The scorpion let out a death chirr so ferocious it made my ears lay back. The stone arches of the cave shuddered and the floor shook when its monstrous body collapsed at our feet. The mad cry of three throats filled the cave. I'm sure Hung and Malik, watching all this from their dead bodies, were shouting just like us, too:
"Yessss!"
We didn't jump for joy for long, though. While Tissa rezzed the dead, Ed and I studied the heap of notifications filling our field of vision. I immersed myself in reading mine:
Experience points received: 280.
Experience points at present level (8): 4880/5400.
You have passed the dungeon Evil from the Depths!
Achievement unlocked: First Kill: Murkiss!
Of all the players in your sandbox, you were the first to kill this local boss. Murkiss, the nightmarish level-23 scorpion is the spawn and incarnation of Evil from the Depths. The breath of a Sleeping God birthed this terrifying creature with the sole purpose of exterminating all intelligent life because it is said that the Sleeping Gods will only awaken when not a single thinking creature remains in Disgardium.
Murkiss is dead but, before it shuffled off this mortal coil, it inadvertently transferred you a modicum of its power.
Reward: Depths Teleportation.
Depths Teleportation
Active skill.
Current level: 1.
You will instantly be carried to a random known location in Disgardium.
Warning! Use this ability at your own risk. Always bear in mind that the ways of the Depths are inscrutable. Where you end up and why is not decided by chance. In fact, it’s all up to the scheming minds of the fell spirits whose breath powers this ability.
Cooldown time: 24 hours.
All hail the hero!
Would you like to make your name public? Doing so will give +300 reputation with the city of Tristad and +25 fame.
"No All Hail the Hero! We can’t give ourselves away!" Crawler shouted. "Everyone got that? And another thing... We had two epics drop as loot! A bow and a halberd!"
Based on the next message, everyone decided against the "Hail."
Attention all sandbox players!
Anonymous players have completed the location Evil from the Depths in the Olton Quarries and got First Kill of the final boss Murkiss! Residents and visitors of Tristad, hats off to the anonymous players! All hail the heroes! All hail the anonymous players!
Bomber and Infect, back from the dead, shouted out in tandem:
"All hail us! The glory is ours!"
"Depths Teleportation? What?" Infect asked in surprise.
"Now we can ‘port right to ins’s!" Hung shouted in glee. "Hooray!"
"Read it again, dumbass," Tissa said. "The teleportation is totally random! If it spits you out in the Mire, let's see if you get out..."
"Oh yeah!" Hung frowned. "But the skill is called Depths Teleportation, not Random Teleportation! I bet if we level it up, we can have it bring us wherever we want!"
"He's right," Crawler confirmed and gave a broad smile. "But the skill is useful enough as is, especially to Scyth. If any gankers attack, this way he can just run. Isn't that right, buddy?"
"Yep," I answered mechanically, realizing what he was implying just after.
With a snort, I kept reading the system messages. I got another achievement the Dementors didn't get.
Achievement unlocked: I Came, I Saw, I Conquered – 1!
You got a First Kill achievement on your first try! Verily, the gods of Disgardium have smiled on you!
Reward: +100 main attribute points.
I couldn't believe my eyes. One hundred attribute points? That was as many as you got by level twenty! Nether yeah! I opened my mouth enthusiastically, feverishly checking the chat and realized the Dementors couldn't see my achievement. I considered whether it was worth sharing my joy with the guys and decided it was too early.
All hail the hero!
Would you like to make your name public? Doing so will give +500 reputation with the city of Tristad and +100 fame.
I of course refused that fame. If I wasn't a threat, it would have been another thing. High fame could open the door to unique quests all the way up to royalty level, which was to say nothing of the crazy discounts you could get from NPC vendors. Reputation with the city meanwhile, would have given more social quests to complete. But I didn't want that. Most important was surviving until the greater world and...
Current threat class increased: T!
Chapter Thirty-Six. Class-A Threat Potential
THE SUDDEN pop-up message about my threat level made me shudder. That meant the system considered me stronger not simply when my level increased, but when I got advantages that distinguished me from other players? The teleportation skill, even if it did bring me to a random location, and the one-hundred attribute points definitely made me stronger and... less predictable.
At the same time, a global notification flew throughout the sandbox about some unknown hero. I quickly turned to look at my groupmates, but they were discussing the twists and turns of battle and the epics that dropped. No biggie, they'd find out later. Nothing to worry about. We did it together, and the fact I was here for the first time was no secret to them.
