Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  Fusing two different Schools of Magic had its limitations. The most obvious example was the opposite Alignment reaction of Light and Dark Magic. Trying to fuse the two had explosive results. But trying to fuse magics with similar properties, like Dark and Fire, had a much more suitable outcome. The more dissimilar two magics were, the harder it was to blend them. Trying to put a gentle magic like Light together with Fire or Lightning was extremely complex and lacked benefits. If the goal was to speed up Light Magic’s propelling force, then fusing it with a Neutral Magic like Alpha Bolt to increase its force would give you the desired results without the same difficulty. Neutral Magic also blended well with most magics and didn’t have many of the Alignment-specific nuances.

  I’d actually fused the two aspects of Light together when killing the Metal Dragon in a similar fashion. When I cast Laser behind my Life Magic in the same beam-like attack, the faster magic had simply pushed my Life Magic to force it to speed up.

  There was so much to work on—so much to learn… It was too much to learn all at once. My coming fight would also be against a powerful melee fighter. He would probably be the best I’d faced. The sure method to victory seemed to be by transforming and making use of my ability to inflate my stats, but there was also an opportunity here. I’d already furthered my experience facing casters and using my magic to defend as well as attack, but could I use my casting ability to defeat a true melee expert?

  The real challenge wasn’t just defeating him with overwhelming force thanks to my deep mana pool. Before coming to the Vampire Realm, Shamash had demanded that I use everything to force my way in, but his reason was because I was simply too inexperienced to survive any other way. Now was my chance to face a challenger that could push my casting skill to its limits. This was why the lich had brought me here. I needed to learn what it took to defeat powerful opponents with as little mana as possible. Tomorrow would be my first test to see how far I’d come.

  ***

  In my mind, an arena half filled with orcs should stink. When I arrived, there was a festive air filled with chatter that I hadn’t experienced with my other fights. I entered across from the section the orcs were seated in and was bombarded with the oranges and yellows mixed with the countless shades of leather that made up their garb. Despite their tusks and clamorous behavior, I couldn’t help but be attracted to what I saw and felt. Unlike the inexpressive vampires, they were here enjoying the event. It was probably why I was also drawn to Sai. Befriending the average vampire was like befriending a stone wall with a constant grimace.

  There were still many rounds of the tournament to go, but many of my competitors were here to watch us. Manu Shah had showed up with Parth Gul. I was confident Manu had dual motivations in coming to see me. He hoped I’d lose so that he could hold it over me and graciously accept me into his employ. But if I did happen to win, he needed to be here to see it as well. I just hoped he was ready to give me a body of Trueblood so that I could down it, make my purchases, then skip town before the tournament was even over. That would make life easier.

  The dark elf Eshana Dara was here with her entourage. It was the first time I’d seen her in days. She met my eyes as I stood there scanning the audience. I gave her the same smile as I’d given her the last time I’d seen her after quickly defeating my opponent. This time she met me with a smirk of her own.

  Lusa Egotak, the dwarf with the Nature Magic, was also in the stands, and close by was Jale Tir. I wasn’t sure what my chances were of the beast-feeders giving me their support, let alone the time of day, but they seemed like the best option at the moment. It was at least worth pursuing. If I had a strong backer, staying alive wouldn’t be an issue.

  When Gansuk saw that I had arrived, he stood from his seat wearing a shirt of thick tanned leather. His thighs were so bulging with muscle that his leather faulds stuck out to the side like wings at his hips. The orcs around him stopped their chatter immediately. Their response placed the attention of everyone in the arena on the two of us.

  He buffeted his own chest with his fist which resulted in a resounding thump, before bowing his head. He showed me a strange mix of intimidation and respect.

  I bowed appropriately in response, then followed his lead and headed down toward the arena floor without the beckoning of the announcer.

  All of this ceremony seemed overly serious, but since no one else seemed to be feeling the awkwardness of it all, I had no choice but to play along.

  He descended the flight of stairs across from me. When I set foot on the arena floor, I faced him again, but he kept going, heading to his starting point.

  I felt in that moment like I was in a play and each step I took was already prescribed for me by someone else. In the world I’d come from, offending someone wasn’t usually punishable by death, but here the powerful made the rules. Power was the rule. Even though the orcs were different in many ways from the vampires, they too lived by the same principle. It was much like the magic chains Lilith had cast upon me. Everyone wore such chains and the moment you pulled at them from the wrong direction, you’d be yanked back and put into your proper place—if you even survived.

  It had been a few seconds since I’d reached the arena floor and I hadn’t moved. It had gained me the eyes of many. I looked up, pondering my new reality through the faces of the monsters that stared down at me. Whether out of some subconscious need, or chance, I found myself looking up at Jale Tir. I felt the tension that spawned from the opinions of others, but such pressure meant little to me. I bowed my head deeply, like one does to a person of great importance, and saw as I lifted my head that for the first time Jale wasn’t looking at me with a glare. I wouldn’t call it a happy face, but I’d consider it progress.

  Arriving at my side of the arena, I turned to face Gansuk. He held his double bladed battle axe two handed, with a grip close to his chest. He was relaxed, but focused.

