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

by Apollos Thorne

  Note: Meditation is still useful for increasing your mana per minute.

  The increase in the amount of mana was absolutely insane. When the Head Mistress had said that the path of Wisdom was greater than Intelligence, did she expect me to figure out that I should be 1,000 in this stat, or was I going against her recommendation?

  Natural Channeling

  You have mastered the flow of mana.

  Channeling is now twice as effective.

  Your channeled spells no longer have an effective cap on how powerful they can become. Your only limitation is the amount of mana you possess.

  You are now able to supply a spell with less mana than is normally required to cast a lesser form of even the subtlest spells.

  The only limitation to how powerful my spells could become was the amount of mana I possessed. I was shaking my head.

  Mind Synergy

  Your Intelligence and Wisdom have both surpassed the capability of greater beings.

  All other mana costs and power buffs that affect your spells are negated. This replaces them.

  All spells cost 80% less mana to cast.

  All spells are 100% more powerful when cast.

  For each point of Intelligence over 1,000, power is increased by an additional .02%.

  My eyes settled on my total mana. 161,577. Not only had my maximum mana gone up by 120k, but I would no longer have to meditate to reach it!

  I fell back on my rear and sat there, staring off as I considered the possibilities. My next goal was to reach 10,000 Wisdom, but that was 1,800 levels away. I wasn’t even level 1,800 yet. Not even a quarter of the way there. There was so much power at my fingertips. If I ever reached 10,000 Wisdom… I couldn’t even fathom that.

  Should I get Constitution or Dexterity to 1,000 as well? It was tempting. For only a couple hundred levels I could greatly increase my survival ability.

  I continued shaking my head at the possibilities.

  No longer was I concerned with how many spells I could cast. I was imagining what kind of new spells I could create with the manipulation of other spells.

  Checking Meditation, it seemed its only use now was for when I needed a faster rate of mana regen.

  As I thought about it, I strolled over to room eight that possessed three Greater Earth Elementals. I deposited my shield and scepter and opened the door.

  I didn’t have Aeris here to increase the effectiveness of Flame Thrower, but then again, it was no longer necessary. Extending both hands, I channeled 5,000 MP into each and drenched the room with fire. Now that channeling was twice as potent as it had been before, my flames licked against the Greater Elementals and they began melting on contact.

  Closing the door, I trapped the heat inside and moved on to the next room. Within a few minutes, I had five furnaces blazing. Level 400 here I come!

  Chapter 13 – Hellfire

  A scream rose up from among the other humans near the entrance of the hall, sending a shudder of alarm up and down my spine. The panic that accompanied the scream became a breathless cry, desperate with terror.

  Other voices joined the panic as I turned to see what could possibly be going on. There was no way the Earth Elementals had gotten the better of them, was there?

  Suddenly, I found it difficult to breathe. My throat was dry. Hellacious flames now suffocated the entrance to the long hall where we had been hunting.

  With Mana Sight, I saw a cloud of crimson power moving about amid the others with ungodly speed. They were in trouble.

  I burst from where I was standing to close in on the enemy. I had to get an idea of what was going on.

  As I neared, I leaped, throwing 500 mana per minute into Mana Sight to focus my mind as much as was possible. Time seemingly slowed to a trickle as I rose into the air. Then I saw clearly what was attacking us.

  It was dark as charcoal with fire blazing out of the sides of its mouth. Instead of ears or a tail, fire glowed in their place. Mistress Nava’s pet Hell Hound held Audrey clenched in its jaws around the waist. It was the size of a short, blocky horse.

  Hell Hound

  Level:?

  Health Points:?

  It was such a high level that Creature Observation couldn’t give me any information. It was over level 800.

  You are unable to learn this spell at this time.

  There was a single popup indicating there was Blue Magic to steal from it. I ignored it for now.

  There was so much crimson energy coming off of it that I didn’t think Heal would do any damage to the creature itself, but I cast Advanced Heal anyways in its natural form on Audrey.

