Rolling my shoulders and cracking my neck from side to side, I moved to open the door . . . which tried to swallow my arm. I screamed when teeth dug into my right arm, trying to tear it free from the rest of my body. I started punching at the now living door, but my strikes were very ineffective. With a sickening crunch and tearing sound, I fell back from the door. My arm now missing. To add insult to injury, I heard the sloth demon swallow my arm and let out a satisfied belch.
I finally looked at the door. It was still a door, but it now had a large mouth filled with teeth and there were tentacles growing out of it, reaching for me. It was . . . horrifying.
Unfortunately for the demon, it made one mistake. I was now free, in a world of pain, but free. I fumbled to pull my mace from my belt with my left arm. I wasn’t a lefty. Still, I swung for all I was worth. I smashed my mace down on one of the tentacles that was getting a little too close. When I smashed it, there was a scream of pain from the door that nearly made me drop my mace to cover my ears, futile though that effort may have been with a missing arm.
I ignored the pain and swung for another tentacle, hitting so hard the appendage pulped between my mace head and the ground. The door jerked the tentacle back before I lifted my mace and tore free, spraying black blood. Remembering how much the demon blood burned, I quickly jumped back. The torn tentacle flopped a few times before the remaining bit of it was sucked back into the door. I grinned when I didn’t see a new tentacle emerge. Then I winced and dropped to a knee as phantom pain throbbed through my now missing arm. I refused to look at my HP. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I would bleed out, but I’d be damned if I didn’t at least take the door demon with me.
It was about then I finally tuned in to Asher yelling at me. “Run, you dummy!”
“No!” I snapped, then went back on the attack. I moved up slowly, needing to shake my head once, as I felt the blood loss getting to me. I got just close enough for one of the tentacles to attempt reaching for me. I used quick strike and smashed the tentacle into the ground, then used it a second time to smash it again, and a third before the demon could withdraw. That tentacle tore away, same as the one before. I was a little slow getting away from the blood spray. A few drops hit me and started burning immediately. I ignored it.
I kept up the same pattern, taking out tentacles, one after another until I could finally attack the door directly. I smashed my mace into its lower jaw, breaking the teeth that helped take my arm. I smashed the upper jaw. I alternated from lower to upper, smashing the monster’s teeth in. Even when the monster died, I kept smashing at it, right up until it turned into a puddle of black blood and was reabsorbed by Purgatory.
When the beast finally died and I ran out of EP smashing at the floor, I collapsed and finally let the pain overwhelm me.
“Idiot!” Asher screamed. “Hurry through, before you die!”
I didn’t understand his instruction. Through what?”
“The door! Get through the door, idiot!” Asher yelled again.
I could feel the urgency in his voice, but I just didn’t have the strength to move. I could barely open my eyes.
Asher floated there, right in front of my face. “Idiot! Get through that door. You completed the first floor. Hurry and get through before you die.”
It took more effort on my part than I thought I was capable of at that moment just to move my head to look at what he was talking about.
Just past where the door sat was a staircase descending into darkness.
“Crawl, wiggle, or pull yourself if you need to, but get down those stairs!” Asher pleaded with me urgently.
I groaned in pain as I tried and eventually succeeded in rolling on to my stomach. I should have thought more about the direction I was rolling. I rolled over my stump and nearly blacked out from the pain. As it was, I needed to lay there and catch my breath, ignoring Asher yelling at me and calling me names.
I refused to look at my HP. I knew I was on the verge of death. I probably should have died already. I didn’t know what was keeping me alive. Still, I reached my only remaining arm forward and dragged myself toward the stairway. It was excruciatingly slow and painful. Inches at a time, I moved a little closer until I got my fingers around the lip of the stairs. I heaved one more time and let myself fall down the stairs into darkness.
I awoke with a gasp. I was back in the morgue. Surrounded once again by the numerous stone slabs. But something was different. The old man was there, the one that gave me my evaluation when I first arrived in Purgatory, not the demon I’d been chasing through the library.
“It’s you, uh . . . Tanner, right?” I said.
“That’s me,” he replied. “Congratulations on completing your first floor of Purgatory. Not exactly record setting but still pretty decent speed.”
It felt nice to be congratulated, but still, that was . . . traumatic. Maybe worse than getting my face melted off by the greater imp’s blood. Subconsciously, I rubbed at my face, which is when I noticed I had both of my arms back. I stared at the restored arm for a long moment. It looked . . . perfect, like it had never gone missing in the first place.
The old man cleared his throat, bringing himself back to my attention. He looked different from the first time I’d seen him. He was more . . . just more. He wasn’t just an old man. I asked, “Who are you, really?”
The old man shrugged. “Some call me Tanner, others call me the keeper, but my name is Ramiel. You can call me Ramy.”
Ramiel sounded like the name of an angel, which he must have been. To sate my curiosity, I asked, “Are you the Dominion of Purgatory?”
Ramy nodded. “I am. It seems Asher has been rather helpful to you. Most of you who inhabit Sinner’s City and Purgatory know nothing of the structure or the hierarchies.”
