Somerset

by Aaron Oster

  Sam got quickly to his feet as the ant pounced on Emma, clamping its mandibles onto her leg with a loud snap. He winced as Emma screamed in pain, and used Mana Burn to try and distract it. It worked, in the sense that Ann Tee immediately released Emma, and charged straight at him. It let out a loud shriek, and Sam staggered back as a wave of fear hit him. He felt his knees suddenly go weak and had the overwhelming urge to turn tail and run.

  Damn debuffs!

  Raising his wand, Sam fired off another spell, then threw up his Mana Cloak as the ant crashed into him. He grimaced as he was thrown back, but his HP remained intact. Not for the first time, he was very happy to have bought that spell scroll.

  “Someone get on this weirdly named ant!” Sam cried out, as it attempted to bite him again. “My shield is about to run out.”

  “Way ahead of you!” Emma yelled, then launched herself at the ant.

  Her shining sword glowed red for a moment, then she slashed downward and three red blades materialized from thin air. They slammed into the ant queen’s back and sent up a spray of blood. Ann Tee whirled immediately to face the new threat, but Gordon and Barry were already there, tearing into her sides and knocking off small chunks of her HP .

  So this is working with a group, Sam thought as he fired off a couple of Mana Shots. It was definitely easier than fighting alone, or just with Gordon.

  “It’s nearly down to 70%, we’re doing great!” Sam called out. Then, of course, things began going wrong.

  As soon as its health dropped below 70%, the massive ant jumped into the air, its massive wings buzzing behind it.

  Shit! They’d forgotten to target the wings.

  Sam would have kicked himself, but the ant took care of that just a moment later. It shot forward like a dive bomber, slamming into everyone in its path and sending them scattering like ninepins. The air exploded from his lungs as Sam went flying back, and his HP dropped by 87 points.

  He gaped at the massive loss of health.

  If his HP wasn’t doubled that day, that one shot would have nearly wiped him out.

  He hit the ground hard, costing him yet another 3 HP.

  “Damn that smarts,” he groaned when his body finally stopped rolling, and he was able to push himself back on to his feet.

  Then his eyes widened when he realized that the ant queen was nowhere to be seen. His eyes quickly flicked to the multitude of tunnels, and he groaned inwardly.

  This fight had just become a whole lot harder.

  The others, including the bird, were slowly rising to their feet and Sam could see that each had lost a sizable chunk of their health, though none had lost as much as he had.

  What the hell? Does the freaking Overlord hate me for some reason?

  Then he remembered that they were all higher leveled than he was, and he let his anger melt away. Pulling a regular Healing Herb from his bag, Sam popped it into his mouth, jogging over to the others as he did so.

  “You see which tunnel it went into?” he asked, stopping near Emma, who was looking pretty beat up.

  “Doesn’t matter. She can come out of any of them. I’d say our best option would be to just stay in the center and keep our backs to each other,” she replied.

  “Good thinking,” he said, immediately placing his back to hers. “Barry, you keep an eye above, and Gordon, shout if you smell her approaching.”

  Both animals acknowledged his orders, and they settled in to wait. As the seconds slowly ticked by, Sam felt himself growing more on edge.

  Just what was it waiting for?

  Both Gordon and the bird sounded their warning, and a second later, the queen exploded from a tunnel to their right.

  “On your right!” Sam yelled, moving quickly aside and firing off a couple of spells.

  Emma managed to dodge as well, and sliced a new line into its back. Before they could do more, the ant had vanished into another tunnel. Sam gritted his teeth, as he and Emma stood back to back once more.

  This fight’s gonna suck.

  The ant queen kept exploding out of tunnels for the next ten minutes, forcing Sam and Emma to be constantly on their toes and dodge out of the way, while inflicting minimal damage in the process. Gordon and Barry managed to get in a few hits, but all they really managed to do was annoy it some more.

  “This is taking forever!” Sam exclaimed as the ant ran into another tunnel. “We need to get it to stay so we can kill it!”

  “I’m open to any suggestions,” Emma said.

