It was a few hours before the party slowed down. A few took me up on my offer to Heal them to renew their endurance, but the others, Travis included, wanted to get some sleep. Most of them could go without it for days, some like Russ for weeks, but I understood that sleeping could be rather enjoyable. I wondered if it would be possible for me to ever sleep again. It was unlikely with my natural regeneration. In every logical way, that was a gift, so why did I feel like it was something I’d lost?
When most people had left, I asked Russ to stay with me and had Richard call on Khun to join us. Even though we were outside of the Head Mistress’s barrier, my golems were still standing guard in the tunnel behind us. Shamash had gone into Sanctuary with Travis. Even Queen Degima went with them. She’d caught the eye of some of the single guys and seemed to be enjoying their attention. Perhaps I should have told her to be sure not to stab them…
Russ was wearing a pair of baggy shorts and a skintight t-shirt. He’d been the first one of us to take on a True Form. Its effect had condensed his bulging muscle to tight sinews and his skin and skeletal structure to a substance tougher than humanly possible because of his Constitution Talent. Now that his level was growing, so was his body. Some of the others had overtaken him because he spent so much time crafting, but at level 1,920 he was still a force to be reckoned with.
Russ
Level: 1,920
Health Points: 5,038,500
Attributes
Strength: 1,400
Dexterity: 1,097
Constitution: 10,077
Intelligence: 413
Wisdom: 512
His stats were greatly inflated for his level, but when was he not swinging a hammer? If it wasn’t across the top of a monster’s skull, it was to shape ore to his will. His HP was over ten times that of my own. His talent in the stat made him freakishly hard to kill.
We both leaned against the tunnel wall, hanging out. We chatted at times and were silent at others. Among friends it didn’t matter.
“I have something for you,” I said, holding out my hand.
He lazily looked down. “That’s—”
“A Master Fire Orb. This one is for the forge.” I took out another one. “And this is a Master Metal Orb. I have another couple thousand orbs of different ranks for you to play around with in your experiments. I’m going to be gone for a while, so I thought I’d build you a stockpile. That is, if you’re sure you want to stay.”
He’d eaten so much that he didn’t even bother to roll his eyes. “If Aeris has progressed too far to leave, then there is no way Olivia is going to leave either. You’re stuck with me, man.”
“How many others do you think are going to stay when I give them the news?”
He shrugged and was quiet for a long moment before answering. “I don’t know. Part of me hopes all of them go, but another part hopes that everyone will stay. I don’t have much to return to, to be honest. Here I’m actually needed.”
Pushing off the wall, I hit him on the shoulder. Even without armor, it was little more than a nudge against his Constitution. “Who said we need you?” I began to laugh.
He hit me back, hard. Not that it caused me more than the momentary sensation of a bruise forming. My regeneration healed it before it could even get started. He gave me a wolfish grin. “Just wait until I unlock my First. I’m thinking Metal or Fire—or maybe Earth since the Minotaur blacksmiths have that alignment naturally and they’re some of the best. You’re going to come to me begging for gear.”
“You’re going to give me a discount, right?”
“Depends…”
“Should I start selling you the materials I find instead of giving it to you?”
He cringed. “That’s a low blow.”
We shared a laugh.
It was then that I noticed Khun standing on the other side of the barrier. I suspected he’d been there for a while watching us. What I didn’t expect was what happened next. He stepped through the Head Mistress’s barrier as if it wasn’t even there. No longer did he look like an ethereal Dungeon Spirit. His skin was grey with the slightest pinch of pink pigment. He wasn’t wearing his pirate hat but allowed his hair to flow down his back. It was ghostly white and straight with a slight silver glow that matched the blue-grey of his eyes. He was alive as Russ and me, with an elfin facial structure except for a strong jaw. He wore a simple, long black robe.
He bobbed his head in greeting before saying, “Master. It’s good you’ve returned. Welcome.”
“Khun,” I replied in hushed tones. “You left the dungeon—and you look different…”
“Thanks to the Head Mistress, and now your offerings, Sanctuary has ranked up—twice. It is now a Rank C Dungeon. My look and capabilities have advanced because of you.” His eyes shot to the floor. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but I’m no longer your Master. How’s Russ here doing?”
Khun looked up, considering the blacksmith. “Better than expected.”
Was that a twinge of a smirk I saw in Khun’s expression?
“But we both look forward to your return,” he added.
When I’d left, Khun had been becoming less of a robotic Dungeon Spirit focused solely on dungeon law. Hearing him saying that he looked forward to my return when I was no longer the Dungeon Master contradicted his purpose. I looked at Russ, who wasn’t surprised at all.
“How’s Sanctuary?” I said. “Have you continued to redesign the walls?”
“Has he?” Russ chuckled. “They’re incredible. He first redid the dining area with patterns of food dishes surrounded with wheat and flowers. The images of food are almost life-size and so detailed they make my mouth water. Then he did the bridge with images of our past battles… Well, you’ll just have to finish your quest quickly so you can see it.”
Making a point to look Khun in the eye, I said, “I can’t wait.”
