Soulcatcher

by Sergey Zaytsev

  Through the quickly closing doors the monster was visible in all its glory.

  It too, like the ''Drider'', had no level, only a name, and the "the solar crown", dotted with ''rays'', much thicker than the previous boss', shining around its icon. The ''Krazard'' was, at least so it seemed to me, a cross between a Kraken and a lizard. It's gray-brown body, half-leaned out from the center of the pool, was the size of a two-storey house and covered in streams of smelly acid, which were flowing down its wrinkled skin. All over its body, like a nasty fringe of rotten noodles, wriggled tens, maybe hundreds, of snake-like tentacles with suckers. The head of the ''Krazard'' matched the ''Lord of the Dungeon's'' with massive jaws, strongly protruding forward, ending with a horn-beak the size of that pier near the ''Temple'', and two dull, white eyes, each the size of a car tire, which looked in our direction indifferently.

  I could actually feel the look of the giant drill through my skull and into my brain.

  ''Get out, get out, damn it!'' Grant pulled us by the elbows and shoulders, but we continued looking, as if bewitched. Only then did I notice a blinking message with info about the induced debuff. We were under the influence of the "Dark Gaze", which was causing all life processes to slow down. The ''Krazard'' didn't have any specific abilities since they changed with each new campaign. We were just unlucky. Only the mages were immune to the monster's influence.

  Owl made a step toward the narrowing gate, threw up his free hand, moved his bony fingers into a characteristic gesture and…

  ...flipped him the bird.

  ''What, thought you would eat us, you overgrown squid?! Bulge your eyes all you want! Stare or not, you're too late!''

  Obsession that had nearly seized us suddenly went away, as if dispelled.

  But the ''Krazard'' understood that.

  The monster exploded. His tentacles permeated the entire space above the acid pool. In a blink of an eye, it was at the door, and rushing toward Owl.

  It all happened so fast that we didn't have time to do anything.

  We couldn't even figure it out.

  In one moment the weathermage stood in front of us, and in the next he was no longer with us. The twisting tangle of tentacles rushed back to the owner, and the ''Krazard'' opened the maw inside of its mucus full beak, exposing the fangs, each the size of a man, converging into a rosette at the center of the throat.

  ''Run!'' Owl's voice, full of agony, barely reached us. ''The last…''

  The voice broke, but I understood what he hadn't had the time to finish - ''The Last Argument''.

  We simultaneously jerked away, trying to get as far down the corridor as possible before…

  ''Behind the pillars!'' shouted Grant, who was the first to dive toward the nearest shelter.

  With no intention to wait, I jumped behind the next column protruding from the wall. Grabbing Tinnie, I pushed her into the corner and shielded her with my own body. As long as I wore the breastplate, I couldn't hide her in my bosom. In a split second, the rumble turned into a deafening roar. I pushed my back against the stone, wishing to merge with it completely, and saw the same stunned looks on the faces of my clan members, who were huddled together at the opposite wall. For a second, the hum seemed to have come to halt. But then, with an even greater force, the roar flooded the tunnel like water from a broken dam.

  The tunnel was shaking like in an epileptic having a fit. Columns crumbled. Pieces of stone rushed past my face in a stream of hot air, as if released from a sling. Lightning flashed…

  All this lasted a few seconds, and it seemed like the rage of the elements lasted for eternity.

  When everything had calmed down, I forced myself to break away from the wall and stand up.

  One glance in the direction of the ''Krazard's'' abode was enough to conclude that it was all over. The tunnel was filled with melted and still smoking fragments of stone, which were completely blocking the passage. The red ''Jolly Roger'' appeared above Owl's name in the party window.

  Our Owl was no more.

  Shaken to the core by the unexpected death of a clanmate, I barely paid attention to the annoying, flashing system message.

  Received an achievement: "The Battle Beyond the Edge".

  Your group destroyed the ''Krazard'', previously considered an immortal being in this location.

  Reward: 15,000 XP

  The achievement is imprinted in the "Great Genesis Book" and will be known in all the worlds across the "Universe ICS".