  A sheet of healing magic sped toward her as she suffered within the monster’s grasp.

  The three sledge brothers were on their rear, except for Skyler who was picking himself off the floor.

  Part of me wanted to find humor in the wide-mouthed distortion of his face. He was about to launch a war cry before initiating his next attack.

  Russ and Travis had been tossed back toward the wall by the entrance.

  Our casters prepared to respond, with only Aeris already sending Wind Bullets into the creature’s hide from high overhead.

  I saw no sure way to win this.

  Allowing my perception of time to tick down to just 3 times faster, it was just enough so that I could direct my spells without waiting long moments for my body to respond to what I was telling it to do.

  A charged Ice Shard darted toward it.

  As Audrey was blanketed in my healing spell, I saw there was still life in her as she squirmed to get out of its jaws.

  The Hell Hound didn’t even flinch as the light magic drenched its head and snout.

  -668 HP

  It took damage, but it wasn’t even a fifth of Advanced Healing’s normal dealing.

  Ice Shard shattered against the mob’s backbone.

  -1,098 HP

  What?!

  Not only did Ice Shard only do a fraction of what it did against the Earth Elementals, it proved that ice against fire would not always work.

  As I landed just behind the others, I saw Aeris hovering insanely close to the Hell Hound, maybe a foot from its nose. Her hand was extended as if she was reaching to grab the mob by the head.

  There was an enormous burst of Wind Magic as a fully charged Wind Slash hammered into the top of its skull.

  With a whip of its head to shake off the attack, the Hell Hound tossed Audrey against the wall with a sickening thud.

  I stared blank faced.

  Aeris shot up in the air as the Hell Hound snapped at her. She was one of the few fast enough to dodge the mob’s speed.

  Advanced Heal flew towards the location in which Audrey had fallen. I found myself shaking as I channeled mana into it.

  Dropping my shield, I lifted my other hand and stalked forward.

  There was something I had only tested once, back before I had reached 1,000 Intelligence. Then, it had failed miserably.

  Other spells reached for the Hell Hound as Aeris flew about, daring it to catch her.

  I shouldered my way past Clarissa and Olivia. There was no time to go around or apologize.

  With astonishment, I watched Skyler tear at the ground as he charged forward with a speed that completely contradicted his normally moderate but forceful movements.

  An unintelligible howl escaped his lips as he dragged his hammer through the air, over his shoulder and down on the Hell Hound’s neck.

  -1,633 HP

  The monster hunched down from the impact. It turned slowly as flames started to pour out of its mouth with more intensity.

  Skyler wasn’t dissuaded. He reached up with his sledgehammer to strike again. He would be dead before he even made the next swing.

  Reaching the front of the line, I grabbed his arm at the elbow and jerked him back, sending him flailing. Face to face with the deadly hound, my empty hand shot forward as its mouth inched open to devour me.

  Summoning more mana at one time than I had ever dared,
I forced 50,000 MP into my palm.

  The air itself seemed to tremble as energy accumulated.

  For a moment, my heart seemed to stop beating in my chest, or perhaps it was no longer able to beat when it was close to such power.

  The base spell I was casting was Ice Shard, but as it started to form I used mana manipulation to create something else. Something I hoped would save us, or at least buy us some time.

  I saw it coming but I didn’t have the physical ability to move fast enough. The Hell Hound’s jaw clenched down on my arm just below the elbow.

  I gritted my teeth as my vambrace started to give way. I experience the entire thing in slow motion. My own mail dug deep into the muscle of my arm. The pressure increased quickly. As it reached the bone, there was a moment of resistance. Then came the crunch.

  -8,324 HP

  Pain didn’t come immediately. For a moment, I experience my crushed arm like it was simply a broken tool.

  The first throb swam up my elbow and into my shoulder like the tentacles of a jellyfish were wrapped around it. Electricity burned through me and stunned me where I stood.

  I could almost feel liquid adrenaline rush through me as my body responded to the pain. A new clarity of focus brightened up the world around me.