We moved on to business after that. I split up the stockpile of orbs I’d been creating between the two of them, only holding on to a number of Light Orbs for emergency absorption. The rest of the loot I’d acquired I had them help me sort through. Travis had an inventory full and I’d leave him to do what he wished.
The next piece of business was the one I’d been most anticipating, but also most anxious about. I had them send each member of Sanctuary to me one at a time so that I could inform them that there was a chance for them to return home.
After long considering the best way to approach the subject, I’d decided on telling them one at a time so that they’d have as little pressure as possible from the others while making their decision. I had a whole speech laid out about how, if they chose to leave, we’d be nothing but happy for them. Some of us didn’t have much to return to, like Russ. And others, like George our Cave Swine keeper, had a single parent left alive that they felt responsible for.
Losing George would be a big hit to our food processing operation, but, come to find out, more than half of the other guys were helping him daily. It wouldn’t be a total loss. When he informed me he needed to return to the surface if at all possible, I made a point to tell him I’d take care of the rest even though I wouldn’t offer his job to anyone until after they had made their decision to stay or not.
Chris, the blonde Dexterity basher who was sweet on Lydia, had taken over making Healing Potions from her mushroom farm. He was insistent that he wouldn’t even consider it unless she was free to choose as well.
One of the remaining Sledge Brothers, Perry, didn’t even give it much thought and lazily shook his head that he wasn’t going to leave. Skyler actually laughed in my face.
That was everyone except for Steve and Trevon. Mel, I’d already told and he had no interest in leaving.
When I revealed the opportunity to Steve, he already knew what I was going to ask. “I’ll take over for George.”
“George told you?” I replied.
“Nah. I saw him after he met with you and have been listening from the other side of the b
arrier.” He activated Stealth, and I watched him disappear before my eyes. It was easy enough to find him with Mana Sight, but even his mana dimmed while he was hiding. It seemed our Assassin was more proficient with stealth than I’d imagined. He was pointing at the corner of the tunnel that was hidden from where I was standing.
“That’s very roguish of you.”
“I get why you’re telling us one at a time, so I didn’t want to make a scene and just waited my turn.”
“Do you spy on the others often?”
“Not on purpose, but yes. I don’t mean to hide from them, but I’m just more comfortable using Stealth. I’ll just lay back and take a break and the others won’t know I’m there. I stick around our wheat field, so they know I might be around…” He kept gulping repeatedly, revealing his shame.
He didn’t expect what I asked next. “How are they?”
He twisted his head in question.
“The group—how are they doing?” I said.
Taking a deep breath, he looked up to consider it before exhaling slowly. “They’re angry. Even Perry. After the girls were taken, it's like there’s a dark cloud sitting over this place. Having you and Travis return is the first glimpse of light we’ve seen in more than a month.”
“I’m sorry it’s taking me so long. I’ll be leaving soon to finish it and get them back.”
“No one is angry at you. Everyone knows you will take care of business. We just don’t like the whole situation.”
I grinned to show him my gratitude for what he said but changed the subject. “How’s your Lightning Magic coming, by the way?”
“Well…” A spark of electricity jumped from his right eye and hovered their crackling for a few seconds a couple of inches away. My mouth dropped open as the spark looped around to his other eye before bouncing back and tracing its original path. It was as if his eyes were playing volleyball with an electrical spark.
“How do you not go cross-eyed doing that?” I said, leaning forward.
“Practice.” His eyes slammed shut and electricity began crawling all over the skin of his face and neck. “I find using it on the smallest level possible is better for improving my mana control.”
He opened his eyes again and the electricity crawling over his skin was sucked up into a single point about a foot from his face.
I took a step back. “Creepy.”
“Oh yeah?” The ball of electricity leaped toward his face and split into two before diving into his eyes. The whites of his eyes lit up.
“Yup. That’s even worse.”
Trevon was the only one left that I hadn’t talked to. When he arrived, I noticed the blue of his skin was even more pronounced than before. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, but also going barefoot. I suspected his Ice Magic had an interesting effect on his temperature tolerance and even toughness.
When I told him about the opportunity to go home, he froze, though not literally. It was many minutes before he spoke again. “I don’t know. How long do I have to decide?”
“There’s no time limit,” I said, “but you won’t be able to leave after reaching a certain level. I don’t know exactly what that is, but 2,200 is close to the limit.”
He was already level 1,876, so he had some time to think about it. “Whatever you decide, you have my support,” I told him.
I contacted Aeris after he’d left to tell her how it went. There was one, maybe two guys that were interested in leaving.
“I’ve spoken to the girls about it as well,” she said. “Two of them want to leave. Melony is one, which I’m not surprised by, but the other…”
It wasn’t surprising that Melony wanted to go. She was the shyest among the girls, except for maybe Lydia. She also relied upon Kylie, Travis’s girlfriend.
“The other is Kylie,” Aeris said.
I was speechless.
She explained, “Her father was sick when she left. Cancer.”
“I don’t know what to say. I get it. I just don’t know how Travis is going to take it. He’s over level 3,000, so he probably can’t return, but if he can, I can’t imagine him not being here with us…”
“I know. Kylie’s strong too. She helps hold Melony and Jess together. If both Kylie and Melony leave, I don’t know how Jess will make it.”
