Heroes of Darkness: A Dark Dungeon Realm LitRPG Omnibus Collection

by Wolfe Locke

  Unassigned Stat Points: 0

  Current Experience: 21-60

  STR: 2 INT: 1 AGI: 3

  WIS: 1 LCK:1 PHY: 0*

  END: 2 PER:3

  SOL: $03535*

  The turn of events had a noted effect on the morale of the group, and though the overall mood had soured before, the updated awards had blunted some of that. One thing that Seraph knew was that the current state of Paul’s weapon would create issues. Logically, Paul was at best a liability. He was currently the second best fighter in their group, aside from Seraph, but without a weapon, this counted for nothing.

  Everyone looked toward the open door and the darkness on the other side of it. No one moved to volunteer to be first to check it out, and no one should have to volunteer thought Seraph as he quickly assessed the group. The rest of them were all looking toward Paul to go in first, but not one of them moved to let him use their weapon.

  If Seraph knew anything about people, it was that no group would accept as its leader someone who didn’t lead from the front, and without a weapon, there was no way for Paul to do so. The group couldn’t trust him to take point like he had before, even if he was still a top fighter. Now he was just an unarmed top fighter, and that mattered.

  Seraph knew it was time for him to take the lead, and so he volunteered. “Don’t worry about it, you guys,” he said. “I’ve got this one. I’ll go through first and then give the all-clear to follow. My eyes give me an advantage in the dark anyway. They’re not just for show.” The tension in the group eased a little—though only a little—after he volunteered.

  Truthfully, neither did he, but some of his reservations were already fading as he started to feel the density of his muscles change as a result of his recent stat application. Even though increasing something by a single stat point seemed like nothing, it wasn’t. It mattered, and he was already feeling stronger.

  What many people didn’t understand when they first entered the dungeon was that the initial starting value of 1 did not imply weakness, but rather their own subjective starting point. The base stat being modified by the additional stat points in an addictive fashion. For example, having a strength stat of 2 did not mean that a person’s strength was suddenly doubled, it meant that their base strength would be increased by a small bonus—such as a person being able to lift 200 pounds with a base stat of 1, might be able to lift an additional 10 pounds per additional point of strength.

  Supplemented by his body of mana passive ability, he had been able to overcome what would have been a crippling handicap to his stat advancement, but Seraph knew that when he had the chance, he would need to train his body to increase the value of his base. This was one way that true power within the dungeon was advanced.

  Sometimes, as Seraph knew only too well, the only way out was through, so with all the confidence he could muster, Seraph pulled himself up, puffed out his chest, and took bold, confident steps toward the door. He didn’t feel any fear. He knew he could take care of himself, but the people in his group needed to see some exaggerated confidence in hopes that some of it would rub off on them. He needed them to see him as somebody they wanted to follow.

  Behind him, a loud ticking sound could be heard as the countdown clock within the gymnasium reset itself. Seraph wasn’t worried about it; he knew the room was getting prepared for the next participants who would soon be coming through—though with the warped flow of time, he was unsure if that would be a matter of hours or days. What he did know was that they needed to leave before all the monsters they had already killed respawned within their midst. Seraph was unsure and could only guess whether the monsters respawned on a timer, or if they spawned upon entry into the gymnasium. It didn’t really matter to him, as the ultimate consequence remained: if they lingered too long, the likelihood that they would be killed exponentially increased. The dungeon did not take kindly to those who did not progress, and something would force them to move or perish. It was a problem best left avoided and unexplored.

  Notification: You are now entering “The Desolate High School”. A safe zone has been designated ahead to be used as a rest area. Safe Zone “The Office”.

  He quickly dismissed the prompt. The first thing he noticed was the sudden change in the atmosphere. The surrounding air was noticeably colder and stagnant. For a brief moment, Seraph thought he could see his breath, but he realized he was mistaken upon discovery of a thick fog like gloom settling within the halls. The air was heavy with dust and cobwebs that made it difficult even with his eyes to see, but he saw no danger. He peered back and gave the signal to the group that he was OK—so far—and then he proceeded to walk up the stairs.

  Being in the lead, he was able to use a technique as he walked up those stairs that he had not yet shared with them. A technique to supplement the senses. Seraph honed in on his eyesight, and as he focused, his vision became sharper and more defined. However, even with his dark vision, Seraph could not see well through the gloom. He shifted his attention and will away from his vision and toward his hearing, and as his vision dimmed back to normal, his hearing increased. In the distance, he thought he heard the scurrying of feet, but with the lack of light and low visibility, he couldn’t see what he heard. From the sound of it, those scurrying feet were not too close, and they did not seem to be moving his way.

  The only other sound he heard was the booming echo his own steps made as his boots left footprints in the thickly-layered dust, marking his passage on the stairs. The noise traveled far into the gloom—something he heard even as he released his hearing and returned it to normal. When he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped for a moment, just to make sure that it was safe before motioning to his skittish team members to follow him.

