Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  We weren’t disappointed. An ethereal force severed the branches and roots from top to bottom before a muscular arm shot out and gripped the outside of the barrier as the orc pulled his head through with the upper half of his body. His leg followed next.

  Seeing the strained look of fierce determination, the crowd gasped as one. There was a green gas that was escaping the dome of branches through the gap that he’d created. Lusa hadn’t just tried to suffocate and strangle him but poison him as well. What absurd kind of constitution did he have that he was able to grit through it while still swinging his axe?

  The branches and roots were trying to tie him up even as he was struggling to get out. Was this her intention all along?

  He suddenly went still, and the grimace left his face. He looked blank for a moment, but then his aura started to push out of his body with incredible force. With his hand wrapped in dense energy, he grabbed at one of the larger branches. Like a pair of garden shears, his grasp split the wood apart. With the same quickness that he swung his axe with, he jerked his body back and forth as he slowly pried open the gap between the branches and pulled the rest of his body out.

  Rolling forward, he spun and came to his feet. Both of his hands gripped his axe, but its blade rested upon the stone tile as if he’d lost the strength to hold it upright.

  Lusa must have been furious that he’d gotten out of her trap, but she wouldn’t let him rest. Branches and roots untangled themselves before shooting out to grab and impale their prey.

  Gansuk’s axe flashed with the tried precision that only a well-trained soldier could possess. Compressed energy collided with the branches in the air. They split apart like twigs, but they kept regenerating and reached for the orc with renewed vigor.

  He kept battling on even as his axe light started to dim. The compressed beams’ strength slowly diminished until only the blade of his axe was able to meet the extensions of the possessed tree. His stamina was spent, and yet he still swung his axe. It looked like he’d already lost, but he wouldn’t give up until he could no longer move.

  Sensing this, Lusa sent a large root circling in behind him to sweep out his feet. As it struck the back of his legs, all of his remaining strength seemed to be sapped from his body and he fell like a sack of dead weight.

  Instead of letting him fall, Lusa caught him with her roots and sat him up in a makeshift chair. His axe had fallen to the ground and he sat there with his arms hanging at his sides and his chest expanding with every billow of his mighty lungs.

  Then something happened that I’d never seen happen since I’d first come to Hallow. The vampires in the audience stood up. It began with smaller groups. Jale was among the first to take to her feet and we followed. There was no clapping, or cheers, but the sound of thousands of people rising to their feet in the immediate stands and then millions in the outer was thunderous.

  An opening appeared in Lusa’s tree trunk. She stepped out. Her face had grown blotchy, and it was obvious through Mana Sight that she was almost out of mana. Despite that, she summoned a few roots to lift her into the air. From across the arena, she stood ten feet above and looked down at the exhausted orc. Taking a moment to catch her own breath, she bowed deeply.

  “This is how vampires show their utmost respect,” Shamash said. His voice resounded in my head. “Traditionally, they don’t express their approval with words. Instead, they stand and look on so that the person receiving honor knows that they have been seen. Seeing and remembering is the greatest honor.”

  It made sense from what I’d learned about vampire culture. I remembered how careful the higher ranking vampires were to the point of arrogance with the attention they gave others. Ignoring an offender was often seen as the greater rebuke than an actual verbal one. The worst offenses would gain attention, but it often came in the form of someone appearing in your home late at night and stabbing you in your sleep.

  I wasn’t even the one who was receiving the honor, but my adrenaline was flaring up as if I were. I couldn’t deny the pull that the glory of the Hallow Coliseum possessed. I even had thoughts of one day returning when I was stronger just to compete with the highest ranks for the ultimate glory…

  ***

  “Are you ready?” I asked my friend through mind-speak as his match drew near.

  Sai’s breathing was slow and controlled. “This is it. This is why I’m here.”

  “You’ve already made it. You don’t have to return to your family’s business any longer.”

