Despite the part of me that wanted to reject my ownership of Zorik, the situation demanded my focus elsewhere. I intended to ultimately release him, but for now, I was simply determined not to treat him like a slave. There was no denying that if we survived his life would be better, and freer, with us than it would ever be with the Head Mistress.
“Elorion,” the old man said, regaining my attention. “Lead them well.”
Turning my head to the side, I gave him a questioning look.
“They did not choose me as the leader,” I replied.
The old man chuckled, then said, “Since the first day you got here, you have set the pace for them all. Where you go they will follow.
“The advice I will leave you with is this. Learn to be calculated. Only be vicious when necessary, but when it is necessary, rip the throat from your enemies and let them watch you wipe their blood from your hands as they die. But be gracious when you can, because even the peoples of the Underworld can understand kindness and become your allies.
“Most of all, realize that there is more to Wisdom than stats on a character sheet. It may allow you to follow complex logic, but a moment of anger can tear down a structure that has stood for a thousand years.”
Despite his confidence in my ability to lead, it was his willingness to help that still baffled me. In what universe does a Lich help humans? I was determined to apply his advice about the Imp to him as well.
I thanked him a final time, then stepped past him and cast my form of Invisibility on Travis.
“You’re going to buff me too, right?” he said with a cheesy grin.
Raising my brow, I cast Advanced Muscular and Skeletal Buff on him. Since his character was skill based and not spell based, Mind Buff wasn’t necessary.
“Sweet!” he replied as his body started to grow with the stat increase.
It was too much. His face immediately started to turn red as his body outgrew his leather armor while he was still inside it.
I lessened the amount of mana that was being funneled to about half of what the spell called for.
As he shrunk to a manageable size, he inhaled deeply, sucking in the air he had been missing.
“That’s better,” he said while struggling to catch his breath.
“I never imagined I could buff someone to death,” I said with a laugh.
“Dude,” he replied with a grin, holding out his fist.
I couldn’t help but chuckle before pounding my fist against his.
“Okay, I’m ready,” he said, breathing easier.
With a nod, we both turned and waved to the rest of our group that had formed just outside of the Bone Palace exit.
If everything went just right, the lighting situation would be the most difficult thing the main group would have to manage as we made our way to our new home.
Turning back, Travis and I began our trek into the unknown.
“I have you connected to the lead chat.” Richard's voice rang out somewhere from within my head.
“Okay, thanks, Richard,” I replied.
“Elorion?” Aeris asked.
“I’m here,” I replied.
“Here,” Skyler proclaimed.
“Same,” Travis added.
“Add Zorik,” I commanded.
“The imp?” Richard said in surprise.
“Yes. He is our guide, even if he is staying with the group.”
“Zorik, can you hear us?” Richard asked.
“I can,” he replied timidly.
“Great. What can you tell us about which direction we should head?” I asked.
“For now, just follow this cavern. I don’t remember it having any side tunnels of note. In about a night’s time, we will run into the Belly. It’s a cavern that is so wide that it could hold an army of a thousand dragons. Once there, we will head into the Crystalis. It’s a forest of crystals where we must be wary of ambushes. After that, we should be close to the other end of the Belly. That’s when things get difficult. We will have to find a specific cave and there will be dozens to choose from. If we choose wrong, we could die. Er. If we choose right, we could die.”
“Okay, so we’ll wait for everyone once we reach the Belly. The same after we reach the end of the Crystalis. Let’s keep this channel clear except for when we report in and in case of emergency,” I reminded everyone.
I fixed enough mana flow to my eyes that Mana Sight lit up the darkness that spread out before me. I was blind to what was visible to the human eye because of the lack of light, but I didn’t need to depend on normal sight to see here. Since everything possessed mana, even the rocks of the earth, I was able to see their glow. Colors took on a different meaning.
Travis had a skill that allowed him to see. Since he saw in a more natural way and I saw through the magical realm, our abilities complemented one another. Though I hoped that Mana Sight would let me see through almost every kind of invisibility, if I had learned anything since entering the Underworld, it was that there was always an exception.
Looking to Travis, our Ethereal eyes met. I watched him gulp. We started forward.
“How well do you notice things at a jog?” I asked.
“I notice what others don’t at a dead sprint,” he said with a smirk.
“Do you see everything?”
He hesitated before answering. “No. I could set a pace I’m confident at. Does that work?”
“That works,” I said. “Time slows down for me as I use my observation spell, so don’t worry about me keeping up.”
“Cheater,” he jested. Giving me a wink, he added, “By the way, if we run into a good opportunity, do you mind killing a high-level mob for me? I’m one level from having 1,000 Dexterity.”
Before I could answer he took off at a run.
We were soon running at a pace I would have once considered fast, even though I was now perceiving it as a slow walk. The drawback to using Mana Sight at this level was that I was perceiving time about three times faster than normal. Staying focused was harder when one hour felt like three.
