I cursed loudly when I came to back in the morgue. I lost whatever experience I’d gained, all the crystals, and that bow. All of it was gone. I opened my inventory just to be sure and it was assuredly gone. I cursed.
Asher sighed his agreed annoyance. “Next time we get something decent, like that bow. We leave to ensure it is kept.”
I nodded my agreement. There wasn’t anything else I could do.
I ran the first nine fights five more times that day. Taking what gains I could. I never saw a drop like that bow again. I guess I didn’t really expect to. Still, it was a frustrating day all around, made even more so when I finally saw how much experience I’d gained. My total, 6,441 experience points. Five runs of the first nine fights only yielded 6,441 experience points. That . . . was really bad news for me. Against Asher’s advice, I put all of it into heavy armor. I needed to get it up to something more useful.
Heavy Armor
Level: 5
Experience to Next Level: 2,008
Armored Speed: +12%
Armored Defense: +11%
Armored Energy Cost: -11%
Proficiency to wear heavy armor in combat reducing incoming damage and improving your ability to move.
Small gains. Each level added 1% to one of the three boosts the proficiency provided. I needed to remind myself that it would take time for the proficiency to really pay off. I set a goal, at least, a short-term goal. Level 15. That would get me up to 15% on each. Asher disagreed, believing that such small gains weren’t that valuable and that my points would be better spent increasing my stats . . . like speed. He wasn’t completely wrong, still, as my armor got heavier, as my armor became more protective, those increases would make more of a difference. I was playing the long game on this. I tried to explain that to Asher, but he was only concerned with the now and the now was about getting past that charioteer.
I tried the charioteer again the next day, but just once, and only on my first run of the day. I died again. Asher and I agreed at that point I wouldn’t be able to get past that fight without some kind of ranged attack.
After that, I did more runs, just clearing the first nine fights again. I got even less experience than the previous day, but only a little less. I gained 6,002 experience points. I had forgotten that any spent experience points lowered the experience gained unless it was used to create unused points. Still, I had a goal. I spent the points on heavy armor again.
Walking back to my room from the tower, I asked, “Why does it feel like Purgatory is forcing me to learn a ranged weapon?”
“Because it is,” Asher answered.
That answer didn’t make me happy. I had been saving that proficiency slot for something to make my mace and shield more efficient. And now, I was going to waste that slot on another weapon that would require more daily training. Training that would take away from my other daily training requirements. It was frustrating. Frustrating enough that I found myself in the bar with a glass of scotch.
“Why so down, mate?” Theo asked as he sat across from me, and Rebecca sat next to me.
Giving him a wane smile, I said, “Not down, just frustrated.”
“Demons giving you some problems?” Theo asked.
“Aren’t they always,” I said, sighing loudly.
Theo chuckled. “Aye, that’s true. Still, tell me what you’re up against and maybe I can help.”
I hadn’t thought to ask for advice from the other people suffering through Purgatory before. I had gotten too many warnings not to trust anyone.
“Charioteer,” Theo said, sounding a little excited. “I’ve not seen something like that before, but then everyone’s Purgatory is different. Mine is usually fighting hordes of the beasties on different kinds of terrain.”
“So, no idea how to fight a chariot?” I asked.
Theo shook his head, so I was surprised when Rebecca chimed in with a simple, “Ranged weapon or soul proficiency.” She’d been very quiet since Gunther . . . moved on . . . graduated . . . ascended? Anyway, she’d been rather subdued and hadn’t been speaking much.
Asher just needed to give his wholehearted agreement, which made the girl smile ever so slightly, “That’s what I’ve been telling him, well, the ranged weapon part.”
“I suppose that could work,” Theo said. “Never fought a chariot before so I couldn’t tell you for certain. You’d need to get mighty good with a bow to hit a moving target like that.”
It wasn’t what I wanted to hear. The idea of getting a soul proficiency that could do ranged damage sounded exciting, but I was a long way from being able to learn one of those. An awfully long way if six thousand experience points per day was all I was going to be able to gain.
Theo continued, “The question is, what kind of bow? A short bow would give you the speed of firing but not much penetration. Are the ones riding the chariot heavily armored?”
I shook my head. “They wore leathers, I think.”
“They did,” Asher confirmed. “Other than the bow, I didn’t see any armaments but that didn’t mean there weren’t any hidden in the back of the chariot. I don’t know that Victor would have time to fire multiple shots.”
Theo hummed, “Hmm, then stopping power is what you need. What about a crossbow? That would get the job done.”
“Only one shot,” Asher countered.
“Recurve bow,” Rebecca volunteered. “Stopping power and faster rate of fire . . . just . . . expensive.”
“An advanced bow . . . that could work,” Theo commented. “Need to find the proficiency for it. That’ll cost you.”
“Why would a recurve bow proficiency be more expensive? Wouldn’t I just go to the trainer?” I asked.
