Morgana: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.4)

by Iliev, Neven

  “GRRAAARGH!”

  The one that leapt out alongside her was a horse-sized, lizard-like creature made of molten rock, that charged head-first into the Empire’s perimeter. Although they might have been able to body-block it under normal conditions, the soldiers were all reeling from Kora’s Thunderclap. The cone-shaped shockwave had either thrown their sense of balance out of whack, or had outright ruptured their eardrums. Under those conditions, they could do little to stop the Molten Guardian from trampling over them and literally blazing a trail through their ranks.

  The magical construct’s owner flew out of the wall of blackness a moment after the first two. Xera’s usual fetishistic outfit was transformed into a beautiful silver-colored gown so as to mark her very temporary allegiance. The purely decorative garment was backless, strapless and, as the slit skirt fluttering teasingly between her legs revealed, also underwear-less. The succubus silently entered the area of True Darkness under the effects of Invisibility after her beloved master’s grand entrance. She was already sharing the flames of her passion with the Empire’s troops. Or, to put it another way, she cackled like a maniac as she burned people alive with a barrage of Fireball, Flamethrower, and Inferno Spells.

  Normally the humans would shoot Spells right back at her, but the trained soldiers’ hearts were already been broken. First, they had to deal with monstrous dwarf. Then they had to watch out for that winged woman that didn’t care if her own comrades got caught up in her battle. Following those was the appearance of that truly terrifying demon. Then that dome of blackness had appeared before they realized what was even going on. They were barely keeping it together as they made a perimeter around it, only to have that four-armed menace come out fully recovered and accompanied by even more creatures of similar strength.

  Their breaking point came when the True Darkness Spell dissipated, mere seconds after that dangerous trio revealed themselves. The veil lifted on a scene where the dozen-or-so soldiers that were caught up in the Spell had disappeared. The only traces of them were several puddles of fresh blood and an untold number of bloodied, mangled armor pieces scattered about.

  That hadn’t been what finally broke the Imperial soldiers’ morale. The people outside the circle had given up on the ones caught inside it. Not seeing any corpses actually made the horrible truth a bit easier to swallow. It was the lone figure that stood in the middle of it all that made the high-strung men finally snap under the pressure.

  “Huaheuhahuahehahuehahahehaaa!”

  Two-and-a-half meters tall, drenched head-to-toe in fresh blood, cackling maniacally with a truly otherworldly voice, and practically exuding the stench of death. The shock of that terrifying sight combined with the effects of both Butcher of Humanity and Despair Aura hit the surrounding humans with full force, breaking wavering hearts and minds. It was at the level where they beat a disorderly, panicked retreat. They ran with all their might, trampling their fallen comrades underfoot and discharging various bodily fluids as they went.

  The man, no, the monster leapt at their fleeing backs and caught up to them in an instant. It mercilessly ripped them limb from limb with its bare hands, and the few people brave enough to look back would realize that a good number of those severed limbs disappeared somewhere under that cloak. At some point, the incarnation of death chasing them picked up a greatsword off of one of their corpses and did its best Hilda impersonation as it mercilessly hacked through them. Rather than cut people neatly in half like the dwarf’s axe, the weakly-enchanted weapon simply crushed them into pulp. It was no longer a blade, but an oddly shaped steel club.

  It was still technically a sword, which was more or less exactly what its wielder was after.

  [Level up!]

  [Congratulations, you are now a Level 18 Blade Dancer! DEX +2. END +2. STR +1. AGI +1.]

  The Sandman charged forward alongside its minions, mercilessly mowing down everyone in sight, like a gardener clearing the weeds (humans) so that the crops (Levels) may grow. The creature reaped quite the bountiful harvest indeed.

  [Level up!]

  [Congratulations, you are now a Level 19 Blade Dancer! DEX +2. END +2. STR +1. AGI +1.]

  It might have encountered more difficulties if those humans turned around and counter-attacked in an organized fashion, but that was unlikely to happen. Panic and fear could spread like a wildfire, and Boxxy was even more of an arsonist than Snack when it came to matters of psychological warfare.