It went without saying that there was no chatter between Travis and me. I let him take about a ten foot lead out in front as we pulled away from the rest of the group that was to follow after us at a steady march.
Without the use of my eyes, Mana Sight took over and left me in awe. The cavern we navigated was a tapestry of glowing color that I now floated through like one might a vivid dream. I almost forgot that our lives might be in danger, but only for a moment.
For what seemed like the longest time, we ran across the stone ground that had been smoothed over from centuries of foot traffic. It gave me the opportunity to activate my new Blue Magic, Canine’s Sense of Smell.
Having my sense of smell heightened flooded me with an extreme amount of information. So much so that I was immediately overwhelmed. I understood within moments that a canine’s ability to see was a secondary sense to them. It helped them pinpoint objects in space, but it didn’t go much further than that. The way they really saw the world, experienced it, was through smell. It was in many ways a more advanced way of understanding the world than the way humans viewed it.
They didn’t just get to know a person by their normal scent but could sense a person’s emotions because of the smells that chemical reactions gave off. They also could generally guess at what you had been doing recently.
It was all too much for me. I kept the spell cast, but only let a trickle of mana funnel into it. This gave me a heightened sense of smell at a level I could grow accustomed to. As I got used to it, I would increase the mana.
A dense patch of muted light shone ahead behind a shelf of rocks along the side of the cavern.
I moved to up my pace, but Travis stopped before it was necessary to catch up to warn him. I almost skid across the ground when trying to stop as quickly as he had.
His eyes met mine as soon as I was at his side. He nodded in the same direction where I had seen the excess energy.
I returned
his nod, indicating that I too had seen it.
We approached as quietly as possible from the opposite wall. As we neared, more than one creature glowed behind the rocks.
When we were directly across from them, we saw it wasn’t just a low outcropping of rock, but a small cave.
The creatures that we found were only about three feet tall and walked on their hind legs. They were fur covered and had heads that seemed too large for their bodies, with long snouts and two long teeth on the top and bottom of their mouths.
I used Creature Observation on the closest one.
Were-Rat
Level 73
Strength: 67
Dexterity:109
Constitution: 43
You have understood the Blue Magic, Scourge of the Pest!
Become just as hard to catch as pesky rat! With unreal agility and the flexibility of a master contortionist, you are now able to manipulate your body when in a tight spot to scurry to safety. This spell is passive.
Receiving new Blue Magic came as somewhat of a surprise. It was a good reminder not to assume anything about the new creatures I came across. It was the only Blue Magic related skill the were-rat possessed.
I used Creature Observation on a few others and found they were all under level 100. Since they had a Dark Alignment it was too bad. They were too low of a level to do us any good in the experience realm. At least we should get some bonus experience for killing them for the first time.
Placing my empty left hand on Travis’s shoulder, I equipped my scepter with a few flicks and let an Intermediate Health Bomb fly.
The spell’s light sent the creatures scurrying, but they weren’t quick enough. The mass of light darted to the entrance of their cave and exploded, showering the area in light and were-rat parts.
Level Up!
I now had 85 stat points to spend but would hold back from spending them. 1,000 Dexterity would no doubt be a great help, but I also knew that we had been spoiled up to this point. There was no guarantee we would ever run into a dungeon like the Head Mistress’s again that was designed to help us level up. If the were-rats were any indication, the Dungeon Level might be filled with nearly useless creatures like these. Because of this, I was leaning toward dumping everything into Wisdom once again. As I used Vampire’s Might to drain more stats, eventually I would get the Dexterity needed. It was probably a better use of the stats I received. Still, I would hold on to them for now just encase the need arose.
“Dude!” Travis said in an excited whisper.
“1,000?” I asked.
He beamed.
“I need to run… Elorion, sorry, but can you stay here for a minute. I’ll be right back. I think I could lap a cheetah!” he said with a cackle.
“Uh. Wait a second,” I said, holding up my hands to hold him back from going.
“Zorik,” I said through group chat.
“Yes?” he replied sheepishly.
“We just found a cave of were-rats. We cleared the entrance, but I was wondering if it would be wise to clear them out of their cave? Are they a danger, or do they possess any loot that might be worth it?”
“Er. They rarely live long enough to become dangerous. It is possible though. The highest level I have ever heard of them reaching is 200. They may or may not have anything worth taking. They are scavengers and take junk and good stuff alike. They are fond of mushrooms though. If you find any, it’s probably worth taking them.”
“Thanks.”
Zorik purred as he had once before when I complimented him.
Travis was looking at me with a raised eyebrow as I finished my conversation with the imp.
“Run back the way we came,” I told him. “I’ll clear the cave and you can help me gather anything that might be worth keeping when you get back.”
“Deal,” he said.
And with that, he was gone.
