Murals of all kinds of fearsome and devastating creatures covered the walls of the Monster Melding Room. On the ground were three circles made by runes, big enough for all but the largest monsters to stand in.
The Monster Melding Room was one of my favorites because of the power it promised. All I had to do was create three different monsters and command each of them to stand in a different circle. The Monster Melding Room would combine them all, creating a single monster out of all three.
But here was the problem. There was no telling which of the three monsters’ traits would be used when the melding room combined them.
With my undead archers training in the arena to maximize their skills, I had to think of a separate form of attack I could employ in my fight. The spirit archers would provide mana-based projectile damage. This meant I needed something physical. Something that could smash the hell out of any creatures Aethos conjured. Not only that, but I wanted this monster to have thick skin. I wanted it to be able to take a real beating.
After thinking about it for a while and trying to work out what possible combinations the melding room could produce, I settled on which creatures I would use.
Gathering my essence inside me until it felt like a tight ball ready to be pulsed, I pictured three separate creatures.
My essence left me like a gust, and thin webs of light flashed in the chamber. Slowly, the monsters appeared.
There, standing in front of me, were a bone guy, a dread bear, and an ox. I felt a little sorry for the ox, given that its present company consisted entirely of either the undead or the resurrected. It didn’t seem to mind and was content to sniff the chamber floor and just stand there, its tail swishing behind it. The bear, however, was a little more animated. It reached across and pawed the bone guy.
“Stop that,” I said. “You’ll break him!”
I commanded the melding chamber to begin its work and then left. It was always advisable to leave the monster melding room when it started its work. It was unlikely, but there was always the chance that a core who hung around in the room might end up getting melded into the boss monster itself. Back when I was in the academy, there was a rumor that one core had ended up with the body of a rat, and had spent the rest of his days scuttling around his dungeon searching for cheese.
So instead, I floated back and forth in the hallway outside the room, anxious to see what it created. Finally, a message in my inner core told me that it was done.
Anxious, I entered the melding room.
I could barely comprehend the creature standing before me.
There is always an element of chance in using the melding room. You couldn’t control what it would produce, only the creatures you fed to it. By using the bone guy, bear, an ox, I had hoped for a creature with a bone guy’s tough defense, a bear’s ferocious power, combined with the stamina of an ox. As for appearances…well, the more horrible it looked, the better.
What the melding room had given me was a huge ox made from bone, with normal back legs that ended in hoofs, just as an ox’s legs usually would. But its front legs had great big paws with claws that looked like they could shred steel.
It wasn’t quite what I had hoped for, but I couldn’t say I was completely unhappy with the results.
There was only one last thing to do. I floated in front of the creature.
“Welcome to your new home. I am, Beno, the Dark Lord of this dungeon. It has become something of a tradition for my dungeon creatures to choose their own names. Would you like to tell me what I should call you?”
The beast snorted. Dungeon flies gathered around its rear end, only to be swatted away by its bony tail.
“Vile,” it said.
“Vile? As in, extremely unpleasant?” I said.
The bone ox’s black, dead eyes blinked. Its tail swished happily.
“My name is vile. It is a – snort - pleasure to meet you, Dark Lord.”
“Vile is a wonderful name! It inspires fear. Dread. You know, I once had a monster named Gary. That kind of moniker doesn’t quite instill terror.”
“Thank you. Would you be kind enough to direct me to the nearest bale of hay?”
“We don’t have any hay, I’m afraid, but I will send a kobold down to Heaven’s Peak to buy some after the fight.”
“Fight?” said Vile.
“Yes. I suppose we should have a chat.”
Chapter 26
My quarter-final battle was to be fought in an arena just below the Saucer of the Gods. It was the largest arena I had been in so far, which would give both Aethos and me some tactical flexibility. Especially in our use of traps. I just wished I had time for more of my essence to replenish.
A jovial crowd watched us from the seats surrounding the arena. There had already been one quarter-final before ours. As such, the crowd was already drunk and excited. Almost half of them lifted blank placards aloft, which made me feel much better. From the sidelines, gathered in front of the port door that led to my dungeon, were my clanmates.
Gill gave me a solemn nod when I looked his way. Bolton stood with his hands tucked inside his robe sleeves. Gulliver was nowhere to be seen, no doubt sitting with the crowd, where he would try and get as many quotes from as many people for use in the book he was writing to chronicle the events.
Across the arena, my opponent, Aethos, stared straight at me as the announcer ran through his usual tournament business.
This stare was a tactic that many cores employed, designed to psych the opponent out. I wasn’t interested in stupid games.
“And now,” said the announcer, “Ladies and gentlemen. Goblins and imps. Orcs and lizards. It is time for the second fight of the day! Please cheer for the Dungeon Core Academy.”
Various sections of the audience rose to their feet and clapped and hollered, holding placards with the Dungeon Core Academy emblem drawn on the front. Overseer Tarnbuckle, sitting at the edge of the arena behind Aethos, waved to the crowd.
