The Land: Monsters

by Aleron Kong

  Dismissing his dark vision, his hand wove into the spellform Night Vision. He lost even the little bit of sight he’d had, but then he started casting Far Light. Balls of light shot from his hand one after another. They flew one hundred yards before reaching the end of their range and winking out of sight. Again and again, he cast the spell, up, down, side to side and at multiple angles.

  Richter heaved a sigh of relief when one of his balls stuck to a surface. He slung a few more in that direction and realized that what he’d found was another cliff face running parallel to the one he was hanging out of. It was about fifty feet away. So far, he didn’t see another passage though. Another screech sounded behind him and he started casting again at a frantic pace.

  More balls of light flew across the expanse, and he prayed he’d find another tunnel. He’d have to leave the one he was in one way or another, and climbing a cliff face of unknown height was not exactly a good life plan. Not with the potential of crawling, and perhaps flying, monsters coming out of the dark at any moment, called by the only light within miles. Five, ten, fifteen balls of light and still nothing. Then he saw it! His Far Light spell pierced the entrance of a large tunnel. It was set into the opposing rock wall, fifty feet up and twenty feet to the side.

  The sounds of battle echoed behind him. The ichorpedes had found the evolved saproling he’d left behind. He heard furious screeching, but also the sounds of branches snapping. He knew from experience that his summoned creature would not last long against the high-level monsters. Richter wriggled forward, more and more of his body exiting the tunnel. Gravity asserted itself and tried to pull him into the abyss. Based on recent events, he decided that he’d had enough of plummeting to his death. The chaos seed started climbing.

  A minute later, an ichorpede’s head popped out of the tunnel. Its antennae quested around. It soon caught the scent of his blood trail again. With a screech, it climbed out of the tunnel after him. Its dozens of sharp legs found easy purchase on the stone. It climbed much faster than Richter could manage and quickly closed the gap.

  The chaos seed’s jaw clenched. He’d wanted to get a bit higher up, but there was no more time. With a shouted, “Yah!” he flung himself out into space. The giant centipede surged forward. It was too late. The chaos seed was already gliding toward the tunnel. Three seconds passed before he jumped off the air again. His stamina fell by twenty-four points, but he gained another seven feet of height. After that, it was just rinse and repeat.

  The next jump cost him eighty-two points and the one after that two hundred and fifty-four. Richter couldn’t have managed another jump as the stamina cost increased by around 200% each time. That didn’t matter though. Just as his glide time was running out, his foot found the lip of the new passage. He leaned forward and his momentum carried him into the new tunnel. His landing was more like an ungraceful crash, and only 10% of his stamina bar remained, but he’d done it!

  Richter’s breath came out in pained wheezes, and his side ached like he’d just sprinted uphill. He still found the energy to look back across the chasm. Ichorpedes swarmed angrily across the cliff face he’d just left. There was no way for them to reach him though. Climbing on the ninety-degree slope, they couldn’t even effectively spit acid at him. A few tried, but the gobs of burning saliva fell well short.

  With a malicious grin on his weary face, Richter thought, let me show you how it’s done. Sweat poured off his face and body, and his muscles screamed at him to just lay down, but he had a promise to keep. Raising both arms, his hands moved in concert, chiral images of one another. A red glow surrounded his fingers as a wisp of flame appeared between his hands. Over three seconds the magic grew larger, boosted by his initiate rank in Fire magic, his Dragonkin II Mark, his high Intelligence and his dual cast technique. The spell grew in power to be three times its base potency. Richter harnessed the fundamental powers of the Universe, each spoken syllable sounding like the crackling of burning wood and hissing licks of flame.

  “Creshadaari Palun Ignis!”

  Richter’s mana dropped by three hundred points as he cast Weak Fireball. The large investment of magic made his head throb. It was worth it. There was nothing “weak” about his spell. The tennis ball-sized flame expanded to the size of a large beach ball as it flew across space. Not only did his dual casting increase the damage, but his initiate rank in the skill increased his spell’s range by 20%. The roaring spell struck the ichorpede he had targeted and detonated!