  One by one, they entered the stairwell. Paul entered first, giving Seraph a thumbs-up from the bottom of the stairs, followed by Erin. As she began to ascend the stairs, she screamed in terror as cobwebs got into her hair, thinking a monster had grabbed her. Paul looked at her in irritation as he motioned with his hands that she needed to be quiet. Bashfully, she looked away in embarrassment. Alexander was the last to enter the stairwell, and as he did so, a door slammed shut behind him. A door that hadn’t existed up until then. He turned to look through the window of the newly spawned doorway.

  “It’s dark!” Alexander called out in a hushed whisper, and then he tried the door. “It’s locked too. We won't be able to turn back from here.”

  When all of them had finally reached the top of the stairs where Seraph had been waiting, a light turned on, automatically illuminating the area around them. They were at the end of a hall that led out in three different directions. A sign read “Office” above a door directly in front of them down the hall, while an old exit sign hung directly above them, pointing toward a locked double door. The hallway itself turned at the office and continued, though to where Seraph could not see.

  The exit sign was no longer illuminated, and for Seraph that was a clue that the exit was not to be trusted. It was most likely just a trap to catch the unwary and unaware. A correct assumption it appeared, as Erin approached the locked exit and screamed “Monsters!” as she looked through the glass pane at the top of the door to what lay beyond.

  Seraph rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Of course, there are monsters.” He hissed. “This is all part of the dungeon experience. It is literally full of monsters, and every time you scream, fate rolls the dice and decides whether or not we get swarmed by them.” She didn’t respond as she continued to look through the window, her hands pressed against the door. As Alexander and Paul moved toward the door to also look, he felt obligated to follow, keeping his attention focused on the splitting hallway behind them.

  Neither Paul nor Alexander screamed, but Seraph noticed fear etched on their faces. Not just on Alexander’s, but on Paul’s face too. That was something that had been lacking, even in the fight against the Gigas or when he faced the Kobolds. Seraph realized why when he looked through the windowpane and saw it. A va
st Hellscape was visible among the ruins of what had once been a town. A green mist lingered. Everywhere he looked, all he could see were hulking monstrous abominations of ruined flesh roaming aimlessly past destroyed cars and rotting mutilated mounds of corpses. This was something that Seraph feared too. He knew what those things were, and while he had been able to kill them in the other timeline, he could do nothing to stop them now. The Infernals.

  Seraph bent forward and whispered to them, “Slowly get away from the window, and stay away from those things out there from now on. Those things outside can kill any of us instantly. The Gigas was nothing compared to them.” Paul noticed Seraph’s fear and pointed to the door. It had been completely sealed, first by chain and then by what looked to be solder. For all purposes, at this point, it was a barrier—basically a wall, and a door no longer. Seraph breathed easier upon seeing that, but he still made the group move away as he saw one of the abominations drag a struggling body down the street by septic entrails. Even death was not an escape, Seraph noted.

  As they moved away, Seraph was reminded of something. If this was the dungeon and not an actual place, then those monsters couldn’t get inside, or at least they couldn’t get inside easily. The dungeon wasn’t immune to the incursions of the Infernals, but it did offer substantial protection from them. What Seraph didn’t know though was if the Infernals outside were dungeon constructs. Were they still part of the tutorial, or were they the real deal? He had to assume the latter and hope for the former.

  In a hushed whisper, Alexander asked Seraph the question that was on the mind of the rest of the group. “What are those things? Do you know? Are we safe?” They seemed to finally believe in him to an extent that he had some knowledge from the future, and in this case, he saw no reason to keep what he knew from them.

  “Yes, I know of them. In my other life, we called them ‘Infernals.’ I am not sure what they are, or where they come from—much of their origins are unknown—but they are extremely dangerous. Warriors level 300 and above were killed by these things. When they first appeared, they spread across the entire surface of the Earth and killed every single person who was not inside the dungeon. The dungeon was the only place safe from them. There were very few things that could hurt me before I restarted. The Infernals comprised the majority of the things on that list,” he explained.

  “The answer of what to do is easy enough. We will just avoid them for now. It's good to know they exist, and we are safer in knowing that we need to avoid them at all costs,” Paul added. “If this is part of the tutorial, they are out there either as a forewarning, or as a call in preparation to meet them one day.”

  As far as guesses go, it wasn’t a bad one, mused Seraph in agreement. “I don’t really know much about them. Even with foreknowledge, I’ve still got blind spots, and there are a lot of things I just don’t know enough about.”

  Erin spoke up. “Maybe it’s a clue. Things don’t just get put out there in a setting like this without reason.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Alexander as Paul and Seraph looked at her, wondering the same.

  Erin looked each of them in the eye and responded, “I know you don’t like me. I’m not stupid, and because I’m not stupid, I do notice things. I do know things. If what you told us is true, then this whole thing is about preparing us for something that’s to come. You told us those things out there eventually kill everyone. So, here’s what I think. Either this is about providing clues on how to prevent that by showing us some way to fight those things, or it’s about building up exposure to these Infernals so more people can be saved when the moment comes.”

  Seraph doubted it was about exposing people to the Infernals. Just simple exposure wouldn’t save anyone. It was near impossible for regular people to plan ahead for something like that, and those things were simply beyond what regular people could manage.

