I took moments to examine him to try and figure out how his body used mana differently than a magic-user. He was starting to remind me of the elder goblin more and more. It seemed his mana and stamina worked together, or maybe converted from one form to the other depending on his needs. It happened so seamlessly that I couldn’t determine how the process worked, just that it did.
For all the talk about my Dark Magic Forms, I was saving them. While Travis was unlocking Metal, I’d have time to waste, so I might as well use that opportunity for some more power-leveling.
When we reached the last dungeon before our destination, I took a hands-off approach and let Travis go wild. From a spot high overhead, I kept watch as he bolted back and forth, wreaking havoc on the groups of supposedly hidden Drakyrds that had turned the dungeon into their nest.
It was Dexterity against Dexterity when they did reveal themselves, but he’d far surpassed the level 1,000 creatures. The dungeon’s floor was like a giant stone sponge. It was nice and level except for random crevasses throughout the entire area. The Dark Magic Vein wasn’t out in the open or behind a temple this time around. It was buried deep in a crevasse near one side of the room.
The vein wasn’t our concern anyways. Werewolf Travis massacred with his spear in hand. His Intelligence and Wisdom dramatically improved his Spear Wall and Energy Spear abilities. With half a dozen Drakyrds emerging from a crevasse at once, my friend had twenty feet to clear in order to reach them. A single thrust of his spear channeled with power launched a wall of countless spears in a full half circle around him, sending the Drakyrds back into their hole with numerous puncture wounds apiece. Suffice it to say, he made short work of the monsters until the mother of all Drakyrds appeared from the crevasse containing the vein.
At level 2,130, she had the Dexterity to give him a real problem. He was a good 100 feet away when she appeared, which gave him some space to build up speed. She waited for him as if to counter when his spear extended further than I thought possible. She was as surprised as I was as his spear’s energy point punctured her lizard-like eye.
I half expected that to be the end of it, but his spear didn’t pierce deep enough to reach her brain, or it was in a different place. She crouched low, readying to pounce when a series of extended spears pressured her. Every other one found its mark, punching deep holes into her tough hide.
Travis kept his distance and continued to pester her until he seemed to tire. The Drakyrd tore the ground as she sprang at him. She opened her dragon-like jaws with a shriek to bite him in two. She was just about large enough to pull it off.
The werewolf stood still as if he’d exhausted himself as she sped toward him. After he saw that she’d fully committed, he leaped to the side, swinging his spear toward the bottom of her jaw. The blow didn’t force her mouth shut, but it did push her head back. With her throat revealed, Travis sprang forward himself. His spear was out wide, useless to him at that moment. He didn’t need it. Energy formed around the claws of his empty hand. Using them like a blade, he jabbed them into the Drakyrd’s open throat. Just as with his spear, energy extended from his attack and the shaft of an Energy Spear exited the back of the monster’s neck in a spray of blood.
I flew down to meet him and was greeted with Werewolf thumbs up. Forced Learn hadn’t gained me anything new.
“Does this mean you’re going to give in to the mullet?” I said, giving him a big grin.
“Not a chance,” he replied. “But if you want to grow one as a member of my fan club…”
Rubbing the back of my skeletal helmet, I couldn’t help but cringe. “Maybe the mullet was a bad idea.”
“Maybe…”
I opened my mouth to respond but decided to change the topic. “I think congratulations are in order for clearing your first dungeon alone.” I gave him a heal.
“Thanks, man. I think for my reward I’ll let you do most of the looting here.”
He wasn’t excited about cutting open a bunch of Drakyrds to fish out their Dark Orbs. Because of their Dark Mana, it was actually dangerous for him to do so but still possible with his gauntlets. “But looting them is your reward for all of your hard work.”
“Nah. I’m just going to sit here and decide how to spend all my new stat points. Level 1,512!” He happily gave me a nice view of his pearl white fangs.