  The Hell Hound dragged me from my feet with the twist of its head and tossed me toward the inner wall away from where it had thrown Audrey. Suddenly, I was airborne, inching toward the wall in slow motion.

  I had the clarity of mind to continue to funnel healing magic in Audrey’s direction with my good arm. In my left, the mana I had been preparing was ready.

  Ice erupted from the palm of my shattered arm with more brutality than Dragon’s Fire. Unlike water that fills up every empty space, ice bites into everything in its path.

  Just yesterday I had been trying to duplicate the glacier defense I had seen the vampire, Lord Darius, use against the Head Mistress. I had no success. But now that my channeling of magic wasn’t limited by my inexperience and lack of skill, I fed this slight variation of the spell what it had been missing before, an enormous amount of mana.

  Even as the monstrous hound threw me aside, ice-filled its still open mouth with razor freeze. When the ice found no more room to move forward it clawed its way into every open space, scurrying out of its mouth and completely enveloping the beast in a tomb of ice.

  There was nothing I could do to lessen the impact as I sped backward. I tried to relax my body as much as possible as I collided back first against the stone wall.

  -1,852 HP

  I greedily healed myself as I slid down the wall and landed on my knees. The spell didn’t affect my arm because my plate mail was still wrenched solidly into my flesh like a crushed aluminum can.

  Letting time speed up so the throbs of pain didn’t seem to last as long, I could just make out the beast encapsulated under feet of ice. I had no idea how much damage had been done to it since it was now hidden.

  I let my lungs empty themselves as I struggled to fill them again. I quickly named my new spell Ice Prison.

  Looking at my friends, I saw the shock on everyone’s faces. Even Olivia, who I had inadvertently pushed to the ground in my rush forward, just stared wide-eyed.

  “Elorion!” Aeris cried.

  I saw her kneeling at Audrey’s side, to whom I was still channeling healing magic.

  Aeris’s forlorn expression sent my insides cringing.

  Had I been too late?

  A single drop of ice melt stole my attention. Steam started to rise off of the frozen boulder covering the Hell Hound.

  I shouted for everyone to jump back. Glancing at my status, I saw I only had 69,947 MP left. Before entering into the battle, I had already spent 20k MP while cooking the Greater Earth Elementals. After all the healing and my stunt with ice magic, I had spent an additional 70k MP.

  As if a horse-sized blowtorch had suddenly been lit, the ice that covered the Hell Hound seemed to skip its liquid form and turned directly into steam.

  The creature’s flesh that had once been dark as charcoal now glowed with orange fire. The flames of its ears and tail raged feet into the air.

  My new spell hadn’t even given us a chance to escape. Its fire was just too hot.

  The hound let its jaw droop. Fire rolled out. The flames danced about in the reflection of its eyes as they bore into me.

  All my fears were being realized. Had all my leveling been for nothing?

  I increased my mana flow to Mana Sight, choking down the pain, and considered trying to escape. With a little luck, I knew I would be able to make it, but the others didn’t have a chance. Aeris could. Travis could possibly outrun it and Steve had stealth. If we all fled now, maybe three or four of us would make it out alive.

  It leaped toward me. That movement was all it took for me to know that as its flames increased, so had its speed.

  Cutting off mana from my healing magic, I threw away all thoughts of fleeing. Alpha Bolt came to mind, but I didn’t have the time to test it. I knew light magic did very little damage. Ice also did less damage than normal, but it had hurt it.

  Jumping to the side, I fled where it was about to land as I prepared my next spell. My left arm hung limply at my side.

  Before the Hell Hound hit the ground, the earth itself reached up like a giant fist and grabbed the mob around the torso.

  Looking back, I saw Clarissa in as much shock as I was. This Earth Magic wasn’t hers.

  Then, I saw Rock Hard, the Earth Level Overseer, hanging from the ceiling overhead. If the shaft connecting him with the rock above was any indicator, he was one with the stone here.

  “Bad pooch!” Rock Hard echoed. “I just received a message from Master. I can’t let you harm the humans.”

