Purgatory: The Devil's Game

by M. A. Carlson

  I felt pain pierce into my shoulder and causing my whole arm to turn slightly numb. Not enough to make me drop my weapon, but enough that I knew swinging my mace around was going to hurt and probably deal reduced damage. A quick glance down confirmed it when I saw an arrow had manage to do more than just narrowly cut me. Once again, the distraction made me pay. The spear wielding demon struck my side, causing my vision to flash briefly white with the pain. I lashed out before the spear could be retracted, hitting the demon in the head, making it release its grip on the spear that was still stuck in my side.

  I ignored the pain and focused on the archer. I was just in time to raise my shield as an arrow struck it, the head punching through the wood of the heater shield. The move caused me pain as it also dislodged the spear.

  A quick glance at the sword wielder and I saw it was still alive but struggling to stand. A second look at the spear wielder showed it was also still alive but was also most likely down for the count.

  I focused again on the archer who was drawing back another arrow. I charged. I needed to close the distance as quickly as I could. I kept my shield out in front as I went. It turned out to be a good decision. Every five or six steps another arrow pierced into the wood of the heater shield. Suddenly, I was on top of the archer, smashing the bow away with my shield and swinging my mace overhead and bringing the blunt instrument down on the demon’s shoulder. There was a loud crack and a roar of pain from the demon. I didn’t care, I brought the mace up and struck down again, this time smashing the demon’s face. One more time and the archer was dead.

  I gasped at the sudden pain in my back as something drove through it and out my front. I coughed and tasted blood. I looked down for the source of the pain and saw the tip of a sword. I tried to turn but the sword was held in place, which meant I was held in place. I settled for looking over my shoulder. It was the sword and shield bearing demon. He’d gotten back to his feet while I was dealing with the archer. It looked pleased with itself, smug even. Then it pulled the sword free with a sharp yank. There was a squelching sound and a spray of blood. It hurt. My HP reading ‘15/200’ confirmed I was nearly dead as well as being in a lot of pain. Still, I swung, using the mace’s heavy weight and momentum to spin me about. Thankfully, the demon was still injured. It failed to avoid my wild attack. I hit its other side, cracking through multiple ribs, and dropping it to the ground once again where it curled in on itself.

  I knew I needed to finish the sword and shield demon but glanced first to make sure the spear wielder was down. It laid where I dropped it, unmoving beyond the slow rise and fall of its chest.

  With a snarl, I looked down on the sword and shield demon. I brought my mace down again and again until I was sure it wasn’t getting up again. The movement aggravated my injuries and dropped my HP a little lower to ‘11/200’, but I didn’t care. This was my victory.

  Finally, I limped back over to the unconscious demon. I put a foot to its chest and looked toward Glorior.

  The lion headed demon in charge was grinning. The demon was smiling as I destroyed several of its own kind. Did it really not care? Did I care? The more demons he threw at me, the more of them I could destroy. And that was a sobering thought. The sobering thought I needed. Again, it was like a haze had been lifted. And again, that was when I finally heard Asher calling my name.

  “Victor!” Asher shouted.

  “I hear you, Asher,” I said, suddenly sounding very tired.

  Asher sighed in relief. “Oh, thank God. And it’s about time too. You really need to not let these demons ensnare you so easily.”

  That was easier said than done. I looked down at the unconscious demon. It was beaten. I doubted it would be able to get up again. Still, I couldn’t move on until it was dead. I brought my mace down, ending it with one more blow to the head.

  Glorior shouted loudly once again as the fight ended, “The challenger has prevailed once more! Will you press on, Victor Goodspeed? Will you fight against our Pride? Or will you tuck tail and run?”

  I knew it was a taunt and one I almost fell for. Instead, I shook my head. “No, I’m done. I’ll kill your pets again another time.”

  My statement was met with booing and shouts of disapproval from the mob. But I was bone tired and hurting profusely from my injuries, one more round of even tougher opponents might mean the end of me. While my regeneration was repairing the damage I suffered, it would still be minutes before I was completely healed. No, I knew it was time to go and reset the level. I collected my crystals and a few broken bits of horn then turned for the gate out.

  I sat in my starting room for a few minutes to heal before I exited Purgatory.

  An hour later, I was back in the arena. I fought one round after another, stopping each time after facing the group with the archer. I came close a few times to accepting the next challenge, that demonic blood craze or whatever it was, was nothing to mess around with.

  At the end of the day, I’d been bloodied multiple times, near death a few times more than that, and more than anything, lucky to have not been killed at least once. I was also exhausted, both physically, and mentally. Still, if my crystal haul was anything to go by, I should have earned quite a bit of experience.

  Once we were back in our room, I pulled out the scroll and looked to put in my gains for the day when Asher stopped me.

  “We might need to rethink our current plan,” Asher started.

  “How so?” I asked.

  Asher answered easily, “While the Heavy Armor proficiency would allow you to survive a lot longer against the pride demons, we need to get a handle on your resistance. You had too many close calls today. I think, even just one more point would make enough of a difference.”

