The Demonic Games (Disgardium Book #7): LitRPG Series

by Dan Sugralinov

  Turning, I saw Despot forcing his way into the corridor, chasing after me. Not bending over this time, but down on all fours with his weight on his spiny arms, he was definitely moving faster than before. He had somehow matched my speed so as not to fall behind. Maybe I should fly a little slower, let the boss think he was catching up…

  The corridor I found myself in stretched out for forty yards ahead. Even from here I could see that it had several branches. And no mobs again! It seemed Despot had eaten all the spawn of the Inferno on this level, maybe out of hunger or boredom. Or maybe they had never been here.

  I couldn’t risk trying to Meditate, but what stopped me from leveling up something else? Flying to a nearby branch, I hid behind a corner and went into Stealth.

  Despot soon appeared at the start of the corridor, and a couple of seconds later I got a notification:

  Stealth level increased: +2. Current level: 3.

  Fighting my greed, I sat until the boss was ten steps away from me…

  Stealth level increased: +2. Current level: 5.

  …and then set off again. However much I wanted to, it was dangerous to hide until he reached me — I needed some spare time to come back, just in case the corridor led me to a dead end again.

  The labyrinth was like a cheese covered with holes. I careered down the corridors, my sense of direction lost long ago, with no idea where I’d been and where I was yet to be. There was no minimap in the Games. The full three-dimensional map showed only where I was at the scale of the whole Cursed Chasm. Only the logs of my Cartography skill leveling up made it clear that I was in a separate zone.

  The corridors were divided into several types. Some were huge and artificial, like the one I found myself in after I teleported here. They were around twenty feet tall and the same again wide. I never hit any dead ends flying through those corridors, because they always had offshoots going somewhere. But there was a catch: in the big tunnels, Despot stood all the way up and sped his pace, closing the distance between us.

  The smaller corridors, around twelve by twelve feet, also almost always had exits. Only once did I hit a dead end in one of them. But often they ended with snaking passages that seemed as if tunneled out by some kind of worm, and those often turned into dead ends.

  It was hard to say how much time passed. Half an hour, maybe a full hour, but it felt like a lifetime. If all this had been happening in real life, I would have collapsed with exhaustion a while back. Fortunately, Scyth was far stronger than me. At that moment I realized that Hairo and Roj were right every one of the hundred times they told me I should be training.

  Wandering through the labyrinth had its benefits: my Stealth and Cartography kept leveling up.

  Cartography skill increased: +1. Current level: 8.

  You now have access to more options when interacting with zone maps: you can now scale maps and bring up a minimap. Unexplored territory within a hundred yards is automatically revealed.

  Not only did I now have a minimap, but the big map also began to show all the twists and turns of the corridors and other passageways within a hundred yards! The skill had pleasantly surprised me again. Now I could see dead ends in advance! Good thing it leveled up automatically, or I’d never have remembered it! It seemed like a useless skill, but it made my life a lot easier.

  Navigating by the minimap, I started flying through the passages at maximum speed to get as big a lead on Despot as I could. Choosing a winding corridor, I stuck myself into a dark crack, went into Stealth and froze…

  I heard the footsteps through the wall. Damn it. How did that walking tank find me? I’d gotten far away, and gone into Stealth. I got the feeling that the labyrinth was somehow part of the creature, its eyes and sensory organs. Or did the beast have a skill that allowed it to home in on its prey?

  I waited for the demon, then flew away again, thinking about where Despot’s power lay — he was slow and stupid, he couldn’t even catch up to me with Sloth’s Blessing! What if a full-fledged raid had walked in here instead of me? The boss wouldn’t have had the speed to take them down. They could just kite him until he dropped. And he was at level 531? Had they made this one boss so weak deliberately, and I’d just gotten lucky? No, that didn’t match the strategy of the Games. More likely that Despot just hadn’t shown his true power yet. He might explode with fire, like I did with Vindication when I felt danger. Or maybe he had some tricky and deadly enrage effect… Time would tell.

  My spirit was recovering, my strength gaining, but it was still too big a risk to turn and fight. I needed to find an exit, to get out of there!

  Hiding behind a turn, I went into Stealth and finally got what I wanted:

  Stealth level increased: +1. Current level: 100.

  Stealth rank I reached!

  Stealth, level 1

  Rank: I.

  Chance to remain unnoticed by enemies at your level or below: 100%. You can move and remain hidden. When you attack an enemy undetected, you always deal double critical damage. You have a 1% chance to remain in Stealth when you go into combat. You have a 1% chance to detect an enemy who is using this ability.

  I don’t know if the stream viewers liked my jig, but I danced with all my heart! And no wonder — now I could move without leaving Stealth, fly in it and level it up constantly. A hope flashed up — maybe I could get away from Despot for good, maybe he wouldn’t be able to track me now? I hid and was detected maybe half a minute later, barely dodging a deadly swing of his arm.