  I used Creature Observation.

  Gansuk

  Character Sheet

  Level: 15,088

  Health Points: 12,240,500

  Attributes

  Strength: 50,033

  Dexterity: 10,477

  Constitution: 24,481

  Intelligence: 1,102

  Wisdom: 1,099

  Unlike Sai, he was not a melee fighter buffed by his own magic. He was a true melee specialist. Besides wanting to test myself against him, I also had interest in seeing how he’d managed to get this far without any magic to speak of. This would be similar to facing off against old man goblin.

  Like the firing of a gun, the announcer declared that the match had begun.

  Even though his Dexterity was inferior to mine, his Strength was far superior. With a single swing of his axe, he flung a beam of ethereal power toward me at ridiculous speed.

  I launched myself up into the air before my Crimson Incubus Form had even taken shape. His beam was too fast to evade otherwise. My wings caught me as I was forced to move again or meet his second slash head on. I darted to the side and arrived at a safe distance.

  His third beam had already cleared half the arena. Alpha shot out to meet it head on, as I shifted out of the way of the attack. It split my force-heavy attack down the middle like it wasn’t even there.

  Gansuk was done feeling me out. A dozen axe-beams flew toward me at what seemed like the same instant. Mana Sight was at full power, so his attacks were still manageable. I probed one beam with Ice Shard and another with Boulder Throw to see how his beams handled differences in material density. I quickly discovered it didn’t seem to matter.

  Adding more mana to each spell might make a difference, but I was probing for any obvious weaknesses. I knew there wouldn’t be any that would make this fight easy. I’d still do my due diligence to make sure.

  Dark Lightning struck at his attacks followed by a couple of fireballs. After seeing how so many different schools of magic reacted to his axe beams, a few things became clear. Just as with the goblin elder and Sanctuary’s melee on
ly specialist, his beams were made up of compressed neutral mana. There did seem to be a little more to it than that. Just as Dark Orbs had a mix of Darkness and Corruption, Gansuk’s attacks also had a tinge of Dark Mana with Neutral.

  As the seconds went by, his attacks became more fearsome and the number that I had to dodge increased. The most frightening thing was that he was only getting started.

  Casting my Rog Form on top of Incubus, my Body of Smoke only took hold on my outermost layer of skin. It wouldn’t take away from my Impenetrable Skin ability. Hardening my Body of Smoke wouldn’t only add to my defense, but also would give me full control over the Smog that was seeping out of my feet like a pillar of smoke, drilling toward the ground. With explosive force, it spread out across the arena floor, filling the entire area in seconds.

  Gansuk, despite his continued attacks, was plunged into the toxic cloud that grew to be twice as tall as he was. I didn’t crystalize the fog but flew up and away. I doubted the toxin would do more than annoy him, but hindering his senses was a real possibility.

  I narrowed my eyes as his beams didn’t follow me. His attacks continued though, which still displaced enough smog for him to find me a moment later. When he struck again, I simply moved out of the way of his beam’s new path to where he couldn’t see me. I also made sure to continue adding Smog to the area to continue filling in the place he’d moved from.

  There was a sudden pressure that I felt from across the arena as his aura jumped from his body like raging steam. It pushed all the Smog away from him in a six-foot radius, giving him a clear view of where I was flying. I dipped low to dodge his attacks, but also to stay out of view. My Smog was high enough that his aura could only clear a small space above him.

  His attacks continued, and he finally left his starting position and started burrowing forward through the smog. I was hoping to see what other abilities he possessed, but he seemed insistent on sticking with his axe-beams and aura.

  I gathered Dark Mana in one hand and Fire in the other. He came quickly, but at a controlled pace. He seemed to suspect that I was up to something.

  With the injection of my will into my Smog, the great cloud that covered the arena floor solidified into grey stone.

  I didn’t need to have a visual to know exactly what was going on with my opponent. I could feel every movement he made through my Smog, and the constant pressure of his aura. Mana Sight also gave me a clear picture of where and how he stood even behind the mana-rich cloud. Like lobbing a ball, my channeled fireball flew toward the opening in the cloud covered floor.

  The orc had stopped before running headfirst into my Crystalized Fog. He noticed the change right away, heaving his axe to force his way through. It was enough of a distraction that he didn’t sense my fireball coming his way. By the time it arrived, all he could do was react.

  Shifting his stance, he swung up to meet my attack. His axe met it before it could gain much momentum, but it was enough to set the fireball off. It blasted his axe away and bit into the side of his head and shoulder.

  Why was I not surprised when there was no visible damage done?

  Dark Lightning immediately followed my fireball, in hope of catching him stunned. Neither of my attacks were overly powerful, but there was still enough mana channeled that I hoped to cause him some damage.

  He turned into a blur as he struck again to batter my second attack away. He may have not been quick on his feet, but his attack speed was absurd.

  In the next moment, he leaped, landing on top of the Crystalized Fog. He was swinging his axe an incredible rate without releasing any beams.

  I could feel the compressed mana at the edge of his axe growing in power as he landed atop my fog. He’d already swung out countless times before he’d even touched down. With his feet firm on the solidified fog, he swung out one more time with all his strength then spun.

