Underworld - Through the Belly of the Beast: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  Stepping back, I cut the mana flow to Wail of the Banshee. All I could do was react.

  The stone fist pummeled into my bone-encased kite shield. It drove my shield back, smacking me on the forehead, whipping my helm back. Off balance, I fell and landed on my rear. Embarrassed and a bit shaken, I retaliated. Jabbing my scepter forward, I didn’t think and unleashed Wail of the Banshee, letting my mana flow without limit.

  An immense amount of mana was funneled into the spell. It had no problem finishing the last Elemental, but it didn’t end there. There was so much force that the entire room started to shake. The bars on the far side of the room started to crack.

  Immediately, I cut the flow of mana, but it was too late.

  The stone bars slowly started to crumble from the top to bottom until there was an avalanche of rubble.

  As the dust cloud settled, I saw the next challenge. It wasn’t an Earth Elemental, but a Greater one.

  Greater Earth Elemental

  Level: 425

  Health Points: 14,160

  Mana Points: NA

  Endurance: 5,275

  Strength: 566

  Dexterity: 141

  Constitution: 1,416

  Intelligence: 50

  Wisdom: 20

  Instead of a humanoid that looked like a normal-sized stone man, this thing had buffed up and looked like a small graphite-colored hulk. Did the different coloring mean my strategy wouldn’t work? If its looks had been the only thing that changed I wouldn’t have been worried, but it was also level 425. If that last group had been able to get a shot off on me because it had taken me so long to kill them, then I just might be in trouble with this higher level one.

  There was little difference in its mana flow except for the creature’s size. Regardless, a larger body held more magic power.

  When it settled its black pupils upon me, I knew my normal strategy of letting my Golem try to distract it wouldn’t work. Invisibility hadn’t fully engaged before this creature had spotted me.

  Without hesitation, it took a step forward, reached back and threw its doubly large fist from its body. It flew right at my chest.

  Channeling mana into my eyes, time was once again my ally. As I rolled to the side, I checked my character sheet.

  Mana Points: 9,337

  I’ve used so much.

  I wasn’t close enough to use Flame Thrower yet. Until proven to be unworkable, I would stick to the same strategy.

  With Invisibility fully active, I slowly made it to my feet, having to step to the side to dodge another stone fist, which had already started to grow back on the Elemental’s wrist.

  This guy was no joke.

  I sent my Golem on a collision course, hoping it would be able to dodge the next projectile and give me a few seconds to get closer. While it did that, I made for the opposite side of the room and inched toward the Elemental

  The mob lunged forward, clearing almost ten feet. Its fist sped towards my Golem’s abdomen. There was nothing it could do.

  In a single hit, my minion exploded at the waist and buckled over to the ground lifeless.

  It had been enough. Now positioned at its flank, my Flame Thrower enveloped it.

  I feared I would need to let it bake under Flame Thrower’s flames longer than the normal Elemental, but I only allowed the normal three seconds.

  Ducking away from a flying fist, I loosed Wail of the Banshee.

  As particles started to vibrate off of it, it leaped right at me.

  At least it seemed to be working.

  It cocked its fist back as it flew.

  I could jump to the side and restart the attack, but I watched my mana sink lower and lower as I held the spell. There was another option. Dipping low, I readied for the impact.

  As it approached, I lowered my scepter, allowing the spell to continue to reverberate.

  The Greater Elemental reached back further with its fist, readying to release all the tension in its neck and hip. It stared right through me. With its head no more than four feet away, its fist flew forward.

  I took a step to the side and launched up with my legs from the ground. Mana built at the tip of my weapon. I twisted my torso as my scepter hooked up, jarring it into the Elemental’s chest. The Sonic Bomb I had been holding back ignited.

  Wail of the Banshee howled like it never had before. The difficulty of directing the spell disappeared when my bone-covered scepter jabbed into its stone flesh.

