That wasn’t to say that Queen Degima and my Embar let them be. My golems were content to sit back and wait, but they weren’t as willful as the other two. My Embar only charged when it got bored. Other times it lay down and seemed to care less about the lesser monsters. Degima was different.
Even though I’d insisted that she was free to do as she wished, she’d stuck closely to the original rules I’d set down as law when she’d still been our enemy. Now that I’d asked her to watch our backs, she took to it like a woman possessed. She’d wait for any groups of mobs to gather and grow comfortable first. She stalked toward them slowly, trying not to alert them before she was about an eighth of a mile away. Launching a spear at them, she charged before it had even reached its destination. She approached them as a wise hunter and systematically disposed of all but the strongest prey. Any enemy over level 1,500 seemed to irritate my undead Embar. Degima would first wait for it to attack, then join in the fight afterward.
I watched as a Fire Aura pushed past the physical barrier of her spear as she gutted a Were-swine. Even though her mana and the mana of her weapon were the same, the principles Leeman had taught us applied to her as well. She’d been listening? How much did she now understand?
Transforming into a Hatchling Metal Dragon was a strange mix between embarrassing and incredible. I shifted into the form of a man-sized lizard. Because tin was the only metal available to me during the first 50 levels, I was quite literally a mobile tin can. In all seriousness, I was tougher than a tin can because I wasn’t hollow, and my body was much thicker than that. If I wasn’t careful though, I could scratch up my belly just by dragging it against the rough ground. Even though there was a Strength and Constitution buff while using the form, I had already decided I wouldn’t use it until it had at least reached the next rank—maybe even the one after that.
The form still had a lot of promise, so I kept at it. Even if it was one of my more expensive forms, it wasn’t unmanageable. I was able to cast it with a bit of extra mana to speed the leveling process while continuing to refine mana.
Before I had reached level 50, I heard Travis stir. I turned from my seat at the top of the stairs to see him open his eyes. He blinked several times then began to take in his surroundings. He saw me as I approached and stretched his arms before getting up. He was standing when I reached him. I could see no visible difference.
“How do you feel?” I said.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” he replied. “It’s like being nauseous except it doesn’t hurt…”
“Well done,” Shamash said, floating over to us quickly. “This sub-element is trickier than I remembered, but you bore with it. Study the skill-tree but remember that Mana Manipulation allows you many more options than the obvious. You’ll need to advance multiple spells to grow Metal in Rank, but unique uses of magic can also help you advance. These unique uses will be essential if you want to apply your magic fully to your natural melee-centric talents.”
Hitting Travis solidly on the shoulder armor, I forced him back a step. He was confused until he saw the look I was giving him. “Show me what you got.”
With his list of available spells in front of him, he responded by casting. The skin of his face began turning grey. A few seconds later, he was the same color as my Hatchling Metal Dragon.
He gave me a tin wink. “Oh, and for more mana…” His tin skin began to warm and darken until he was the color of copper wire. There was a sheen to his flesh that caught the light.
He dropped the spell a moment later, his attention having been stolen by whatever he was reading. He held up his armorless hand and cast a different spell. It bypassed tin and copper as his fingers joined together and extended into one long spike of bronze.
“Not bad,” I said. He was already capable of manipulating three different metals as opposed to my one.
“There’s one more.”
Holding out his hand, palm out, he began to cast. The spell delay was understandable, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been when the rest of us had first entered the Underworld. He already had 1,000 Intelligence and Wisdom after all. A spike of bronze began to form above his palm over a few seconds. It was little more than the size of my index finger. As soon as it had taken shape, it shot forward. Its momentum slowed within six feet and it fell. It made it twenty feet before it hit the ground, but it would only cause damage to something close up.
I heard Travis cringe as much as saw him. He was disappointed, but I reminded him it was only level one and would still do a job on most creature’s weak spots.
“It’s time to start thinking about whether you’re going to stay here and wait for the other humans, or leave,” Shamash said, dumping a bucket of water on Travis’s party. “Leaving one or two of your golems would be enough to guard the Metal Dragon’s body so that you can keep your word about protecting it for them.”
“Is there any chance that the human council won’t decide to take us into custody?” I replied.
“I don’t know,” the lich admitted. “I haven’t been privy to human nature long enough to dare to make a guess. I suspect different cultures could make your people act differently. Being human, you’d know better than I would.”
“I trust Leeman and Amilia,” Travis replied.
“So do I,” I said with a sigh. “It's not them I’m worried about.”
“If there is any chance, why stay?” Shamash said, resting his glare upon me.
“It could give the others a chance to go home.”
Travis nodded in agreement, but his eyes didn’t meet mine. He knew what coming with me would mean. He’d have to become stronger, which would mean being unable to return to the surface world. I’d already made peace with having to stay here. If possible, I needed to find a way to leave him behind. Not because I wanted to lose his company, but because he was my friend and it was the right thing to do—even if he despised me for it.
“We wait for them,” I said, making up my mind.
