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

by Apollos Thorne

  My heart thumped faster in the wonder of it all. It felt like we were finally on an adventure. Perhaps there were places in the Underworld that would be worth finding and exploring for no other reason than their uniqueness and beauty.

  Aeris leaned down from her place perched on my head and whispered, “If it’s ever safe, we need to come back to this place. It’s amazing.”

  “It’s a date, then,” I said with a wink.

  She rolled her eyes, but her smile remained.

  Navigating the Crystalis was easy enough. Though we did have to divert our course from side to side to skirt around crystals now and then, the growth was never so dense that we lost our sense of where we were.

  After half an hour traversing the crystal forest, I finally started to believe we had actually cleared the Belly and scared off any curious mobs that might have been heading this direction after sensing my fight with Xaphan. The others also started to relax a bit more.

  From our position and at our current pace we would probably reach the other side of the Crystalis in less than ten minutes. I could see the lip of the rock that acted as the border just ahead and many paths in the rock heading up.

  With all the mana surrounding us in the crystals themselves, I became curious to know if there was a way to harvest them. I wondered if the Head Mistress could drain them of power, just as I could drain dead mobs of blood. It was something that I would have to research.

  I felt it before I heard anything. A great concentration of energy was approaching from the way we had come from. It hadn’t yet reached the Belly, but it would be here soon.

  Seeing the faces of those that were magic sensitive stiffen, I knew they noticed it too, even if they didn’t realize what it was or where it was coming from.

  I stopped and said quickly through group chat, “Richard. Can you make it so that everyone can hear me? Quickly.”

  “Yes. One moment,” he said, needing to add those not a part of the leadership group.

  I was walking a few people behind him when he stopped as well. Everyone started to do the same. They knew something was going on.

  “Everyone. This is Richard. Keep it quiet. Elorion has something to say,” he said.

  “Thanks, Richard,” I replied before speaking to everyone. “An enemy is approaching. It’s not the mobs we’ve been facing, but it must be someone sent from Mistress Nava.”

  Careful to keep her voice down, Olivia interrupted. “You’re sure it’s not Mistress Nava?”

  “No,” I reassured her. “Whatever is approaching is powerful, but it doesn’t have the level of power I’ve felt in someone of the Mistress level.”

  “How come I can’t feel it,” Skyler asked, louder than I would have liked.

  “I can feel something too,” Aeris said, jumping into the conversation.

  “Same,” Olivia offered.

  “I think it’s because you don’t use mana,” Audrey said.

  “That’s a bummer,” Skyler said, his voice faded into the background.

  “Whatever or whoever it is, they haven’t reached the Belly yet,” I said, retaking control of the conversation. “We need to up the pace. I think we can be sure that we were able to successfully scare off the mobs of the Belly, but that doesn’t mean they won’t attack if we get too close to their hiding place. Keep an eye out. Let’s go.”

  Skyler didn’t wait for another word but immediately started to move, setting the pace at a steady jog.

  Russ had waded back into the group as we traveled the Crystalis and had been at Olivia’s side, but now he made a beeline for the front of the pack to run beside Skyler. He had grown in popularity because of his blacksmithing talent and for being the group’s best damage sponge. It was something I doubted he had ever experienced before getting kidnapped and dragged down here, but because of he was so laidback, Russ hadn’t grown arrogant in his newfound popularity. Nor did he seem to possess any desire to compete with Skyler as lead basher. Still, he made a perfect co-captain. He rolled with anything that came and was always among the first to step forward to face it. Though I doubted a single word had passed between them about the subject, Skyler welcomed him.

  I was careful not to overextend my Healing Aura as we jogged so as not to harm Mel’s skeletons. Zorik was safe flying just overhead.

  It still baffled me that Mel was able to use Dark Magic and yet my Light Magic healed him. When I looked at him through Mana Sight, his mana shone neutral with the same yellow tint as the human bashers who had no talent for magic. Yet, when casting a spell, Dark Magic swelled up in his belly and then flowed to his hands. Even then, my Light Magic didn’t harm him unless it came into direct contact with his Dark Magic as he started to cast it.

  The strong energy was getting closer. I wished we could up the pace, but if I buffed everyone too much, I was afraid the presence of so much Light Magic would make it impossible for them to miss us even among the forest of mana-dense crystals. I was already pushing it with our current buffs.

  Bending over to get my attention, Aeris tapped on the forehead of my skull helmet. Her eyes met mine as I looked up.

  “I’m going to fly low and keep an eye out,” she said.

  “Can you feel the direction they are coming from?” I asked.

  “I can now. I’ll be careful and not let myself become too visible.”

  I nodded, breathing deeply as she rose up from her perch.

  When we were a few minutes away from reaching the end of the Crystalis, Aeris returned and whispered in my ear. “I saw a scout.”

  ***

  Aeris explained that the scout she had seen hadn’t been a humanoid but resembled a smaller version of the Hell Hound that had attacked us. This one lacked the flames of the first but was black as night and twice the size of any dog she had ever seen. It had only appeared on the ground level of the Belly for a short time before it disappeared beneath the rock near the same entrance we had arrived through.

  It was time to run.

