There was no use saying it, but I did so anyway. “So it’s impossible to kill her.” As soon as the words slipped from my lips, I knew it was something I shouldn’t have said. If this lich was indeed spying on me, then even hinting that I’d been considering what it took to take the Head Mistress’s life was a mistake.
He didn’t show any indication that I’d said something wrong. “No one is impossible to kill. There’s a reason why there aren’t any other succubi powerful enough to challenge her. The vampire lords, dragonkin and were-king are always looking for every opportunity to murder a monster of her stature. The Monster races aren’t alone. The dark elf princes and the dwarf nation of the Humanoid races would even fight together if they could destroy her—probably—they don’t exactly get along. The Beast races led by the minotaurs and orcs would also like to see her dead. And these are just the races that have large enough armies and powerful enough individuals to challenge her. The Underworld is a much bigger place than you realize.”
“Without you, a lich at my side, I don’t really have a chance. Do I?”
“No.”
“Then, I’m ready to negotiate.” I’d said I was going to wait until I’d finished power leveling Primordial Cat Form, but after six hours I was already confident I knew what I was going to say.
A great power pressed down on me from above. Something like a cloud of crystalline smoke billowed out from the base of the lich’s robe. “Very well. Then I will officially introduce myself,” he said, rising up from where he stood until he floated many feet overhead. His hood blew back to reveal his true form. To the physical eye, he was just the skeleton of a man. Through Mana Sight, I saw the dull purple energy that clung to his skull like skin, and where his eye sockets were empty, liquid mana of every color spun in upon themselves like opposing streams that didn’t mix to create two orbs of power. They were unlike anything I’d ever seen and the mana inside them continued moving in constant, every-changing streams.
There was a great hiss that accompanied his words as he pressed his hand to his cloak-covered chest. “My name is Shamash. I offer you my service in exchange for knowledge. It is the knowledge of magic that I seek. You and I will share in all that you discover. Before negotiations take place, you must first hear the law of the lich.
“The lich do not kill except in self-defense.
“The lich do not gift magic, only knowledge.
“The lich will save a life only once.
“The lich are forbidden from breaching any contract.
“These rules cannot be broken. Do you have questions?”
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “I understand.”
He began sinking down from his risen state overhead until he was only a foot from my face. Stepping back with a spin, his hand swept across the floor as he bowed. A table of stone with two matching chairs appeared behind him. “Come, child. Join me and we will discuss your future, and mine.”
Chapter 3 – The Lich’s Contract
Sitting across the table from the undead lich, I wasn’t repelled by his look but entranced. The many kinds of magic that swirled around the balls of his eyes should’ve been reacting with one another, but somehow they held their own form. It was as if he was putting on this spectacle of mana control to further humble me as the negotiations began.
“The typical contract is simple,” he said.
I found it impossible to know what he was looking at by looking at his eyes for he had no pupils, but I was able to feel his gaze like a gentle force. Whether it was for effect, or just how his eyes worked, everything about him exuded power. Power that I needed.
An unrolled scroll of aged parchment appeared in his hand. As he turned his hand palm up, the scroll began to unroll itself. At first, it was impossible to read the language that was written on its surface. It was a handwritten script that flowed from letter to letter with numerous sharp turns making it seem vulgar. It was gone in a moment. The script rearranged itself into English. It was impeccably handwritten cursive.
“Magic contracts do not allow for loopholes in the same way you are used to on the surface world,” he continued. “This magic predates even the Lich. It’s governed by what we call the spirit of the law. When a party adds a condition, the contract doesn’t just copy the letters that are written, but also the person’s intention. That makes it almost impossible for either party to cheat the other. Study it for a moment. It will appear in a language that you can understand.”
I did as he said.
The Lich’s Contract
In accordance with the Law of the Lich, Shamash hereby offers you his service in exchange for any and all knowledge of magic that is discovered during your time together.
After retrieving the requested item from Lord Darius’s Master Vault and returning it to Head Mistress Lilith, you agree to build a new tomb for the Ireki Wraith and resurrect him. At that time, Shamash will be given full access to the Wraith to question him at length. When all of his knowledge is extracted, this contract will be complete, and a new contract must be established if both parties wish to continue their partnership.
Shamash agrees to help Elorion in his travels to the best of his ability.
The law of the Lich was listed below. It was all written in surprisingly plain language and didn’t try to overly define every term listed. There was one more section at the bottom of the page.
The penalty for breaking the above agreement is as follows. A self-imposed tracking spell will be cast during the signing of this contract. It will activate only if the contract is broken and will continue until both parties meet face to face and a resolution is made.
The penalty was far different from what I expected. There was no sudden death spells or bodily harm clauses. I couldn’t tell how it was much of a penalty for him. If he betrayed me, what exactly could I do to him if I did follow the tracking spell to find him? When he said that I was still a young child at best, I believed him, and knew that he was far beyond me in power.