  Loading time: 10.15

  Tinnie fumbled nearby and landed onto my shoulder. I felt her almost weightless steps, and her tiny, warm hands touching my temple. In response to my mood, the fairy tried to calm me down, as much as her humble abilities allowed her.

  I opened my eyes and squinted. The third ''Oasis'' was exactly the same as the first two; walls overgrown with curly shoots, diffused light gently flowing from the ceiling, marble floor consisting of moss-covered plates, a spring under the statue of the prisoner and the statue in the center…

  Girls and boys, gather 'round and meet "The Destroyer".

  Towering above the spring was a rather odd-looking creature clad in a robe that was fluttering in the wind; its head was fully covered with a hood. Instead of a face one could see only sinister emptiness.

  Not very impressive, to be honest; probably because it was just an image, and a significantly reduced one.

  Catching my stare, Tinnie spread her hands shyly and reported having found nothing again. Either the ''Oasi's" was empty, or my assistant's skills were just not enough to find the hidden treasures there. Well, at least Tinnie reached level five and activated her next skill. Her stats didn't change much, but her life had tripled, and she now had 90 HP, and 125 mana and energy points. But the only opened talent was the wrong one. I thought they would activate by the list, but instead of "Spiritual Link", the fairy gained the following skill:

  ''Enchantress''

  Rank 1 (0/100)

  The fairy's magic charge is capable of mesmerizing enemies for a short time.

  I played with her three points, not hurrying to save them, but the situation hadn't become any clearer. What did they mean by "mesmerize"? Did it increase the chance of enemy misses; did it avert their eyes; or did it stun them? What enemies did it work on, for that matter? At level five she would have no one to mesmerize. It was time for me to get used to the fact that no one would answer all of your questions, and that one had to learn much by themselves. Thinking, I invested two points into "Awareness", and one into "Enchantress". Who knows, maybe it turns out to be something useful. The fairy immediately demanded a "soc" and ate it up, but, apparently, no changes occurred.

  It didn't take me long to deal with my stats.

  Level eight brought me five more points. Those combined with the previous one meant that I had ten unallocated points. No matter how much you delayed, eventually you'd have to decide. So I decided. Ten went into endurance, which immediately raised my HP to 460, and defense, not counting armor, above a 100; with the addition of the stats gained from the pretty damaged armor, it was a bit less than 400. The rest went into agility, as I would soon have to run faster than expected. Glutton had been badly burned after the ''Krazard''. The poor pet was not able to hide itself behind a pillar and its left side got seriously injured. Grant already poured everything he could onto its shell, even splashed it with the remnants of the "Monastic Potion". Glutton was now having a nap near the spring, under the statue of the prisoner, and restoring its strength. We filled the empty jars.

  After the unprecedented generosity of the system, that had given us a lot of experience, everyone leveled up. Everyone but me reached level nine. I was, again, falling behind quite a bit and had 14480 out of 17085 XP. Some of the experience went to Tinnie and Fury, although the ''Direcat'' wasn't present. That was a bit annoying. Not because we had to share, no. I would have to enter the battle being level eight, since there was nowhere to grind XP right now.

  I sighed. No matter how hard I
tried to distract myself, Owl still came to mind. Although we spent fifteen out of twenty minutes left for rest in silence, pretending to be busy allocating stats, we all felt a bit uncomfortable. Pops was gloomy, Grant seemed melancholic and calm, and the moisture in the corners of Red's closed eyelids betrayed her condition.

  We didn't talk about Owl, but everyone thought of him. Yeah, he'd only lost a save. But his death was not a pleasant one. Hell, that was not the point. The lad had died. He would be reborn in the ''Replicator'', yes, but how hurt would he be, knowing that he hadn't reached the end with us. It would be a shame if we couldn't deal with "The Destroyer", because the strength of our party was greatly diminished with his loss, and the dungeon difficulty remained the same. The only consolation was that he would come out of the ''Replicator'' with the "Hand of Fate". Binding it wasn't in vain, as if he had known…

  In fact, the kid saved us.

