Alfred: I’ll be there in twenty minutes…. You really think it’s that bad?
Green: Well… Let’s just say we’ll have a lot of competition soon… I like to think it be wise to do it now…
Alfred: be right there…
Alfred quickly went into the equipment shop and purchased new level 28 armor. He had close to 75,000 current experience and spent 60,000 of it on equipment. A set of four Rare level 28 daggers cost him 10,000 each. He spent another 20,000 on a set of level 28 leather armor with good boots and gloves included. The armor boosted his defense by almost 300, and the shoes and gloves were a nice addition.
He took a moment to look at the clothing set.
Shadow Reaper Armor (set)
Level 28
Defense: 455
+10 Agility
+10 intelligence
+5 vitality
Durability: 1655 / 1670
Bonus: Perception is increased by 10% in the darkness.
Upgrades remaining 3 / 5
Alfred was happy when he saw that the equipment had already been upgraded for him. Blacksmiths weren’t cheap and he figured he got a pretty good deal on the item. When he bought it, he was sure the person selling it smiled when he saw his windfall. Current experience could be filled up just like it could be spent. He put his old items on the black market for cheap prices and then rushed towards Krab’s Keep.
The soldiers at the gate bowed to him with respect as he entered. Green was in a small room with a round table with Lacy, Wanda, Berk, Nick, and two other members of Green Everest. Green looked he had a fire burning inside of his eyes, trying his best to hide his rage as Alfred sat on at the table.
“We… as I said… have a problem… Do you remember Ken58?”
“You mean the person first on the Leaderboard?” Alfred asked… “Yeah, why?”
“The problem is Avery has the same level of respect we have now… He’s joined ken58s guild, and will be able to access the dream dungeon if they make him leader of their party… He didn’t only shoot us in the foot… He’s trying to help the competition.
“He was probably a spy all along… I told you to be careful Green,” Wanda winced as she shook her head with disgust. “Ugh, that little rat didn’t talk a single sentence and did everything you asked!”
“It’s not a problem,” Lacy said, “We can beat it… Plus… It looks like Alfred here is already level 28… Since your level 37 Green… It should offset the difference…”
“About that… Are you insane?” Berk pipped up. “How the hell are you level 28! I had to do missions for five days to reach level 28!”
“About that guys… there is something pretty big I have to tell you…” Alfred said, remembering the battle on the white frozen ocean. “do we have three minutes?”
“We have just enough time to plan,” Green said. “Why don’t you talk us after we clear the dungeon…. I think your mother will be happy to hear about it, don’t you?”
“And your sister,” Alfred retorted… “It’s a really big secret though!”
“Heh… just wait!” Berk said, “It will give us all a reason to live for… Now… you going to activate the prompt Green… “I think Ken58 will be here any minute…”
Green nodded his head. He quickly invited Alfred to the party and he joined immediately. The Dream dungeon required eight people, and Avery had been replaced with a Bow Expert. They had two ranged classes, one shadow walker, two Sword Tempests, one Healer, and a defender along with Green’s Night Spear class.
The mission prompt loaded with a flash of light.
fourteenth Land, Dream Dungeon (Guild Mission)
Underneath Larimar Kingdom is a secret that has been mired in a tomb of time. It is full of monsters that are packed with ancient wisdom and entangled in resentment and bitterness. If you aren’t a pack of wild dogs, and have brains, you might even be able to make it out in one piece.
Reward: one Light Revival for each participant, Low talent Dream Weapon (upgradeable)
Auto Scanning Feature will be disabled… You won’t be able to tell the level of the creatures you’re facing without a proper skill…
Would you like to accept the mission?
A message prompt appeared in front of everyone, and they all instantly clicked yes. A bright flash of light came over them before they disappeared into an abyss. When Alfred opened up his eyes, he found himself in the darkness along with Green and his guild. Lacy immediately spawned a ball of white light using her [clever eye] skill, which was used to scout in the darkness. The small little orbs glowed in the darkness and immediately cast a glare into a large creatures eyes. Wanda reacted by lashing out her shield as Green [phased] and sent his spear into its stomach killing it.