  She looked just as worn out as he was feeling. All this waiting, followed by a brief exchange, was very taxing, both physically and mentally.

  “Above, you dumbass!” Barry cried out.

  Sam dove forward, catching Emma around the waist and pulled her out of the way, as the ant came barreling down from a hole in the ceiling.

  He took the opportunity to point his wand and fire off as many spells as he could, letting out a whoop as one landed in a gap, causing a massive amount of damage. The ant shrieked, then a new icon appeared over its head, one that Sam had seen over every bunny he’d met since gaining his Butcherer of Bunnies, title.

  “It’s enraged!” he yelled, getting to his feet and holding a hand out to Emma, who took it with a grateful smile.

  “Good. That means that it will stay and fight, rather than use the tactics it has been employing!” Gordon called back.

  “So, guess we hit it hard and hope we win?” Emma asked, swishing her sword through the air.

  “Guess so.”

  The ant screamed and they all staggered as a new debuff hit them at the same time. Sam grimaced when he saw that the fear debuff would lower the strength of his attacks for the next five minutes.

  How the hell was that fair?

  He growled, then began firing his spells at the enraged ant queen, whose attention was occupied by Baron Von Tweet, flying just out of range and taunting her. Then the ant leaped up, flapping its wings in an attempt to catch him, and that was when Emma and Gordon struck.

  Emma slashed out with her sword and Gordon began swiping out with his paw. The ant’s wings crumpled under the attacks and it fell out of the air, landing on its back with a loud crunch and losing nearly 20% of its HP. It lay there, flailing its legs as it tried to right itself and Sam saw his chance. Darting in, he closed the gap and used Mana Flare, dealing a massive amount of damage. He practically shoved his wand into one of the gaps and fired off three quick spells.

  Suddenly, something hard slammed into his head and he was sent reeling, his mind going fuzzy as he hit the ground. He screamed in pain. It felt as though he’d just been hit by a bus, then the bus had stopped and proceeded to back over him again. Then, all the kids had gotten off and taken turns kicking him in the balls.

  Okay, maybe it’s not that bad. But it still hurts like hell!

  He groaned as he tried to force his eyes into focus, but nothing happened. He could vaguely hear the sound of fighting in the distance, but his mind just couldn’t process what was going on. Sam groaned again as something was shoved into his mouth, and then felt his jaw being moved. After a few seconds, the idea sunk into his fuzzy mind and he began chewing on his own. Once he’d swallowed, his vision finally began to clear and he saw a message floating before his eyes.

  You are concussed! Effect: -30% focus, -30% accuracy. Duration: M 1 : S 33

  So that was why he’d felt like a truck had run over his head. He’d gotten a concussion.

  Looking up, Sam saw Emma crouched over him with a worried expression.

  “It’s fine, you can go back to the fight,” he said, waving her off.

  He noticed that his voice sounded a bit slurred, but Emma nodded, getting to her feet and running back to help Gordon and Barry take down the ant.

  Sam got slowly to his feet, wobbling slightly as he took stock of their situation. The ant queen was down to 20% of its health, but since it was enraged, it was dealing massive amounts of damage. Checking his own HP, Sam discovered that he was at around half
. He had to assume that Emma had given him the stronger Healing Herb, meaning that Ann Tee had nearly one-shotted him. Taking a second to check his damage notifications, it did indeed pop right up.

  Queen Ann Tee hits you for -177 Damage (Blunt)(Massive Critical).

  Sam had never been more grateful to anyone else in his life than he was right now to the Overlord. If he hadn’t had that divine boon, he would be dead right now. Which brought him to another issue.

  Why the hell did all these monsters keep almost killing him with single attacks? Something had to be off here. Even if the boss was 5 levels above him, it shouldn’t have dealt that much damage with one non-ability enhanced attack.

  He growled, resolving himself to figuring this issue out and aimed his wand at the ant, which was now down to of its 10% HP. Taking careful aim, he fired… and completely missed.

  Damn debuff!