“Then both of you, get busy,” the lich commanded. “Elorion, you know what to do, but be ready to heal your friend in case mana sickness kicks in. Metal dog,” he said, turning to Travis, “I’m going to work with you. We need to get you to Intermediate Metal Magic as soon as possible, and if you just try this and that, it will take you a month or more. With my help, two days might be enough.”
Travis had spent enough time with Shamash to grow comfortable around him but rarely had he had more than a short conversation with the lich. Now that he was facing a couple of days with him, he didn’t know how to respond and just stood there momentarily blinking.
“You got this,” I said.
He opened his mouth in a half-grin as if to laugh, but nothing came out. As he followed Shamash, he turned back to me like a fearful pup.
Somehow I managed not to laugh.
Chapter 32 – Pretty Please
I felt Leeman and Amilia’s return long before they arrived. There were close to a dozen people with them if I counted correctly. Sensing Light Magic from a distance was as easy as I’d always been told. Perhaps it was even easier for me because I was a Light Mage, but I couldn’t be too sure. It was also just as likely that the reason I could pinpoint them so easily was that Light Magic was so rare in the Underworld. It might even be simpler than that. It could be considered good etiquette by the people of the Illuminated Cathedral to reveal themselves when they were going to be arriving soon.
Cutting my mana to my Metal Dragon Form, I began to shrink in size before resembling a human once again. The Form had ranked up from Hatchling to Yearling just this morning—eight days since our friends had left. I’d been channeling excess mana to it so that it would level faster. In its Yearling Rank, the form was little bigger than I was. It had some good progress, but I still had no idea how many ranks I had to go to reach Adolescent.
Metal Dragon Form
Rank: Yearling
Level: 6
Cost: 200,000 Mana Per Minute (20,000 with buffs)<
br />
Strength: +75%, +1,000
Constitution: +75%, +1,000
Special Abilities: Metal Body, Magnetism, Weapon Formation
Metal Body: Your body is now made out of metal. You’re able to manipulate the kind of metal as you progress.
Metals Available: Tin, Copper, Bronze
Tin Properties: Resists Corrosion, Lightning, and Heat. Weak against hotter and colder temperatures. Lowest physical resistance available to Metal Dragons. It is the foundation for many alloys available at higher Ranks.
Copper Properties: Resists Corrosion, and extreme Lightning, and Heat Damage. Low physical resistance. It is the foundation for many alloys available at higher Ranks.
Bronze Properties: Resists Corrosion, and lesser Lightning, and Heat Damage. Good physical resistance. Unable to cause sparks.
Magnetism: Depending on Metals Available, you’re able to manipulate their magnetic force—attracting objects affected by magnets toward you or repelling them.
Weapon Formation: You’re able to manipulate your Metal at the cost of Mana to form weapons in any shape and on any part of your body.
Next Level:
Next Metal obtained at level 50
In its first Hatchling Rank, the form’s mana cost had gone down to 10,000 MPM with buffs. But now that it has reached the Yearling Rank, it had gone up to 20,000 MPM again. It was the first of my forms to have done that. It had also gained an extra 1,000 to Strength and Constitution, so it wasn’t without benefits. The biggest positive had been gaining access to more Metals. I’d received Copper at Hatchling Rank Level 50 and Bronze when it had ranked up. A Bronze Body was the first one that I felt comfortable enough with to use in a fight.
Because of the distinct Metals the Form offered, it made me wonder what the Adolescent Metal Dragon was actually made of. It didn’t seem to be any specific metal I knew of, but something unique. The entire dungeon was made up of this same substance. If the Illuminated Cathedral chose it above common metals like Bronze and Steel, it certainly was something worth looking into.
I descended the stairs from the overlook that held the Metal Vein with Travis at my side. He’d been practicing Metal while in his Werewolf Form, but his control was now strong enough that he could return to his human form at will. He was still a good 20 levels from reaching the Intermediate Rank with his new school of magic, but in two days he’d come a long way from casting the school’s three basic spells.
He put a gauntlet on his right hand to protect it while wielding his spear. His left hand he left bare so that he could manipulate it with Metal if the need arose. It made as good a shield as a weapon when he cast it.
I remained in my now normal Ascended Human Form. I was still keeping Master Mind Buff active constantly. My skeletal armor was the only thing I wore. My bonus-giving Light scepter was enveloped inside of it, so I continued to get its buffs. I cast Rog Form over the outside of my armor and hardened it to make my skeletal armor look less imposing. We had our helmets off for the same reason.
Standing in front of the hill-sized Metal Dragon’s corpse, we lined up and waited for them to come. Travis was on my right and Shamash was on my left. Queen Degima stood next to the lich and my Embar towered over Travis on the other side. I had my three golems fill in behind us.
Shamash had offered to change to his human form, but we ended up agreeing that even a hint of deception was probably worse than him remaining as he was. Leeman and Amilia had likely reported that he was with us anyways. Disguising him now would just bring unnecessary attention to him and could work against us.
The company from the Illuminated Cathedral entered the cavern through the same entrance we had. It was approximately a mile away on the other end of the dungeon. Even at that distance, I could see the immense Light Aura the person leading the company was giving off. He was like a bonfire in the dark of night.