  “I think I’ve got it,” mused Alexander. “This is part of some tutorial, right? So, if only people who enter the dungeon are shown those things out there, and only people still on Earth are killed by them, why would the dungeon show them to us? I think you’re right Erin. It has to be the dungeon is trying to show us a way to fight those things. Somewhere in this building is the answer on how to defeat those things and save the Earth.”

  Seraph looked at him in shock as he spoke, and Alexander got a wide embarrassed smile, certain that he had messed up talking like he did out of turn. “You’re absolutely right. Both of you,” admitted Seraph. “There must be something here that we need to do before moving on—before using our tokens—and I'm willing to try and find it. Will you guys help me?”

  They both nodded in agreement, and as Seraph turned to his father Paul for his opinion, he found the man was gone. A moment of panic set into his bones as he started to fear that something had taken his father. It was only for a second though as he saw Paul opening another door.

  “What are you doing?” Seraph hissed.

  Paul responded back with a pointed finger at the sign that said “Office.”

  Seraph nodded; it was as good as any place to start.

  Chapter 12: True Colors

  * * *

  Without a word between them, and creeping as quietly as they could, Paul, Seraph, Erin, and Alexander snuck into the office that had been designated as a safe place. Treading carefully so as to avoid attracting the attention of any monsters nearby, their bodies pressed against each other in a stack as they moved. Each of them was filled with trepidation, unsure about what they might find inside. Even Seraph felt the tension. The presence of the Infernals just outside the walls of the school was a danger none of them could handle. If one somehow managed to get into the building, he would be forced to abandon them, his father included.

  Paul took the lead to open the door into the office, and on a whim, he checked to see if the light switch was working. To everyone's surprise, the office lit up, and when nothing moved, the remainder of the group followed Paul’s footsteps, closing the door and securing the room behind them.

  As they passed through the doorway, each of them had to resist the urge to gag as they were met with the hot and musty smell of stale air and old, rotted wood. It was clear that the people who had been here before had left in a hurry, as dust covered every surface, and then there was the moldy, spoiled remnants of food left out on the desks. Papers cracked and yellowed with age were sprawled everywhere, the counter space was cluttered with evidence of half-finished handyman tasks, and the receptionist’s desk looked as if it had been roughly pushed away in haste. All evidence that an abrupt incident had likely come to this place.

  Alexander went to open his mouth and say something but was stopped as Paul motioned to each of them to be quiet. He reached out and grabbed a claw hammer from within the handyman’s belt that lay on the floor in front of the counter. Paul pointed to Alexander and motioned for the man to follow him. They would make sure the area was clear before everyone spread out to begin looking around. Seraph, having already led the way through the dark, was okay with the change in duties. He would stay behind and make sure nothing came through the office door behind them. His responsibility was to keep the space secure.

  In just a few moments, Paul and Alexander came back from their security sweep.

  “All clear. No signs of danger. Maybe this really is a safe area,” Paul reported to the group as he allowed his posture to relax.

  Alexander nodded his head in agreement. “I didn’t hear or see anything either. This office is smaller than I thought though, it’s just this space here, and then those two rooms over there. It looks like a nurse’s station and then maybe the principal's office. I didn’t see any other doors though.”

  “Good thinking, you guys,” complimented Seraph. They were learning a bit. This wasn’t the world that they were used to anymore. Adjusting to the new normal would be to their benefit, it would help with everyone's survival, and the more they looked out for themselves, the less Seraph would have to reveal himself.


  “Alexander, give me a hand with this desk. We need to move it over there to barricade the door. It’s the only way in or out of here, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need to rest. I don’t think I've ever been this tired, and I need to lie down before I completely crash,” Paul said, his voice showing some of his weariness.

  He did seem tired, noted Seraph as he looked at his father's face. He then turned to each of the others’ faces. They all looked weary; fatigue was setting in already. Time worked differently in the dungeon, and it felt like days had passed—even though Seraph knew it had still only been a few hours since he had even talked Paul into entering the dungeon. But he also knew that if he was the last to have been transported into the gymnasium, the effect he currently felt was likely magnified for the others who had arrived earlier.

  “I’ll take first watch then,” Seraph said as he volunteered, much to everyone's surprise. He noted the surprise in irritation and had to shove down his feelings of anger at their response. It made sense for him to be the first one to stand guard. He had been the last to arrive. Did they not think somebody needed to keep watch? he thought.

  “I’ll look around a bit and see if I can find anything we can use, or anything of importance. I’ll make sure nothing bothers you guys while you’re asleep,” he explained. “This isn’t your home, and this isn’t a camping trip. You can’t ignore the need for security.”

  They all looked embarrassed by what he said. Especially his father. That answers it, Seraph thought. They didn’t think anyone needed to keep watch over everyone else's sleep. Seraph knew the look; it was the look of somebody who had known better. Paul had served in the military, where somebody was always on duty while everyone slept—especially when there was a threat of imminent danger. Here in the dungeon—with those things just outside, and who knew what inside—danger was close.