I’d only gained 2 levels from sitting back and letting him fight. Shaking my head, I began to slice the dark magic creatures open and fish out their orbs. Since I was the only one that would utilize the orbs, and I couldn’t share the benefits of Draining their bodies, how could I complain? Besides, there were only hundreds of them, not thousands. I’d be finished soon enough and then we could head to our true objective. It was about time to find out what unlocking a school of magic was really all about.
Chapter 23 – Mechs
There didn’t seem to be any limit to how long Travis could stay in his Werewolf Form now that he’d gained control of it. He left me to my experimentation while scouting the path on the last leg of our journey to the Metal Vein. With 10,000 Dexterity, he seemed to have boundless energy. It wasn’t necessary for him to check back with us every minute or so, but he was doing it anyway. I knew it was for his own training, and also because he was simply enjoying his new speed. It didn’t make our going stealthy, but the golems and the odd assortment of characters in our company didn’t help either.
For the most part, my Light Magic use was being kept to a minimum. The creation of Light Orbs wasn’t exactly an untraceable spell, but because it required a steady flow and not a large burst of mana, it was relatively safe. Even with my Master Mind Buff active, having multiple layers of defense made up of Crimson Incubus, Rog, Dark Shroud, and my skeletal armor hid my Light Mana as well.
I’d fallen into an interesting training routine almost naturally as I tried to power level everything at once. My mana spun inside of me and Succubi’s Caress was nearing its next rank. I was utilizing my tail with finger-like claws on its end to catch the orbs I was creating with Core Creation, or to hold the ones I was draining. The process was repetitive enough that I no longer had to give it much thought. Even the Intermediate Light Orbs were easy for me. I stuck to creating Intermediate ones since they gave my ability more experience and switched between absorbing the Light and Dark Orbs. It was much like pacing back and forth while having a conversation, while also playing with something in your hands. It actually increased my focus on what I was giving most of my attention to.
Covering my left hand was Crimson Incubus Form and Dark Shroud. My right was bare without Form or magic. In my left hovered a ball of Dark Mana. In my right, Light. Straining my mana manipulation skills to the limit, I drew the smallest beads I could manage of each alignment from each ball and brought them together with telekinetic flare. I prepared Forced Learn as they neared one another before me. I’d already tried this before, even with Time Crawl active. I wasn’t sure how many hours had passed as I studied Cataclysm from every angle I could.
The moment they came together, the red and purple of wild devastation crackled. I aimed for the center of the storm. I’d already studied both magics’ transformation into Cataclysm which left me with more questions than answers. My aim seemed perfect, but as I’d found many times already, it evaded my mana sense as if it were no longer mana at all. It was as if I’d suddenly appeared in the midst of a supernova as it was happening. I was floating in the void between.
If I couldn’t use Mana Sight and its variants to observe Cataclysm, did that mean I was witnessing the death of mana? Was the reaction so violent that it destroyed itself? The cloud-like residue after the Cataclysmic explosion seemed to make that untrue. I still wasn’t sure how closely magic followed the rules of the natural world, but the first law of thermodynamics says that energy can’t be created or destroyed. I wanted to attribute the same characteristics to magic, but I wasn’t sure if I could.
My instinct told me that Cataclysm was much like Fire. It was a reaction.
When the two fuels of Light and Dark came together, they combusted. That’s what I believed I was seeing with my eyes, but why was I easily able to observe Fire through Mana Sight, but not Cataclysm?
I’d first believed it had just been happening too fast to see it with a normal method but using Time Crawl had revealed that that wasn’t the case. I was even beginning to suspect the improbable, like maybe there was a spiritual realm since Light and Dark were considered spiritual magics, and the reaction was only truly observable there. I didn’t have evidence of one existing, but I’d examine it from every angle and little else made sense.
I drew back my perceptions as Travis returned from scouting ahead. I only gave him a moment of my attention before dismissing him. He hadn’t reported anything in the last hour, so I assumed this time would be the same. I was wrong.