Ridding my mind of my current doubts, I made Aeris promise me to tell Kylie and Melony that they have my complete support. “When the time comes, I’ll help them return.”
“I’ll tell them. I’ve been thinking. Before you leave for the Vampire Gate, could you stay for a few days longer? Even if I’m stuck here, I don’t want to lose contact with you again. Not yet. It’s easier when I have you to talk to.”
“Of course. I have a few things to work on. You’ll get tired of me in a few days anyway.”
I’d anticipated her laughing in response. When she didn’t, I began to worry.
Chapter 38 – Hard Decisions
“What are you doing?” Zorik said with tension straining his voice.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” I said. “This is just an advanced form of observation. I’ve used it on you numerous times.” That wasn’t exactly true, because Forced Learn was a different use of the Creature Observation ability. I’d only used it on him one time before.
Since he was nervous and not asleep or dead, I channeled 100,000 MP before casting it. I saw the popup saying I’d successfully stolen the Incubus’s Essence.
Seeing that I was no longer looking at him, he said, “That’s it?”
“Yup,” I replied. “We’re done. You can go back to hunting.”
“Whatever.” He sprinted away without another word.
I just shook my head.
Incubus Form
Level: 1
Cost: 5,000 Mana Per Second (500 with buffs)
Strength: +500, +1% Strength
Dexterity: +500, +1% Dexterity
Constitution: +500, +1% Constitution
Special Abilities: Impenetrable Skin (Passive), Hyperactive, Enraged
Impenetrable Skin: A Passive skill where your mana bonds with your skin to form a powerful armor.
Hyperactive: When active, your state of awareness is pushed to the limit for an extended period of time. No mana cost.
Enraged: At the expense of mana, you are able to boost your Dexterity and Strength.
Next Level:
Cost: 4,960 Mana Per Second (496 with buffs)
+1% Strength
+1% Dexterity
+1% Constitution
It was baffling that the normal Incubus Form was so similar to the Crimson Incubus. Besides the obvious lack of Fire Magic, the only skill difference was that in place of Fire Breather was Hyperactive. It was immediately obvious why Zorik was acting the way he was. Since the ability had no mana cost, he must have been keeping it active at all times.
I didn’t waste time and cast Incubus Form for the first time. Before Zorik’s evolution, I had stolen his Imp Form but never bothered to level it up past 95 because I already had Fire Incubus Form at the Crimson Incubus Rank. Earlier, when the normal Incubus Form would have come in handy, I didn’t have access to it because of its Dark Alignment. I’d also wanted to wait just in case stealing Zorik’s Form would also unlock his Water Magic skill tree. Sadly, that didn’t work.
My tone of skin was almost unchanged even after transforming to Incubus. The injected mana had done its magic to turn my skin into powerful armor. I’d need to power level the form to get its cost down, but it had one final drawback that Crimson Incubus didn’t. The normal Incubus Form didn’t have wings. Zorik’s lack of them was one of the main reasons why seeing him for the first time since his evolution was so shocking. I’d thought all Incubi would have them.
For Zorik, it wasn’t really a drawback since his evolution seemed to have a drastic effect on his talent. He’d never been able to liquefy his body before…
Activating Hyperactive was—interesting. It was like a caffeine rush that didn’t end. It focuse
d my senses, but my mind wanted to bounce around as much as Zorik had been. I deactivated it. Compared to max Mana Sight, it was harder to focus my thoughts even if it had a similar effect.
Bringing a drop of Mana to the surface of my skin, I watched as it slipped through like a haze. Instead of Light Mana, Dark appeared in its place. I willed my mana to return to the surface of my skin and it disappeared back to where it had come from. The one mystery of Blue Magic that I still couldn’t answer was how it was possible for me to fully change my body to such an extent. Even my Light Mana Core was a faint echo, but if I tried to find it in my current Form it wouldn’t be there. How could a Master Light Core exist inside a Dark Magic creature? And yet the benefits of my core and my refined Light Mana were still available for me to use.
Now that I had a true Dark Magic Form, I played around with Shadow Bolt and Dark Shroud. It was as I expected. My Dark Magic was now twice as effective. It was still five times more costly than a Light Magic spell of the same variety, but it would eventually become practical once it reached its max level.
***
Travis pushed through the barrier spell wearing a black pair of shorts, and—that was it. If he weren’t so pale I’d have taken him for a surfer dude.
“Hey,” he said, putting his hands in his pockets. He sounded distant.
“Kylie told you?” I replied.
“Yeah…”
“If you need anything…”
“Thanks.”
It wasn’t the best time to bring it up, but after the conversation he’d just had there wouldn’t be a good time in the immediate future. “I need you to take George and maybe Trevon to the Illuminated Cathedral.”
“You’re leaving while I’m gone?”
I took a deep breath and prepared to respond, but he cut me off.
“It’s okay. I knew after unlocking Metal that you’d be going without me. I’d hoped that you’d take me along in your inventory though. You know, like a werewolf bobblehead you could take out when you got bored.” He only smiled, not fully committing to the joke.
Underworld - Vampire Gate: A LitRPG Series Page 30