  It was the explosive effect he was after. Even boosted by his stats and other bonuses, the first rank weak spell would not have been enough to kill one of the powerful monsters. Knocking them off the cliff wall they clung to, however… well, that was more than possible. The chaos seed’s grin was ear-to-ear as the ichorpede he had struck was flattened against the rock wall and stunned. It lost its footing and plummeted to its death. The fact that Richter didn’t get the notification of gaining experience for nearly a minute showed how deep the chasm really was.

  He might have felt bad about killing that one, but he made sure that first fucker had plenty of company. The flames from his fireball rippled out twelve meters in every direction, a wall of orange-yellow death. Five more insects fell to their deaths, hissing as they were claimed by the blackness. Joy bloomed in Richter’s heart, but it wasn’t enough to quiet the monster inside of him. Both hands raised, he started to rapid-fire spells.

  Weak Lightning Bolt stunned an ichorpede for a moment and its legs lost their grip. By the time it came back to itself, it could only screech and writhe until it disappeared into the gloom below. Seven deaths. Weak Magic Missile shot three balls of colored light into the face of another. Dazzled by the pain and light, it bit at another insect. In retaliation, the monster struck back. Moments later, they both fell to oblivion.

  Nine deaths.

  The remaining insects scurried away, trying to escape the man they had considered prey. Richter smiled to see their panic, and thought he just might be able to smell their fear. His eyes locked onto one more. No, he thought softly, you cannot go.

  Richter summoned his magic to cast a new spell. Four seconds passed while he channeled the arcane energies until a beam of pure sunlight shot from his left hand. He stood in the tunnel, looking down at his enemy, and a bolt of death fell from his hands like the petty vengeance of a vexed god. The passage of energy made the scent of burning ozone fill Richter’s nostrils.

  That was not what his target noticed. It just felt its eyes pop under the intense heat and light of the chaos seed’s spell. It was struck with a Blind debuff, and it screeched in pain and panic. The monster ran down the cliff face until it reached an overhang. Like a lemming, it continued on. The monster realized its mistake too late, and its momentum carried it out into space.

  With extreme satisfaction, Richter fell to his butt. Extending his favorite middle finger, and looking out into the black, he said, “Ten.”

  Richter dropped onto his back, and his rib cage heaved like a stallion after a race. Almost absently, he filled his Ring of Spell Storage. It had become a habit to keep the magic ring locked and loaded. It could only hold novice-level spells for a day before the magical charge expired, but all that was required to use the stored power was an exertion of will. The ability to instacast a spell had saved his life more than once. Battles and pain had taught him lessons that love and time never could.

  As Richter collected himself and fought off the too-tempting desire to pass out, he heard the slow flap of wings. He might have rolled over and prepared to fight again, but right after, he heard Xuetrix speak with fascinated glee, “You have some anger issues, don’t you?”

  Without verbally responding or turning around, Richter rotated his shoulder until he could present the imp with the bird.

  CHAPTER 4 – Day 151 – Juren 2, 0 AoC

  “Where the fuck have you been?” Richter spat at imp. The quiet heat in his voice could melt iron. “I could have used some help!”

  “There are rules
, human. I am a Messenger. I cannot directly intervene in the affairs of mortals.”

  “What does that even mean? What is a Messenger?”

  Xuetrix answered in a language that Richter could not understand. It was something he was getting used to with the demon. The first time his Gift of Tongues ability was stymied had been with the imp as well. His ability was extremely powerful and let him understand almost any language. The so called “higher” and “lower” languages of more- and less-evolved beings were where it failed him. The imp responding in a language he knew Richter couldn’t understand was the equivalent of the demon saying he didn’t deserve to know, and then adding a healthy dollop of “eat me” on top.

  Six or seven months ago, Richter had been new to The Land. Even though he’d been a top-notch gamer, and had known the VRMMORPG that had been based on The Land, none of that had translated into success in his new world. Put plainly, he’d been a noob. The imp had taken advantage of that and tricked him into a Favor. Now Richter owed him a magical debt. That knowledge had been bothering him like a popcorn kernel between his teeth for the past few months. He could forget about it for long periods of time, but it would drive him nuts at odd moments. Now, after months of irritating worry, the demon was finally here to collect.