The conclusion I’d come to after spending time thinking about what I should add to the contract was that it really didn’t matter. If another contract he’d already made overrode my own, there was nothing I could do about it. I’d still try.
“You’ve said that there is no exception to the Law of the Lich, but wouldn’t it benefit you simply to teach me magic?” I said, studying his reaction.
The purple energy that made up his cheeks pulled back, drawing his mouth into a fine line. “Even so, this is the law that lich live by.”
Just as if I’d met a genie, I continued to press him. Sure, I couldn’t wish for more wishes, but I had to at least try to wish that I could wish for more. He didn’t give way.
“What of the penalty? If you break our contract, or betray me, will you then teach me magic?” I said.
“Yes,” he said immediately.
“What? Yes?”
“If I break our contract then I’ve already broken the law. When a Lich comes into being, they are created through a similar contract. If I break our contract and in so doing break the law, I die. In the time before I perish, it is only fitting that I pass on what I can.”
It felt cruel saying it, but I asked anyway. “Can we add that to the contract?”
It was possible that what he was telling me wasn’t true, or that his contract with the Head Mistress would override it, but I wasn’t so certain of his betrayal any longer. If a lich were created through a magical contract, then wouldn’t the one that he signed to become a lich be his first and override one with Lilith? Either that, or I was just overthinking everything.
He agreed to add it to the penalties section. That wasn’t all I had added. You will be loyal to me above all of your past partnerships. If someone comes along that shows more promise of discovering magical knowledge than I, you will remain loyal to me until our contract is complete. You will never knowingly lie to me.
As I made my list, he reassured me that it wasn’t necessary, but added them to the contr
act anyways. The contract wouldn’t just copy the author’s intention, but the intention of both parties and only allow the contract to be signed if they understood one another.
Travis had transformed back into his human form before we were finished. It had taken longer than I thought. Instead of requesting to join us, he stayed in his own territory willingly. He dressed himself and didn’t seem to be paying us much attention. Instead, he pulled a practice spear from his inventory and put his abilities on display as he trained.
When it came time to sign, the lich first signed himself then held out the pen he’d written with. It was perfectly smooth and round with a bone white shaft. As I took it from his hand and he slid the contract in front of me, I felt as much as I saw that the pen was actually made of bone. Its tip was as sharp as that of a needle, but it had never touched the page as he made his strokes. It produced some kind of mana ink.
Shamash warned me before I used it. “Signing your name will activate the contract and also pull the necessary mana from you through the pen to cast the foundation for the tracking spell. As it says, it will only activate if the contract is broken.”
With a nod, I pressed the pen to the paper and its tip glowed with green mana. I felt it drain me of a small bit of energy that it used to power itself. It was interesting to know that it could use my Light Mana and convert it to Nature.
As I lifted the pen from the page, the contract flashed brightly for only a second before returning to what looked like a normal piece of parchment.
“And it is complete,” the lich said before rolling it up and placing it in his inventory. “Now, I’d recommend you complete your power leveling for your Primordial Cat Form. After that, we must decide which school of magic would best suit your friend. Our choices are limited on the Dungeon Level, and whatever he chooses will limit what he’ll be able to do with other elements. You will also have the option of learning the element he chooses, but are you familiar with how learning one school of magic will limit what you can learn with the others?”
“It’s been a while, but I’ve read a book that explained it. I believe the author was Boris Cuddlehead…”
“Coddlehead,” he corrected me. “That werecat was as much of an egomaniac as the rest of his race, but his explanation should be sufficient. When you reach your form’s max level, we will discuss it further.”
“Very well. Is there anything Travis can do to improve his training while he waits?” One of my many stipulations was that the lich would help my friends in the same way he would me unless I said otherwise.
He’d returned his hood to its place over his head. “Not much, but I’ll help him where I can.”
“Thank you.”
“I won’t ever need your thanks, only knowledge. It’s not necessary for you to waste your words…”
I shrugged. “I don’t see it as a waste. I’m thankful, so I say thank you.”
He bowed his head as if accepting what I’d said, even if he didn’t agree.
I walked with him to the edge of the amber bubble he’d closed around us. Through it I saw Travis who was deep in training. With a wave of his hand, the lich drew back the energy field so that we could walk through. Travis stopped the moment the opening appeared. He’d been waiting.
“Hey,” he called out. “Are we leaving?”
“Soon,” I said. “I have a little training left to do before and Shamash here might have some advice to help you out.”
He turned to the lich, narrowing his eyes. “Okay…”
The lich floated toward him and I left them to return to my own training territory. Travis might not be comfortable learning from the lich, but he was as pragmatic as I was. He’d take whatever he could get.