  [Level up!]

  [Congratulations, you are now a Level 48 Warlock! INT +2. MNT +2. END +2.]

  Of course, it wasn’t just the newly-acquired Blade Dancer Job that steadily gained Levels. The fact it had all three familiars out on the field doing work caused its second-oldest Job to steadily progress as well. And yes, Claws was out here too, although these rank-and-file soldiers had little chance of detecting her presence. She was so good at hiding herself away that her streak of assassinations went unnoticed in all the confusion. The most that her victims might have perceived was a shadow or a blur skitter past the edge of their sights right before she took their heads. Those standing next to the ones killed had no idea who or what had just murdered their comrades, which did not help their delicate states of mind in the slightest.

  One could hardly blame them. Even Boxxy had trouble tracking her position sometimes, that was just how adept she was at staying out of sight. It was honestly quite pleased with her performance, to the point where it would be hard pressed to choose between her and Arms as its third favorite minion. Snack was still the absolute tastiest, so she was the undisputed champion in that category. The runner-up was Fizzy, for entirely different reasons. The shapeshifter thoroughly enjoyed caressing and tongue-polishing her shiny mithril frame head-to-toe whenever it had the chance to. She seemed to somewhat enjoy it too, even though her metal ‘skin’ didn’t have a sense of touch.

  Ambrosia was definitely at the bottom of its list, as Boxxy still wasn’t quite sure whether that dungeon core could keep her loyalties in check. At least her language lessons improved as of late as she steadily learned how to teach others. The dryad even got ahold of the Mentor Skill somewhere along the way and was diligently practicing her Cooking Skill as instructed, both of which were already at Level 3.

  Still, as useful as she was, she was still a potential threat that Boxxy had to treat with a certain amount of care. Well, not too much care. Her true nature was that of a monster, so the two of them naturally saw eye-to-eye on most topics despite the dryad being tainted by the influence of an elf-loving goddess. At the very least, Boxxy was sure its lair would be safe, as its experiments revealed she would not forgive intruders in her dungeon, regardless of whether they were elves or not. Though, that particular test was not something the shapeshifter intended to repeat. The state of the hapless adventurers it had ‘invited’ into the Dryad’s Domains had been… less than appetizing.

  [Level up!]

  [Congratulations, you are now a Level 20 Blade Dancer! DEX +2. END +2. STR +1. AGI +1.]

  The shapeshifter continued slaughtering people as it let its thoughts stray towards useless things. It was already at the stage where the act of murdering helpless, terrified humans was so routine it could probably do so in its sleep. That was why it could casually navigate its Status and Skill windows as its limbs mechanically took lives. And the reason it did so was because it wanted to unlock a certain Blade Dancer Skill that Keira had been told to look out for.

  [Proficiency level increased. Evasion is now Level 1. AGI +3. END +1.]

  This one was actually a common Skill that quite a few Jobs had access to, including Rogue and Ranger. Its effects were normally quite subtle in that they assisted the user’s movements when it came to dodging and avoiding attacks completely. However, it was a Skill that grew stronger with the more Agility (AGI) one had. Both Boxxy and Keira had that Attribute in spades. Although the shapeshifter was quite good at dodging things already, being able to do so without any wasted movements would let it counteratt
ack more easily. There was far more to an efficient dodge than simply ‘moving out of the way’ after all.

  [Proficiency level increased. Evasion is now Level 3. AGI +6. END +2.]

  Like for example, that Shadowbolt Spell it just avoided by ducking under it. It let the mass of darkness pass just over the top of its head. If it had dodged it the way it normally did, then-

  Wait, Evasion gained two whole Levels?!

  It didn’t have time to fully ponder the implications of this sudden development, as Sandman’s hulking figure moved with uncanny speed to avoid yet another one of them.

  [Proficiency level increased. Evasion is now Level 4. AGI +3. END +1.]