"Scyth," Ed called. "There's a bow and a halberd here for level twenty-five. We don't really need them. What did you decide about your class? I know you can't see the future but, based on your style I’d you're gonna be melee, so a halberd might come in handy. And by the way, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. We wanted to ask about the epic from the first boss. It is yours and yours alone, no question there. But, if you are looking to sell, we'd be willing to buy."
"If it isn't too important, let's talk about that later," I suggested. Shooting arrows imbued with plague energy could be used to work miracles, but my soul called out for steel. Like it just seemed more reliable or something. "I need to think about it."
"Okay, sure! If everything is sorted out, I suggest we get out of here before Axiom comes back from school."
Ed headed toward the passage to the surface that opened after the boss died, and we followed.
"Yep," I nodded. "Actually... Just a minute."
There was a stubborn notification icon drawing my attention.
Miner Manny (Manuel Almeida) would like to add you to his friends list. Accept?
"Is something the matter?" Crawler noticed I had stopped. "Scyth?"
"Wait."
My group stopped, exchanging bewildered glances. I accepted Manny's request, and he immediately sent a message, then another right after.
[14:56] [Private] [Manny]: Hello, Alex. Sorry if I’m distracting you. First of all, thanks. Both for the warrior and the donuts. Hank told us a bit about you. He said you seemed like a nice kid.
[14:56] [Private] [Manny]: Second... I don't know if this is relevant to you, but the quarry just filled up with high-level players from Axiom. They keep asking our guys if anyone went into that dungeon. We've been on shift since eight this morning and we’re saying no one has gone in since then. And that is true.
[14:57] [Private] [Scyth]: Hi, Manny! Thanks for telling me, but what do I have to do with this?
[14:57] [Private] [Manny]: Drop it, Scyth. There are no secrets between me and Hank. First came a First Kill message, then I heard your name being dropped by these players. I put two and two together... Alright, it isn't my place. I won't keep yapping.
[14:58] [Private] [Manny]: And another thing. There's some big fat guy walking around with them, he's real mad. He says wants to find you and talk. Basically, just so you know, the whole quarry is packed with Axiom.
[14:58] [Private] [Scyth]: Gotcha. Thanks, I'll keep it in mind.
"Well, well, what have you got there, Alex?" Tissa asked quietly.
I shuddered because of how silently she walked up, nodded and said to the others:
"Alright, guys. There’s been a slight change of plans. We might have problems."
Everyone walked up and Ed asked:
"What kind of problems?"
"Axiom. I have a workman friend in the quarry and he just wrote they're brimming with people. They're looking for whoever was in this instance."
"And what about the 'location is temporarily closed for maintenance?'" asked Bomber.
"Think with your head, Hung!" Ed said in a lather, calling the warrior by his real name and breaking his own rule. "A global notification went out! We didn't get out before they got back!"
"I am thinking!" Hung said, offended. "Now here's a question – can we just teleport out of the ins?"
For a few moments, we all stared at him, dumbfounded. Then we all started laughing at once.
"Exactly! That’s it!" Crawler exclaimed. "Big Bomber, you're a good dude!"
"Hold up, don't celebrate just yet! Let me check first," said Tissa.
She focused her gaze on an icon only she could see and... disappeared. A few seconds later, we got a message:
[15:03] [Group] [Tissa]: Wow, awesome! It works!
[15:04] [Group] [Tissa]: I am in the land of the Murlocks though. It'll take me at least until evening to get back to town.
"Great!" Crawler laughed. "Meet you in Tristad, boys!"
We all exchanged glances and activated our new ability at the same time.
"Axiom, su..." Hung's voice disappeared mid-word.
The world blinked and I found myself up to my knee in muck. I was sinking deeper and deeper every second. Fitfully looking around, I saw only more of the same. The impassable swamp stretched to the very horizon in every direction. I started panicking, then floundered and sank up to my chest. I froze and the sinking slowed down.
I opened my map and saw that I was in the Mire. And to reach the nearest inhabited place would take me a week through the swamp. And that was if I walked a straight line.
I looked at the flickering log window and focused.
First use of Depths Teleportation!
Known locations: 4 (Tristad, Gloomwood, Olton Quarries, the Mire).
Origin point: Olton Quarries.
Possible destinations: Tristad – 2%, Gloomwood – 39%, the Mire – 59%.
Destination determined: the Mire!
Of all the options, I was now in the only "known" location I had never been to. In fact I was in the very patch of swamp Patrick had sent me to!
Meanwhile, the more I struggled, the deeper I got sucked in. I couldn't find a single thing to grab onto. I started having a real panic attack, and the fact that I clearly realized it was not reality did not help, nor did the fact that I had already survived hundreds of deaths of all kinds. The fear of drowning in stinking grimy muck was stronger than my mind.