I had a decision to make. Using Creature Observation on each of the dozen or so humans when they drew near would give me a better idea of what we were dealing with. It would also give the Head Mistress more information on enemies of hers, but our possible allies. As much as it pained me to hold back, I didn’t cast it when they came into range. If they became hostile, I’d have a small window to cast it, but if they were friendly, I’d try to feed Lilith as little information as possible.
The leader of the troop wore the same Metal Armor that Leeman and Amilia did, except there was a sleeveless white robe with blue trim draped over it that reached down to his feet. He looked like a warrior priest. His face was long—longer than Amilia’s—with sharp slits for eyes and a strong brow that emphasized his glare.
I was pleased to see Leeman and Amilia walking with him. Those that followed behind them had their helmets equipped. I’d withhold my judgment for now even if the show of strength was obvious.
“You must be Elorion,” the leader said, voice void of any accent, stopping just within talking distance. He must have communicated with people on the surface often to sound so modern. “I am Bishop Mather.” He bowed his head as he introduced himself, but his eyes never left me.
“Welcome, Bishop,” I replied, shifting to the side to present the Metal Dragon’s corpse. “I believe this is why you’re here.”
“Yes. Yes. We will get to business soon enough. That is not why I’ve personally come.”
I did my best not to show any signs of apprehension. I swallowed slowly, hoping it wasn’t obvious that I was trying to hide it.
“I’m here to see if what was reported was true.” He narrowed his eyes. “Have you unlocked the Solar True Form?”
I nodded, not in response, but to prepare them for what I was about to do. Holding out my arms, I drew back my skeletal armor and Rog Form, leaving them bare. I watched the bishop and saw his posture change. So he really was interested…
The flesh of my arms transformed before their eyes. The glimmer of light challenged the brightness of the bishop’s aura. Almost universally, the soldiers behind the bishop and my friends took a step back.
Leeman let out a chuckle. “Is it not as we said?”
“Quite,” the bishop spat. He held his hand by his chest and his fingers danced as if he wanted to reach out and touch me. “And the Life True Form?”
Just as with Solar Mage, I directed my mana so my mind wouldn’t undergo the transformation and my Master Mind Buff would remain. The particles of light that made up my flesh condensed in an instant and were suddenly changed. The milky white of Life Surgeon and my threads shot from my hands.
Stumbling forward, the bishop caught himself. “It is true. An Undefiled with two True Forms.” Forgetting any semblance of manners, he nearly tore his gauntlet from his hand and walked forward to touch the end of one of my threads. I willed myself not to intrude into his system. If I’d wanted him dead, now was my chance. It passed a few seconds later as he came back to his senses. I returned to my Ascended Human Form.
Leeman didn’t hide his smirk, but Amilia did a better job of hiding hers.
“How can this be…?” the bishop said. “I saw the Solar True Form when I was a child. Once. Bishop Winthrop died soon after. He was one of the last elders alive that had survived the Dimming Light.” He saw my confusion and, with a squint of his eye, explained. “It is what we call the Illuminated Cathedral’s collapse.”
“He lived a thousand years?” Travis blurted out.
“Nine hundred and twenty. That was over eighty years ago.”
I glanced at Travis with Mana Sight at full power, seeing his amazement. I was just as excited but quickly turned back to keep my eyes on the bishop and his men.
“You must return with us,” the bishop said bluntly. “We can study this magic, together. You can help bring about a new age of enlightenment for the Illuminated Cathedral—”
“For everyone in the Illuminated Cathedral?” A voice rose up from behind the soldiers. Making his way through their midst as they parted for him, a person I hadn’t noticed joined us. He wasn’t blonde a
nd long-faced, but stocky and homely looking. There was a brown mat of hair on his head and the wrinkles by his eyes and mouth made it clear he was most comfortable smiling.
“Oh, please. Of course I mean for all,” Bishop Mather said, chewing his lip. “Elorion, this is Pastor Whitfield. He is a Protestant leader and member of the council. I’m sure he’s here to help and not just hinder our mission.”
“I’m sure he is too,” Whitfield said, stepping past the bishop to offer me his hand. Instead of wearing the thick Metal Armor, he wore a faded green shirt over matching pants. I would have thought they were junk except for the strong glow of Nature Mana coming from them. “When I heard what you’ve gone through, I had to come.”
I looked between the two men, taking in the bishop’s annoyance. It wasn’t hostility I sensed, but they were obviously political opponents. It was just as Leeman and Amilia had planned. Whether Pastor Whitfield just wanted to keep the Catholics in check, or he believed we should be free to make our own decision, it was too soon to tell. Either way, befriending him could be the best path forward. Leaving here without a fight and with the beginning stages of an alliance would be nice. I shook his hand.
Whitfield took my hand firmly, then held me there. “The bishop is right. Come with us and we will find a way to remove your magic chains. We will not stop there. You have my word that I will do everything in my power to help you get your fiancé back.”
I pulled my hand back and he released it. “Do you have the power to enter the Succubi city and secure her safety?”
“I don’t.”
“Then I can’t go with you.”
He spun on his heels and addressed the bishop. “And there you have it. He can’t go with us.”
Underworld - Vampire Gate: A LitRPG Series Page 26