  He shook his head. “That’s true, but it’s not what I mean. I know I’m not capable of defeating Manu Shah, but I can make it so that it’s a fight that he’ll never forget. He expects me to be another low rank vampire with a sword. I’ll make him, and everyone else, have second thoughts on what low-borns are capable of.”

  I firmly patted him on the back. “Leave it all out in the arena. The true nobles have your back.”

  We both looked over at Jale and her family. None of the heads of the family were here, like her mother or father, but not a single one of them had given me or Sai a funny look and they followed every decision Jale had made, always showing us respect. I knew they weren’t faultless, but they did possess a certain honor that only people of conscience could possess. They were not the monsters that I’d first thought them to be.

  When his name was called, the stands were already ringing with Manu Shah’s praises since his name had been announced first. Still, Sai stood and offered Jale a deep bow. All the way down to the arena floor he didn’t take his eyes off Manu as he headed to his starting point. Before the match had even begun, he lowered himself into a stance that said he wasn’t here for some quick VT.

  I noticed Alexandria, who was sitting next to me, lean forward to sit on the edge of her seat. If something happened, she was the one that would go forward to protect Sai.

  Manu Shah didn’t even look at Sai but stood in his starting place and was glancing up at the stands as if he were having a conversation with a friend. I wouldn’t be surprised if he really were addressing someone through mind-speak. I had to admit that if I were facing Sai, I wouldn’t think much of him either. He was very close to exceptional, but the best in the competition were just on a different level. However, I knew Manu wasn’t just ignoring him because he thought lightly of him, but also because he wanted to show his disregard publicly to embarrass him.

  Sai’s focus was sharpened like a sword. The announcer began the typical declarations before the fight began. Sai lowered himself even further.

  Before the word had fully left the announcer’s mouth, Sai was gone. His speed was his greatest weapon, and with over 20,000 Dexterity, even Manu’s inflated stats couldn’t compare to him in that area. Dark Magic buffs filled Sai’s limbs with bulging power. He shone in purple light.

  To everyone’s surprise, Sai didn’t approach from any angle at all, but sprinted toward Manu in a straight line at full speed. His approach was so fast that Manu had to tear himself away from his conversation and even jump back as a long sabre-beam tore through where he’d been standing.

  My reason for not having to worry about being matched up against Sai was different than Manu’s. Not only could I use magic to defend myself, but I was even capable of surpassing him with my physical stats, including my Dexterity if I buffed myself and used the right forms. I was sure Manu could probably buff himself as well, but could he double his Dexterity to match Sai’s speed? I doubted it was something he was capable of. His strength was his overwhelming Dark Magic talent and mana pool.

  Unlike all of his other fights outside of the one with Lusa Egotak, Manu didn’t limit himself to basic uses of Dark Magic. His form exploded as Dark Mana seeped from his body and turned into a giant demon of darkness.

  Sai’s sabre, with built-up momentum, was already there to cleave into Manu’s thick aura. His blade was thick with compressed energy as it met the noble’s defense. His attack cut deep but didn’t reach Manu’s physical body.

  Jumping
back, Sai dodged the enormous claws that reached out to split him into vampire steaks. Before his opponent could even react, my friend had darted around to his rear and sent a dozen sabre-beams thrashing against the demon’s back.

  Manu spun with his claws outstretched. The current reach of his Dark Mana limbs was over twenty feet in length. They swiped across the ground with the force to topple boulders.

  I could feel as much as see my friend’s determination. He ran literal circles around the Dark Magic demon, dancing forward to land a few blows before darting out again and moving to a different angle of attack. With sabre-beams and his physical sabre, he didn’t let up his assault like a man possessed. If he couldn’t cause any real damage, he would drive Manu to the point of a mental breakdown by being a mosquito that was impossible to swat.

  Thirty seconds into the fight, I was already convinced that Sai had made his point. In a fight to the death, he might not be able to kill Manu Shah, but with his superior speed, he was also invincible. If he wanted to run away, there was nothing Manu could do.

