Purgatory: The Devil's Game

by M. A. Carlson

  “What was that?” I asked, worried for my guide.

  Asher coughed a few times. “That was me starting to say something I really should not have said.”

  I could guess at what he was going to say but I held my tongue. I didn’t want to get strangled to death and lose the scroll I just gained before I even got a chance to use it. It also meant I couldn’t afford to fail clearing this floor.

  As soon as the scroll was put into my bag a ladder descended from the ceiling and the sound of water rushing behind me spurred me into motion. I climbed quickly, muscling open the hatch over my head and climbing through. I slammed the hatch shut behind me and turned the wheel to lock it.

  As soon as I was sure that was secure, I looked around me. Oh joy, more sewer.

  Chapter 37 – All Consuming

  Eight. The number eight seemed to matter. Eight areas of the sewer system. Eight paths, rooms, halls, cages, cells, etcetera. Eight boss fights. Eight areas consumed by water. And now . . . now I was fairly certain I was going to die.

  “I am fairly certain that this the actual floor boss,” Era commented stiffly.

  I grunted. I was still fairly certain I was going to die, and it was going to be a horrible death.

  Thankfully Asher was more focused on the task ahead. “Can you freeze all of it?”

  Era’s answer was less than ideal. “Doubtful . . . it is awfully large and . . . well, there are eight of them.”

  I grunted again. Eight. I wasn’t sure why the number eight was so important on this floor. Six would have made more sense. Or maybe it would have been six if I didn’t have two helpers? I sighed. “And let me guess, if you cut off one head, two heads will replace it?”

  “Or more,” Era answered helpfully.

  I groaned. The last thing I needed was for the eight-headed hydra to regrow two or more heads should one of them be cut off.

  That’s right. The last boss of the gluttony floor was a hydra. I giant lizard thing with eight heads.

  “At least it doesn’t have wings,” Era said, trying once again to be helpful and failing miserably.

  “The good news is you use a blunt weapon. The chances of you cutting off one of their heads is slim,” Asher said, trying, and failing, to cheer me up.

  I needed a strategy. “If I stun one head, will it stun all of them?” I asked, thinking of my shield slam proficiency.

  Asher answered, “No, each head acts independently, though only one head controls the body.”

  That gave me a little hope. I rubbed my chin and asked, “If I kill the head that controls the body will that kill the demon?”

  Asher and Era both twisted left and right. “Control will pass to the next head. However, it will stun them all for a few seconds while they try to determine who’s in control.”

  That was something as well.

  I backed away from the door that led into the boss room and pulled it closed, turning the wheel to seal it shut again.

  “You can’t stay here forever,” Era chided. I knew that well enough. I couldn’t go back through the hatch in the floor as that was flooded behind me.

  I waved her away, “I know that. I’m going to spend my experience points and use those body proficiency scrolls . . . assuming I have enough experience points.”

  Era’s eyes drifted toward the sealed hatch in the floor that led back to the previous flooded area and then over to the sealed door that led into the boss room. She sounded a little scared when she asked, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “I don’t see as we have much choice. I need to be stronger to face that thing. Two more proficiencies should do quite a bit toward that end,” I said, opening my very full inventory. I was slightly disgusted looking at it. With all the bosses and fights, I’d never been so inundated with proficiency scrolls. So many had dropped, I was forced to leave several behind. Ones that would have sold for a lot of crystals, or so Asher and Era both said. I hated that my inventory space was so limited. I could stack monster parts no problem as long as the parts were from the same monster. Proficiencies were all different, each proficiency needed its own slot and with only sixteen slots . . . well, it just wasn’t enough.

  If not for Asher’s stern warning that gluttony wasn’t too different from greed, I might have put myself at risk to keep them with me. As it was, I kept two proficiencies that I knew I could make use of. But first, I needed to know if I had enough experience.