“What the hell? They could at least have given us a warning?”
“It’s a dream dungeon!” Green said, pulling out his spear as the long neck creature toppled over. Another five then ten [clever eyes] were cast from Lacy. They began to fill in the darkness with small little orbs of light. They were definitely underneath Larimar City. Hundreds of old destitute buildings were crumbling and broken pieces of building were all around. Skeletons were lining the graveled road, and the only sounds were coming from other Strange creatures.
Alfred bent down to look at the creature. It seemed to be a lizard of some sort. It almost looked like a raptor, but it had a spotted body like a leopard and horns on its back that resembled a porcupine.
“It’s a chimera… I have a scanning skill,” Wanda said. “It’s clearly an abomination… Hopefully, there won’t be too many of them.”
Green glared back at her. His eyes seemed to be saying “Don’t say things like that”. He guided them down the town, past a fountain, and into a gigantic square. There were tombstones in the square with weird engravings on each of the stones. A few of the creatures that Wanda had just prayed wouldn’t be in surplus were standing in hundreds by the gate. Clearly, they had to go through that gate in order to make it to the second part of the dungeon.
“You definitely spoke too soon, Wanda…” Green admonished her lightly, patting her on the chest in a jest. “looks like the hardest will be delegating how we kill the creatures.”
“Wait, shouldn’t we explore the town,” Lacy said, “We might find something if we explore it.”
“If we do need something from here, I’d rather find out when we are asked for it,” Green shook his head. “I’ll phase over there, and lure a few… Alfred… you going to be fine against level 35 creatures?”
“I’m not too thrilled, but I’ll live. Just keep Lacy safe…”
Green nodded his head before he phased forward. The max distance of phase was ten meters, and he appeared in front of the line of abominations. They all resembled the earlier chimera except had different markings on their bodies. Some had stripes, while others had reptilian scales. Green sent out a burst of light into the pack of creatures. They immediately all sprinted towards him before he phased back. Wanda immediately rushed to the front as Alfred activated shadow walk.
Lacy enshrouded the group in blessings as Berk sent out a dozen of knives in anticipation of the incoming Frey. As they did, a large fire ball shot towards the epicenter of their group.
There were dozens of large beasts behind the chimeras. They seemed to be similar creatures but dozens of times larger. Each of them started firing off massive fire balls as Alfred charged past the incoming horde. He rushed towards the monolithic creatures as Wanda received the first attack against her shield.
Massive amounts of damage started to get sent out. Lacy began to cast [Restoration] as Berk took his first few hits. The once darkened room started to light up as some of the nearby buildings lit on fire. Three massive fire balls shot towards them in quick succession. Green Everest had no choice but to run and dodge and attack.
Lacy began to worry as she noticed that Alfred had all but disappeared. Green also noticed but couldn’t let go of his rapt attention on slaying the beasts. Bec
ause he was already level 37, he fared much better against the Chimeras. Wanda, Berk and Lacy were all between level 33-35. The only player that was level 32 was a girl named Portland. She also happened to be a Sword Tempest. She got sent flying back as Alfred reappeared.
His Stealth Walk Skill had leveled up as he charged past the Chimeras and reached level 6. He had 4 minutes and 50 seconds to bridge the gap between him and the creatures shooting out fireballs. He rushed up ones back and looked for any weakness. He stabbed at its neck hoping to kill it as he reappeared. Its massively overgrown head, brimming with black fur and dangerous red eyes, spewed out blood before the two other creatures reacted and sent out their sharp teeth to attack.
Green immediately noticed one of the large chimera fall in the distance. He winced and swung out his spear as he chastised Alfred form a distance.
“You fool… you’re only level 28!”
“He definitely has big balls,” Wanda used a [shield bash] to push aside a few of the rushing Chimera.