  “Richard. I need to speak with everyone again,” I said as I approached him from behind.

  “You’re already set,” he replied.

  “Perfect.”

  He grinned broadly in response. His eyes went wide at what I said next.

  “Aeris spotted a scout. We are out of time. Everyone cast Mage’s Deodorant and let’s go,” I said, upping my pace.

  Mage’s Deodorant was a general spell the Head Mistress had taught all of us, including those of us without magic talent. I hoped our casting it would mask the way we went.

  Within moments I had reached Zorik and cast Mage’s Deodorant on him. He looked down from his place overhead and cringed at the effects of the spell.

  “Can you fly on ahead to find the cave we are heading for? I’m going to send Travis with you. He should be able to take out any of the normal mobs you run into with ease,” I said, not hiding the command in my voice.

  He nodded and took off without complaint. He quickly outpaced everyone, so I wasted no time and found Travis near the front of the pack.

  When he saw me he immediately turned aside and fell in beside me.

  “Follow Zorik and back him up. He’s gone ahead to find our exit from the Belly. I’ll make sure Richard has you set up for group chat, so let me know if you have any surprises,” I said.

  His smirk seemed larger than normal, but he bolted a few moments later. He was incredibly fast, but his footfalls didn’t sound near as quick as they had when he had approached during my fight with the Werewolf’s Pack Leader. Later I would have to ask him about it.

  I checked back with Richard to make sure Travis was set up and called over Olivia. Aeris was right there with us flying low overhead.

  “Olivia. Do you mind continuing to lead the casters? You did an amazing job taking the Belly,” I told her.

  “You mean rescuing you,” she rebuked, smiling to show that she was only joking. “What about Aeris?”

  “Until we leave the Crystalis she will be our eyes,” I repli
ed.

  “And you?”

  “I...” I said, hesitating. It was a good question. What was I doing exactly? With a shrug, I replied, “I’m going to be wherever I’m needed.”

  Then I added, “Richard, revert back to leader-only chat. Make sure Zorik is in there too.”

  “Done,” he said.

  With that, I drifted back into the group until I reached the final person I needed to speak to.

  “I’m ready to stay behind while everyone gets away,” Mel said without me having to say anything. His eyes were fixed ahead with dark purpose.

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, I’m staying back with you,” I said, giving him a grin as he turned in surprise.

  “Like any of us would just leave you. The plan is to just disrupt them. I have something I think might do the trick,” I said with a wink. “Then I will grab you and run for it.”

  ***

  With that, we upped the pace to a run, but I didn’t dare increase our buffs. For once, everyone would have to run tired. When we reached the end of the Crystalis, Aeris was waiting at the top of one of the stone paths, waving for us to hurry. We did.

  Glancing back as we reached the ground level I didn’t see anything near the entrance of the Belly, which was nearly two miles away. We made it.

  I turned my attention to giving the last couple of casters a hand climbing out when the distant echo of footsteps sounded.

  We froze.

  At first, it was a single creature resembling the description Aeris had given that appeared from below, reaching the ground level from the path leading up from the cavern. A few seconds later another black wolf-like creature appeared, then another. Soon, a large pack of the creatures had gathered.

  “Go slow,” I commanded in a low voice through leader’s chat.

  Our pace was even slower, but we soon made it out of the Crystalis entirely. I had worried about Mel’s skeletons slipping on the steep path, or making too much noise, but they scaled it easier than most of the humans.

  We had less than a couple of blocks between us and where I saw Zorik’s mana flow. He was hunched over behind a rock. Travis stood behind him, more confident in Invisibility, and looked toward the wolves that had just joined us. If the cave behind them was the exit we were looking for, then we were just minutes from being out of here.

  It was a miracle that, facing the pressure of knowing we could be spotted at any time, no one ran, fading from Invisibility and giving us away.

  As we reached Travis and Zorik, Zorik didn’t wait to explain himself, but took off on foot, creeping toward the cave he had led us to.

  I stopped, standing next to Travis.

  The slow movement of his finger directed my attention back to the wolves on the other side of the Belly.

  Someone had joined them.

  Two individuals stood behind the wolves. One was tall and thin, with sea-green skin and long dark hair. The other was short and pale, with a dusty blond beard and an insane girth. They both were armored in dark blue mail under grey cloaks. It was difficult to see much more detail, but their appearance caught the light much better than the objects around them, so they stood out.

  Turning, I saw most of our group was already entering the mouth of the cave. Aeris stood beside me and Travis still stood on the other side, but Richard was walking toward me at the fastest pace he dared.

  “I hear voices,” Richard said carefully as he reached us.

  Sounds like a personal problem. I shook off the thought.

  “Inside the cave?” I asked.

  “No. There,” he said, pointing toward the two figures that had joined the wolves.

  “You can hear them?” Aeris asked, amazed.

  “Yes. Should I patch them in?”

  “You can do that?” she said, turning to me in disbelief.

  My eyes were just as wide as hers were. “Do it,” I said.

  He nodded.

  “I hope they’re dead,” came a voice that hummed like a bass guitar. “If they got in the path of whatever creature caused this much destruction, we’ll probably get to head back early.”