  Name: Victor Goodspeed

  Highest Floor Cleared: 5

  Experience Earned: 89,104,776

  Only eighty-nine million experience points. I already knew that wouldn’t be enough for ten more unused points. I might have gotten five or six, but not ten.

  “Not enough,” I said, pulling out the two body proficiency scrolls I wanted to use.

  The first proficiency was called stand firm. It was a defensive skill that when actively used would increase my block chance by a certain amount and reduce the damage I received. I wouldn’t know by how much until I added the proficiency to my scroll.

  The second proficiency was called crushing blow. It was an offensive skill that when actively use would cause significantly increased blunt damage and had a chance to inflict internal damage. Again, couldn’t know by how much until I added the proficiency. The problem was, I could only add one of them with my current stats.

  “Any suggestions?” I asked.

  “Defense,” Era said.

  At the same time, Asher answered, “Offense.”

  I knew I was going to regret asking. “Era, why?”

  “You need to survive this fight, yes? Giving yourself a defensive proficiency like that will greatly increase your chances of surviving. Especially with Asher’s added defense and burning armor.” Era’s answer surprised me. She gave me a legitimate reason that didn’t focus on herself.

  I nodded then turned to Asher. “And you, Asher?”

  “You already have a very solid defense. You need more power to deal with a foe faster. Something like crushing blow will magnify your damage output and that will make a significant difference in your overall combat capabilities,” the fireball answered. He made a good point as well. I did have very high defenses.

  “Sorry, Era, I agree with Asher this time,” I said.

  Era harumphed and turned her back on me. There was no point in engaging her if she was going to behave that way. I needed to focus on what I was doing.

  Shunting that thought to the side, I spread the scroll for crushing blow out and spread my Scroll of Body and Soul over the top of it. A small flash of light proceeded the action, and I now had a shiny new proficiency.

  Not only did I have a shiny new proficiency, but it also started at level two. I couldn’t stop the mad grin on my face. Any time I had a skill that started at a higher level meant it was not only stronger than it should have been, it also wouldn’t be as expensive to level up. I started putting experience points into the proficiency. I was stunned by how little experience it took to level it up. Before I knew it, it was max level. I spent just about sixty million experience points and I had a maximum level proficiency.

  Crushing Blow

  Level: 100

  EP Cost: 50

  Blunt Damage: +500%

  Internal Damage Chance: 50%

  Deliver a crushing blow with a blunt weapon capable of causing internal damage.

  Maybe I went a little overboard with leveling the skill up, but against that hydra . . . I had a feeling I was going to need it. I was about to put the remaining experience points into body when I had another thought. Crushing blow was cheap to level up. I got it from level two with a requirement of one thousand experience points, all the way to level one hundred, which cost just over a million-five. Was it possible to take my mace proficiency to the next tier? I was going to find out.

  Blunt Weapon: Mace - Beginner

  Level: 100

  Experience to Next Level: See Trainer

  Damage: 105-210 Blunt

  Accu
racy: +10.00%

  Proficiency to use a mace in combat.

  I couldn’t stop the stupid grin that split my face. Almost four million experience points, and my beginner mace proficiency was maxed out. I knew I would get there eventually with the trainers, but for so few experience points, it would have been foolish not to. I was a little disheartened that I needed to see a trainer to take it to the next level.

  After that, I brought my spirit mace and shield both up to level thirty, giving them boosts. I dumped the last of my experience into my beginner shield proficiency. I gave myself as much of an advantage as I could.

  “This might no longer be considered a fair fight,” Era said, having watched me spend experience points.

  “It’s still a hydra, don’t get ahead of yourself,” Asher warned.

  Feeling a lot more confident, I moved to the door and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I was way too amped up after gaining such major improvements to my proficiencies. I opened the door, blinked, and dove to the side, narrowly avoiding one of the heads lunging through, intent on eating me.