Theo shook his head. “Trainers can only teach you basic weapons. The sword trainer would be able to teach you short sword, long sword, and the like. But say you want the proficiency to wield a katana or a scimitar, those are more complex and advanced weapons. Same for the bow, really that’s just the short bow and long bow, they’ll offer different aesthetics but there isn’t really any difference from one short bow to another. Those are all simple weapons. Recurve is considered an advanced weapon. It requires more strength and more EP to pull back on the draw string despite being about the same size as a short bow. However, there is a bright side to that. The harder draw means more damage. And isn’t that what you said you needed?”
That was exactly what I needed. Looking to Asher, I asked, “Do you remember seeing a proficiency for a recurve bow at the dealers?”
Asher twisted side to side in the negative. “We’ll need to check daily. We could risk putting the word out to the dealers but then if someone does come across the proficiency, they’ll know they can price gouge us.”
That was less than ideal.
“I don’t buy proficiencies often these days, but I could keep an eye out for you,” Theo volunteered.
Rebecca squeaked out a soft, “Me too.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
Theo smiled, though his grin was more mischievous. “Don’t thank me yet. If you think those little Cherubim are going to price gouge you, just wait until you see what I do to you.”
I snorted. “I’m guessing I’ll be paying your bar tab for a while.”
Theo barked out a laugh. “To say the least.”
At least we had a plan. I shoved my worries aside and focused instead on my . . . ‘friends’ isn’t quite the right word. As much as I wanted to trust them, I just . . . I couldn’t. I couldn’t be sure either of them was telling the truth about why they were here. I couldn’t be sure about them . . . at least, not yet. No matter how much I wanted to trust them, and I wanted to, so long as they were in Purgatory, I couldn’t. Just like I was certain they did not trust me, that they couldn’t trust me.
Leaving the bar, I couldn’t help but mumble to Asher, “I hate this place.”
The little fireball remained silent.
The next morning, I went through the proficiency dealers. I spotted
several interesting proficiencies, but not what I was looking for. Nothing mace equivalent of sword and board nor the recurve bow.
Back in purgatory, I attempted the tenth fight again and lost again. After that, five runs of the first nine fights and I called it a day. I spent the remainder of my evening using my essence engineering to extract and purify pride demon horn pieces. Storing the purified powder in a jar. Experience was spent and I called it a night.
One day turned into two, then three, and so on, and so forth. After a week of getting nowhere fast, I was about ready to just get a basic archery proficiency, but Asher convinced me it was always better to wait and get it right the first time as there were no take backs. I grumbled but grudgingly accepted his wisdom in this case.
I waited more than two months. Closer to three months really. Seventy-nine days of waiting and checking the brokers every day before the proficiency I wanted to so very badly finally became available. It cost me almost every crystal I had, but the proficiency was mine at long last.
Bow: Recurve - Beginner
Level: 1
Experience to Next Level: 100
Range Damage: 3-6 Piercing
Accuracy: +10.10%
Proficiency to use a recurve bow in combat.
What was amazing about the proficiency was its accuracy bonus. My mace started with an accuracy bonus of 0.20% and it started at level 2. This was level one and gave me 10.10% from the start. I learned later that was normal for ranged weapons, but I didn’t care. It was exactly what I wanted and needed. I just needed to train at the bow school and my accuracy would climb even higher. Which brought up an entirely different problem. Unlike getting the proficiency from one of the schools where they gave me a weapon to start, this did not come with said weapon. And after spending all my crystals on the proficiency, I didn’t have near enough left to purchase said weapon.
It was back to the grind. It took another week before I had enough tiny crystals to purchase the least expensive recurve bow, a quiver, and enough arrows to last me a long while. And just like that, it was time to test it out.
The Purgatory arena was unchanged. Shallow sands over hard packed dirt. Rowdy fans cheering and jeering. And a lone, sickly chimera dreg charging across toward me without any thought or concern for its wellbeing.
My arms tensed as I muscled the string back, drawing an arrow while taking aim. I let out a slow breath as I released. The arrow crossed the distance, rapidly closing on the demon, then hit with a thud. The hit was so hard it lifted the demon from its feet, halting the charge and landing the monster unmoving on the sands.
I smiled a little as the crowd when silent. If I was aiming for center mass, I had a very good chance of hitting my target. That was especially true if my target was coming straight at me.
“Next up,” I said, nocking an arrow and taking aim at the gates ahead of me. Anticipating the first group of three. Again, the lone idiot that liked to charge right at me came running ahead. He went down with an arrow buried in his stomach. Not dead, but down.
I nocked another arrow and drew back again, taking aim at the other spear wielding demon. I let go of the string and it twanged as the arrow shot forward. There was a solid impact of the arrowhead hitting wood. The sword and shield bearing demon did its job and stepped up, successfully blocking my shot.
The pair was moving slowly while the third demon was writhing in pain from the arrow still stuck in its gut. I had time. I fired again, keeping my focus on the spear wielder. When they were less than twenty yards away, I slung the bow across my body and picked up the heater shield I’d leaned against my leg before the fighting even began. With a mental command, my mace was in hand, and I waited on my opponents to close the last few feet.
One thing I hadn’t accounted for was that my arrows weren’t just dealing minor damage to the sword and shield bearer, but they were also damaging the shield. So, it came as a surprise when my mace crashed through the shield, sending splinters of wood falling to the ground. However, surprised as I was, I think the demon was more surprised when my mace crashed into its face, dropping it to the ground.