  I felt no resistance as my scepter drove right through the stone that had been there a moment before. Its back ruptured from the attack and exploded in every direction.

  I braced myself against the projectiles that had once been its head and arm. The rest of it fell into gravel and dust.

  Not one, but two level ups streamed from the floor thanks to the bonus experience from it being my first Greater Earth Elemental.

  With a look, I saw it was a close call.

  Mana Points: 1,197

  With my Mana Per Minute and my Golem dead, not draining additional mana, I would recover quickly, but minutes were not something I could afford in the middle of battle.

  Seeing that I had reached level 266, I immediately dumped my 45 extra skill points into Intelligence to increase my maximum base mana to 39,074. There was no doubt that I really needed to get my Intelligence to 1,000. I didn’t know what kind of bonus I would get, but I expected it to be similar to the massive jump in power I had when I reached 1,000 Wisdom.

  I had just defeated a Greater Earth Elemental that was 150 levels higher than me. It was a great accomplishment, but the higher the level and stronger the mob the more mana I needed to make a dent. My limitations were starting to become clear. It would help if I didn’t let my excitement get the better of me.

  With 652 Intelligence, I needed 70 levels to reach 1,000. That was something I could do. I remembered that I needed to check back with Aeris soon, but with the respawn rate, I had time to get over halfway there.

  Smiling to myself, I turned back from facing the Greater Earth Elementals for now and found the door that led to another group of five normal Earth Elementals. They might get off an attack or two, but now that I knew it was coming, it was something I could fend off. Opening the door, I got to work.

  Chapter 9 – The Oven

  I had made sure all the doors were closed as I exited the Bone Palace. My Golem I deposited to keep hidden from Aeris. I would reveal it when the time was right. It was time to leave when I was only 9 levels from level 315, so I stayed a little longer than Aeris and I had agreed to. Two hours and twenty minutes later, I exited.

  I took a look at the results.

  Mana Points: 41,324

  Intelligence: 877

  25 levels left to go until what I hoped would be my next big jump in power.

  “Took you long enough,” Aeris chided from the side of the palace entrance. She was leaning there in her plate mail with her arms crossed and an exaggerated scowl across her helmetless face.

  It seemed I had been seeing her like this a lot lately.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked, surprised she was alone.

  “Everyone but Richard left.”

  “Richard?” I asked.

  A shaggy brown head popped out from behind Aeris at knee level. He waved.

  I think I had only spoken to him a few times. He was the one that warned me through Private Message during Lord Darius’s attack that the group that had been in hiding was being attacked by a platoon of zombies.

  I scratched an invisible itch at the top of my helmet. “Sorry.”

  “You’re only half forgiven. We were able to hear you fighting from here, so we knew you weren’t dead.”

  “Half?”

  “Oh yeah,” she said matter-of-factly, “I think you owe me a leech. Like this freeloader here.”

  She swung her finger around with a flourish before pointing directly at Richard.

  “Hey!” he complained. “I don’t have any offensive talents.”


  Standing, he crossed his surprisingly large steel-wrapped forearms across his well-armored chest. He was kind of short but thick like a fighter and carried nothing but a tower shield that looked too big for him to lift.

  “What are your abilities, Richard? We haven’t really gotten to hunt together,” I asked.

  “Defense and long-distance communication.”

  I knew about his communication ability, but defense? I prodded him about it.

  “Yes, defense. My talent is wearing armor and wielding a shield,” he said with a shrug. “Unless you want to make a phone call, I’m just a meat shield.”

  “That’s amazing. Not everyone can hide behind their cellphone,” I jested.

  “Eh. Well, that’s true.”

  “So,” Aeris butted in, “how did you do?”

  I looked at her blank-faced for an uncomfortable moment, before smiling like a maniacal demon lord.

  “Don’t do that!” she said, pushing off the wall and inching away from me. “That’s weird.”

  “Is level 315 weird?”

  Her mouth dropped open before she replied, “No you didn’t!”