Lacy couldn’t even believe what she saw, and slowed down her [Restorations] causing Green to scold her. The hundreds of chimeras slowly started to turn into dozens. Another one of the Massive Chimera even fell down leaving just one four legged beast for Alfred to fight.
Because of Alfred’s daring, Green Everest had a much easier time killing the remaining chimera. Portland had almost gotten killed by the fireballs before Alfred waylaid their attention. He used [Shadow Shift] to dodge a fireball sent towards him at close range. His new armor luckily buffered him from the embers that slammed against his chest.
His cool down for Shadow Walk reactivated as the large necked furred chimera slammed its feet. Alfred immediately got sent flying backwards as his cover disappeared. The creature seemed much more intelligent than the usual dungeon prowler. He skidded against the dirt and lost 300 of his Health. He had 1300 Health remaining… even with all the bonuses he’d received from Hell missions.
A massive fire ball started to form in the creatures mouth before Green phased to Alfred’s side, crossing nearly 30 meters in the blink of an eye. He immediately tossed his spear into the creatures head and phased on top of its skull before thrusting downwards.
The chimera tried to fight it off, but soon blood fell out of its pointed, flared up ears and it dropped to the floor. Alfred rolled up and got to his feet. He wiped off his pants before Green’s eyes burned with fury towards him.
“I didn’t hate you for my entire adolescent life because you were an idiot!” Green said… “You… you always seemed to know just what to do when something bad happened! Do you think this is smart Alfred?”
“Well… We’re alive aren’t we?” Alfred kicked up, and returned to his two feet. “Besides, I got a skill called shadow Shift… I would’ve been able to move back two meters if that guy fired…”
“Well… we need you for something else…” Green sighed. “Your summoning skill can probably be used to test out the bosses before we have to go in… If you want to die fine, but do it after we get to the boss.”
“IS that why you’re being so nice to me?” Alfred grinded his teeth. “I trusted you actually changed… Sure enough—”
“Sure enough what?” Wanda said, appearing with Lacy and the rest of the group. “He’s right…. Your shadow calling skill is extremely important… Its not like you like hi--.”
“I… I actually would’ve been nice to you no matter what… “ Green interrupted, “Listen… we all are useful here… It’s a game! We have classes remember…”
“He has a point, you’re being an idiot,” Lacy almost growled as she crossed her arms. “I didn’t get stuck on another planet with my favorite man only to watch him kill himself…”
“I guess you’re right, but… I really knew what I Was doing…” Alfred kicked at one of the corpses… “Plus… watch this…”
Alfred activated [Shadow Duplication] and two massive Chimeras appeared from a net of twisting darkness. Tendrils seemed to be pulled up from the shadows that wrapped around and built a copy of the monolithic chimera Alfred had defeated. Green gasped and clapped as Lacy immediately got ready to fire a [Light Arrow].
Wanda and Berk looked especially confused. They’d seen skills from classes that packed a punch, but… this was in its own category…
“They may look tough, but they’ll only do 33% of their original damage… They’re also slow as hell apparently.”
Alfred could see their stats. The two creatures only had an agility of 15. Green nodded his head and asked if Alfred could do the same with two normal Chimeras. They went back to the town and he called forth two chimera from the passive pile of corpses.
He then used shadow whisperer to summon seven NPC guards from the previous war. Since he’d leveled up to 28, with his intelligence included, they’d reached level 30. With Shadow Construct, he made another Chimera. All together, an extra 10 members had been added to the party.
Green looked especially appreciative of the new summons. Lacy didn’t understand why he didn’t summon them sooner until he explained it made it harder for him to focus. Green understood as did the rest of the group. They began heading out past the city gate and down a gnarled road. It twisted like an oak branch and up to the point of a forest.
The trees had all turned black, but Lacy got a spooky feeling like she’d been here before. Berk also commented “it looks like Larimar Kingdom!” They made it further and further into the forest as more and more little resemblances began to appear.