“Elorion!” he called, yanking my attention out of my musings. I dismissed both balls of mana and covered my hands with every layer of protection.
“What’s up?” I said, finding it uncanny that he wasn’t even breathing hard. Such things should no longer surprise me, but at times they still did.
“There’s a soldier standing in the middle of the path about a quarter-mile ahead. It’s almost as if he knows we’re coming.”
“A soldier?”
“Uh, yeah. Maybe warrior is a better fit. I’m not sure what race he is, but he’s a humanoid with the heaviest set of armor I’ve ever seen—a literal tank.”
Turning to Shamash, I asked for his advice.
“It seems it may have been a mistake to leave your Light Magic exposed for so long. It’s possible that there’s a young settlement out here that’s claimed the Metal Vein. We should approach cautiously, but our objective has not changed.”
“Then let’s see what this guy wants,” I said.
I dismounted since I hadn’t had an opportunity to fight while riding my Embar. Which reminded me. He still needed a name. I’d waited this long because I was going to ask Aeris if she had any ideas once we got back into range.
The tunnel we were following was mostly a straight shot for as far as the eye could see. We walked for a few minutes before the armor-clad warrior came into view. His armor was exceptionally thick. Much like the exaggerated kind you might see in a video game for aesthetic purposes. I was sure his wasn’t just for looks. The mana radiating off of him, and his armor, was silver in color, though it moved slower than the similar colored Wind Mana, and the way it moved was different. Wind Mana settled like a cloud and was easily jostled by other mana when they collided. This mana had a consistent aura that extended about six inches from its source, the armor, and pushed aside any other mana in the air that blew against it.
This must be Metal.
The guy’s helmet covered every inch of his face and neck with seamless metal that followed the shape of his head. There was no decorative comb, or crest, only a faceplate that fit close to the warrior’s face. I didn’t see any other forms of mana leaking out, so I suspected he could also be a Metal Mage as well.
We came to a stop about twenty feet away. Travis was in his Werewolf Form, and I in my Ultimate with an outside layer of Skeletal Titan’s Defense. Creature Observation gave me some of the strangest information I’d ever received.
Unknown
Level: Unknown
Stats: Unknown
Description: Exorbitantly large armor that likely has someone inside. Either that or its joints have been welded together and it’s standing up on its own.
The warrior hadn’t moved an inch since we’d begun our approach. He stood with his feet shoulder width apart and a sword strapped to his back. Besides the handle that was wrapped in dark leather, it seemed to be made of the same Metal infused material that was a similar color to polished steel to the naked eye.
When we stopped, he cautiously reached back and grabbed his sword, pulling it loose. He brought it forward to wield it with both hands. Its blade was straight and sharpened on both edges, rounding to a point. The only remarkable thing about the blade was its size. It was maybe a foot longer than the average longsword and three times as wide. He brought it low in a low guard before arching his head back and calling out.
He spoke in a language that I didn’t know but which wasn’t altogether unfamiliar. It was almost like a harsh French, or maybe French, Spanish, and German all rolled into one with an angry person yelling it at us.
“We really need to learn a language spell,” I said with a snicker.
“Yup,” Travis replied. “He’s probably just a lonely guy that lost his pet turtle and is out looking for him.”
“What?” I burst into a full belly laugh.
“Yeah. Poor guy is probably accusing us of taking his pet, and since we can’t communicate, we’re going to have to kick his butt.”
“It’s Latin,” came a voice as Shamash stepped up to stand beside us.
We both turned to see that the lich had transformed into an old wrinkly human just as the Head Mistress’s lich had done. He looked worse though. It was the paleness of his skin that made him look sickly.
“Latin?” I replied, cutting my laughter short. “That means—”
“He’s human,” the lich said. “It seems we’ve found the human settlement. Or more likely, they’ve found us. I’ll ask him what he wants.”
Before Shamash could say another word, the man spoke again in strangely accented English. “I count one human. And they speak a surface language…”
Who is he speaking to?