  Holding out my Character Sheet to her, I made sure she had plenty of time to take it all in.

  “Wait,” she said, still studying it. “What is your max mana when you meditate?”

  “41,000.”

  Shaking her head, she turned her attention to her inventory. I craned my neck as if it would make it easier to see. She pulled out a small ore and threw it at my chest. It clinked off, doing no damage.

  “Uh. What was that for?” I asked.

  “No reason. I just thought it was appropriate to hit you with a rock,” she said with a mocking grin.

  Richard shrugged, shifting his eyes to the floor.

  “Well, if that’s all, I’m going to go back to hunting then,” I said, doing an about-face.

  “Don’t you dare, Elorion. Tell us already. What is the palace like? What about the mobs? Is there any loot? Is it good?”

  “Are they edible?” Richard added.

  Our eyes shot to him.

  “I’m hungry,” he said, cringing under the attention.

  “You told me you were fine,” Aeris rebuked.

  “You said you would help me level while we waited. I wanted the experience.”

  Her face scrunched up as she shook her head at him like he was crazy.

  I snickered.

  “It might be easier if I showed you,” I said, jumping in.

  “Let’s go!” Aeris said, suddenly forgetting her scowl and skipping past me.

  Had she just been waiting for me to offer?

  “Hey, wait up!” Richard said as she left without us. “Should I message the others?”

  ***

  Silver light shone from Aeris’s hand the moment before a compressed Wind Slash shot off, screaming toward the Earth Elemental. The wind spell had been compressed to the length of a dagger’s blade.

  The Elemental at the center of the room shuffled back as her attack slammed into it. Her attack engraved a deep groove across its chest.

  -412 HP

  It was more, much more than I had anticipated.

  “Okay, let me dry it out!” I called as the mob turned its attention to her.

  “Not yet!” Aeris replied.

  She had taken one corner of the room and I had taken another.

  “I have one more thing left to try,” she added.

  She was decked out in her full plate mail but faced it empty-handed. Instead of an orb or weapon to channel her spell, she wore pearl-colored knuckle rings on her thumb and pinky finger that were connected across the palm by a silver chain. In the center of the chain was a perfectly round crystal that lit up with smoky silver light when she cast a spell.

  The light flashed again from her outstretched hand. It wasn’t a Wind Slash that sped forward, but a gale of wind that could have enveloped a small car.

  The burst battered the Elemental, sending it crashing to the floor. It skidded back under the onslaught.

  -1,499 HP.

  “Gale Girl does it again!” Richard announced, deepening his voice like an announcer. He was standing at the entrance.

  “Richard!” Aeris rebuked.

  Seeing the Elemental still had over 8k HP, I didn’t hesitate to soak it in fire.

  After a few seconds, I called, “Now!”

  Her hand lit up, expelling another Wind Slash. This one soared right into the Elemental’s throat.

  Now that it had become brittle, her spell’s effect was on a whole other level. It cut through the Elemental like a power washer through packed earth.

  -3,691 HP

  The Elemental’s head started tipping to the side. The mob’s arms caught it before it fell off entirely. Unexpectedly, the rock at the base of its neck liquified and rose up to join with the severed head. Its HP wasn’t restored, but its functionality returned before our eyes.

  “Finish it!” I called.

  There was a sudden encore of five Wind Slashes. One re-severed its head, and the remainder removed its arms and legs. Its HP had been depleted before the last Slash connected, but Aeris didn’t take chances.

  As if thanking it for her new levels, she curtseyed like a refined lady in plate mail.

  “There you have it, folks! Bow before Gale Girl, or your limbs will find a better home on the floor!” Richard rumbled.

  “Richard,” I said, glowering at him.

  “Sorry. I had a Twitch channel. It’s a habit,” he replied.

  “If there were other mobs, you could get us killed,” Aeris added with a sigh. She acted as if this was an ongoing problem.

  “Yeah,” he said, knocking his helmet against the wall, “sorry.”