  Sam wobbled closer, firing off another spell, and only just grazing the ant. Apparently, that was enough to get its attention. Whirling on him, Ann Tee charged, and Sam used his Mana Shield again, thankful that it didn’t take any focus to cast or aim. The shield flared up and Ann Tee crashed into him. Staggering back under the force of her own charge, Sam used Mana Flare, shaving off a sizable chunk of its remaining health. Emma ran forward and leaped into the air, sailing over the ant queen’s back. With a yell, she plunged her katana point first, straight through the ant’s back.

  Ann Tee screamed, falling to the ground as the last of its HP bled away. Sam quickly extended his wand when it was almost at 0, and used one final Mana Shot. Then the notifications began flooding in.

  BOSS DEFEATED!

  Congratulations! Your party has killed Queen Ann Tee!

  Your Rewards: +3,391 XP, 8 Gold Coins, Ironwood Wand, Potent Healing Herb (X3), Potent Mana Herb (X3)

  LEVEL UP!

  Congratulations! You have reached level 8! You have 5 new attribute points to distribute.

  Would you like to distribute them now?

  Yes/No

  LEVEL UP!

  Congratulations! You have reached level 9! You have 5 new attribute points to distribute.

  Would you like to distribute them now?

  Yes/No

  TITLE GAINED!

  Through your constant near-death experiences, you have gained a new title!

  Punching Bag: You’re quite the masochist, aren’t you?

  Effect: -50% Damage from physical attacks when HP is below 25%

  DIVINE BOON

  You have kept today’s rule! You have been granted a divine boon!

  Effect: +50% Increase to XP gain Duration: H 23 : M 59 : S 59

  “Woo!” Sam yelled, pumping his fists in the air.

  He’d just gained 2 levels, a new title - which he wasn’t too proud of - and some awesome sounding loot. Not to mention a boon that would help him earn half the XP he would normally.

  It also didn’t escape his notice that two chests had risen from the ground on the far side of the cave, and one of them blazed with blue light in his vision. He took a shot in the dark and guessed that one was his.

  Emma walked up to him, a tired smile on her face.

  “That was something else!” she said, clapping him on the back, making him wince.

  “Sorry. Forgot my strength for a second,” she said, flushing slightly.

  “No problem,” he said, returning the grin in kind. “I just moved up 2 levels and got a 24 hour XP boost!”

  “I finally moved up to level 10, ” Emma replied, her grin matching his. “I can finally choose a class!”

  Then they both turned their attention to the ant, which had just finished disintegrating, and left a pile of loot in its place.

  “Shall we see what the boss has dropped for us?” Sam asked, giving Emma a bow, and motioning to the pile.

  Emma snorted out a laugh.

  “I already know what I’m getting, but sure.” She walked ahead of him, and bent down by the pile.

  Sam noticed that there were two distinct piles and when Emma reached out for one, her hand slipped straight through it.

  “Looks like Gordon was right,” he said, crouching over the small pile, and picking up the herbs and gold.

  “Looks like it,” Emma replied, picking up a similar stack of gold, and a few different colored leaves.

  “What type of Herb is that?” Sam asked, gesturing to the trio of shiny yellow leaves clutched in her fingers.

  “Stamina Herbs, ” she replied. “Warrior abilities use stamina, instead of mana for attacks. That why mine is so high.”

  He nodded, then lifted the last item sitting on the floor, a slim wooden wand that was a dark gray in color and seemed to almost gleam in the lighting of the cavern.

  ITEM FOUND!

  Name: Ironwood Wand Durability: 110/110

  Rarity: Rare Quality: Sturdy Damage: +10-13 (Ability)

  Finally, a weapon he could use before becoming a Mage.

  Sam was a little disappointed that he hadn’t gotten it a few levels back. Now, it would be practically useless once he leveled up again, since the staff he’d gotten was so much better.

  “What did you get?” Sam asked, as he equipped his new wand and placed the old one back in his bag.

  “A whetstone that will add some damage if I use it to sharpen my sword,” Emma replied, holding up the shiny rock.

  “A wand,” Sam replied when she raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Should we go check what’s in the chests?” Emma asked.

  “Yeah, sounds good.”