  After a full minute, it started to get embarrassing. Was it possible that Sai could keep this up long enough to completely drain Manu of his mana and ultimately win? That shouldn’t be the case. I knew that with his insane mana pool, Manu was capable of much more than this Dark Mana Demon form.

  Another minute passed and I started to believe that Manu may have actually let his frustration get the best of him. It was impossible to see the noble’s face, but he continued to reach out with his enormous arms to try to knock Sai off his feet.

  Alexandria stiffened. I noticed the change in her before anything changed in the fight. Looking at both Manu and Sai carefully, there was nothing I could pinpoint that might draw her attention. I relaxed slightly. Maybe she was just tense because it was being drawn out for so long…

  It happened so quickly, there seemed to be no build-up at all. An eruption of magic shot out from Manu’s demon form in a wave of electrifying power. Sai was already retreating after slashing at the demon’s core, but the wave caught him regardless. Driving him back and jarring him wildly, Sai was stunned, if only for a moment. It was enough.

  Manu had even been facing the other direction when the Dark Magic wave erupted, but it was like he had eyes in the back of his head. The arm of darkness reached back with an unnatural bend and grabbed ahold of him.

  Alexandria had already left her seat. In a split second, she’d reached that side of the arena from the stands. With a single flash of her fist, the Dark Mana limb holding Sai was cleaved in two. She landed next to him. He crumpled to the ground as the giant hand that had ahold of him dissipated into the air. A blanket of Dark Magic flew from her palm to heal him. She reached down like she was going to offer him her hand but then she froze.

  Immediately, I cast Forced Learn on my friend to get the best view of what was going on inside of him. With it, time froze, and my perceptions plunged into him from more than a hundred feet away. I didn’t bother about saving mana. Even though it would cost a couple hundred thousand, I still had plenty of excess so that I could recover before I had to fight Eshana in the next match.

  There was damage to his bloodstream that held his mana, but that wasn’t a surprise. Nothing seemed to be leaking from his body, so there were no open wounds. There also didn’t seem to be anything lodged inside of him that was keeping him from healing, so what could the problem possibly be? I quickly scanned him from head to toe, passing over his mana core. As soon as I did, I did a double take and returned to it. On closer examination, I saw clearly what had caught my attention. His core was cracked. It was almost impossible unless Manu had been aiming for it.

  Alexandria had arrived fast enough to save his core from being crushed entirely, but damage had still been done. As soon as my perceptions had returned to me, I leapt from my seat into the air. My wings formed and drove me across the arena to where Sai was with a volatile push.

  The tile nearly buckled as my feet crashed down beside Alexandria. She didn’t even react to my arrival but continued sending Dark Mana into his battered form.

  Jale was suddenly at my side, with an older gentleman vampire who I’d never heard speak.

  “His core is cracked,” I said aloud, not caring if everyone in the arena heard.

  Both Jale and the elder vampires jerked their gazes in my direction. I saw the dread take hold of Jale’s normally controlled features.

  “Let me,” the elder said. His face remained emotionless as Alexandria finally stood and backed away.

  The fear on Jale’s face seemed to ease a little as the elder kneeled over Sai. Dark Mana rose off of him like steam from an open pot. The space around him started to tremble beneath such terrible power that I could think of no one else besides Mistress Nava and the Head Mistress that could cause such a reaction with so little effort.

  “Back up,” Alexandria said, taking my hand and pulling me with her.

  With one hand, the elder let a gentle stream of Dark Magic flow into my friend. The other he plunged straight into Sai’s chest. It went through what was left of Sai’s armor and his chest cavity like a knife through mashed potatoes. The elder grabbed ahold of Sai’s core. With less effort than a sneeze he could snuff out his life. Instead, he began controlling Sai’s mana, as well as his own, and did something I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to accomplish. He started repairing Sai’s core.