“And let’s hear your appreciation for Beno and Jahn’s Dungeon Core Academy,” said the announcer, with much less enthusiasm.
Fewer spectators got to their feet, and the cheers were quieter than those the Dungeon Core Academy had received. Even so, it was much louder than the scant cheers I’d gotten in my first fight.
The announcer held his hands aloft.
“Core Aethos and Beno…you may now fight!”
He fled from the arena as if we were about to unleash our monsters on him. I tuned out everything. The smug smile of Overseer Tarnbuckle. The jeers of the crowd. I focused on my opponent, and I got to work.
Aethos began the first round with a surprise. Luckily, it was a surprise that played into my plan.
He created a lizard-pegasus and a yeti priestess. The pegasus flew into the air, circling above the arena. Every waft of its giant wings blew air into the faces of the amazed spectators.
It was a strange combination to use, a yeti-priestess, and a pegasus. I quickly guessed Aethos’ plan. The priestess’s job was to channel her mana and give the pegasus all kinds of boosts. Mana-fuelled defenses, magically-charged attacks, and that kind of thing. Meanwhile, the pegasus would swoop from the sky and attack my monsters.
On my side of the arena was Vile. The crowd stared at this monstrosity. I doubted they’d ever seen an ox made from bone, who had the paws of a bear. Flanking Vile were my undead spirit archers, their bows held tight and their arrows pointing to the sun.
Aethos made his first move.
The priestess began to cast a spell, luminescent-green mana gathering around her as she chanted.
“Now,” I commanded Vile.
The skeletal ox charged with surprising speed, covering the full length of the arena within seconds. It reminded me of a curious fact about bears. Despite their size, they could run faster than a man. It seemed that Vile had inherited this part of his bear side, as well as the claws.
Aethos reacted quickly, using his essence to create pockets of boiling tar in Vile’s path.
The black goo churned, and smoke rose from it before dispersing into the air. An oily stench began to fill the arena, forcing spectators to cover their mouths with their sleeves and tie handkerchiefs around their faces.
I had already realized that Vile wouldn’t have the agility to change his course. He had the speed of the bear but also had the cumbersome agility to match. He was like a rolling boulder, and his momentum would not let him make sharp movements.
Across the arena, my spirit archers fired at the pegasus as it swept through the air. Despite my use of Essential Overload to boost their starting skills, they struggled to hit the flying horse.
They weren’t going to be able to take it down. I needed to help them out, but I had to be careful with my essence. The amount stored in my core would have to last me for the full fight.
Desperate for something to slow the pegasus down, I evaluated all the traps available to me.
I settled on one, gathering essence into my core and pulsing it out. Combined with the image I had settled on in my mind, the essence formed a trap.
It was a simple trick. But then, the best ones always are.
A net appeared in the air above my half of the arena. The pegasus flew straight into it, neighing and wheezing as the net wrapped around its wings, forcing them against its side.
It plummeted to the ground, smashing its head into the stone.
The archers wasted no time, lacing the pegasus with arrows as it desperately tried to escape the net.
On the other side of the arena, Vile charged through the pits of burning tar. Black goop clung to his legs and splashed onto his bony body. I watched with alarm as his hitpoints began to fall.
The only thing that reassured me was the band of metal on Vile’s right front leg. The Bracelet of Stored Agony allowed Vile to charge through the tar without feeling pain.
This made all the difference.
The pain would have made him stop. All it would take was a second of pause, and the pits of tar would claim him completely.
The bracelet allowed him to charge through. After he cleared them, his hitpoints fell a little more, and then stopped as the tar cooled on his body.
The priestess, seeing a hideous beast made from bone charging at her, frantically shouted the words of a spell.
She spat out just a few syllables before a bear claw swung at her, tearing through her neck. She collapsed on the ground, her body limp. The arena magic would revive her after the fight, of course, but that didn’t make it any less of a gruesome display.
Parts of the crowd screamed. Some got to their feet, their faces radiating delight at the show of violence. Others turned away, pale-faced, while parents put their hands over children’s eyes.
It served them right for bringing their kids to a core battle. What did they expect? That we’d settle it with a peaceful debate?
My archers fired a final few arrows into the pegasus until it stopped struggling under the net and was still.
The announcer waddled into the arena, a surprised look on his face.
“The winner of round one is… Beno and Jahn’s Dungeon Core Academy.”
He sounded like he couldn’t believe his own words. I struggled with it myself. I had hoped I could match Aethos, but I didn’t think I would win the first round.
Before floating towards the port door to go back to the dungeon and prepare for round two, I made sure to look at Overseer Tarnbuckle.
His face was pure thunder. He stared back at me. I was sure that if it was possible, he would have cheerfully crossed the arena and destroyed me with his bare hands.
But I should have known not to be so optimistic that early in the fight.
Driven by his defeat in round one, Aethos began the second round by using something I knew well.
There, on his side of the arena, was an obelisk.
This wasn’t an obelisk made of flesh, like the one I had seen the Academy of the Infernal Obelisk use. That was a secret that they would never share with another academy.