  Before he could launch the growing axe beam, I commanded my Smog back to its gaseous state. If losing his footing weakened his attack, it was impossible to tell. As his axe finished its revolution around his body, its beam was flung at me with the force and energy of a solar flare.

  All that I could do was react. Thankfully, I was already gathering mana into my palms. Throwing them out, I pushed out a large surge of mana, while angling my body away from the beam.

  It cleaved through my mana burst and into my right palm. There was enough force to slow the attack, but not before it had cut off the top of my hand and four fingers. In a moment’s panic, I inventoried the severed part of my hand as it fell so as to not have any chance of my identity being discovered.

  In every other fight I’d watched, his attack would have ended it. My response to the pain was too fast for the announcer to say anything. I’d used very little mana so far during our exchange, but reserving mana was the furthest thing from my mind in that moment.

  Just as if Xaphan the Primordial Cat had appeared before me and was ready to pounce, over twenty bone appendages erupted from my back and rushed forth like a colony of pythons. They plunged into the cloud of smog and thrust into Gansuk even as he fended them off.

  His axe was fast enough to sever half of them, but there were too many coming all at once from numerous directions for him to completely block them. Even as they tried to pierce his flesh, his skin’s toughness was nearly at the level of my Impenetrable Skin so they didn’t get far. The moment they realized they couldn’t puncture his flesh, they snaked around and tied him up.

  He chopped into more of them, but each appendage he severed just continued growing. He was soon entangled in all twenty-something skeletal serpents. His strength was too overwhelming for me to strangle him in any way. With great jerking movements he tried to get free. His free hand was pulling them apart while his axe was trying to keep his legs from being pulled together.

  I still had enough clarity of mind to not flood him with Light Mana, so instead, I began to leech him of the little he had.

  Even though he didn’t have the mana pool that a caster would, that just meant that draining him dry was that much faster. It only took seconds.

  Just as Waldemar had lost himself and turned into a raging bull, I expected Gansuk to have the same kind of problem.

  He began to tremble the moment his mana pool emptied, but instead of passing out or losing himself his muscles bulged. With both hands gripping his axe, he started slashing out in all directions. My appendages were all severed in seconds, and what was wrapped around him crumbled like rotten ropes.

  My Smog had been mostly driven from the area, and I didn’t bother bringing it back. If the announcer were going to call the fight before, he’d now changed his mind. Not only had I countered despite having my hand sliced in two, my hand had already been completely restored.

  Now that he was freed from my appendages, he stood facing me with his axe cocked back over his shoulder. I was hovering just over his head, no more than ten feet away. I’d definitely underestimated his abilities even though they were so simple and seemed to limit him. The worst part was that I wasn’t confident in facing him as I normally would. Even with my Light Magic Buffs at their max, my Strength simply couldn’t match his.

  I could give in and try to overwhelm him with a massive amount of mana, but that would be giving up. Sure, I might win, but then what had I learned? I also couldn’t underestimate his defense. I’d yet to cause much damage.

  During the lull in our fight, he gave me a nod of respect. I couldn’t help but return the gesture.

  I’d now faced off with his axe-beams enough to figure out why they were so effective. The first reason was obvious. The force they possessed from their neutral mana state and being thrown from the edge of his axe was almost impossible to duplicate with normal casting. It also compressed the energy in his attack beyond what was typically possible. That was why the density of magic didn’t seem to matter against him. His were simply overwhelmingly superior in these aspects.

  What I needed wasn’t massive amounts of mana to co
mbat him, but something that was either forceful or compressed enough, on the same level. A good Earth Mage would have an easy time with the density part. My Earth Magic was far from sufficient. Even if I managed to summon something that was suitable, I’d have to channel so much mana that it wouldn’t be worth it. However, I was already familiar with compressing Fire Mana to create my Impenetrable Skin. I literally felt his beam lose steam as it severed my hand, so that was a start. The obvious problem was that my compressed Fire Mana hadn’t completely stopped his attack either. Against his normal attacks, it would probably hold out better, but there was something else that might work even better.

  He shifted his stance as a way of warning that he was about to begin again. I doubted he’d give me enough time to put any distance between us after all he’d gone through to bridge the gap. I couldn’t blame him.

  Flamethrower gushed out of my left hand as he swung his axe. It was more to blind than injure him.

  Even with his unapproachable Strength, I still had superior Dexterity. I darted to the side as his attack flew wide. Like a pouring faucet, I kept Flamethrower cast at its lowest mana cost to shower him in flames. It wasn’t powerful enough to hurt him, but it did its job well.

  I continued to fly circles around him while dodging his attacks. My entire right arm had transformed back to its Vampire state. Instead of compressing Fire Mana, I chose Dark Mana since it naturally possessed slightly more force. In my palm, I began a process that had become second nature to me over the last couple of weeks. It took but a split second for a small spiral of Dark Mana to condense into a disk the size of a dime. I didn’t create a Dark Orb, but I did use the beginning of the process to greatly condense Dark Mana into something that should be able to compete with the density of his axe-beams.