  Just how dangerous were those Spells to give it that much Proficiency? The creature leapt back from its position and broke off its pursuit of the fleeing Imperial soldiers. A third Shadowbolt came flying at it from well outside the Spell’s standard range of thirty meters, but this one was blocked by Claws. The stalker demon appeared seemingly out of nowhere and used her back-mounted sickle-legs to cut through the incoming projectile well before it reached her master. Arms, Snack and the affectionately-named Smokey also broke off their pursuit and rushed to Boxxy’s side.

  As the ever-retreating line of Imperial soldiers drew further away, the shapeshifter could finally identify its attacker. It was, of course, a Warlock. A particularly old one at that. Much like Boxxy, he also had three familiars out on the field.

  The first one was obviously a fiend—a towering pile of muscle slightly taller than Arms. Unlike her, however, this one was a male with the standard set of limbs, although his arms were probably twice as thick as they needed to be. His skin was a pale, dull color somewhere between blue and purple, and his legs ended in a pair of thick hooves. His facial features were obscured by a steel-like helmet and the metallic horns that protruded from its sides were very bull-like in their appearance. His left arm, shoulder, hand and leg were encased in shining, thick armor, while the right half of his body was nothing but bare, chiseled muscle. In his right hand, he carried a huge glaive that reminded Boxxy of Overlord Nagnamor, and a pair of tight short shorts hid his groin from view.

  The second demon was a hellhound, a massive canine creature that was a size bigger than Smokey the Molten Guardian. It had a wolf-like head that let black smoke out of its nostrils with every breath. Hissing, bright-yellow drool dripped from its growling mouth. The sharp fangs in its jaws and the long claws poking out of its paws went from a dim red at their base to a bright yellow at their tips, as if formed from half-molten steel. Its thick fur was a fitting gray like burnt ash, and flaming eyes made it impossible to tell which way it looked.

  The third demon was a green-skinned beholder that looked a lot like the one that ‘Chester Underwood’ had seen back in Bootsplit. What was his name again? Thump-it or something? Regardless, it had the same array of ten tentacle-like eye-stalks coming out of its floating head of a body, all of which were fixed directly onto the Sandman as it levitated over his master’s head.

  As for the master in question, he had a marvelous gray beard that went all the way down to his stomach. His body was draped in a plain-looking blue robe while a matching wide-brimmed hat was on his head. His gnarled hand carried a thick wooden staff that looked more like a large stick than a magic item. All in all, the old man’s equipment made him look just like the Level 40 or so magic users in the Empire’s army. However, the fact he was able to stare unflinchingly at the Sandman—a being that should appear as nothing less than terror incarnate to such people—proved he was clearly not one of them.

  It took Boxxy a few moments, but it remembered that it had actually seen this man once before. Even if it sometimes struggled with names, the monster rarely forgot a face, and this particular one had made quite the impression about a month ago. He was one of the people riding that fancy carriage Boxxy had encountered shortly after its Rank Up into a doppelganger. The mysterious nobleman that that the shapeshifter had decided to ‘let go’ on its way out of the Empire. This was a decision that would soon prove to have been the right one.

  “Greetings, mister Underwood,” said the old man in a thoroughly excited voice. “My name is Arakawa Shinji, and I-”

  *CLANG*

  Boxxy threw a poisoned knife at Shinji while he was running his mouth. Unfortunately for the shapeshifter, the blade bounced off an invisible barrier mere centimeters in front of the startled Warlock’s face and fell harmlessly to the ground.

  “Okay. See here, I don’t-”

  *CLANG*

  Something metal bounced off the old man’s magical shield again.

  “God damn it!” he yelled, clearly frustrated. “Fine, have it-”

  In what was becoming a trend, the old man’s words were cut off as the rebounded metal orb in the air split open in the next instant.

