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

by Apollos Thorne

  There was one final form I was able to take. Primordial Cat. The problem was it would cost 100,000 MP a second to sustain. With my bonuses that was 20,000 MP a second. I would only be able to stay transformed for approximately ten seconds. Even then, I wouldn’t be able to use any additional skills.

  Primordial Cat

  Level: 1

  Cost: 100,000 Mana Per Second

  HP: NA (See Magma Manipulation.)

  Strength: +5,000

  Dexterity: +5,000

  Special Abilities: Body of Magma, Magma, Manipulation, Magma Regeneration.

  Body of Magma: Your body is transformed into one that consists entirely of magma.

  Magma Manipulation: Because your being exists within a magma state, you have full control over the magma itself. Harden or soften your body at will.

  Magma Regeneration: If magma is displaced from your body, you are able to return to your Primordial Cat form indefinitely, unless 75% of your magma is lost.

  Note: You do not take damage to your HP. Any attack that removes or separates magma from your body leaves you weaker.

  Next Level:

  Cost: 99,100 Mana Per Second

  +50 Strength

  +1% Strength

  +50 Dexterity

  +1% Dexterity

  It was difficult to turn away from such an overpowered form. Later.

  I passed over the Fire Imp, mostly uninterested for now. Perhaps one day I would have the time to level it up and maybe evolve into an Incubus, but time was pressing. Even if it gave a small bonus to Intelligence, an Imp’s form was frail, and I could probably fly faster in my bat form.

  Both Slimes’ forms offered some interesting possibilities. The Green Slime had been nearly invulnerable against physical attacks, but weak against magic. The Blue Slime had been just the opposite. Still, if I took either form I would also inherit their weakness. Would transforming with armor make a difference, or would the armor transform with me like it had with the Dark Elf?

  The Werewolf and the Hell Hound seemed the most useful in my current context. How was I able to manage to shapeshift into the Werewolf that had been Dark Aligned was my biggest question. The criteria said nothing of alignment. It seemed the Werewolf Form just kept the base school of magic of the original host. Did that mean if a Werewolf bit you then you would turn into one? Travis was bitten, and he seemed to be doing just fine... Just like my bat form, it seemed there were other ways to transform.

  I was able to trigger each listing, which gave me to Werewolf form specifications.

  Werewolf Form

  Level: 1

  Cost: 3,500 Mana Per Minute

  Strength: +500

  Dexterity: +500

  Constitution: +500

  Intelligence: -50%

  Wisdom: -50%

  Special Abilities: Bloodlust, Regeneration.

  Bloodlust: When faced with battle, the lust for blood has a clouding effect on the mind, making it difficult to think of anything other than your prey.

  Regeneration: Your HP Regeneration is three times higher than your natural state.

  Next Level:

  Cost: 3,470 Mana Per Minute

  +5 Strength

  +5 Dexterity

  +5 Constitution

  Intelligence: -49%

  Wisdom: -49%

  With its bonuses came great drawbacks. They would likely improve if I leveled it but now was not the time. Keeping a clear mind was of the utmost importance right now. Going all rage monster wouldn’t help anything.

  Hell Hound Form

  Level: 1

  Cost: 10,000 Mana Per Minute

  Dexterity: 1,000

  Special Abilities: Flame Breath, Fire Aura, Turn Up the Heat.

  Flame Breath: +1,000 Fire Damage/2,000 MP

  Fire Aura: Passive. +5 Fire Damage/Per Minute.

  Turn Up the Heat: For every 100 Mana Per Minute, an additional +5 Fire Damage/Per Minute is given. Maximum damage, 500.

  Next Level:

  Cost: 9,900 Mana Per Minute

  Flame Breath: +1,000 Fire Damage/1,985 MP

  +40 Dexterity

  The Hell Hound Form’s drain on mana was also pretty extreme. I could sustain it for approximately 20 minutes. The Dexterity bonus was amazing, but it wasn’t enough to justify the cost.