  The Hell Hound’s flames surged, but his flame seemed to have no effect on the metallic rock that now held him.

  There was no telling how long the spell would last, so I didn’t hesitate.

  With my scepter overhead, I channeled another 50k MP into the base spell Ice Shard. If a charged shard wouldn’t do it and I couldn’t imprison it in ice, there was a much more vicious idea that came to mind.

  Ice started to accumulate above me. This time I manipulated the magic into a grand spear. It was twice as long as a man with a shaft as thick as a bowling ball. I tried to compress the ice as much as possible.

  Before I let the Ice Spear fly, Rock Hard raised a brow like he had just figured out what I was planning to do.

  The colossal ice missile was hard to get moving. I feared I was spending the rest of my mana and the spell holding the hound would fail before I could get it to do any damage. It was the slowest attack spell I had ever cast.

  I pumped the appropriate mana into my eyes, preparing for Force Learn as I struggled to get it to fly.

  The Hell Hound’s flames blazed hotter.

  As Ice Spear neared, it opened its mouth and snapped down on the sharp tip of the frozen missile.

  I pumped the remaining mana I had into trying to manipulate it to move faster. I faltered and fell forward, landing on one knee. I had spent my remaining mana. All of it. It took everything for me to just hold my head upright. The muscles in my neck started to quiver as I did.

  The tip of my ice spear drove into the Hell Hound’s mouth. Because of its enormous weight, it didn’t slow. As it pierced the beast, relief flooded me as I unleashed Force Learn.

  Time stopped as I was pulled into the Hell Hound’s center. Crimson mana raged from the beast, but it was starting to leak out from the wound that was opening up in its throat. That was when I saw its magic core. It wasn’t just a single orb, but a Dark Orb that had grasped hold of the creature’s separate Fire Orb with dark tentacles. The Dark Orb acted as the mob’s core, supplying the Hell Hound with life and consciousness. The Fire Orb was its power.

  You have learned the Blue Magic Canine’s Sense of Smell!

  There was so much weight behind the ice spear that it completely impaled the hound, exiti
ng out its backend and digging deep into the stone floor.

  -88,427 HP

  Steaming Hell Hound popsicle anyone?

  I completely ignored the popups I received and caught myself with my good arm as my head started to swim. I didn’t have time for this. Pushing myself up, I stumbled over to Aeris who still kneeled at Audrey’s side.

  “Your healing magic didn’t work. She’s dying,” Aeris said with a somber tone.

  I would have removed my vambrace and gauntlet on my injured arm first, but I had no clue how to bend the steel back without also putting pressure on my injury. I could just cut my arm off and hope healing would restore it. Sure. Why not? I rolled my eyes at the madness of the idea.

  Trying to ignore my arm, I let it relax as much as possible as I cradled it against my stomach. I turned my full attention to Audrey’s condition.

  Blood was covering the lower part of her leather vest, which had probably saved her from a quick death. Her face was balmy, and her eyes searched the room blankly.

  Cranking up the mana to Mana Sight, I saw that I had only recovered 432 MP. It was climbing, but I didn’t know how much mana I would need to heal her, or if I even could.

  It was immediately clear that Audrey, unlike the Earth Elemental and the Hell Hound, didn’t contain a mana orb as they did. The Light Magic that gave her life flowed throughout her body, mixing with her other mana, and was spilling out of the bite wounds on her back and stomach. Then the difference became clear. Her life was in her blood. Her magic and her blood were one.

  Raising my scepter and letting it settle an inch from her forehead, I let Novice Healing funnel out of me. I already knew it wasn’t doing any good, but perhaps it would help her hold on a little bit longer as I replenished my own mana. It cost me almost nothing.

  I cut most of the mana to Mana Sight so that time would speed up where I could easily communicate. “Remove her armor,” I commanded, unable to do it with my injured arm.

  Skyler was suddenly hunched over her with his gauntlets removed. He didn’t unfasten her armor but tore it apart where it was laced under her arms down either side of her hips.