  *KAPINNNNN*

  The Artificer-made flashbang did just as its name implied as it flashed and it banged. One would think a cheap trick like that wouldn’t work on a Ranker, but as Boxxy learned firsthand, it was nigh-impossible to overcome certain biological reactions with Status alone. Its own heightened Perception (PER) worked against it when it accidentally activated the Elder Dryad’s Authority as Keira. It rolling around on the floor while screaming its lungs out hadn’t been an act, but the creature’s genuine reaction to the blinding light. It was quite proud of itself for managing to stay in character despite the unexpected and painful occurrence. Therefore, even if its opponent was one of the Empire’s VIPs, it was inevitable that Shinji and maybe even the demons around him would have been blinded by that, even if for a little while.

  Boxxy used those precious few moments to turn around and run away with all its might.

  Part Five

  Boxxy wasn’t sure exactly what that old Warlock wanted with it, nor did it really care. Its self-preservation instincts kicked up the instant the Ranker identified himself. This was not an opponent it could defeat easily, if at all, so it really had no business even trying. Unfortunately, the monster’s instantaneous surprise attack had been thwarted by some form of transparent magical shield. The most likely culprit would be Shinji’s beholder familiar, as that sort of thing was one of their specialties. It certainly wasn’t a Warlock Skill, since the shapeshifter knew firsthand just how few defensive options the Job offered.

  All things considered, the fact it failed to remotely stab Shinji in the face wasn’t entirely unexpected. No enlightened individual would have gotten to Level 100 if they could be caught by something that basic, but Boxxy had to at least try. After all, the best way to kill a powerful Caster was to do it before they knew their life was in danger, and assassinations weren’t going to happen so long as that beholder was around. Boxxy had then undertaken the safest course of action, which was to flashbang the lot of them and run away. It didn’t know what Jobs or Attributes that old man had, but he had no chance of catching up to a runaway monster on foot considering the relative frailty of a magic user’s body. And to its credit, the shapeshifter was quite right. That Ranker had neither the ability, nor the desire to chase after it.

  His pet, however, was another case entirely.

  The Sandman’s hulking figure barely covered a distance of fifteen meters before Boxxy sensed something large coming directly at it from behind. The monster didn’t even stop to think as it kicked the ground, moving sideways with an exaggerated motion as it narrowly avoided the hellhound’s pounce. It wasn’t a clean dodge, however, as the canine demon’s burning claws still managed to tear off the doppelganger’s left arm. The hellhound left a trail of smoke and sparks as it brought its body around and charged at its target again, but Boxxy was ready for it this time.

  “Massive Rejection!”

  A wall of invisible force shot out from Boxxy’s hastily reconstructed left hand while its right firmly gripped onto the Voidcaller staff. The wolf-demon ran face-first into it, and found its large body thrown several meters backwards with a surprised yelp. It landed on its side and rolle
d over once before stopping itself by digging its claws into the ground.

  “Shadowbind!”

  Boxxy’s next Spell produced a large number of shadowy chains that rose up from underneath the momentarily-staggered demon. They wrapped around its legs, necks, and body, causing it to fall over on its side before firmly lashing it to the ground.

  That should hold it for a while.

  While hellhounds boasted some of the best speed and tracking ability among demonkind, their actual muscle strength fell behind that of fiends. They simply weren’t as physically adept as they appeared. Putting it another way, their high-speed fighting style was similar to that of a Blade Dancer or Rogue in that it relied more on finesse than raw power. Their feral nature also made them the most simple-minded type of familiar that a Warlock could form a contract with. The upside was, it made them far easier to control and keep a leash on than other familiar types. However, this also made them rather straightforward and predictable, making it easy for a magic user to nail them with their Spells so long as they could keep up with their speed. A criterion this monstrous Warlock was just barely able to fulfil.

  Boxxy took this opportunity to check in on the three wonderfully expendable minions it left behind to cover its escape.

  Arms and Smokey were doing a splendid job of body-blocking Shinji’s glaive-wielding fiend. The red-skinned demoness used all four of her arms to fend off her kin’s weapon, while the Molten Guardian slashed and bit at his legs. Objectively speaking, their teamwork was horrible and they were unquestionably weaker than their opponent, but the two-on-one meant they were still able to ever-so-slightly hold him off for the moment.