  Throwing 25 more stat points into Wisdom, I saw the others starting to head for the exit.

  “Richard!” I called through group chat. “We defeated the Dark Elf. Close the entrance to the Northern Room. I’ll let you know when we are out so that you can shut the exit.”

  Before he responded, a stone slab started to rise in the doorway to the entrance of the room.

  “Done,” he replied. “You better hurry to the bridge. Travis says his first trap has just been tripped. I’ve already recalled the reinforcements that were heading your way.”

  “Hurry, Trevon,” Aeris warned. She also had access to leader chat. “They are already heading to the next section.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice!” he said, still trying to catch his breath.

  I stopped at the exit and cast Intermediate Blood Drain near the middle of the room with a good 1,000 MP backing it. The wargs’ and Dark Elf’s blood pooled into the customary large orb and filled me. Closing my eyes, I enjoyed the surge of power for a moment before releasing a pent-up breath and turning to leave.

  I called out to Richard when we were all clear. The door to the room started to rise and thundered closed before we reached the next room of the Inner Chambers.

  Chapter 26 – Would You Like to Dance?

  As soon as we made it to the Master Chamber, we saw Richard still standing before the Dungeon’s map with his arms crossed in deep concentration.

  I saw Lydia walk past in my peripheral carrying a large bag of rice near the entrance of the Living District. She and Richard were the only two humans that were completely untalented in anything related to combat. Part of me wanted to stop and check on her, but again, time was short

  Aeris and Trevon went ahead as I took the time to check the stats I had taken with Blood Drain.

  +4,750 MP

  +8 Str

  +16 Dex

  +10 Con

  +22 Int

  +13 Wis

  It was a good take, putting my max MP over 193k and my Mana Per Minute was now 5,344. My Strength was now over 800 and getting much closer to 1,000. If I really needed it, I could funnel more mana into Muscle Buff.

  “Elorion,” Richard called.

  Turning, I saw him glance at me to make sure he had my attention.

  “With the two doors to The Pits closed, we only have 8,000 DP left. Any changes to the rest of the plan?” he asked.

  “No. If we have to flee, close the door to the Bridge behind us and pull the lid above the last trap,” I replied.

  He nodded. “Got it. You better hurry.”

  “Thanks, Richard.”

  He hid it well, but Canine’s Sense of Smell revealed to me how much he appreciated my words. I knew it bothered him that he couldn’t help by taking up arms. Whether it was his endorphins I smelled or if it was something else, his emotions on the matter were obvious all the same. Too bad this spell didn’t come with a manual.

  We had found as we had studied the traps and doors of our new dungeon that the traps were too expensive to spend any points on, starting at 5,000 DP a shot. The doors were a bit trickier. Every doorway could be readied with a door and locked, but there were three different kinds of doors for the normal rooms: stone, steel and enchanted. They ramped up in price in the same order from 1,000, 2,500, 4,000. Then, there were the larger doors, like the entrances of the Mid Perimeter. They were just massive slabs of stone and cost 4,000 DP each.

  Completely ignoring the smaller doorways in the Inner Chamber and the Outer Perimeter, we decided to focus on the bigger doors because they would give us the best protection for the cost.

  We had Khun raise the wall segment in the maze to hopefully cut off that
entrance from our enemies. Having enemies coming at us from a direction we did not expect could easily be our downfall.

  We had lured the wargs to The Pits the best we could and had succeeded in taking out the majority of them with very little cost. Yaatiesh was a big surprise, but his talents couldn’t make up for his inability to judge our strength. I didn’t want to think of how big of a nuisance he could have been if he’d had the dwarf and succubus at his side.

  After finishing with the wargs and Yaatiesh in The Pits, we closed the entrance and exit to that room behind us for another 8,000 DP leaving us with only 8,000 DP left. Now everything depended upon how things went at The Bridge. If we had to retreat we would close the last main door behind us, then opt to purchase two smaller stone doors and lock them as we fled through the Inner Chambers, utilizing the partitions to hurl spells and take cover as we made a retreat. Finally, even though we wouldn’t have enough DP to activate one of the final traps, with 1,000 DP Khun had said we could just remove the stone slab above the pit of spikes that led directly to the Master Chamber. It was there we would make our stand.