  The cat-and-mouse games continued: fly away to what seemed like a good distance, go into Stealth, get detected, flee again, repeat. Although Despot knocked me out of Stealth each time, the skill leveled up successfully — the accelerated leveling in the Games helped, as did the level gap of over five hundred.

  In my wanderings I explored 19% of the labyrinth, and when I saw a spacious hall on the map, of course I flew that way. My heart beat faster in anticipation of victory. The objects had no labels on my map, but I could already tell — it was the platform by the gates! I’d found the exit!

  Darting into another narrow corridor, I stopped in the middle of a room with a dome-like ceiling. I looked around out of habit, expecting attacks from mobs, but there was nothing here either. The walls gave off a pulsing reddish light, but the gates were still black.

  I began to hear Despot’s footsteps again, growing louder each time, and I rushed toward the gates, pushed on them…

  …but all my efforts failed.

  You cannot leave the dungeon! The seal has not been removed from the gates of level 531.

  To leave the dungeon, you must defeat the boss of the floor.

  Chapter 21. Tenderhearted Demon Fighter

  I’M DONE FOR! was my first thought. Naturally, the seal was outside the gates. With the realization that there was no way to get out without defeating Despot, my scream of frustration echoed through the halls. Sure, I kind of knew it was coming to this, but I still held out hope to the end.

  Fine. Couldn’t stay lucky all the time. Meister’s Escape Pentagram had saved me from the slaughter in the forest glade, and twice at that, first by pulling me out from beneath Destiny’s killshot and then by throwing me to what might be the only floor without mobs except 666. It seemed likely that my increased luck had something to do with all that.

  But now I had to save myself. I survived my fight with Abaddon! What was this dumb Despot to me? The poor thing had already been chasing me for two hours, and hadn’t reached me. The trouble was, I could play hide-and-seek until the day ended, but as soon as I showed up tomorrow… I was sure the boss would be right next to me and would drop its halberd-like arms down on me in the very first second.

  I kept running, constantly glancing at my spirit bar. Only a little left until it was fully restored, and once it filled up, I could take a risk…

  As I flew into another corridor, I got an achievement before I could hide:

  Unlocked event achievement: Explorer of Despot’s Labyrinth


  You are the first to have explored over 25% of Despot’s Labyrinth.

  Attention! This achievement is an event achievement, and is active only for the duration of the Demonic Games.

  Reward: +10 perception.

  I heard Despot’s tread around the corner, close. Still in Stealth, I flew further away and turned down a narrow corridor. There I looked at my battle resource bar again: almost full. Spirit flooded through my channels, demanding release. The moment of truth was here. Now to choose a good spot for the fight. A place where I had enough room to maneuver, and the more corridors, the better, just in case I had to run away.

  By then, Cartography had leveled up so high that I could see everything on the map within two hundred yards. Glancing at the floor map, I noticed that there were two suitable spots nearby, and I hadn’t visited the second yet. It was closer, so half a minute later I was in a spacious corridor with a round ceiling and walls gleaming with moisture. I flew back and forth, counting four exits, then froze at the center, not far from a small side corridor where the demon would only be able to crawl.

  Crash-crash, crash-crash, — either my heart was beating hard, or it was the echo of Despot’s approaching steps. Closer, closer… The corridor shook with the giant footfalls.

  First the demon’s head appeared from behind the turn, then his arm. Pulling against the wall, Despot forced himself out into the spacious corridor, drew himself up.

  If Mogwai’s strength was in his Resilience and stubbornness, and Destiny’s in money and status, then mine was in seeing a way to get negotiate with any sentient creature. Recalling my adventures in the Treasury, where my communication skills had gotten me loyal allies and guardians, I spoke to the demon as it tramped toward me:

  “Hey, Despot, aren’t you sick of chasing me by now?”

  Nothing. Just the dull target fixation of a terminator battle droid.

  “There’ll be plenty of time to kill me later. Why don’t we just talk first? Must be boring for you, all alone down here.”

  Either he didn’t hear me, didn’t understand common or just didn’t want to talk to his meals. Or maybe my slowed speech was the problem.

  Realizing that I couldn’t talk to him, I went into Clarity…

  Despot slowed, his arm already pulling back to strike, then stopped with fire pulsating in his chest, his clawed fingers spread in the air.

  For a fraction of a second I hesitated, choosing where to strike. Right in the head, between the eyes! Ready to fire off a Combo, I rushed straight toward the boss…

  But intuition kicked in just in time, and instead of a series of strikes I hit with one single Hammerfist… And then jumped back, guided by instinct alone. It was like I was hit by a flamethrower. My eyes darkened from the pain and my health fell down to the red zone.

  Retreating, I only barely made out the combat log through the tears:

  Despot dealt you damage (Hellflame Aura): 1,763.

  Resilience level increased: +3. Current level: 45.

  Nice to level up my ability, but the rest… I was lucky that I only took one tick, and not the strongest, from the boss’s aura while sped up in Clarity. If I’d flown a little closer or waited for a second tick, then I’d already be climbing out of my capsule and saying goodbye to the Games.