  We left the room so Aeris could recover her mana. As we waited I cleared the side rooms with two, three and four Elementals.

  “Level 186!” she said as I rejoined them.

  “How long until you reach 1,000 Wisdom?” I asked.

  “25 levels exactly!”

  “Holy zombie poo! I don’t even have 500 in a stat.” Richard pouted.

  He was level 147, so he really wasn’t far behind the others. He must have been really good at getting a leech. Honestly, in his predicament, I couldn’t blame him. There was also no denying his worth. The ability to communicate across long distances didn’t seem like much until you were going without it.

  “Skeletor!” called a familiar voice from behind Richard. It was Olivia. Russ and Travis were there with her.

  “He’s not wearing his skeleton armor,” Travis observed.

  Crossing her arms, Oliva rolled her eyes and pouted. “He will always be Skeletor to me.”

  “Hey, guys!” Aeris greeted.

  I held up my hand and gave a halfhearted wave as I shut the door to the fourth side room.

  Russ lumbered over to me with his visor up and grabbed me in a bear hug. His plate mail almost seemed too small to contain him. It didn’t have any runes but was brightly polished steel.

  Travis patted me on the shoulder. He didn’t wear any steel mail but wore a leather vest over a thick green fabric. Instead of pants, he wore modern-day athletic shorts.

  Like a professional cosplayer, Olivia was dressed like an amazon warrior. Not the kind of scantily clad types you see in movies, but in a steel studded vest that hugged her shape while allowing full movement. She had ornate pauldrons, the armor encasing her shoulders, a bronze round shield and a branch with thick, oval-shaped leaves at its end. The branch was a wand that upped her Nature Magic.

  When she looked me in the eye I raised a brow. With a huff of a laugh, she turned to Aeris.

  After I had left to rescue Skyler from the Head Mistress and returned with him intact, she had started cutting me some slack, mostly.

  “The others are a few minutes behind us,” Olivia offered. “How about we get a bit of a head start?”

  Over the next hour, I played the good host as everyone else arrived and gave them an introductory
course on the Earth Elementals with Aeris’s help. I gained an additional three levels for my trouble.

  Olivia was probably the biggest surprise. Entrapping an Elemental’s feet, one of her mob-eating plants rose up behind the monster and wrapped a few dozen feelers across its arms and chest. The feelers suddenly went stiff and jabbed into the earth creature’s torso like stakes into the earth.

  The Earth Elemental struggled and tore free with its arms, but as soon as it did, the plant’s elastic appendages snapped back and dug in under its arms.

  I watched with Mana Sight as the spell literally sucked the mana from the enemy.

  A minute later it crumbled while still in the plant minion’s grasp.

  I stared dumbfounded. When I looked to Olivia, she offered me a wink.

  Aeris wasn’t any help. I looked to her in question, and she mimicked Olivia’s wink and gave her friend a knuckle bump.

  Audrey’s fire was about as effective as mine was, but hers did seem to burn at a higher temperature.

  Then there was Clarissa. Since she had the same element as the Elementals things could have gone one of two ways. One, her magic would be completely ineffective against an Earth creature. Or she would have a certain power over them because she commanded the same element. I was wrong on both fronts. She definitely didn’t have control over them but neither was she powerless.

  Her Earth Magic seeped into the ground and burrowed toward the Earth Element.

  A single stone spike leaped up from the floor, stopping the Elemental dead in its tracks as it struck it right in the gut.

  -250 HP

  With her palm raised, facing the ceiling, a river of brown mana was funneled into the ceiling above the Elemental.

  A rock fell, twice the size of a basketball. It landed on the Elemental’s head, and the mob quaked from top to bottom. Instead of dropping to its knees, cracks spread down the middle of its back. Its head ruptured into gravel.

  -4,015 HP

  Once again, the Elemental liquified and repaired itself, but Clarissa had shown us an impressive display. The only problem was that after the show I had to save her because she was out of mana.