  If things really went south, we would have only one other option. Khun would unlock the doors to The Pits and we would make a run for it. I ignored the likelihood that if our enemies pushed us back that far then it was likely that many of us would no longer be alive.

  As I entered the Inner Chamber, heading for The Bridge, I checked my character sheet and saw I had 103,862/190,393 MP. I released Titan’s Bone Defense, freeing up some of my Mana Per Minute.

  I hurried off to join the others who were waiting for our enemy to arrive.

  ***

  What had been a flat stone bridge at the center of the room that crossed a 20-foot moat had now been transformed. Stone pillars stretched along the bank of the chasm from one end of the grand room to the other. Great vines wove themselves between each pillar, creating a low standing wall on our side of the bridge. Clarissa and Olivia had been busy.

  My stone Golem stood dead center of the bridge and would be the first creature to face whatever came next. He was disposable but would hopefully slow them down.

  Aeris plopped down on my helm the moment I entered the room.

  I couldn’t hold back a chuckle. She had been floating above the doorway just waiting for me to enter.

  “My trusty steed,” she said, patting my helm.

  “This trusty steed needs to meditate,” I replied.

  “I’ve beaten you to it. Why do you think I sit on your head instead of flying around all the time?”

  “And you always say I’m the cheater.”

  “I sure do.”

  When we approached, Trevon had already joined the others by Clarissa on the right side of the fortification. From there he would have a good view, so he could see to cover the bridge in ice. Audrey was also at Clarissa’s side. I hoped she was planning on turning the bridge into a giant skillet for grilling the enemy.

  We headed to the left side of the bridge where Olivia and Mel stood in silence, watching the far entrance. Mel’s skeletons were formed up on the other side of the bridge near the corner of the room. It was a good place to flank the enemy.

  I cast Invisibility on them now. I didn’t wait to recover my mana before casting it because I had no way of knowing exactly when our attackers would arrive.

  Mel turned back and offered me a nod of gratitude.

  Our bashers would guard the center of the bridge but would never set a foot on it. Falling into the chasm on either side was too big of a danger. It had a depth of 200 meters, just like the ones in The Pits.

  Pillars at the corners of the bridge had vines snaked up around them and reaching out, tying them to two more pillars that were set back away from the bridge at an angle. As our enemies charged, they would have to funnel in tighter together once they reached our side of the bridge before they met our bashers at the mouth of the immense vine siphon.

  The sledge brothers would be joined with Russ and Travis to either side. They were the highest-level bashers we had and had also proven themselves. The others, primarily our Dexterity-based bashers, would man the vine walls to the sides of the funnel and try to pick off any creature they could reach as it ran by.

  With so many wargs dead, our bashers might end up without much to do, but there was always the danger that Lady Contessa would have some kind of undead army she could summon.

  Russ met me as we approached with a half-empty tray of cave-swine bacon. A small amount of grease pooled under the bacon on the shiny serving tray. It was crispy along the edges.

  “I thought you might appreciate this,” he said with a big grin.

  “You have no idea,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

  How long had it been since I had eaten? Light Magic seemed to sustain me even if I didn’t eat, but that was no way to live.

  Taking a slice carefully to get as little grease on my hand as possible, I took a bite immediately. There was no time to really enjoy it, but I could extend the few seconds I had with it a little longer thanks to Mana Sight.

  Reaching our place on the line at Olivia’s side, I took a seat and forced my body to relax and my mind to focus. I didn’t expect we had long.

  “Master,” came a voice from behind.

  I inclined my head, and Zorik landed and stepped up beside me.

  “Is everything okay?” I replied.

  “Are you sure the name that you heard the dark elf and dwarf call the succubus was Lady Contessa?” he asked. His eyes darted back and forth.