  They both stood up and walked to the far wall, where both chests were sitting. A tunnel exit was placed right next to them, which reminded Sam of the guild people waiting to take 40% of his earnings once he got outside.

  “Are you planning on paying the Guild’s fees?” Sam asked as he flipped the lid up on his chest.

  “Those pompous assholes? Hell no!” Emma replied, flipping her chest open as well.

  Sam stared down at the contents and forced himself not to laugh. There were two items waiting there for him, and one was going straight to Gordon.

  ITEMS FOUND!

  Name: Polished Steelwood Stick Durability: 250/250

  Rarity: Epic Quality: Reinforced Effects: +5 Charisma when placed in mouth Name: Band of Intellect Durability: 140/140

  Rarity: Epic Quality: Enhanced Effects: +10 Intelligence, +5% Ability damage

  Sam immediately slid the Band of Intellect over his wrist and watched his MP shoot up by 100 points.

  Now, this was one hell of a find!

  “Hey, Gordon!” Sam called out, then tossed the stick into the air.

  Gordon, who’d been lying on the ground and chewing on his old stick, looked up when Sam called his name. Then, he immediately dropped the stick and took a running leap to catch the new one between his jaws. As soon as he caught it, Sam noticed that he suddenly seemed to look a lot better. He even got the urge to walk over and scratch him, something which he’d never wanted to do before.

  “Aww, he looks so cute!” Emma cooed from beside him, then ran over to begin petting the dog, who looked quite pleased with the attention.

  Baron Von Tweet landed near her and glared at her for a few moments before Emma pulled something bright and orange from her pack and handed it over. Sam saw that it was dried mango. He plucked it from her hand and waddled over to the far wall, where he began eating and making small tweeting sounds.

  Sam looked around the cave one last time to see if he’d missed anything, and his eyes landed on the dungeon core.

  25

  “So, who gets the core?” he asked, walking over to sit down next to Emma.

  “You can have it. I’ve got no use for it,” she replied, talking in a baby voice and scratching at Gordon’s belly, which he’d gladly given her access to.

  “You sure?” he asked, pulling up his status.

  “Yeah, it’s all yours,” she said again.

  Shrugging to himself, Sam focused on his status to see the change
s since the last time he’d checked.

  CHARACTER STATUS

  Name: Sam Race: Human Level: 9

  XP: 247/5,200

  AP: 16

  Class: None HP: 100/100 (179/200) (Regen 1.0 (2.0) Per Second) MP: 256/360 (Regen 2.4 Per Second) STA: 71/80 (Regen 0.8 Per Second)

  ATTRIBUTES

  Strength: 5 (6)

  Constitution: 10

  Agility: 6 (10)

  Endurance: 7 (8)

  Intelligence: 26 (36)

  Wisdom: 20 (24)

  Charisma: 16

  Luck: 10 (20)

  ABILITIES

  Mana Shot: Beginner LV - 14 (28%) Mana Burn: Beginner LV - 13 (31%) Mana Flare: Novice LV - 9 (57%) Mana Cloak: Novice LV - 7 (84%)

  SKILLS

  Sprint: Novice LV - 9 (21%) Stalker: Novice LV - 6 (62%) Inspect: Beginner LV - 13 (88%) Mind Over Body: Intermediate LV - 24 (47%) Mental Manipulation: Novice LV - 7 (79%) Browbeat: Novice LV - 4 (80%) Critical Strike: Novice LV - 7 (56%) Sucker Punch: Novice LV - 5 (93%)

  TITLES

  Butcherer of Bunnies Punching Bag

  EQUIPPED ITEMS

  Clothing Farmer’s Canvas Shirt Farmer’s Canvas Pants Farmer’s Leather Boots Total Armor Rating: 7

  Set Bonus: +1 Strength & Endurance Other Items Enhanced Canvas Bag Carry Capacity: 18/100 Slots filled Ironwood Wand Damage: +10-13

  Lucky Rabbit’s Foot Effect: +10 Luck Ring of Wisdom Effect: +4 Wisdom Ring of Agility Effect: +4 Agility Band of Intellect Effects: +10 Intelligence, +5% Ability Damage