  There was no way I could melee the boss, but that wasn’t the worst part. The logs showed that I’d only dealt a fraction of a point of damage to Despot!

  You have damaged Despot (Crushing Hammerfist of Justice): 0 (96,229 absorbed).

  Even Abaddon didn’t have that much defense, so the issue wasn’t Despot specifically. But then what..? Maybe he was immune to physical damage? I had something for that.

  Using spirit generously, I flew back and fired off a ranged Hammerfist.

  You dealt critical damage to Despot (Spirit-Crushing Hammerfist of Justice): 0 (138,446 absorbed)!

  At the sight of my logs, Bomber would have put it short and sweet: “Fuck!” And he’d be right — Despot was invulnerable.

  Everything I felt — upset, rage, the feeling of injustice, — must be what my opponents felt when I had Destroying Plague Immortality. Life had taken a turn and thrown back the feelings of those I killed like a boomerang.

  The Nether with philosophy. Time to get out of there before the monster took the rest of my health!

  Darting into a stone side corridor, I flew away to a safe distance, left Clarity, then started thinking harder about how to go on living.

  My game experience told me that creatures like this didn’t go down easy. It would take more than just Hammerfist. The chance of a whole raid wiping on their first encounter with a boss like this was a little over a hundred percent, no matter how strong the raid. There was some trick to this; the game designers couldn’t have made an unkillable boss!

  I even fleetingly thought that Despot might be a special boss variant, an exclusive specimen created specially for Scyth. Watching as the nightmarish beast approached, I spoke:

  “Thanks for using Meister’s Trinkets, the best teleportation company in town! Hot tours to the Inferno! A 531-star hotel and welcoming staff. Hotel owner Mr. Despot will make your stay in the Inferno unforgettable! Ha-ha!” Great. Now I was laughing at my own jokes. I hoped the viewers enjoyed it. My speech was still stretched out, I sounded like a broken robot, but consoled myself with the thought that a patient fan would hear me out and understand. “Come on, Despot must have some Achilles’ heel. Maybe he can only be killed by a weapon hidden in this maze.”

  I kept thinking aloud, explaining my reasoning. I really didn’t want to be the worst player of the day again.

  “Whatever weapon works against the boss, it has to be here, or else it makes no sense,” I said, frowning and rubbing my chin. “It’s not likely to be a reward for a quest chain in some other place. If that’s how it works, viewers, then Snowstorm can go to hell! Either way, I don’t have a choice. I have to start looking and find it before the day is out. If I don’t find it, then tomorrow, Despot will squash me.”

  Having stated the obvious, I flew off to explore more of the map.

  Corridor, corridor, corridor. Despot’s footsteps behind me. Stealth, detection, escape. The dance with death turned into a routine that began to bear fruit:

  Cartography skill increased: +1. Current level: 10.

  Now you can create even more detailed maps of unexplored lands. You move faster in previously mapped areas. From now on, you can see hidden dungeon entrances, treasure troves and caches.

  Quality of maps you create: good.

  Alright… As I flew into another corridor, I opened the dungeon map. Hmm… Judging by the huge dark area in the center, I’d flown all around the edge of the floor in a circle. Now I had to move toward the unexplored center. Shame my ability to navigate dungeons didn’t level up with Cartography. I had to keep checking the map to stay on track.

  Unlocked event achievement: Tireless Explorer of Despot’s Labyrinth

  You are the first to have explored over 50% of Despot’s Labyrinth.

  Attention! This achievement is an event achievement, and is active only for the duration of the Demonic Games.

  Reward: +25 perception.

  My persistence kept paying off; the next level-up came quickly.

  Stealth level increased: +1. Current level: 100.

  Stealth rank II reached!

  Stealth, level 1

  Rank: II.

  Now, even enemies above your level will have a hard time detecting you. When you attack from Stealth, you remain undetected, but your chance of being detected increases by 10% with each attack.

  I grinned in awe. I had no idea this skill that was traditionally just for rogues could be so useful to me. It made some sense; the Herald class was designed to be universal, to adapt for different kinds of gameplay and make progress in various directions. Maybe I should try doing magic sometime too?

  Leaving that idea for later, I continued my exploration of the dungeon. Right behind the very next turn,
a yellow circle lit up on the map — a secret entrance? Could this be the reward I was seeking? Could there be a weapon against Despot here?

  I flew up to the moss-covered wall, ran a hand across it and felt ancient tile. Glancing toward the far end of the corridor where Despot was about to appear, I started pressing on stones one after another until one in the lower row gave way. The entire wall moved aside, revealing a narrow passageway into a round cavern like those I’d seen before.

  I thought for a moment, then squeezed my way inside, looked around and saw a small rusty chest. I flung it open and saw a pile of coins, dirty and deformed. They glowed purple and were twisted, as if a strongman had held them in his fist and crumpled them like paper. And they were smaller and not as impressively heavy as in big Dis. I swept them all up and the zero in my in-game balance changed to almost a hundred demonic gold.