  “Yes,” I replied. “Do you know her?”

  “No. Not exactly,” he said, but his anxiety was clear. “What I do know is that succubi are only called by the title Lady if they are purebloods.”

  “I’m not sure I know what that means.”

  “Do you remember when I explained that imps evolve into incubi if they are male and succubi if they are female?”

  “I do.”

  “Well. Not all succubi and incubi are made the same way. Imps are born when a succubus, most often, becomes pregnant with a child from an elf, dwarf or human. The same happens if an Incubus impregnates any of these three prime races. But there are some that don’t have to evolve. It's rare, because the only way it’s possible is if a succubus and incubus conceive and have a child together. Then the child is born evolved. Any succubus with the title of Lady was born in such a way but hasn’t yet reached the rank of Mistress. They are considered the succubi nobility and usually have stronger talents than the succubi who had to evolve.”

  I took a deep breath as he finished, then released it while grimacing at our luck.

  “So, she is probably more powerful than the average succubus of her level, but we know for sure she isn’t as powerful as Mistress Nava?” I asked to confirm.

  “Yes,” he said, nodding quickly.

  “Does being a full-blooded succubus give her any weaknesses?”

  “Not really. The only difference is that a pureblood has more potent talents, but they usually also have less variety. They can usually only use one, and in rare cases two, schools of magic in my experience. Imps that evolve usually have three or more talents.”

  “That could be something. Thank you, Zorik.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  He hopped in the air and moved forward to Mel’s side to see over the vine wall.

  If we could be pretty sure she only had one school of magic, that could simplify things. It also meant she probably wouldn’t have as many tricks to hide.

  Aeris didn’t say anything, but her hand reached down from above.

  I took it in my own and held it as we both recovered as quickly as we could.

  A few minutes later we heard an explosion.

  ***

  “What did you have in that trap?!” Russ hollered where everyone could hear.

  “Dog shampoo and C4!” Travis answered at a shout.

  The whole lot of us burst out laughing.

  I wasn’t sure what was really
used for explosives in the Underworld, but whatever Travis was using worked. A great blast had come from the north, in the Outer Perimeter. They were getting closer.

  A howl rose up, followed by another. Just outside of the entrance to The Bridge, we heard a sudden yelp.

  “This last one is the best!” Travis called. “If she offers, never let Lydia give you a shave. She puts poison on everything!”

  The snickers that rose up were cut short as a single warg entered at a run but immediately started drifting to the side.

  Quickly, I got to my feet.

  The warg was no longer heading for the bridge but straight for the moat.

  Glancing up, I saw Aeris fly up. She reached the ceiling in a breath.

  I was sure the warg was about to fall to its death in a few more strides when its front legs gave out. It tumbled to its back a few feet from the edge. Whatever Travis had pumped it full of with his trap had done its job.

  Cheers rose up around me. As they started to settle, I heard what sounded like a clap coming from the entrance.

  There was a second clap.

  I shrouded everyone in Invisibility. Checking, I saw my mana had reached 174,002/190,399. It would have to do.

  All eyes were on the large, dark opening to the room. The clapping remained slow but started to increase. Whether Travis’s traps had finished them or the remaining wargs had fled was unclear. The creature that emerged from the darkness of the Outer Perimeter could only be likened to darkness itself.

  Her dress was a dress of shadows. Her arms and face were the only things not covered in the black energy she had wrapped herself in. It was like she used Dark Magic for clothing, not bothering with things like armor or fabric. Her hair floated about. Her long dark strands danced in the energy across her back. She was utterly pale. Almost like a porcelain doll. She was beautiful and dangerous.

  Lady Contessa strolled toward us while continuing to bring her hands together in tempered applause.

  Out of instinct, I used Creature Observation.

  Lady Contessa

  True Blooded Succubus

  Level: NA

  Seeing that her level was over 1,000 higher than mine sent a tremble down my back. I had to remind myself to take steady breaths.