  Richter’s jaw clenched. He couldn’t change the past, but he’d be damned if he made the same mistake again. He wasn’t a noob anymore. He was Lord Mist, the Master of a Place of Power and a man who had reaped thousands of lives. More than that, he had learned one of the most important lessons The Land had to teach. Power was all that mattered. Xuetrix had tried to mock and bait him by speaking in a language he couldn’t understand. That was a show of power. These days, Richter had power of his own. He glared at the imp and raised a hand. A magical glow appeared.

  The small demon’s eyes widened in astonishment. He had never imagined that Richter would actually attack him. The chaos seed chanted a short spell. The imp cast a protective spell while the chaos seed chanted. A reddish-black sphere of energy sprang into existence around his body. Xuetrix’s lips twisted into a snarl as he prepared to defend himself. Richter finished his incantation and a harmless sphere of white light shot from his fingers and attached itself to the tunnel wall.

  The demon stared at Richter in anger and irritation at having been tricked. The chaos seed smiled back maliciously, “Nervous much?” then continued to cast more illumination magic.

  The tunnel quickly lit up, showing that it led straight back into the rock with no turns or hidden curves. Xuetrix dismissed his shield, a glare on his face. The chaos seed pretended not to notice and just kept looking around. Once he was sure there were no more monsters waiting to rush him, he still didn’t give the imp any attention. Instead, he sat down and leaned his back against the tunnel wall. The imp had come to collect on a Favor, and Richter couldn’t do anything about that. Before he dealt with the flying bastard though, he needed to go through the giant list of prompts he’d earned from destroying Singh’s Mausoleum.

  He’d waited long enough.

  The battle at Singh’s Mausoleum had involved thousands of enemies. The allied forces of the Hearth Tree and Mist Village had won the day, but the cost had been high. The fight had claimed the lives of too many of his people. As always, the deaths of comrades weighed heavily on him, but this time, some were so heavy they threatened to crush him.

  In a way, he was glad that he’d been in a life and death struggle since raiding the necropolis. It meant he’d been able to avoid his survivor’s guilt for a short time. Now though, the image of Caulder dying in such a horrific fashion flashed through his mind. One moment, he’d been right next to him, the same steady and gruff sergeant that was the backbone of the Mist Village’s army. The next, he’d been twisted into a gross parody of himself, an undead thing perverted by Singh’s magic. Now that he had a moment to breathe, all of it came crashing back. Richter felt a tight knot in his chest that he knew wouldn’t quickly unravel.

  For a few minutes he just closed his eyes, breathed and reflected. Xuetrix started talking, but the chaos seed just held up one hand. A magical glow surrounded his fingers again, but this time it was the red of Fire magic. The message was clear. If Richter cast another spell, this time, it wouldn’t be “harmless.” The imp decided to keep his peace. The entire time, he didn’t open his eyes. After not hearing anything else, he put his hand down and tried to sort through what he was feeling.

  First, Richter thought of the men and women that had bravely laid down their lives to protect their fellow villagers. He spoke each of their names in his mind. One after another, he paid them homage, and promised to remember them. Once he was done, his heart felt lighter. The truth was, he’d been through too many battles and had lost comrades before. The chaos seed did not let despair drag him down. Instead of focusing on their deaths, he reminded himself of their lives.

  Richter had made sure to spend as much time with his villagers as possible. There were very few he didn’t have at least one memory with. That was why his mind unerringly turned to Caulder. From their first meeting at Leaf’s Crossing, to their time in the Whistling Hen and the sergeant moving to the Mist Village, Caulder had been a solid force in Richter’s tempestuous life. He’d been funny, but also tough as nails.