The contract with the lich was signed. Now I had to figure out how to manage training and my limited time. The longer it took me to finish this quest, the longer I’d be away from Sanctuary and Aeris. Once I’d finished, I’d return to the Head Mistress’s Labyrinth and pay her a visit. One way or another, I would get my fiancé back.
Glancing back at Travis, I thought of Kylie. It wasn’t just Aeris that was gone, but half of our entire party. Heat took over.
Chapter 4 – Quest Difficulty
Heat licked against the amber forcefield that hid me from the outside world. Like the tongue of a fire demon, the heat jumped off of me, lashing about in its lustful dance, but never finding satisfaction because its way was blocked. It had taken me two full days to finish off the last couple levels of my Primordial Cat Form. I felt my form start to diminish as the tongue of its heat whimpered and soon faded.
Primordial Cat
Level: Max
Cost: 20,000 Mana Per Second (2,000 with buffs)
HP: NA (See Magma Manipulation.)
Strength: +10,000, +100% Strength
Dexterity: +10,000, +100% Dexterity
Special Abilities: Body of Magma, Magma, Manipulation, Magma Regeneration.
Body of Magma: Your body is transformed into one that consists entirely of magma.
Magma Manipulation: Because your being exists within a magma state, you have full control over the magma itself. Harden or soften your body at will.
Magma Regeneration: If magma is displaced from your body, you are able to return to your Primordial Cat form indefinitely, unless 75% of your magma is lost.
Note: You do not take damage to your HP. Any attack that removes or separates magma from your body leaves you weaker.
It was only possible to push this form so far because of my Master Mind Buff. It allowed me to buff my Wisdom past 10,000, giving me a colossal boost in my maximum mana and mana per minute. It also pushed my Intelligence to 7,215, just 2,785 stat points from 10,000 as well. One thing hadn’t changed with my Light Magic Mastery. There was a limit to how far I could push my buffs. Pushing Master Mind Buff a little harder to reach that 10,000 was still too costly. To add another 300 stat points to the 10x Master Mind Buff I was using would cost twice its current mana. Then for each additional 300 stat points on top of that it would double again with each linear increase. In order to reach 10,000 Intelligence I would need to push my buff to 18x, which would cost an insane 19,660,800 mana per minute. It was technically possible, but I’d run out of mana too quickly to make any use of it. With enough leveling it would eventually become feasible. But going even further and pushing my stats into the 100,000 range was literally impossible.
Shamash stepped through the energy barrier with Travis in tow.
“Congrats, man,” Travis said. I noted that his normal lightheartedness was still missing.
The lich’s enthusiasm surprisingly made up for it. “Very good. Both of you. It’s been decades since I’ve had such willing pupils. Now we must discuss your next steps.” He brought his boney hands together and rubbed them. It sounded like the grinding of teeth.
I wasn’t exactly sure how I was supposed to respond to the eerie display. I saw it written all over Travis’s face that he was thinking the same thing. In the end, I managed a kindly grin.
“Come,” he said, waving me closer. “There’s something you both must see.”
I closed the distance between us to stand before him.
Looking from one of us to the other, the lich seemed to be considering us for a moment. “I’m going to cast a spell that will allow you to see a memory of mine. Because it affects the mind, it won’t work unless you allow the magic to pass through your mental defenses.”
“Hold on,” I replied. “There’s magic that affects the mind? Like mind control, confusion, berserk…” I’d wondered in the past why the Underworld seemed to be lacking mind altering spells that were so common in roleplaying games.
“There is, but they aren’t commonly used for any practical purpose. Even the weakest creatures have an innate defense against intruders. Some beasts can be controlled, but any creature with sentience is practically immune. If someone were to try to force their way into your head with excess mana, the mana itself would harm your physical body
before it would ever affect your mind. In other words, a powerful creature is more likely to kill a weaker one when trying to force their way in instead of actually gaining access.
“There are ways around this, of course. To control someone, become more powerful than they are and force them into submission without mind control. If you want to confuse someone, use magic that affects their vision or that attacks their internal ear. For berserk, taunt them or call their mother names. The best way to affect the mind is to attack it indirectly, not by trying to force your way in with magic.”
On one hand, I heard what he was saying and understood it, but on the other, after seeing how powerful magic was in the Underworld, it didn’t make a lot of sense. Compared to some of the most over the top fantasy games, magic here was incredibly powerful and games with even less powerful magic often included mind altering abilities. Yet he was saying that even the most powerful creatures couldn’t directly affect a weak creature’s mind… I suppose it was something to rejoice about if it was true.
“What about Force Learn?” I wondered aloud. “When used, it’s like I’m transported inside of a person.”
Underworld - Vampire Gate: A LitRPG Series Page 2