  The desire to turn around and look at the ''Krazard'' proved to be a fatal mistake that almost cost us our lives. Mages, as retroactively explained Grant, had high resistance to domination, so Owl's act of clownery must have surprised and angered the ancient creature, so it rushed to attack the weathermage, forgetting about the rest of us. Of course, Owl did not expect that.

  But what fortitude did one have to possess to manage to warn the others about what he was going to do while dying painfully in the arms of such a creature! Yes, he died, but his death increased the viability of the group and raised our levels, compensating somewhat for the loss of one fighter. Yeah, appearances were often deceptive.

  As for the weathermage, this death was his first, so he would be revived within twelve hours. I hoped that we would manage to finish the dungeon by then. It was necessary to pay Ears for his "vitamin", so that the lad's return to this difficult world would go without complications. It was the least we could do for him. Generally speaking, we were really lucky. Taming the fairy made it possible to find the "Hand of Fate", and Owl's personal decision to bind the weapon to his soul activated a powerful spell. The impression was that by calling the clan "Fortune Hunters", we really attracted the attention of some deity responsible for this good fortune. Maybe the fairy was our mascot, and I simply didn't know her hidden features yet?

  Still, any sort of luck had its consequences.

  Take Glutton, for instance. Poor fellow. It couldn't escape its fate. The ''Turtangle'' will be sacrificed in the final battle, and there is no way around it. Did its animal mind understand that? I would not be too pleased if my pet was in its place. Grant was somehow holding it together, even though it was obvious that he was having a hard time. Emotional connection with the pet was very strong and only grew stronger with time. It was like sacrificing a part of yourself or a close relative. It was not surprising that Grant was determined to sacrifice his own save and revive the pet after the dungeon.

  I still couldn't shake off the feeling that we were betraying Glutton.

  ''Okay, enough of mopping around.'' Breaking the oppressive silence, I got up and looked at everyone with a demanding stare. ''Let's go over this 'show the 'The Destroyer' who's the boss' plan more time.''

  Chapter 21

  ''The Soulcatcher''

  Loading time: 10.29

  We stopped in front of the tunnel exit.

  Before entering the last battle, one needed a good look around. A spacious underground hall, which was the abode of "The Destroyer", finally appeared before our eyes. There were no artificial decorations, as there had been in the ''Oases''. All surfaces were bumpy basalt; shades of gray with yellow inclusions of unknown minerals. The high dome was dotted with clusters of many stalactites, which stretched downwards, like giant icicles, towards the formations of no smaller size than them. With proper imagination, the whole room could be pictured as the closing jaws of a giant monster.

  In the center of the dome shone the inverted ''Source''. The bottomless well, from which emerged a column of light, rested on the floor and bathed the room in radiance. Light penetrated through the stone teeth, casting shadows along the walls. Escaping from the wall to the right, a fast stream of crystal clear water noisily flowed through the hall and funneled into the abyss on the opposite wall. The stream was around twelve feet wide, with water barely reaching the ankles. The light permeated right through it, and the polished bottom could be seen perfectly. Along its way, the stream ran around a nine-angle pedestal barely protruding from the water, made out of transparent quartz, located in the center of the hall and illuminated from above with a blue glow. Once "The Destroyer" is defeated, there would be a portal that would take us back to the entrance. Until then…

  In the dazzling radiance that hid the outlines of the ten foot high figure, HE awaited us. The arms of "The Destroyer" were crossed over his chest, palms hidden by the sleeves of a spacious robe which looked as if it were woven from smoke; the unknown fabric constantly flowed, forming waves and ripples. A hood was pushed over his head, hiding his face. Instead of it was darkness, which even the pure radiance of the ''Source'' could not overcome.

  That was his duty - to wait for the adventurous.

  ''What a huge bitch,'' quietly said Gramps, removing his hammer and cautiously looking at the boss.

  ''Icicles,'' Foxy anxiously examined our surroundings. ''Cavalier forgot to tell us about the icicles. It will be harder to run…''

  ''Even better,'' I also carefully examined all of the features of the upcoming battlefield. ''At the critical moments stalagmites can be used as a short-term shelter. Grant, can you use your spells here?''

  ''I hope so,'' said the healer, glancing around the hall.