“You know there are demons or . . . demonic servants running around Sinner’s City?” I asked.
Ramy smiled. “I’m aware.”
“And you’re not going to do anything about them?” I asked, trying not to lose my temper.
Ramy’s smiled turned slightly sad. “I cannot interfere with anyone’s journey through Purgatory. Each of you must find your own way through, whether that means falling into the pits of the inferno or ascending to the eternal bliss of the Silver City. But that doesn’t stop you from stopping the demons.”
That was not what I wanted to hear. I understood it, but it was terrible all the same. Still, maybe there was something he could tell me. I asked, “Can you at least tell me if there is any humanity left in Billy?”
Ramy frowned at that question. “I cannot say. I can only warn you. Billy is far more powerful than you are at this time. Do not face him until you are much stronger . . . much, much, much stronger.”
I nodded at that, accepting his disappointing answer. I moved on, “So, I finished the floor?”
“You did,” Ramy said with a nod.
“And then I died?” I asked.
Ramy laughed. “No, you lived. Each time you complete a floor you will be brought here where I will evaluate your performance and reward you accordingly.”
Now that was interesting.
“So, how did I do?”
Ramy’s smile softened before he began to speak, “As I said, you completed the first floor quickly, not record setting, but you still made good time. Though you did let the greater sloth demon escape and your final battle was . . . sloppy. It was a miracle you didn’t succumb to your injuries. You were methodical in your clearing of the floor and working through, I know that was on Asher’s advice, but you still did it. In truth, you were probably too strong for that floor when you finally cleared it. Your experience gains and crystal drops should have told you as much.”
I nodded at the last part. After the various improvements to my Body and Soul, things had gotten significantly easier. But his mention of Asher made me curious. I didn’t see the little fireball anywhere. “Where is Asher?”
“I will get to that,” Ramy said. “First, your reward
s. For your drive to survive and continue fighting when you should have died, plus six to constitution. As your Body has been your focus, I will allot you plus two to strength and regeneration, and plus one to reflex. As a bonus for the greater imp and his minions, I will bring your Soul to a base ten. Plus four to righteousness and plus two to fortune.”
That made me smile broadly. Those were fantastic rewards.
Ramy continued, “For completing your first floor in under six months, you are rewarded, plus one level to all proficiencies and ten thousand experience points.”
That made me really want to see what was going on with my scroll of Body and Soul.
And yet, Ramy added more. “For completing your first floor in under three months, you are rewarded, plus one level to all proficiencies and fifty thousand experience points.”
I couldn’t fight the smile on my face if I tried. Two levels to every proficiency and sixty thousand experience points. That was amazing.
“And finally,” Ramy continued, “Regarding Asher. With his advancement, you will now need to choose an advancement path for him. That is why he is not here. Once you have selected his path, he will be recalled.”
I was even more intrigued.
Ramy smirked. He must have seen the interest written on my face. “Open your Scroll of Body and Soul and turn to his page. There, you will be able to select a path.” He paused and almost at a whisper, he added, “At level 5, you will be able to select a unique proficiency based on the path you choose for him.”
Call Divine Guide (Path Pending)
Level: 3
Experience to Next Level: 2,766
SE Cost: 10
Call a Divine Guide to assist you on your journey through Purgatory. Divine Guide is incorporeal and invisible to all but the Caller.
The ‘(Path Pending)’ in parenthesis was flashing softly, slowly fading in and out. I touched my finger to it and the page changed dramatically.
Name: Asher
Caller: Victor Goodspeed
Level: 3
Experience to Next Level: 2,766
Path: Unselected
HP: 30/30
EP: 30/30
SE: 300/300
Description: Asher is the Divine Call of Victor Goodspeed. Asher is one of the legendary flames of Enoch and a soldier of the Archangel Metatron. Asher was reassigned from the front as a reward for millennia of dedicated and honorable service.
Once again, the ‘Unselected’ was slowly pulsing. I tapped on it and again, the page changed.
Available Paths:
Defender: Uses Proficiencies to protect his caller, shaping spirit energy (SE) to block and absorb incoming damage from the forces of hell.
Attacker: Uses Proficiencies to assist his caller, shaping spirit energy (SE) to attack and inhibit the forces of hell.
Healer: Uses Proficiencies to heal his caller, shaping spirit energy (SE) to enhance his caller and heal the damage caused by the forces of hell.
Ooh, now that was exciting. All three paths had their benefits. Defender would reduce the damage I suffer, something that would in general be very nice. I was getting tired of being hurt by all the demons in Purgatory. At the same time, Healer would be great for helping me recover during and after battle. Then there was the Attacker. If the demons died a lot faster, they wouldn’t be able to do as much damage to me. Somehow, I had a feeling that if Asher were choosing his own path, that’s what he’d go with. The fireball had something of an aggressive attitude. But . . . that wasn’t what I needed. Based on the way I fought, a Defender or a Healer would serve me best.
The question then was, which was more useful. I could learn proficiencies from both Defender and Healer myself, but how effective would they be? My Soul was not my strongest set of attributes. However, my Body was getting more and more powerful. Specifically, my regeneration was getting more and more powerful. Could I learn a few simple healing proficiencies and call it good? If I had Asher there to reduce the damage I took, I could certainly see that working for me. Then again, whenever I played games, having a pocket healer was always beneficial.