Instead, this obelisk wasn’t even a living thing. It was a trap. A tall, thin column of stone with a pointed top. The surface was covered in rune symbols. So many that barely an inch of stone was bare.
After my lesson with Gill, I knew what this meant. Right now, Aethos would have five different types of essence sitting in his Mid-Foundation core. Throughout the fight, he would send different types of essence into the obelisk.
The question was, what would the obelisk do with the essence?
I soon got my answer. After winning round one in such style, I headed into the second round with the undead spirit archers and Vile.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That was something people said. A rule that con-artist carriage mechanics often broke.
I figured I could win round two using the archers and Vile. Even if I didn’t, I still had two creatures to use for around three. Aethos would already be weakened because he’d have lost two creatures in the first round, and his second-round monsters would take a battering trying to kill a giant ox made from bone.
This was my biggest mistake in the fight.
Aethos sent three elemental jellies into the fray. The goop that forms elemental jellies makes them especially receptive to elemental powers. They are the living version of a mana sponge, if such a thing exists.
Not only that, but they had the ability to move very quickly over the ground and through the air.
This meant that my bone guys couldn’t get a clear shot on them. Vile was capable of running fast enough to catch the jellies, but he couldn’t turn quickly enough to keep up with them zigzagging all across the arena.
If this wasn’t worrying enough, Aethos began feeding essence into his obelisk.
His first essence was pure white in color, like the flash of a mana explosion. A symbol lit up on the obelisk. It was a halo with sunlight shining down on it.
Oh, hells.
I knew what this meant. It gave me a dark feeling deep in my core.
The obelisk sent the essence out to one of the elemental jellies. The jelly became pure white and yellow, like a cloud bathed in sunlight.
It was holy essence, according to the tome of essence that Gill had made me study. Often used by clerical cores, most of which were now gone from Xynnar. How the academy got hold of this essence, I had no idea.
Being undead, my archers were especially vulnerable to holy essence. When the jelly clashed with them, its essence poured out.
Sunlight corrupted their bones, quickly whittling the archers into dust. Within a blink, all that remained of them were twin piles of ash. A bow rested on top of each.
This left me with Vile as my only monster for round two. I quickly tried to improvise, pouring through my mental list of traps I could create. With just 400 essence remaining, it didn’t leave much.
A spike pit?
A pitfall?
Neither would help against the jellies. The obelisk was on Aethos’ side of the arena, so I couldn’t create a pitfall underneath it.
Aethos sent more essence into his obelisk. Once again, he filled it with holy essence. The obelisk transferred it to another elemental jelly, and this one floated head-on into Vile’s path.
I knew what was coming, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
The holy light devoured Vile’s bone body, peeling back his skeleton and crumbling it onto the arena ground.
Vile lurched onto his belly with a thump, sending a cloud of dust up from the arena. The Bracelet of Stored Agony stopped him feeling pain, but Vile couldn’t even move his legs, let alone attack.
The fact that Vile and the archers weren’t really dead was little consolation to me. I had lost round two.
It wasn’t long before the announcer declared Aethos the winner. This time, I didn’t look at Overseer Tarnbuckle.
I didn’t see how I could even compete in round three. Many of the monsters in my dungeon were underpowered compared to Aethos’ elemental attacks, or they were nursing wounds from previo
us fights.
This was the end of my journey. It had to be.
I almost didn’t want to go through the port door, as I knew I would have to face the rest of the dungeon. I had let them all down.
Gritting my metaphorical teeth, I swallowed those dark thoughts. The least I owed my clanmates was to fight round three with everything I had.
And so, I headed toward the portdoor to prepare. As I did, I noticed that some of the crowd had begun to flip their placards around, so that the blank sides were no longer showing.
But that wasn’t the only thing I noticed about the crowd.
They were all staring at the sky.
“Look!” shouted one man, spilling beer from his mug as he pointed.
An excited din rose among the spectators. The Dungeon Core academy overseers whispered to each other.
The tournament announcer stared at the sky, his mouth open in shock.
Hurtling towards the arena, using what looked like ropes made from mana, were a score of men and women. They held weapons in their hands and daggers between their teeth. Printed on their leather armor was a symbol of the Shielded Republic.
Chapter 27
The arena erupted into chaos as more and more Shielded Republic soldiers repelled down their mana ropes and landed in the arena. Spectators fled from their seats, soon clogging up the doors that led out of the arena and into God’s Fist.
They began to crush each other in their desperation, and nothing the tournament orderlies could do to separate them helped. Finally, the orderlies gave it up and tried and joined the crush of people trying to flee.
In the arena, the soldiers of the Shielded Republic fanned out into a practiced formation. They were armed with swords, spears, and axes, but none of them had shields. I thought that was strange, considering their name.
I didn’t have to wait long for an explanation.
The soldiers began tracing their fingers over the republic symbols on their leather armor. The symbols lit up, and giant shields formed in front of each man and woman.
Dungeon Core Academy: Books 1-7 (A LitRPG Series) Page 148