  I was barely able to roll out of the way to void the demon head’s next bite. I scrambled back along the stone floor, trying to get out of range when I backed into the wall. I was blinded by pain when the demon’s mouth clamped down on my leg. I howled in agony as my mind barely registered it was pulling me toward the room where the other heads were waiting. I swung my mace wildly, clubbing the beast about the head until one lucky shot got it in the eye. The orb burst like a balloon, showering me with a clear fluid.

  The demon suddenly let go of my leg and reared back. In trying to get away from the source of its pain, the head hit the ceiling of the small room, cracking the stone masonry in the process as well as stunning itself.

  I was in pain. I was also very angry. I knew my leg would heal soon enough, but I wouldn’t get the opportunity like this again, at least, not in this fight. I forced myself back onto my feet, unsteady though they were. I limped forward and used my new skill. I paid back the pain. The crushing blow landed on top of the hydra’s bulbus head, allowing me to hear a satisfying crunch as bone broke, a sound that let me know its brain matter was traumatized. For good measure, I struck again with a second crushing blow.

  The head, and neck it was connected to, spasmed a few times before it went completely still. I breathed in heavily as I tried to ignore the throbbing in my leg. I didn’t dare look down at it for fear of what I might see. Instead, I waited for Raphael’s blessing to heal the damage.

  At least, I would have liked to wait for the healing to be completed. The head and neck were moving again, or rather they were being dragged out of my little safe haven.

  I was cursing whatever demon spawned this creature as I prepared for whatever was to come next.

  As the head cleared the door, a wave of fire and ice entered. Once more I was diving out of the path. I slid into the corner and curled up into a ball as the heat and cold fought for dominance in the room. Neither succeeded, instead, filling the room with steam that was doing a fine job of trying to boil me in my armor. I felt more than saw Asher and Era both vanish in the attack.

  As soon as the attack ended, I knew I needed to move. I couldn’t keep fighting from inside the small room. I dove through the door and rolled, somehow managing to dodge two pairs of snapping jaws at the same time.

  I let the roll carry me back to my feet and ran, feeling heat, cold, and something else chasing after me. When the demon ran out of breath, I finally turned to face the monstrosity. One head was dead, lying limply on the ground, tangled around one of the demon’s legs. Unfortunately, the other seven heads were focused intently on me.

  “Okay boys and girls, let’s tango,” I said, rushing forward, eager to end this fight one way or another. I batted away the first head that approached, using shield slam to stun it and give me time to get in close to the beast. With the demon having so many angles of attack, including what appeared to be frost and fire breathing, I needed to reduce those angles. If the demon’s head couldn’t get around one another very easily, that was going to be my best chance.

  I used another shield slam on the next head that approached me, but this time I was in close enough that I felt comfortable counterattacking. I used the crushing blow proficiency, crashing my mace into the neck. I didn’t hear anything cracking or breaking on my first swing, but I did on the second attack. That poor head was stuck laying limply on the ground, its eyes following me as it impotently watched me battle its remaining allies.

  I tried to get behind the beast, but like any fantasy serpent creature, it was able to twist its heads around to see behind it.

  I saw one of mouths on one of the heads glow red. The only place I could go was under the demon but there was another head waiting for me there, this one’s mouth glowing blue. I grumbled, “Pincer attack, smart.”

  I moved quickly, tucking in next to one of the demon’s legs, putting it between the frost mouth and me. Not forgetting about the fire breathing head, I raised my shield over my head and prayed.

  Fire cascaded down around my shield, burning my arms and shoulders, cooking my flesh and draining my HP . . . slowly. Luckily, the leg I was using like a pillar was able to block all the frost breath. Unluckily, the demon was immune to its own attacks, so neither the fire nor the frost was able to hurt it. I also forgot there were four other heads remaining.

  As soon as the breath attacks ended and I could see again, I saw two heads attacking from either side of me, another pincer. Cursing, I dove forward. I heard a meaty crash behind me where I assumed the two heads crashed into one another.

