“If this is the Lady’s will, then so be it. I am nothing but her servant. I will submit to any punishment if it is in defense of this city,” Alex said in a loud voice, trying to exude a sense of calm he didn’t quite feel.
***
It took another couple of hours to round up and destroy the remaining cultists and Masters. The golden-robed men and women were surprisingly resilient and resourceful. Their ability to shapeshift made it difficult to catch them. They were also formidable opponents since they could alter their bodies to cater to their foe’s strengths and weaknesses.
Jason was forced to place a defensive force at the tunnel leading into the Minotaur King’s throne room to stop any of the cultists from escaping. He then ordered his remaining minions to perform a systematic sweep of the city. Riley volunteered to lead the scouting parties, and Jason didn’t try to argue with her. She seemed to have a personal vendetta to sort out.
As the rest of the cultists were being routed and destroyed, Jason and Frank made their way to the northwest end of the city. Several minotaur skeletons flanked them on either side as they walked. They planned to investigate the Masters’ laboratory and determine whether there was anything worth looting. As they trudged down the dusty road, Jason inspected his notifications from the last battle.
x9 Level Up!
You have (145) undistributed stat points.
Corpse Explosion Alternate Effect Unlocked
At the cost of all your remaining mana, Corpse Explosion can be cast on all summoned zombies within sight of the caster. This is a spell of last resort since it will leave the caster weakened and defenseless. Exercise caution.
New Passive Skill: Spell Multi-Targeting
Repeatedly casting your spells on multiple opponents has given you insight into targeting multiple enemies. You may now cast multi-target spells more efficiently. Higher levels of this skill may enable you to increase the number of targets.
Skill Level: Beginner Level 1
Effect 1: -1% mana cost when targeting multiple opponents. Max targets currently 4.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Leadership
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 4
Effect 1: Minions and subjects will receive a 7.5% increase learning speed for skills.
Effect 2: Increased reputation with NPC commanders and leaders.
x2 Spell Rank Up: Custom Skeleton
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 1
Effect 1: You may raise a custom skeleton using nearby bones. The skeleton’s level is calculated as the caster’s level + Willpower/70.
Effect 2: Mana cost reduced by 5%.
x1 Spell Rank Up: Corpse Explosion
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 4
Effect: Increased damage and radius (Currently 1.13 x Health).
Effect 2: 4% increased blast radius.
Alternate: Destroys all summoned zombies in the caster’s line of sight at the cost of 100% of the caster’s remaining mana. Leaves the caster weakened.
Interesting. I thought that spells could only be learned from trainers like Morgan. If I can discover alternate effects, then perhaps I could also discover spells on my own.
Jason was continually surprised by how much he didn’t understand about the game. In many ways, it felt like he had been playing for months, yet it had only been a few weeks in the real world.
He also wasn’t certain what he planned to do with his free stat points. They were starting to add up, and a part of him just wanted to dump them into Willpower. In these last few fights, more minions would have been helpful, especially if he continued to leave zombies with other people like he had done in Peccavi. However, he had no idea what would happen when he completed the quest that the Old Man had given him. He was reluctant to waste the points.
With a sigh, Jason pulled up his Character Status to review where he currently stood.
Even with the experience penalty from playing with Frank and Riley, he had still progressed nicely. Apparently, killing a ruined city filled with cultists helped expedite the leveling process. Jason waved away his notifications as the pair finally reached the end of the northwestern road. It terminated in a compound of stone buildings surrounded by a high wall. A mangled wrought-iron gate hung loosely on its hinges, providing little resistance to the pair as they entered the complex.
Frank and Jason stopped short as they entered a small courtyard wedged between towering stones structures. Cages ringed the enclosure. Jason could hear a shuffling sound from the metal cages. As he looked closer, he could see that many were filled with wild animals, including many wolves. However, near the back, he discovered a row of cages filled with naked men and women. They slinked back against the bars in fear as they saw Frank and Jason.
“They’re barely human anymore,” Frank muttered.
Jason couldn’t respond immediately. These former peasants had been mangled almost beyond recognition. Parts of their bodies had been detached and replaced with animal parts. One man was missing both of his arms, only sutured wounds remaining, and one leg had been replaced with what appeared to be a bear’s leg. He moaned piteously, and his mad eyes stared at them as they walked past. Unfortunately, the other peasants weren’t in much better condition.
“This is sick,” Jason said in a low voice. He wasn’t even certain his Undead Devotion spell could save their bodies. Even if it could, it likely wouldn’t do anything for their minds. Many of the men and women in the cages appeared to have gone mad - almost certainly a byproduct of the torture and experimentation they had experienced at the cultists’ hands.
“What do we do?” Frank asked, eyeing the peasants with a mixture of pity and horror.
Jason hesitated. He knew there was only one solution available to him, but he was still reluctant. The humane thing to do was to put these people out of their misery. They couldn’t be saved, either by magic or mundane means.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before sending the mental command to the skeletal minotaurs around them. The hulking skeletons approached each cage, smashing the locks with their axes. As the maddened and sick humans inside tried to crawl toward the newfound exits, the minotaurs’ blades sliced through their necks with little resistance.