  “Lady Contessa will not stop until she is sure they are dead,” an airy, high-pitched male voice objected. “Surely even you felt that enormous surge in power. It was a little over an hour ago. A creature with such power should be easy to find. If not, there is also the possibility that the humans caused it.”

  The deeper of the two voices burst out laughing. It belonged to the shortest of the two men, who shook as he laughed. He replied when he was able to catch his breath. “You’ve been reading too much from the ancient histories. These humans have been in the Underworld for a few weeks. I’d be surprised if they didn’t fall over and die from a warg’s fart.”

  “Watch your mouth, dwarf. My Lady approaches.”

  The dwarf grumbled in response.

  “This should be interesting,” Aeris whispered.

  I gave her a wink.

  Watching us converse, Travis pumped his brow, getting my attention, then gave me a long, slow wink.

  I nudged him with my arm.

  All at once, the feeling of power I had felt approaching had finally arrived.

  Instead of taking the path that sloped up from the entrance, Lady Contessa rose up from the ground below riding upon a mass of dark energy. Like a slug the size of a shire horse, the dark magic oozed up and over the cliff.

  The skin of her face and legs was so pale she seemed to glow, but her black gown almost faded into the background from so far away. Her hair was just as black. The only true color I could see was the red of her lips.

  The dark energy at her command set her down between the other two figures.

  “Well, isn’t this a delightful riddle,” she said in a small, melodic tone. “From what I can see of the destruction, the surge of power wasn’t from just one but multiple sources. Does that displease you, Ujurak?”

  “No, Lady Contessa,” the shorter of the two men said, defeated. “Whatever pleases you.”

  “And it does. If it was the humans that Mistress Nava sent us to retrieve that have caused all of this, then they are too powerful for me to bring back to her alive. My alibi is here, etched in the stone that they have destroyed. I will leech them myself.”

  “This is a splendid turn of events,” the high-pitched man replied.

  “It certainly is, my dearest Yaatiesh. Send the wargs to sniff them out. Soon enough, I will dine on their flesh and the two of you will accompany me in pleasure.”

  “Sickos,” Aeris whispered sharply. “I’ve heard enough.”

  Richard cut off the conversation. He looked back and forth between the three of us like we had just overheard our parents talking about making out.

  “Yeah, that was weird.” Travis agreed.

  Just then, the wargs dispersed from the three figures in all directions. No less than five were heading right for the Crystalis. I looked at Travis who was shaking his head.

  “They are fast,” he admitted.

  “Let’s go,” I said, turning to join the others, but not forgetting the slow pace necessary to keep Invisibility active while still out in the open.

  “We won’t be able to move quickly in the dark of the cave without using Light Orbs,” Aeris said, concerned. “We will have to move a good distance before daring to cast them, otherwise the cave’s entrance will light up, giving us away.”

  “I’ll take the lead once I’m in the cave,” Travis said, reminding us he could see in the dark.

  “Mel and I will take up the rear. I just hope we got the right cave,” I said.

  Chapter 22 – Blocking the Way

  The way this day was going, I was surprised we all made it into the cave without any missteps. Travis quickly took the lead, with help from Steve, our assassin, and led everyone into darkness.

  “I’m here,” Clarissa said as she joined Mel and me. We were peering out from the cave’s entrance. The furthest back we could stand was about th
irty feet before the cave ramped up to an elevation from which we wouldn’t be able to see out.

  “Thanks for joining us,” I told her. “We may have need of your Earth Magic.”

  “Are we going to seal the entrance?” she asked.

  “Yes, but if everything goes well, the others will make some headway, then we’ll head further in before we raise a wall behind us.”

  “Okay. But you should know that I’m not capable of creating a wall big enough to completely seal the way from them in one go.”

  The ceiling was about two stories high.

  “Don’t worry. I should be able to take care of the rest,” I assured her.

  “I should have expected you to say that,” she said with a snicker.

  Taken off guard, I raised a brow.

  She just laughed louder.

  “Come on, guys. Keep it down,” Mel said uncomfortably. His arms were crossed, and his skeleton minions stood behind us in two rows along the walls of the cave, ready to rush forward to defend our retreat if it became necessary.

  I gave her a look as if to say she had gotten me in trouble.

  “Sorry,” she said to both of us. “I get giggly when I’m anxious.”

  ***

  Our group’s progress was slow. This cave was nowhere near as well traveled as the cavern coming from the Head Mistress’s dungeon. After ten minutes, our group had only made it a little further than a quarter mile. Once at the top of the slope, the cave flattened out so that I was able to see them with Mana Sight from a distance after walking to the top of the incline. Stalagmites formed any place they pleased, including in the middle of the path, making traveling difficult. This made it hard for the few people we had that could see in the dark to guide the rest.

  A howl cut through the confined silence of the cave.

  “You’ll want to see this,” Mel said uneasily, keeping his voice as low as possible as he called up to me.

  I hurried back down the slope and upped Mana Sight. It was impossible to see into the Crystalis with my physical eyes because of the lip of rock around its border, but I was able to see a muted black mana through the rock. It was heading right for us and would be here in a few moments.