I looked to Ramy and asked, “Any advice?”
“Play to your strengths, that is always the best way forward through Purgatory,” Ramy answered.
I smiled. “Asher probably won’t like this, but let’s go with-”
Chapter 16 – Celebration
“You made me a what?” Asher demanded loudly. As soon as I assigned his specialty the little guy came back into existence. At first, he grinned upon seeing me. Then his face turned darker, his flames grew brighter and hotter as he realized something was different about himself.
“A Defender,” I answered.
“A bloody defender!” Asher screamed. “Anything else would have been better. For the love of . . . a Healer would have been better. What were you thinking?”
“I was playing to my strengths,” I answered, glancing at the smirking angel. “I’m also basically a defender or tank. That is more or less, what I’m building towards. If you can enhance my defense even more, I can take even more abuse. I know the healer would help during a fight to keep me alive and even after the fact, but I’m tired of the pain. Pain is distracting. It’s a miracle I was able to fight through the pain of losing my arm. I’d rather never go through that again. And unless you haven’t been paying attention, less damage means less pain. Besides, you said something about taking a healing ability as my next Soul proficiency anyway. Wouldn’t that work?”
Asher roared, “Only if you live long enough to use it!”
“Which is what I have your additional defenses for,” I replied. It made perfect sense to me. I wanted to become unkillable. Having Asher as a defensive spell caster would accomplish that.
Asher grumbled, either holding back what he really wanted to say or reluctantly accepting my decision. “You’re getting heal and then regeneration for your next two Soul proficiencies, and you will get heavy armor and sword and board for your next two Body proficiencies. Then we’ll see how things look. Am I understood?”
I nodded and grinned. That was perfect as far as I was concerned.
“First,” Asher continued, “You will get ten unused points in Body so we can get you the heavy armor proficiency. Then the next forty will be going into Soul. You’re going to be seeing more and more of the greater demon variety and those two healing abilities will be more important than ever. Am I understood?”
I nodded again. Things were starting to get interesting.
Asher was about to continue when Ramy cleared his throat rather loudly. The fireball turned on him, “And you, why would you let him do this? You’re a Dominion!”
“I told him to play to his strengths. In all my time in Purgatory, I have seen more of humanity succeed when they do exactly that. Victor’s strength is in his tenacity and desire to live. Though I do think a Healer would have worked equally well,” Ramy explained.
Asher growled but seemed to concede the point to the Dominion of Purgatory.
Seeing that as his chance to finally say his piece, Ramy continued, “Now, if we might continue, your final reward.” With that, Ramy pulled out a large sack and a familiar scroll. More specifically, it was a proficiency scroll. “I know your guide has a plan for you, but this might serve you better in the long run,” he said, then tossed the vellum toward me.
I caught it, but as usually, the gibberish written inside meant nothing to me. I looked back up, but Ramy was gone, only the large sack remained on the stone slab the angel had been sitting on. It kind of annoyed me that he disappeared before I could even ask him what any of it was. Instead, I looked to Asher and held it up to him.
Asher’s jaw dropped slightly. “What did you do to earn that?”
“What is it?” I asked.
Asher grumbled a bit. “Okay, maybe this will be your next Soul proficiency. Call Divine Spirit Weapon: Mace.”
“Is that what I think it is?” I asked, feeling overly excited by the prospect.
<
br /> Asher bobbed. “If you think it’s a mace you can summon and level up with experience, then you’d be correct. Now, put it into your inventory and never tell anyone about it. You remember the fourth floor of the proficiency dealer’s, the one we couldn’t get into. That would get you a VIP pass up. You could probably sell that scroll for several million crystals, so do us both a favor and keep it hidden.”
I swallowed and looked down at the scroll in a new light. I was holding a large fortune in my hands. I opened my inventory and quickly placed it into one of my open slots, right next to the small bottle that held a glowing gold potion. A potion Asher said he’d be able to identify if he leveled up. I extracted the potion and showed it to Asher.
I asked, “Can you identify this now?”
Asher hovered in front of the potion for a moment before he gasped. “Sweet Gabriel’s shining sword. This is impossible. I mean, I heard they existed . . . but I thought they were just . . . a rumor. Quickly, pour that onto your Scroll of Body and Soul.
I frowned at Asher. “Why?”
“Just do it,” Asher ordered sharply.
I frowned but still re-opened my inventory and pulled out my Scroll of Body and Soul. I then poured the golden liquid onto it. I felt a strange tingling sensation all over my body then it felt like I was on fire. I cried out in pain as my body began to smoke.
“Endure it,” Asher ordered. “It will be over soon. Just endure it a little longer.”
A little longer was a lot longer, or it felt like a lot longer. As soon as the pain faded enough that I could think straight, I angrily demanded, “What the hell was that?”
“Yes, you survived,” Asher said. “Now, see if you can add that new proficiency to your scroll.”
Purgatory: The Devil's Game Page 18