Suddenly, the man was yelling at us again. “Demon! Release the human! You have this one opportunity to comply! If not, you die!”
The irony almost brought me to tears as I held my laughter in check. The human he was referring to was Shamash who was disguised as one, and yet the people he was threatening were actually humans disguised as something else. It wasn’t a situation to make light of. There was something about the man and the mystery of his armor. I suspected he was hiding his true ability under its Metal shell.
“Just a moment!” I called back.
“Hand him over without delay, fiend!” the man howled, even angrier than before.
“Should we show him?” I said under my breath so only Travis and Shamash could hear.
“Yes. But be wary,” the lich replied.
Travis and I shared a nod and began to transform. Travis’s helmet was already removed because it wouldn’t fit over his Werewolf snout. Besides that, the rest of his body was covered in armor, but more than enough was still revealed to show his monstrous form. His change happened quicker than my own.
I began by cutting mana to Dark Shroud and only then did I drop my Rog and Crimson Incubus Forms. As my Skeleton General’s Helmet receded from my face, my ascended humanity was revealed.
“They are either heathens or deceivers,” the man said in a mistrustful tone.
“No deceiver could possess such an aura,” responded a female voice as another well-armored person of lesser stature stepped out from behind the warrior. She wielded no sword and began to remove her helmet.
“I wouldn’t put it past a fire illusionist,” the man replied but brought his sword to his shoulder.
With her helmet removed, the woman looked a little older than we did, although that might just be the effect of having higher than the average human’s physical stats. Her blonde hair was pulled back tight against her head to reveal a long elegant face with a strong jawline. She was beautiful, but that was almost expected thanks to the effects of mana in the Underworld. The most surprising thing was that there were other humans at all.
She called out to us. “My name is Amilia of the Illuminated Cathedral. Can I have yours?” She had a similar accent to the man, resembling French, except with some harsher consonants than I’d come to expect.
“Elorion,” I called back.
Travis waved clumsily. “I’m Travis. What’s up?!”
Amilia and the man shared a look. The man soon replied, “I’m Leeman. We will test yo
u. If you pass, we will speak. If not, you will die.”
“Isn’t he the nicest guy you’ve ever met?”
“Careful. I think they’re able to hide their power under their armor.” As I said it, I cast Creature Indicator on Amilia.
Amilia
Level: 11,671
Health Points: 149,100
Mana Points: 22,644,000
Attributes
Strength: 1,213
Dexterity: 1,281
Constitution: 1,491
Intelligence: 45,288
Wisdom: 10,067
“She’s close to level 12,000.”
Travis didn’t say anything in response but swallowed down the knot in the back of his throat.
“This is not a fight you’re ready for,” Shamash whispered. “Agree to the test.”
And agree we did, and they asked us to step forward. Travis and I did as asked and the lich stayed behind. If they were going to do what I thought they were, then it was for the best.
They stopped us halfway there, about ten feet away. The woman had enough mana to kill us many times over if she so desired. I watched her with Mana Sight at full power. I didn’t doubt that they noticed the pooling of mana in my eyes. Still, I wasn’t going to agree to this without some precautions. They didn’t say anything.
Amilia began, “You’re either Illusionists, or one of you is a Blue Mage and the other has been infected with the Were-plight. I will cast Heal on you to confirm that you are not creatures of darkness.”
I knew exactly what Travis was thinking, but he kept his wisecracks to himself.
“Thank you,” I said, not exactly sure why.
I had the sudden urge to turn to the man that was still fully armored and give him a wink just to mess with him. I guessed it said a lot for our mental health that we were still able to find humor in this, after all this time facing life and death. Either that, or we’d both cracked and hadn’t realized it yet.
There was only a subtle build-up of mana in her hand and I breathed easier as I recognized the spell as it was cast on us.
Underworld - Vampire Gate: A LitRPG Series Page 19