  Richter went through memory after memory, and settled on one with the man’s mortal enemy, Shinecatcher. Remembering the shouting matches between Caulder and the kindir brought a faint smile to the chaos seed’s lips. In that pleasant memory, with that final remembrance, he found the strength to do what was needed. He found the courage to let the deaths go. He would never forget, but he would allow himself to remember Caulder, and all the others, fondly. My friend, he thought, I wish you well.

  The chaos seed opened his eyes and brought up his long-awaited prompts.

  CHAPTER 5 – Day 151 – Juren 2, 0 AoC

  The first notifications were the skills he’d leveled up.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 20 in Archery. +40% bonus to aim and +40% bonus to damage when using a bow.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 20 in Enhanced Imbue Arrow. +100% magical damage. +200% speed of mana flow.

  Congratulations! You have reached subskill level 9 in Focus. Max zoom increased to 190%.

  The gains to his archery-related skills were modest, only one skill level each. That wasn’t surprising. He’d fought most of the battle with either his melee or magical skills. Modest or not, the skill level ups were enough to buy him some much-appreciated XP.

  You have received 5,000 (base 4,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 20 in the skill: Archery.

  You have received 2,500 (base 2,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 20 in the skill: Enhanced Imbue Arrow.

  The experience gained would have been enough to catapult someone from level one to three, but to Richter it was a mere fraction of a percent of what he needed to reach his next level. Every little bit helped though, as shown by the 30 Attribute Points he’d been able to invest into Strength. Richter was distracted for a moment by his new physique. His muscles were gigantic. They almost looked swollen, and he felt as bulky as a bull gorilla. He even had muscles on top of his shoulders now. Who needed muscles on their shoulders? What were they even for?

  A gurgle in his stomach stopped that line of thought. Banished gods, he was ravenous! His rapid growth had given him a powerful hunger. Dealing with that would have to wait, however. There were more skill prompts waiting to be read. The next windows dealt with his close combat skills, and the increases there were much more dramatic.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill level 13 in Dual Wield. Base accuracy penalty in primary hand reduced to -12% and in off hand by -37%. Dual attack speed increased by +13%.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 5, 6, 7 and 8 in Swordsmanship. +16% Damage and +16% Attack Speed when using a sword.

  Richter thought about the loss of Black Ice and felt an extreme sense of regret
. The Named weapon was one of the strongest implements of war he had come across. Only Ranock Din, the ancestral hammer of dwarven kings, was more powerful. Sadly, his demon soul blade had been lost when he’d fallen into the abyss. Because it was soul bound, he had the potential to find it on his Traveler’s Map. If he’d been in his village, he’d have done exactly that. The map wasn’t a GPS though. It needed a reference and orientation. Lost as he was underground, he had no way to find the powerful weapon.

  Point in fact, the current map around his location only showed his journey from the moment he’d woken up in the shell. Everything else was just black. He could still pull up an image of his village, but there was no way to tell how far he was from there. The blade was lost, most likely buried under a mountain’s worth of rock. His only hope to see it again was if he died and was lucky enough to be reborn with his soul bound items.

  Thinking of Black Ice made him think of his other missing items, arms and armor. Any one of them could have drastically increased his chances of survival. Hell, he’d dance a jig just for a single potion. All he had were his rings, bracelet and necklace. It was only in that moment that Richter realized just how much he’d come to rely on the advanced gear his village provided. Without that pipeline, if he wanted to survive the coming days he’d have to rely on his own wits and capabilities. Thankfully, the fight with Singh had indeed earned him some valuable skill levels.

  Congratulations! You have reached skill levels 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 in Light Armor. +44% to defense of all Light Armor.

  You have received 5,000 (base 4,000 x 1.25) bonus experience for reaching level 20 in the skill: Light Armor.

  The massive boost to his Light Armor skill basically meant he’d gotten his butt kicked during the battle. That was how armor skills went up. You had to be hit with heavy and sharp things. If he had any armor to speak of, it might have been valuable news. Sadly, he was almost as naked as the day he was born. If he wanted to survive any attacks in the days to come, he’d have to work on his dodge techniques. The fact that his Grace in Combat skill had only progressed a third as much as Light Armor underscored the fact that he’d basically been a punching bag during the last battle.