, but as the others recovered, Aeris’s Wind Slash and a dark bolt finished off two more.

  The only mob that remained standing was a level 391 Lesser Zombie Sergeant. This guy wore some slimy scale mail and stood about 7 feet tall with a skull cap protecting its weak spot.

  There were some humans scattered on the floor in front of him, but they seemed to be moving. Although a familiar face, Russ in his thick leather armor, stood facing the large zombie alone. The Sergeant held him by his leather vest. They were both weaponless.

  In a motion too quick to interrupt, the zombie threw a devastating right cross, striking Russ square in the face. It was a miracle his head still remained on his body.

  All I could do was react. I healed Russ as quickly as possible.

  The zombie hit him again.

  Healing magic flowed from me until he was fully In the Buff, and even then I had to keep healing him. I was afraid to stop because the blows came one after another.

  A hand of Russ’s reached up and grabbed the collar of the zombie Sergeant. With as much insanity as humanly possible, Russ pulled the zombie to him with all his strength and pummeled the undead face with his forehead.

  With a bloody grin, he looked up at the Sergeant that towered over him. He was stunned.

  It gave me the opportunity I needed to debuff the zombie’s Con with a Skeletal Debuff that was generously charged.

  Russ stepped into his next blow with all of his weight and pulled the Sergeant to him once again. He head-butted the highest level mob any of us had fought, this time staggering him.

  Anyone that head-butts a Zombie Sergeant in the face has my respect.

  Before I could even add my own attack, the zombie was cut off from Russ by a large vine and a gust of wind sent him back a few meters. Electricity, a dark bolt, and a wind slash joined my healing bullets as we pummeled the monster as a team.

  Russ now had a shield user to his right and a poleaxe guy to his left. They stood with him to block the monster from their group behind them. It was unnecessary.

  The Sergeant stood against the onslaught for perhaps a full minute. That much defense and HP was boss-like. Olivia and Aeris were instrumental in making it nearly impossible for the creature to move. I for one now had enough mana that I tried out a new spell that I invented on the fly, Light Magic Machine Gun. It was little more than rapid fire mode for Health Bullets.

  When the monster died Level Ups streamed up like a fireworks finale.

  Ignoring my pop-up windows for now, I hurried through the mess of bodies lying across the floor and healed anything that was living. It was a long number of minutes, but I was finally delighted to find we hadn’t lost a single person.

  Chapter 18 - Curiosity Killed the Human?

  Even covered in zombie goop Aeris ran up and hugged me, Skeletal Plate Mail and all.

  “One minute we are struggling to hold them back, and the next there is a blinding light and a dead man’s ear flies into my mouth! What in the underworld was that?!”

  “Health Bomb.” I grinned. “With 3000 mana!”

  She hit me harder than was good for her hand. It would bruise. I healed it for her.

  “You can’t just up and leave again!” she insisted.

  It couldn’t be helped, I teased her. “Why not? You have Russ.”

  A choked chuckle came from behind Aeris. Olivia was waiting to speak with her as Aeris chewed me out.

  The timing couldn’t have been better.

  “600 Con!” Russ bellowed. “You stinky, rotten, wimpy little zombie men ain’t got nothing on me! You will be crushed!”

  I believed him. His girth and overall siz
e was twice the size of any bodybuilder I had ever seen. It wouldn’t surprise me if he weighed 400 lbs. As for his chub, he had the build of a world’s strongest man competitor. There was no doubt about it now. He was a true-hearted tank.

  Regardless, how could he possibly be alright after getting beaten within an inch of his life and almost dying? What was the first thing you think of when you almost die? Check your status screen for your rewards?!

  I grabbed Aeris’s hand and gave it a squeeze. She was obviously not going to take no for an answer so I told her, “I will stay with you for now.”

  Heading over to Russ, we congratulated him. He was happy to show off his stats.

  Stats

  Strength – 233

  Dexterity – 41

  Constitution – 600

  Intelligence – 46

  Wisdom – 24

  What really surprised me was his level though. 143… He had gotten at least 10-15 levels without doing any of the killing.

  Seeing him change almost made me want to up my Constitution, but there was no guarantee I would grow the way he did. His talent was in Con, so I doubted 600 Con for me would equal 600 Con for him.

  Suddenly, I noticed the odd vibe coming from a number of the people around me as they checked their status screens. Everyone was in an odd form of gleeful shock.

  The rest had skipped their status screens and were looting the dead bodies.

  After finishing off about 25 zombies between levels 300 to 350 and the captain that was level 391, it shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise that everyone had leveled quite a bit. Then I looked at my own status screen and suddenly felt like my body disappeared and all that was left was a grin. In other words, I had just gained 18 levels… I was level 257.

  It was thanks to the bonuses for killing two new monsters for the first time, but that was only where it began. I had 9 different pop-up windows indicating I had killed a monster 100 levels higher than my own.