  I quickly scrambled back onto my feet, feeling a pressure that I was sure were other heads moving in for the kill.

  As I ran, I heard a crash behind me, and roaring followed by the sound of jaws snapping. I risked looking over my shoulder. The demon had tripped over its other heads and five of the heads were snapping irritably at one. Not one to waste an opportunity, I planted a foot and slid a little as I reversed direction. If my guess was right, the one they were all snapping at was the one in control of the body. That one head was too busy snapping back at the others to see me coming and with the beast still on the ground after tripping . . . I struck with crushing blow again, this time hitting at the base of the long neck, the beast instantly shuddered, and all six necks collapsed, one completely unmoving and five twitching.

  Knowing time was short, I went to the neck belonging to the fire breathing head. Two crushing blows to break the neck. Assuming I didn’t have much time left, I found the frost breathing head and attacked its neck with crushing blow. One hit and the neck snapped. I knew I should try to get some distance from it before the beast regained control, but I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass. I went for another neck. Another two crushing blows and its neck broke as well. I was going to go for another when I caught a flashing light in my periphery, EP 29/300. I’d overused my new proficiency.

  It was time to run. I barely made it three feet from the hydra before a neck jerked and hit me in the side, sending me skittering across the stone floor. Thankfully, the wall brought me to an immediate, if painful, stop.

  I groaned painfully as I extricated myself from the wall. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs, catching a motion from the corner of my eye. I rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding one of the heads, then quickly rolled back to the right, dodging another by the skin of my teeth only to crash into an apparently stunned head that didn’t stop before it too crashed into the wall. Glancing quickly to the left I saw the same thing. The problem was, I was bracketed, and the third head now loomed overhead.

  I laughed nervously, “Good hydra.”

  The demon head roared and shot forward. The only thing I could do was put my shield in front of me and hope it would be enough. My back slammed painfully into the wall. My feet were pushing on the lower jaw and my shield was pinned against the upper jaw. I was burning through my limited EP trying to keep from being swallowed
. Naturally, that was when I felt a long tongue slither up my leg and around my torso. I cursed angrily. The only thing I could do was strike at the tongue with my mace. Unfortunately, hitting the tongue also meant hitting myself. My mace hurt. Raising my mace skill, the way I did, was a double-edged sword and now I was going to pay the price.

  The demon roared in outrage at my attack, and I went deaf, my ears ringing painfully from being so close to the source. Thankfully, the mouth gave up on eating me and the tongue fell away as it pulled back. Knowing I wouldn’t have a lot of time before it struck again, I tried to climb over the stunned head on my left. I was halfway over when the demon’s stun faded, and it realized it had a passenger.

  I went to a cowboy bar once in my youth. They had one of those mechanical bulls that simulated bull riding. It was kind of fun, and it impressed a cute coed. This was not fun and there was no cute coed to impress.

  The head and neck bucked wildly, trying to throw me off. I probably should have let it, except that I knew if it managed to toss me into the air, the other two heads would definitely try to gobble me up. It was only the wild thrashing of this head that prevented the other two from picking me off. Another glance at my EP made me very worried, EP 13/300. It was flashing faster now. I wasn’t recovering fast enough.

  The beast continued thrashing wildly until the head suddenly stopped. Apparently, it didn’t have very good situational awareness. Its thrashing about led to it crashing its head into a wall and knocking itself silly.

  I rolled off just before the other two heads pounced, crashing into the stunned head, hurting it but not killing it. I wobbled slightly as I started running toward the downed head, steadying myself a little more with each step. As soon as I was next to the head, I slid to a stop and turned, swinging my mace as I did. I looked up at the other two heads and grinned. I struck the head again, enraging the other two. They struck but I was smarter than they were. I ducked low and close to the still stunned head. One of the heads struck the wall over my head, stunning itself, while the other crashed painfully into the stunned head, doing part of the work for me.