  In some places, between the calcareous growths of stalagmites, spots of moss and sparse flora could be seen covering the stone surface. I was unsure whether soil was brought there by some miracle, or was it made out of the remains of previous victims.

  ''Okay, let's not waste time. Check your auras.''

  ''Already checked,'' grumbled Gramps in the same low voice and made the first step into the hall. The ten foot strip of ground near the walls along the entire circumference of the hall was a neutral zone, and we used it to spread out, following a predetermined tactic.

  The cleric went to the right, Foxy to the left, I made two steps in the direction of the boss, and Grant stayed behind with Glutton.

  ''Good luck,'' whispered the mage to me from behind my back. ''Good luck to all of us.''

  I nodded briefly, my gaze fixated onto the figure of "The Destroyer", shrouded in radiance.

  "The Destroyer"

  HP: 10,000

  The boss' icon was completely littered with teeth and rays. There were no level numbers. This is where the "Last Argument" would have come in handy, but it was too late for regret, and I tried to keep my emotions in check. Staying calm and calculated would help me more. I managed to bring down only a third of the fatigue bar back in the last "Oasis", but I considered myself ready. Adrenaline rushing through my blood made me crave a fight.

  It was time to finish this shit.

  I had to be the one to draw "aggro", so that the ''Turtangle'' would last as long as possible. The battle consisted of three phases. In the first phase I'd have to run a lot, as "The Destroyer" would not allow us to sit still, scattering directly under the players the "Fiery Kisses" with which we were already familiar from our fight against the ''Drider'', and driving anyone, who would allow themselves the luxury of staying in one place for more than two seconds, into a stupor with "Obedience". Stuns could be disrupted with counter-spells, and "Kisses" would have to be interrupted during their one second long cast. Not all of us had the necessary skills for this, and with Owl's elimination our arsenal had been reduced. Grant's "Life-giving Trap" was still useless, as the lifeless stone was almost everywhere. Red had nothing that could interrupt the casting of spells or cause stun yet, she was pure DPS[7]. I had the "Windspear", which had a 30 seconds cooldown, and Gramps the "Lash of Pain", with a similar cooldown. This meant that, if we took turns correctly, it would be
possible to use those two skills every 15 seconds. We had too few debuffs, too; the cleric's ''Purge'' removed two buffs of any type from the enemy, and Grant's "Nature's Purification", dispelled one negative status effect cast on an ally. He should be dealing with "Obedience", then.

  In any battle the most important things were alertness and speed, not to mention the group synergy.

  I looked at each of the clan members, and they nodded in return. Everyone was excited and ready for action. I took a deep breath, pulled the "Flame", and, almost inaudibly, whispered to Tinnie, who was buzzing over my shoulder.

  ''Stay here. Don't fight.''

  The fairy nodded. There was fear in her eyes, which I hadn't noticed before, neither during the fight with the ''Drider'', nor when we were running past the ''Krazard''. But what could have changed since then? Nothing. It was too late to be afraid.

  ''Attention, people. I'm going in.''

  In the next second, I thrust forward my left hand. "Flamespear" penetrated the bluish glow, and liquid fire splashed "The Destroyer" without causing significant harm.

  And so began the dance of death.

  "The Destroyer" started moving, seemingly flowing down the pedestal, the hem of his robes drifting above the surface of the stream like smoke. It looked like he had no lower limbs at all. His movements were seemingly slow, smooth and implacable. I didn't stop, but slowed down a bit, letting him get closer. I moved around in a mentally drawn circle, choosing the pedestal in the center as a point of reference. The boss followed behind me, adjusting the offset…

  What the hell?!

  Foxy's arrow hit the boss in the back and then crumbled to dust, illuminated by a pale flash. Externally, it didn't affect "The Destroyer", his flowing robes of ghostly matter immediately absorbing damage. For a moment he paused, wondering if he should turn to the archer. Then he waved his left hand elusively quickly, and a ten foot circle of burning flame flashed under the girl. Red jumped out of it with a cry of pain, her boots burning, and leapt into the stream with a splash. Grant immediately threw a healing "Nature's touch" in her direction.