“You’re just going to kill them?” Frank asked, aghast as he watched the massacre.
Jason opened his eyes, dark mana permeating his body and struggling to fight back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He met his friend’s gaze evenly. “What would you have me do? Nothing can be done now. Their bodies are destroyed beyond redemption, and they’ve been driven mad by these… these experiments.”
Frank looked between Jason and the swiftly decreasing number of slaves, his expression conflicted. “I guess I don’t see a better way,” he said quietly.
“There are others on the northeastern side that we can still save,” Jason said. “Just remind yourself of that.”
Alfred padded up beside Jason and watched the scene unfolding before them with dispassionate eyes. Jason glanced down at the cat, briefly meeting his gaze. The AI had created this disgusting scene, yet Jason could begin to understand the point he had made several days ago. As conflicted as he felt about putting the villagers out of their misery, it felt satisfying to cleanse this city of the “evil” cultists.
I suppose we all need something to fight against, he thought reluctantly.
As the minotaurs took care of the rest of the misshapen test subjects, Jason and Frank inspected the buildings that made up the compound. They swiftly discovered a horrifying parody of a laboratory set up in one of the larger buildings.
Bloodied instruments adorned one wall, while a stone table stood in the center of the room. Around the table, a rough pentagram had been chiseled into the stone floor. Within each of the five points of the star stood an iron pillar. Four of the columns held various ingredients, some of which Jason couldn’t identify. However, the fifth column held an open book. The pages were yellowed with age and a substance that looked suspiciously like b
lood spotted the paper.
Frank walked up to the book slowly, grumbling under his breath, “It’s going to be some kind of death cult book of doom. It’ll probably melt my face off…” He stood in front of the book for a long moment. Then he sighed and reached out his hand, “But it’s still loot.”
Jason chuckled involuntarily from where he stood off to the side of the room, discretely putting a minotaur skeleton between him and Frank. He didn’t really expect the book to do anything, but he was still going to prepare for the worst. Frank’s hand touched the book, but nothing happened. Then he grabbed the tome and flipped through the pages, his brow furrowed in confusion.
“I have no idea what this is supposed to be,” Frank said. “It’s all written in some strange language, and, when I inspect it, it just says unknown.”
Jason shrugged. “We can always raise one of the Masters and get them to explain what it is or ask that cultist we imprisoned upstairs. In the meantime, let’s keep exploring the place. There might be something worth hauling off.”
After a few minutes of investigating the remaining rooms, the pair had found a ridiculous number of golden robes and a few decent staves and wands. Apparently, those were the sorts of items weird shapeshifting cultists toted around with them.
“This game’s loot is too realistic,” Frank complained as they made their way back into the courtyard. The minotaur skeletons had neatly stacked the corpses of the villagers against one wall while they investigated the buildings.
“I’d give anything for some decent magic armor,” Frank continued in a sullen voice. “Or some rings. Maybe an amulet with a strength enchantment.” Frank sighed wistfully, dreaming of loot.
Jason just looked at his friend skeptically. Of course there isn’t any useful equipment here. These were a bunch of spellcasting cultists after all.
“Hey, guys!” a shout came from behind them.
Jason turned and caught sight of Riley entering the courtyard. She was flanked by minotaur skeletons, an ominous red mist curling and coiling around the group. In the center of the throng stood the skeleton bull that had captured a Master during the battle. The man was bound to the skeleton’s bleached white body. Arrows protruded from his hands and feet, and his mouth was gagged. The light mage beside him continuously cast Light Heal on the Master, the intermittent flashes of light keeping him alive.
“Hi, Riley,” Jason greeted. “I take it the rest of the city is clear?”
Riley nodded. “Yes, I’ve also ordered several of the minotaurs to pile the corpses of the captured villagers. None of them made it,” she said in a dark voice.
Then her eyes focused on the pile of mangled corpses lying against the wall of the courtyard. Her expression darkened, and her mana flared. Tattoos of energy crawled up her arms. “What happened here?” she asked in a low voice.
“The Masters. These were the current test subjects,” Frank said shortly, coming up beside the two of them. “Jason put the poor bastards out of their misery.”
“This is disgusting,” Riley murmured, her hand cradling the hilt of the dagger at her hip. Her gaze shifted to the man strapped to the totem, and he flinched under her gaze.
Frank snorted. “The worst news is that there isn’t much to salvage here. All we found was this book,” he said, brandishing the dark tome.
The Master strapped to the minotaur skeleton made a loud grunt, straining against the ropes that kept him bound. “Huh,” Jason said. “Looks like that book is something special. Why don’t we hear what the Master has to tell us.”
With a wave of his hand, a zombie approached the bound man, ripping the gag from his mouth. The Master gasped for air for a moment, before croaking at Jason, “I won’t answer your questions. I will be free eventually, and I will gut you like one of the slaves.”
Before Jason could react, Riley stepped forward, punching the man in the stomach. The Master responded immediately, dark scales crawling up his abdomen before the blow could land. Her fist landed with a dull thud. The man smirked at Riley. “You think you can hurt me, girl?”
