The Land: Predators: A LitRPG Saga (Chaos Seeds Book 7)

by Aleron Kong

  Charisma: 18

  Luck: 18

  SPELL POWER BONUSES

  Air 50%

  Life 50%

  RESISTANCES

  Air 50%

  Mental 100%

  Life 50%

  ABILITIES

  (Unused Points:3)

  Psi Bond – Lvl 6, points to next level: 5

  Psi Blast – Lvl 3, points to next level: 3

  Brain Drain – Lvl 7, points to next level: 7

  Psi Channeling – Lvl 2, points to next level: 2

  His little girl was growing up! Richter was sure, well, mostly sure, that she wouldn’t have really hurt him a second ago. Her stats made it obvious that she could really bring the pain though! The size of her mana alone was staggering. The level six Psi Bond they shared increased both her Intelligence and Wisdom by 60%. Her spell repertoire was limited to the Life and Air spells that he knew, but that was still almost thirty spells.

  Not many were attack magics, but most of the Life spells still had a role in battle by providing support and healing. Her psychic abilities were also powerful. Her primary attack, Psi Blast, focused Thought magic into a cone. At level three, it could stun enemies, cause health damage, and disorient them so they would attack each other. Her special attack, Brain Drain, could immediately disable opponents up to level thirty-one. The dragonling was not a being to be taken lightly… despite the fact that she was currently purring in his arms.

  Richter accessed the prompts that had appeared when she absorbed the psychic energy.

  Know This! Pure psychic energy can enhance the characteristics of your Psi Dragonling. Each level of a Psi Crystal equates to 1 Psi Point. Current Psi Points available: 32. Any unused Psi Points will be lost after 24 hours. At her current evolution, Alma has the following enhancements available.

  Name of Enhancement

  Traits

  Cost

  Natural Armor II

  Current Armor: 4

  Increase the natural armor of your dragonling by +1

  20

  Natural Attack I

  Current Attack: 5

  Increase the melee attack of your dragonling by +1

  10

  Flight Speed II

  Increase Flight Speed by 10%

  20

  Chameleon I

  Your dragonling’s body will change color by 5% to match the surrounding environment

  20

  Darkvision I

  Gives Darkvision with a radius of 50 yards

  10

  Psi Poison

  Your dragonling’s teeth and claws will now exude a stronger psi poison. The poison will now cause a slight amount of health, mana and stamina damage. Chance of spell misfire increased. Slight chance of spell backfire.

  40

  Convert to Characteristic Points

  (Size, Race, etc. adjustments still apply)

  Str 5, Agi 33, Dex 34, Con 13, End 18, Int 80, Wis 80, Chr 18, Luc 18

  Allows Purchase of one Characteristic Point that will be added to base value

  10

  Convert to Ability Points

  Allows the Purchase of 1 Ability Point

  40

  There were many options, but all Richter really cared about was protecting his familiar. While increasing her flight speed was attractive, in an underground space like the Dungeon he wasn’t sure how useful that would be. Richter made his choice.

  You have purchased: Natural Armor II. Alma’s armor is now +5.

  Total Psi Points Remaining: 12

  Blue light seeped through the dragonling’s scales. It grew bright, but not blinding. Her old scales fell away and made faint tink, tink sounds as they struck the stone floor. Thicker scales grew in their place. As painful as the process looked, Alma remained relaxed in his arms. After seven seconds the light flared, leaving an afterimage in everyone’s vision.

  Richter had to blink a few times before he was able to see the changes in his familiar. Her snout had lengthened slightly again and she was noticeably heavier than before. The skin covering her wings was thicker and a faint line of hard bumps traced down her back. The ridges over her eyes had grown slightly and she appeared a bit more dangerous than before. She looked up at him and Richter fondly stroked her head. She trilled in pleasure. With a smile on his face, he looked at the remaining Psi Points and made another purchase.

  You have purchased: Darkvision I. Alma can now see 50 yards in the dark. This change in vision is automatic.

  Total Psi Points Remaining: 2.

  Her eyes looked the same to him, but that was probably because there was still light in the room. Still, he felt better about taking her into the Dungeon now. Richter looked around at his Companions, “Well, gentlemen; let’s go.”

  They all walked towards the exit on the far side of the chamber, Sapir and Alma flying lazily above. The portal looked much the same as the last time Richter had seen it. A simple archway of stone, with a heart of blackness leading to the unknown. Just as before, Richter could make out a faint red energy field over the doorway that phased in and out of visibility.

  “Any way to know what’s on the other side?” Richter asked his chamberlain.

  “Not until we step through,” Randolphus replied with a shake of his head.

  Richter nodded. Taking a deep breath, he spoke two words, “To infinity,” before stepping through and disappearing from sight.

  An instant later, he was in the Dungeon proper. His eyes widened in surprise and amazement as he exhaled the rest of his breath, “... and beyond.”