When only my head was still above the surface, I was just about to activate emergency exit, because I didn’t want to die like that. But I held off. I'd have to come back here eventually.
So I closed my eyes, pursed my lips tight, gave a twitch and sunk beneath the fen. The system timer pounded in my ears like a heartbeat.
You are suffocating! Damage: 6.
Health points: 324/330.
You are suffocating! Damage: 12.
Health points: 312/330.
The damage was growing in a geometrical progression every thirty seconds. I got myself together and completely stopped moving in expectation of the inevitable. I had heard somewhere that a bog was like a predator. It reacted differently to different living and dead objects that fell into it: it wouldn't touch dead things, but it sucked living creatures. Dead stuff would just get stuck or stay on the surface. Those thoughts served to distract me from the inevitable: when my lungs ran out of oxygen, I would frantically open my mouth and inhale mud.
The pulsing in my ears was growing stronger and more frequent, then my chest exploded in blinding pain.
You are suffocating! Damage: 192.
Health points: 0/330.
You are dead.
The first tick killed me again, but the worst was behind me.
You are suffocating! Damage: 6.
Health points: 0/330.
You are dead.
The words "You are dead" came up another twenty-four times in the logs. Then I stopped dying. What was the quote from that classic book? That which is dead can never die? I would have laughed, but I didn't want to choke on swamp muck.
You carry the mark of the Destroying Plague and have evaded fatal damage!
You have been given Curse of the Undead: all damage taken reduced by 100%!
This curse will remain active until you completely restore your health.
Mark of the Destroying Plague improved: +1.
Chance to receive Curse of the Undead increased to 8%.
Current level: 8.
And then I had to open my eyes. In the clumpy muck, the interface elements shone bright as daylight. I reckoned the direction of the quest marker and, slowly overcoming resistance, after many long unsuccessful attempts, I finally got turned in the right direction and tried to lay my body out head first. While I floundered, I probably just went further under. I tried to move my legs cautiously...
Two hours experimenting with various kinds of movement taught me to move the way I wanted. I'm not sure this would work in real life, but the game conventions could do the impossible. At an unknown depth in thick muck and ooze, I was not crushed by its weight and could actually still move.
By then I had become an object of interest to all kinds of nightmare creatures from small forearm-length leeches, who stuck dead to every part of my body, to strange magic spheres with impressively large mouths, which glowed a dim blue and tried in vain to swallow me whole. The glow from the spheres helped me see in the cloudy muck and not only them, but all the other nasty fauna teeming around me.
If not for Hammer, I might have been eaten up. But the ability didn't care how thick the muck was, or how high the pressure. It bashed through the muck to the enemy and, reinforced by plague energy, did crazy damage.
Resilience skill improved: +1.
Resilience skill improved: +1.
Resilience skill improved: +1.
Resilience skill improved: +1.
Resilience skill improved: +1.
Resilience skill improved: +1.
My Resilience was going up with no end in sight. That was because I was being damaged by the swamp itself, which had no level. This was levelling on steroids. After all, the DoT from lack of oxygen was ticking and growing exponentially. The ticks of Suffocation had reached the millions at this point and were only continuing to go up.
Resilience skill improved: +1.
Resistance to all types of damage increased by 90%.
Pain reduced by 90%.
Current level: 90.
You have reached the maximum level in this skill!
If added to Stoneskin, that gave me almost complete invulnerability without Curse of the Undead: ninety-five percent resistance to all damage for thirty seconds.
My Unarmed Combat was up to seventy-two, Night Vision to thirty and even Swimming was progressing quickly, now all the way up to forty. But the swamp had nothing more to offer me. I had lost track of time, fighting off the monsters and slowly moving toward the island the quest marker pointed to.
The monsters surrounding me ranged from level twenty to twenty-five, and experience flowed like a river. In fact, I made three new levels and hit eleven.
You are now level 11!
115 free attribute points available!
I had saved the attribute points for a more appropriate time to choose where to put them. I wasn't going to dig around in the interface while I was stuck in this dirty old swamp muck.
At level ten, a message flickered in that I could now choose a class, but for the same reasons I left that for later as well. Only one thing had my attention – getting to dry land as quickly as possible.
At a certain point, my hands hit something hard. I felt a thick root and pulled myself toward it, then another one... Grabbing one after the next, I start
ed up the sloped bottom. I had the complete sensation that I would lose my mind and the whole world was like this: impenetrable, slimy and full of dangerous invisible creatures. Only the periodic messages from the Dementors in the chat and the skill increase logs kept me remotely sane. Honestly, though, I wasn’t answering them.
Class-A Threat (Disgardium Book #1) LitRPG Series Page 33