“It’s really something,” Berk said, slapping his belly. “There is a statue like this In Larimar Forest! I’ve seen it… It’s the same exact one!”
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence?” Lacy said… “they might have just put this here as a decoration…”
Green shrugged his shoulders and ignored it. “Guys… I know it’s interesting, but there is only one road forward… We either get to the end before Ken, or we don’t get a reward…”
“Hmmm, well… It looks like we’re getting close to the first boss…” Portland said, pointing into the forest… “I don’t think that’s just a normal Chimera…”
Chapter 19: Corpse
The Beast in front of Green Everest had multiple heads sewn into a single body with large spiraling horns and massive legs. In addition to a thin torso. It also had a small slit for a mouth.
The group approached it cautiously with Alfred sending two Shadow Chimera to approach it. It had at least 200 hundred eyes staring at Alfred’s Chimera as they approached nimbly in order to attack. Their agility was roughly 4/5ths of the copied chimera, and Alfred commanded the two to test the boss’s defense hoping to cause a ripple of damage. The massive monolithic creature simply swiped its bladed hands causing the two Dark Chimera’s to get sent flying.
Green winced as the two creatures flew nearly fifty feet. The boss had two long hands that it had used like swords to send the two beasts skidding away. Lacy suggested they try to look for a weak point, and Alfred sent out the NPC Guards to attack from the sides and back. Every angle except from the rear could be reached with its massive hands. On its back were long tendrils that it used to cover its rear. Basically, It seemed that if Green Everest wanted to beat the creature, it would require ranged attacks and aiming for its backside.
“Well, I think we might want to test it a little more… What’s your cooldown at Alfred?” Wanda said, staring at the unwavering monolith in front of them. “That thing looks like a tree of dead bodies… What the hell is it?”
“It looks like humans got stuffed inside of a cloud,” Berk joined in the conversation, “what is your plan Green?”
“We’re going to attack it now… I’d like to wait longer, but… we may be running out of time.”
“Didn’t you just blame Alfred for not playing it safe?” Lacy said with her voice rising, showing her agitation. “What are we supposed to do… rely on luck?”
“If we really run into trouble, we can just retreat and try again… I thin
k I Saw some Chimera’s in the forest… Did you all also check your experience meters?”
Alfred opened up his visual interface. In dungeons, he usually turned off notifications so he wouldn’t die from an abrupt disturbance. However, he noticed he got experience for his last few kills…
“That’s really strange… we got experience for killing the monsters… All the other dungeons were completable in a couple of hours max, so maybe it’s to increase our chances of completing the dungeon…” Lacy winced at the thought of being stuck here…. “So… does that mean we might have to sleep in that old, rotting town?”
“Well, let’s just try our luck on big ugly over here… If we can’t beat him, we can just run…” Green drew his spear from his back. Lacy recast her buffs on the party, and Wanda charged to the front with a sallow look on her face. Fighting against a massive beast that had its information hidden wasn’t very exciting. There was obviously no information on the forum to delve into and learn from. What was worse for Wanda was that Green just let her charge towards it without piping up.
The eight man team appeared in front of the monolith. It didn’t move even with them in ten meters of it. Alfred stared up at the massive amount of red eyes, and the faces that seemed stuck inside the flesh tree. An idea surfaced in his mind.
“I… I have an idea…” Alfred said, looking up at the monstrosity… “I know this seems insane, but how bought instead of fighting it we go for all of its eyes…”
“You mean try and make this thing blind? It has eyes by its ass!” Wanda laughed… “You can’t be serious…”
Green looked up at it and nodded his head. They’d already determined the distance of its sword like arms was roughly eight meters. The worst that could happen was the plan wouldn’t work, or its eyes would grow back. He contemplated Alfred’s plan and the more he thought about it the more it made sense.
Heaven's Gate: Volume 1 (A LitRPG Adventure) Page 14