  CHAPTER 25 – Day 142 – Kuborn 32, 0 AoC

  Richter walked into an immense cavern. It made sense now why the ramp leading down to the Entrance Chamber was almost a half-mile deep. Looking up, he couldn’t see the roof. The entire ceiling was lost in shadow as it extended beyond the range of his vision. The ground was earthen and covered in thick grass that rose a foot off the ground. The size of the cavern was not what caught his attention. What drew his eye were the towers.

  Columns of blood red crystal emerged from the ground and disappeared into the darkness above. Each pillar was five feet across and was spaced twenty feet from the next. Richter could not see how many there were, but there were enough that they blocked his view of the far side of the cave. Richter could easily see how these pillars could make a maze of sorts. The only light came from an unseen source hidden by the thick towers in front of him. A red glow suffused the air around him, but it was extremely dim.

  Richter heard something behind him and turned around. He was standing only a few feet from a wall of bare, grey stone. Set within it was the doorway he’d come through. The energy field could be seen from this side as well. Though he had taken only a few steps forward, he couldn’t see the Entrance Chamber. All he saw was the same blackness at the arch’s center and the same red tint flickering at its boundary. His Companions quickly came through; they looked around with wide-eyed expressions similar to his own.

  He looked at Randolphus, “You’ve been in a Dungeon before. Is this kind of thing,” he motioned to the forest of opaque crystal pillars, “normal?”

  “No,” the chamberlain replied, slowly looking around. “This is something new.”

  “So what do we do?” Sion asked softly. The size of the cavern was so great, the sprite whispered by instinct, unwilling to break the feeling of stillness around them.

  “We scout,” Richter replied turning his attention to Alma.

  *Be careful, my love,* he thought to his familiar.

  *Always, master,* she thought back. The tone of excitement and bloodlust came through clearly in the mental message, belying her words. Alma could be as gentle as a kitten when playing with the pixies and the village children, but there was no denying what she truly was… a predator.

  As she flew off, Richter began to summon mist lights. He could only summon one a minute, but the glowing spheres lasted a year. He could also make them appear more than a hundred yards away. The lights slowly pus
hed back the gloom around them. Richter could have cast Darkvision of course, but that wouldn’t help his Companions. If the Dungeon was as dangerous as he thought it was, they might need to see clearly in short order. The longevity of the lights should also help on future Dungeon dives.

  The process would have been faster if Richter had brought Futen, but the remnant had almost no way to defend himself. The glowing orb had almost been destroyed by an undead knight the last time Richter had brought it along. Everything had worked out in the end and the knight even served one of his villagers now, but it was a wake-up call. The remnant was one of only three creatures that could control his village’s settlement spells, the other two being Alma and himself. He wouldn’t risk Futen in combat again unless he was in dire need.

  While Richter created the mist lights, Sion stood nearby with an arrow nocked to his bowstring, Sapir floating above him. The pixie wanted to go explore the room as well, but a sharp word from the sprite in pixiespeak kept him close by instead. Terrod stood with his high steel sword out and his shield held at the ready. Richter absently realized that his captain needed an upgrade to his gear and resolved to do something about that soon. Randolphus stood nearby, eyes scanning the darkness. He looked relaxed, but it was the ease of a hunting cat, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. Richter had no doubt the Spy could let his enchanted daggers fly in an instant.

  Alma flew up to the roof of the chamber which was actually about eighty yards above where Richter and his Companions stood. Not an infinite expanse, but definitely high enough to allow large predators to hide unseen. The columns merged seamlessly into the ceiling, just as they did on the ground. The chamber was ringed by the dark red pillars, and from what Richter could gauge, it was about a quarter mile across. A few tunnels snaked out of the room at irregular intervals, appearing to lead deeper into the Dungeon. Each had a closed door, blocking further sight.

  The dragonling summoned mist lights periodically and affixed them to the ceiling and the columns. Each time she flew around the chamber, she moved closer to the center in concentric circles, thoroughly mapping the room. By the time she had made her third lap, mist lights twinkled on the ceiling like solitary stars. On her fifth lap, she crossed out of the forest of blood red pillars. Her flight confirmed what Richter had seen: columns circled the entire chamber they were in except for one corridor to the right of his position.

  There was a clear path leading from the center of the cavern to a fifty-foot-tall archway set into the side of the room. This doorway was all red stone, but where there should have been empty space in the middle, there was a solid wall of brown rock. It looked more like a picture of a door than a doorway itself. Richter couldn’t see the reason for it. The archway couldn’t keep his attention though compared to what was occupying the center of the chamber.

  A large crystal floated thirty feet in the air. It was blood-red as well, but unlike the columns it was lit with a bright inner light. It hung suspended like a chandelier over a central clearing. The red luminescence Richter had seen after crossing through the portal came from this gem. Near the center of the chamber, the light was as bright as the noonday sun. The gem was ten feet tall and five feet wide. Richter recognized the shape immediately. It was a magnified version of the Bloodstone.