  I looked at my sheet again. I had 40,079 experience available. I wasn’t sure if it would be enough. I asked, “If I have enough you want me to use the points now? Four into righteousness, right?”

  Asher bobbed. “That’s correct.”

  “And you’re sure you want me to use the points? Won’t that make it more difficult?”

  Asher bobbed again. “Yes, and yes, it will make it more difficult, but only slightly. So far, we have not seen the demonic aura or whatever you want to call it get any stronger. I suppose we won’t know for sure until tomorrow.”

  With only a little hesitation, I spent the experience. One unused point. Two unused points. Three unused points. Four unused points and I stopped. I distributed the points as we agreed, and my demonic resistance jumped from seven to ten. With a base of seven points, that 50% boost from Asher was amazing. Unfortunately, I only had 179 experience points left to spend. It wasn’t near enough for a point in either body or soul, but it got me closer.

  After putting my scroll away, I took notice of the state of my inventory. Of the sixteen slots, one was obviously used by my scroll. One was filled with empty vials. One had a broken spear shaft. One was filled to bursting with tiny crystals. And four were filled with beast parts.

  Previously, the sloth teeth had granted additional resistance to the sloth demons enchantment . . . aura . . . whatever it was that allowed the demons to ensnare me. I was curious if the ram horn pieces would do the same. By the same token, what would that piece of door demon do? Or the imp tails? I spent a valuable proficiency slot on essence engineering, it was high time I found exactly what it could do.

  “What are you thinking?” Asher asked, drawing my attention away from my inventory.

  I closed my inventory then answered, “I think it’s past time I find out what my essence engineering can really do. I need to purchase some cheap maces and shields to experiment on.”

  “Those things aren’t cheap,” Asher protested. “You would be better off saving your crystals for a set of armor, which is going to be even more expensive.”

  “I’ll get armor eventually,” I said. I wasn’t worried about it just yet. I still had a long way to go before I would get another Body proficiency slot. “Right now, I have essence engineering an
d I’m doing nothing with it. The resistance I added to the shield was specific to sloth demons and it isn’t working against the pride demons. There’s a chance, the horn chips I’ve been collecting could be used for the same effect but against the pride demons. We also have no idea what effect the essence has on a mace. I need to find out.”

  Asher frowned discontentedly. “I still think it’s a waste of crystals. And I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but you have a point. So, if you’re going to spend, spend wisely. Purchase the least expensive mace and heater shields you can find. It’s also time you upgrade your shield anyway. Even with my shield proficiency buffing you, the pride demons hit harder than anything you’ve faced so far. The extra absorption would be helpful.”

  I nodded and grinned.

  Returning to the shopping bazaar, I found the Cherub who sold me my last mace.

  The boy enquired, “Back for more?”

  “I am,” I replied.

  The boy nodded, “So, what can I get for you? Ready for an upgrade already?”

  “Not exactly,” I answered. “I need a few really cheap maces and heater shields.”

  The boy quirked an eyebrow. With a curious lilt to his voice, he asked, “And why would you need that?”

  I was about to answer and froze. I wasn’t sure what I could tell him. I looked to Asher for help.

  “You can tell him,” Asher said, then added, “Just, be quiet about it.”

  I nodded. Leaning in closer to the boy, I said softly, “Essence engineering.” I leaned back then in a normal voice, I said, “I need testers to find out what the different materials do.”

  “Huh, how about that?” the boy questioned to no one in particular. “You are a remarkably interesting inmate. First, you have a guide and one that levels. Then you say you learned that proficiency, a proficiency I doubt your guide approved of overly much. Can I ask, what level it’s at?”

  “Just level 3,” I answered. “I’m wary to level it up or I might not have enough SE to use it.”

  The boy shook his head. “Nah, it won’t cost more until level 11. And now that you have it, you want to get it to level 10. That’s when things start to get interesting.”

  “How so?” Asher asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.

  “At level ten, you should be able to see the possible effects the different essences provide,” the boy answered.

  I grinned. That was exactly what I needed. “Then I guess I don’t need to spend the crystals.”

  The boy behind the counter suddenly looked annoyed. I assumed he was more annoyed with himself for the lost sale. Still, it was interesting to see the change in emotion. Most of the Cherubim had always seemed unflappable . . . or bored.

  “You know, I never did catch your name,” I said. I guess I hadn’t asked any of the Cherubim for their names.

  “Dazimel,” the Cherub introduced himself. “You know, you’re the first inmate in almost a century to bother asking. I might just give you a discount.”

  I smiled. “Great, I was also looking to upgrade my shield. What have you got?”

  Dazimel shook his head with a chagrined look on his face. “I should have seen that coming. Alright, what kind of shield do you need?”

  “Heater shield, 5-10 damage absorption,” I answered.

  The boy nodded once. He dug through a stack of shields he’d had leaning against one of the posts at the back of his stall. He stopped on one and studied it before nodding. The shield was half his size, but the Cherub picked it up without issue. “This should work. It’s 6-12 damage absorption, but I’ll sell it to you for the price of a 5-10 damage absorption shield.”