Riley’s lips curled into a cruel grin. “Why don’t you look down.” The man glanced to his waist, where Riley’s blade was pressed against his groin.
“You can shift your limbs, but I’m curious whether you can regrow extremities. Why don’t we find out?” Riley asked in a steady voice. Her dark eyes flashed with poorly concealed anger.
The Master gulped, his mouth working as he tried to find his voice. “You wouldn’t,” he finally gasped.
Riley didn’t hesitate. Her other hand flashed forward, a dagger materializing out of thin air and ripping a jagged tear in the man’s stomach, which had slowly shifted back to regular flesh. The Master screamed in pain as blood poured from the wound and he looked down at his stomach in horror. Then another flash of light struck the man, and the wound began to close.
“Go ahead. Test me,” Riley said in a growl. “Next time, you lose your manhood. Now answer our questions. What. Is. The. Book?”
The Master looked at her, a trace of fear in his eyes. Then he glanced at the black book in Frank’s hand. “That’s a skill book. It teaches the transformation ability used by the Masters.” His mouth morphed into a mocking grin. “But you heathens won’t be able to use it. Only the Masters can - those that stand in parity among the four elemental affinities.”
Frank looked at the book with a thoughtful expression, his hand rubbing at his chin. Then he placed the tome in his satchel. Jason noted his friend’s odd look and that he had pocketed the book. They would need to discuss the matter later.
Jason glanced at Riley with a worried expression. Her behavior was a bit out of character, but now wasn’t the time to bring it up. For now, her anger was an asset. He turned back to the Master, raising an eyebrow. “What did you hope to accomplish here? Why were you experimenting on these people?”
The Master didn’t respond immediately, his eyes taking on a look of manic excitement and staring feverishly at Jason. “We are going to do something that no mortal has ever accomplished. We are working to summon a god! A seventh affinity,” he gave a harsh laugh of triumph.
“We are so close - so close,” he babbled. “It’s below us now. Feeding. Growing stronger.”
Frank looked at the Master in shock. “What the hell could you hope to gain by creating a god?”
The man’s fever-filled eyes spun to focus on Frank’s form. “Immortality and power of course. When we give life to a god, he will reward his creators, won’t he? You will see. He will look kindly upon those that introduced him to the world.”
Riley snorted indelicately. “More likely it would kill the lot of you if you even managed to succeed,” she snarled. “I would actually relish the opportunity to see that.”
Jason pondered the Master’s words. There must be some sort of boss creature below them. He needed that thing’s heart for the Old Man’s quest. Yet he could only imagine what it might look like or how strong it might be. He also hadn’t seen any obvious entrance to the boss room so far. Was it hidden?
“We want to see this god that you’ve created,” Jason said. “Can you show us where it is?”
The Master’s bloody lips split into a mad grin. “Oh yes. You would feed the creature quite nicely. I will show you.”
Frank and Riley glanced at Jason with worried eyes.
“Are you seriously going to try to kill the beast?” Frank asked.
Jason smiled as he looked at the Master. “Of course not. You heard the man,” Jason replied. He turned to look at his friends. “We’re going to kill a god.”
Chapter 22 - Futile
Alex sat in a prison cell, his back resting against the rough stone wall behind him. Sunlight trickled through an iron grating embedded into the thick walls of the keep, faintly illuminating the enclosed space. Alex knew that, later that day, he would be publicly tried for inciting insurrection and sentenced to death. Everything was going according to Caerus’ plan.
He wasn’t
scared to die in-game. It had happened a few times before. While the experience was far from pleasant, he knew that it wasn’t lasting. His real body wouldn’t suffer any harm, and his character would respawn in less than an hour. Even the NPCs knew that his death wasn’t permanent. Yet that wasn’t the point of the performance that would be put on in a few hours. This execution was symbolic. It demonstrated that Strouse could kill anyone, NPCs and travelers alike, with a simple command.
Alex’s thoughts were interrupted as he heard a guard speaking outside his cell. “Hey, Randy,” a gruff voice said. “They have you on the night shift again?”
Alex couldn’t see the pair, but he heard the other man sigh before replying, “Story of my life, John. I have to guard this blond-haired twit they arrested in the market today. Can you believe this ‘prophet’ was preaching insurrection in the middle of the city?”
John snorted. “A prophet, huh? I wonder if he’s just hearing voices. They should throw him in the drunk tank. There are plenty of people in there that think they can talk to gods. He could make some friends!”
Randy chuckled darkly. “Well, he’d have to be crazy to go against Strouse. His head is going to roll for it tomorrow,” Randy replied in a dire tone.
As Alex listened to the conversation, he could feel his blood boil. He wanted to dash to the bars and scream at the guards, but he managed to restrain himself. The point of this sham was to act the part of a prophet. A man who spoke the word of a supposedly compassionate god couldn’t scream at his guardsmen or start casting spells from behind the bars.
As Alex sat there fuming, a small dark form padded softly down the hall outside his cell. He barely caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, the figure’s sinuous black body melding into the shadows cast by the torches lining the interior hallway of the dungeon. As Alex watched the form, its feline eyes met Alex’s.
Awaken Online: Precipice Page 31