I sighed. I really couldn’t blame him for being excited. With his talent in Dexterity, I wondered how he was unique compared to the rest of us if we had also reached 1,000 in the same stat. It was a question that would have to wait until later.
Turning my attention to the mouth of the cave, I began my approach.
Chapter 15 – Rats
The were-rat bodies that littered the ground didn’t seem to possess anything worth taking. I asked in the group chat for someone to ask Lydia if there was any part of a were-rat she might need for alchemy. Not that I was excited about retrieving it for her. Unlike the undead in the Mistress’s Dungeon, these creatures didn’t disappear, leaving their loot, to respawn later. They were dead, and I would have to take anything she needed from their flesh the hard way.
When Aeris responded that there wasn’t anything she needed, I was more than happy to hear it.
I proceeded into the cave. As low level as these creatures were, it still creeped me out heading into a cave alone.
It only took five Heal Bombs to clear the main rooms of the cave. Close to one hundred were-rats died within a few minutes.
Casting Vampire’s Might as I went, I drained them of their blood to help sustain my earned stats. Only the first one I drained gave me any additional gains. I received +3 Dexterity.
When I reached the last room, a giant glowing were-rat standing nearly eight feet tall stood in the middle of the round room waiting for me. His arms were burly and possessed claws as long as my hand. Piled against the walls all around us were stacks of junk. Everything from colorful stones to weapons, mushrooms and a frying pan…
The creature was hunched over, staring through me as I entered. He didn’t have the ability to see through my Invisibility spell, so I took my time.
I cast Creature Observation.
Chieftain Were-Rat
Level 231
HP: 3,464
Strength: 303
Dexterity:211
Constitution: 179
“Thief! I smell your filthy magic!” the Chieftain barked.
Smelled my magic? Was that really possible for such a low-level creature, even if he were the chieftain? I had heard from the Mistress and Lich that creatures would be able to smell my Light Alignment, but even after reaching level 358 and acquiring Canine’s Sense of Smell, I had yet to experience it.
Instead of ending the mob quickly, I shuffled off to the side and stood there. I started to focus on the smells around me. Had it been there all along, but because I was so used to relying on sight I was missing it entirely?
It wasn’t an easy feat to look past the were-rat’s filthy odor, or the smell of the blood of the dead rats close by. With Canine’s Sense of Smell activated the scents that I was familiar with took on a whole new level of detail.
With a slow shake of the head, I looked past those smells and searched about for something that could belong to the dark energy of the were-rat close by.
What did I imagine it might smell like? A burning smell? That couldn’t be. That smell already belonged to fire. Would it have to be unique then? Something that I had never smelled before? There were so many new sensations to me through the use of this new spell that I couldn’t use that approach. For now, it seemed like an impossible task.
Raising my scepter, I fired an Intermediate Health Bullet into the Chieftain’s chest. It tore through the mob’s body.
-1621 HP
It didn’t kill it in one shot, so I cast a spell that had been nearly useless in the Mistress’s dungeon against her skeletons. Pain.
The were-rat immediately dropped to its knees and started to tremble as its muscles froze up.
I got the sudden urge to hit an imp in the face but realized the only imp I could find would be Zorik. Hitting him just because I got the urge probably wouldn’t be a good precedent to set.
I felt bad when the Chieftain faceplanted, so I cast Advanced Heal and finished it off. Time for some loot!
Draining him gave me an additional +2 Dexterity and +1 Constitution. I had probably reached the limit of what I could get out of the were-rats.
I started to scoop up the mushrooms, putting them into a bag I found close by. When I was done with everything else, I noticed the frying pan had a pretty impressive density of fire mana running through it. I had no idea if we could use it, but I relayed what I found through the group chat.
“Take it!” Zorik said with the most enthusiasm I had heard from him since we started out.
“Okay,” I said, reassuring him.
I exited the cave before Travis returned.
“Hey,” I said, holding up a hand in greeting at his return.
He was breathing as if he hadn’t been running at all.
“How’d it go?” I asked.
“Beyond anything I could have imagined,” he answered, shaking his head to himself. Then he hesitated before he said, “But we really aren’t that powerful, are we?”
“Not yet.”
After a long moment, he nodded. “I don’t know if I can outrun death.” His grin didn’t reach his eyes.
“That’s why I’m here,” I said with a chuckle. “I can heal you.”
This roused a belly laugh out of him.
“I’m sorry, man,” he said.
“For what?” I asked.
“I meant to tell you sooner. I thought you were going to leave us when the vampire’s zombies attacked us during the vampire’s assault. I thought you were just a selfish prick that got lucky with an overpowered ability. I was wrong. I’m sorry, bro.”
Feeling rather uncomfortable, I scratched at the back of my helmet. “It’s cool. I did kind of take off on everyone those first few days. I didn’t give you much of a reason to trust me.”
Underworld - Through the Belly of the Beast: A LitRPG Series Page 14