  I chuckled. It was a good sales tactic. Not exactly a discount, but a free upgrade, though minor. Still, every upgrade counted. Unfortunately, both upgrades I gained today would make Purgatory just that much more difficult.

  We haggled over the price a little before I paid him. I was about to leave when Dazimel stopped me. “Also, your higher level will increase how much you’re able to extract and how much you’ll be able to purify it. I wouldn’t rush. Also, one last thing, I told you the cost won’t increase until level eleven. When you do level it up to 11, the cost will double and increase by another 100-SE every ten levels thereafter. Keep that in mind when you’re a looking to increase your stats. If your SE can’t keep up, you will hit a point where you are unable to use the proficiency.”

  I nodded. That was the same thing Asher warned me of. “I appreciate the warning. Thank you Dazimel.”

  “Good luck,” the boy said.

  “Again, thank you,” I said, then looking around at his wares, I couldn’t help but notice he only displayed weapons and that small stack of shields. “I’ll be looking for some armor in a few days. Any recommendations on where I can pick some up.”

  “You’ll want to see my sister, Ezrata,” Dazimel answered. Then pointing further down the street, he added, “Her stall is much further down.”

  I nodded. It was time to move on. It seemed I wasn’t going to be messing with my proficiency that night. But the next night would certainly be interesting . . . and draining.

  Chapter 19 – Essence Analysis

  I ground through the early fights on the Pride floor. My slight boost to demonic resistance turned out to be a big help. I was tempted by the bloodlust, as I had come to call it, but successfully resisted its influence. The greatest temptation always came right after I won a fight. Glorior seemed to relish in taunting me to fight the next battle. The smug look on his face made it easier in some respects to decline the next fight and more difficult in others. I really wanted to see that smirk fade. I just kept telling myself that it would in time.

  At the end of the day, I had gathered slightly less experience than the day before, though I suppose that was to be expected. Any time I increased my stats, the fights would get the slightest bit easier while the rewards would reduce a fair bit more. Today, I netted 31,791 experience points as opposed to the previous day’s 39,444. It hurt to even think about it. Still, I could only hope it was enough.

  I spent 15,073 experience points to bring essence engineering up to level ten. It cost far less than I feared it might.

  Essence Engineering

  Level: 10

  Experience to Next Level: 5,960

  SE Cost: 100

  The ability to Extract and Purify Demonic Essence from demon parts then Analyze and Imbue Purified Essence into Weapons and Armor.

  It was tempting to level it up one more time just to see if Dazimel was right about the cost increase, but I figured it wasn’t worth the risk. Especially not when the ability improved just like he said it would. I could now analyze purified essence.

  Asher stopped me from starting to pull out demon parts when he reminded me, I still needed to apply the remainder of the unused experience points.

  Body

  Experience to Next Point: 7,049

  Unused Points: 4

  At the current rate of increase, points were going to quickly get more and more expensive with each point gained. The cost increased almost three thousand experience points after the last one. It made me worry if my growth was sustainable. I knew in my heart that it also meant I would soon start getting to the point where it would take more than a day of grinding to gain even one unused point.

  With that done, I put my Scroll of Body and Soul back into my inventory. It was time to see what I could, well, see with my proficiencies new ability to analyze.

  I started with one of the many sloth demon teeth I had piled in my inventory. I held one my in hand and thought the command ‘extract’. There was a flash of light, and a sulfurous powder was all that remained of the tooth. I waited for my SE to regenerate then sent the thought ‘purify’ and the color slowly bled out of the powder, leaving behind an off-white crystalline powder. Once again, I waited for my SE to regenerate.

  Finally, I thought ‘analyze’ . . . and nothing happened. I look to Asher for help, but he twisted left and right,
his version of shaking his head. I checked the white bar in my periphery that represented my SE and it was empty. Clearly something had happened.

  I waited and tried again. Still nothing. “What am I missing?”

  “Not sure,” Asher answered. “I don’t really know much about that proficiency. In fact, I’ve never met someone that used it.”

  That was less than helpful. Fortunately, I did have someone I could ask . . . hopefully.

  Dazimel was manning his shop as usual, ignoring the comments from many of the people walking by and complaining about his lack of enhanced weaponry. I tried to imagine the man . . . boy . . . Cherub had a small but faithful following of clients. If I was the only one that shopped from him seriously, then part of me wondered how he stayed in business.

  “Back so soon,” Dazimel observed aloud. “And how might I be of assistance?”

  I was about to lay out the entire problem when I realized I needed to be more subtle about the whole thing. “That proficiency improvement we talked about yesterday. I tried using it, but then . . . nothing happened.”

  “Odd,” Dazimel said, tapping a finger to his chin. “You’re saying the paper you place under the essence isn’t displaying the information.”

  “What paper?” Asher and I asked at the same time.

  The boy smiled and stifled a little laugh. “Oh, did you not know that part? Did I not mention it?”

  “No,” Asher and I replied flatly.

  The boy shrugged. “My bad. You need a piece of soul paper to view the results.”

  I sighed. Dazimel was clearly paying me back for getting one over on him the previous day. “And just where can I buy this soul paper?”