I sidestepped the thrust from the remaining spear wielder and cracked my mace into one of its arms, breaking the limb and causing the demon to lose its grip on its weapon. After that, it was a little clean up and all three demons were dead.
I rested, stuck my shield into the sand and leaned it against my leg. I dropped my mace and it dissipated into particles of light. I unslung my bow and took it in hand once more. I smiled a little as I waited. Ignoring Glorior’s taunting while I waited on my SE to regenerate. When it was full again, feeling rather self-assured of my success, I said simply, and lightly, “Next!”
I smiled at the next group. That poor archer had no idea what was about to happen to it. Nothing would be shooting me that day without risking getting shot in return. And unlike most of the unarmored chimera demons, I could take a hit.
The archer dropped after a single hit to the throat, and unintended, but fortunate strike. Ranged superiority made a lot of difference. Everything got easier when I could take out the ranged enemies before the melee began. Granted, not everything died in a single hit, and I did miss shots, but the added ranged damage was a game changer. And one I took full advantage of.
And then it was time to face the charioteers. Rondus and Sondus.
The chariot came racing out of the gate, cutting through the center of the arena at speed, driving right at me. I waited for the last second and dove out of the way, lest I get trampled. I rolled to my left, avoiding both the wheel and the blades attached to the wheel. I came up to a knee with my bow in hand and arrow drawing back. I had a clear shot at the exposed back of the chariot. I loosed my arrow. I missed wide to the right, failing to shoot the archer I was aiming for. Luckily, my miss still hit the driver in the small of the back. The driver spasmed, tugging suddenly on the reigns, slowing them down and making the archer stumble, dropping the arrow it had in hand and giving me some much-needed time.
I knew an opportunity when I saw one. I drew back as fast as I could and aimed roughly. I let go. Twang! The arrow flew . . . and missed completely. Unfortunately, it gave the pair a chance to recover. The driver turned the chariot and started circling the outside of the arena.
I was forced to learn quickly to keep moving and firing. It affected my aim something fierce, just as it did each time I took an arrow. Still, I moved and fired, missing more often than not. Then I hit, not the archer but the driver. Another wide miss by me and fortune smiled as it slammed into the head of the driver. The chariot suddenly veered, the wheel grinding into the wall until the blade suddenly caught and the wheel snapped off. The archer quickly lost balance and fell to the floor of the basket. The demon was strapped in so as not to fall. That strap proved the demons undoing. A moment later, the chariot flipped, and the demon archer was smashed between the ground and a quickly splintering chariot. The black blood streak and chunks of demon the chariot left behind were . . . disturbing.
And that was my victory. After months, I finally defeated the chariot. I gave my bow a small kiss and sent a prayer of thanks.
“Time to celebrate, Asher,” I said. Collecting my winnings, meager as they were. “Tomorrow, we’ll come back and see how far we can go.”
Asher bobbed his agreement. “I’ll allow it, but just this once.”
I nodded. It was time to go.
Chapter 22 – Glorior Superbia
“Run faster!” Asher shouted as he floated ahead of me.
“I’m trying!” I snapped back, sparing the slightest glance over my shoulder at the wall of fire burning its way across the sands of the arena. I just needed to run a little further and the spell would run out. I had taken to calling the demon’s proficiencies magic and spells, it was just easier, regardless of Asher’s distaste for the words.
As soon as the flames began to flicker, I slid to a stop and turned, drawing back on an arrow and taking aim at the pride demon wizard, Magelus. It
was thin, thinner than the earlier dregs I fought, and yet, the demon was powerful. It continually fired off spells, sending walls of fire, spikes of ice, and slow crawling electricity across the sands. The electricity was annoying, it had the ability to stun. Luckily, the demon only used it if I got too close. The ice spikes were similar to arrows, they hurt, they could pierce my armor and shield, but they weren’t deadly, at least, not yet. The wall of fire though, that was the worst. It would chase me for a period of time. The only upside to it, was that the demon wizard would tire for a few seconds after using the spell. That was my only window to attack.
I loosed the arrow, letting it streak across the distance. I didn’t stop to watch it, I couldn’t. My time was limited, and I needed to make use of every second. I was already drawing back another arrow and fired. Another arrow, then another, and then my time was up, and I was running again, this time trying to juke and weave to make it harder for the ice spikes to hit me. At least for this phase, I could watch the demon wizard and have some way of predicting where it would be firing.
So, I kept my focus on it, except there was something different this time. The wizard had two arrows sticking out of it. That was a first. Previously, my arrows seemed to bounce off some kind of invisible shield. A magical forcefield or some such. Still, it seemed I had finally gotten through it. More importantly, the wizard didn’t look very good. There was a trickling of blood coming from its mouth, but it still glared at me as it began casting another spell.
I took a risk. I drew back on another arrow and fired. I struck the wizard center mass, making it stumble back a step. It also managed to interrupt its spell cast. I drew and fired again and again, I struck center mass. Three more arrows struck the demon wizard. At long last, Magelus fell, and the crowd went wild.
Purgatory: The Devil's Game Page 24