  With Mana Sight at full power, I saw every thread form and reattach. After Core Creation had reached its Master Rank, it had leveled up very little even after creating numerous Master Orbs. The moment I saw this old master complete the repair process, my ability shot up from Level 13 to level 17 in one go. It was the very revelation I needed to speed up its progress.

  At the moment, the revelation meant little to me. I saw Sai’s body start to accept Dark Magic and the healing process began.

  Jale turned her attention from Sai now that it was clear he would recover and walked over to stand next to me. Her smile showed as much relief as I felt. Alexandria patted my wrist as if she were calming a child.

  When he’d done what was required, the elder vampire stood. As emotionless as his features seemed, his gaze held me in place. The bow of his head was so slight it would have been invisible to a low-level human. “Are you able to beat him?” the elder said suddenly.

  It startled me. Seeing what this old guy was capable of, and his inconceivable ability to manipulate mana even without possessing the Blue Magic Pillar Core Creation, I had little doubt he was Mistress Nava’s match. His voice wasn’t loud, but amongst vampires he might as well have had a loudspeaker. I didn’t hide my confidence. “I can.”

  “Then if you’re of the mind to kill him, the Tir family will fully back your decision.”

  Everyone in the entire arena seemed to freeze at once. Jale had already told me as much, that they would back me if I felt I had no other choice but to take his life. But saying it publicly was no different than declaring war on the Shah family with everyone present. Even a dimwitted vampire poser like me understood the deep implications of what had just been said. The elder vampire had already disappeared and returned to the stands by the time I’d recovered.

  Jale and Alexandria stood as still as statues beside me. They were in even more shock than I was.

  I could almost feel Manu’s glare. Turning, I found him still standing where he’d been at the end of the fight. His smirk was as demonic as his Dark Magic form.

  “You think you can kill me,” he said. It wasn’t a question. He oozed arrogance. He thought his performance today was the perfect deception, but I knew better.

  The wave of Dark Magic he’d used to stun Sai was something he easily could have used within the first few seconds of the fight. It might not have been as effective with Sai still feeling him out, but that wasn’t the point. He’d held back what he was capable of throughout the fight. Why? So that I’d underestimate him? Or was it just to play with Sai? To make him believe that he could actually win?<
br />
  “Any last words?” he asked.

  “Don’t run away,” I replied, then turned my back on him without another word.

  I helped Sai to his seat. He was already cracking jokes by the time he got there, but I could see the reality in his body language. He’d only just escaped a close brush with death, and he knew it.

  I wanted to stay with him, to be there so he had someone to chat with. That was his thing, especially when he was working out his nerves. It would have to wait. My match with Eshana was about to begin.

  “You made him look like a fool,” I said to encourage him.

  “At least until it was clear that he wasn’t,” Sai replied with a chuckle. “It’s okay. Go and win.”

  I didn’t argue. Facing the Tirs, I found myself thinking the normal gesture wasn’t enough. I bowed fully at the waist. It lasted far longer than was normally appropriate. Seeing the faces of Jale, Alexandria, and the elder, I knew that I was wrong. They thought it was perfectly suitable.

  Not only was I fuming after what Manu had done, but it also further infuriated me that they ruined my fight. I’d been looking forward to fighting Eshana more than anyone else just because I’d finally get to talk a little bit of trash without anyone taking offense. Instead, I faced her from across the arena while still trying to calm my spirit.

  “I’m disappointed,” Eshana said. “I was hoping to make you my pet, but then that self-important Dark Magic addict had to ruin the mood.”

  “I feel the same way,” I replied honestly.

  “So you had the intention of making me your pet? As the others have found out, I’m rather expensive.”

  It didn’t seem like she was going to let me go without a prodding even in the current situation. But then I heard her voice like a whisper in my ear. She was sending me a message through mind-speak. “I’m sorry about what happened to your friend. I’m not going to hold back, though.”

  I replied to her first statement out loud. “I’d be afraid of making you my pet. I’d always fear you’d try to drown me when I wasn’t paying attention.”