  Richter flinched instinctually and searched his mind. He had bonded on a deep level with the powerful item. Each connection he had made, his Psi Bond with Alma, the link he had had with the shale adder, and the bond to the Bloodstone, occupied a particular portion of his psyche. To him, they appeared as lights of various intensities. Alma’s blazed like the sun, the shale adder’s had been like a torch, and the Bloodstone had been more like a doorway allowing Richter to be dominated. That connection had disappeared when the stone became the Dungeon’s Item of Power. He exhaled a sigh of relief at seeing it was still gone.

  The floating gem might have been the same shape as the Bloodstone, but the size was completely different. The Bloodstone had been the size of a bowling ball, completely belying the massive power it contained. The crystal Alma was looking at was hundreds of times larger. For a moment, Richter was afraid that size might match power but, thankfully, all it seemed to be doing was emitting light. Once Richter was reasonably sure that he wouldn’t be possessed again, he turned his attention to what was below the floating gem. Alma flew in slow circles over a herd of monsters.

  There were almost forty of them. They looked like pigs milling around in the grass, but these were no simple porkers. Large tusks of jagged bone protruded up from their mouths. More sharp spikes of bone stuck out from their backs and sides. It was easy for Richter to see how a herd of these monsters running past could rend you to shreds. He pulled out his Traveler’s Map so everyone else could see what Alma was sending him.

  Sion immediately identified the creatures, “Koran tuskers.” There was no hate in the sprite’s voice, but there was a hint of grim realization.

  Everyone looked at the sprite and he continued quietly, “They are territorial and aggressive. They can eat grass, but they will also run down animals and beasts. They are usually easy to avoid because they make a horrible racket when they pass through the forest. Tuskers are fast though,” he cautioned, “and those bone spikes are not for show. They can pierce armor.” Sion looked again at the map that showed a live feed from Alma’s perspective and added, “These look a bit bigger than the ones I’ve seen before.”

  Richter nodded and continued to look at the map while he formulated a plan. The monsters outnumbered them almost ten to one. A frontal attack would obviously be a mistake. If all the tuskers surged towards his group, they could be overwhelmed. The four Companions were well equipped and none of them were low level, but in The Land anything could happen. Even a level one creature could be deadly, and Richter had no idea what level these creatures were. The only way he could know that would be to use his Analyze skill, and he needed line of sight for that. Seeing through Alma’s eyes gave an incredible advantage in battle, but she couldn’t use his skills. His ability to take a Scout position from his War Leader skill could have given more information, but it didn’t work in the Dungeon. As Randy had said several times, “Dungeons are for adventure, not war.”

  He ordered her to keep circling while he discussed tactics with his Companions. “I say we draw them to us,” Richter proposed. “Alma can cast some spells to make them scatter, then herd a few at a time towards us. If we’re prepared, it shouldn’t be too hard to take them out.”

  No one else seemed to have a problem with the idea, so they got ready. Sion cast Weak Haste on himself and nocked a sprite arrow to his bow. Terrod readied his sword and hefted his shield. Randolphus just leaned against a pillar and honestly looked a bit bored. Richter began his own preparations.

  First, he loaded his Ring of Spell Storage. It let him prepare any novice ranked spell of the Basic Elements for an immediate casting later. At this point, he had a large amount of options available to choose from, but he went with an oldie but a goodie. Words of Power fell from his lips and a green glow surrounded his hand. Rather than cast the spell, he focused on his ring and soon a prompt appeared.

  You have loaded your Ring of Spell Holding with Weak Sonic Wail. This spell will be accessible for instant cast for the next 24 hours.

  It wasn’t his strongest spell, but if a mass of the tuskers rushed him, the auditory attack should disorient them. With any luck, they might even run into one another and cause some damage.

  Next, he summoned his strongest creature. Moving both hands this time, he dual cast Summon Minor Chokespore Arachnid. More words of Power issued into the air. The level ten spell was noticeably more difficult to cast, but it was still well within his capabilities. His high affinity and mental training with Alma gave him a spell control that belied his meager skill level of eleven in Earth Magic.

  The spell wasn’t cheap. The base cost of one hundred and seventeen mana was magnified almost three and a half times since he chose to dual cast the spell.
The loss of over four hundred MPs all at once gave him a splitting headache. He powered through the final syllables of the four-second cast nonetheless and was rewarded by a green disc appearing in the air. The pain in his head faded to a dull ache.

  The summoning was meant to call forth a level twelve spider. Between his dual technique and his Summoner’s Ring, a rare item, a level twenty-one arachnid came through the portal instead. For the next quarter hour, the creature would be bound to his will.

  Richter made eye contact with it, establishing a weak psychic connection. Then he took a deep breath, preparing to cast a spell for the first time. He’d been both anxious and excited to use his Higher Energy spell. Richter had learned the lesson that magic was not a toy and could have serious consequences. He couldn’t know what would happen until he nutted up and did it though. So without further delay, he used the magic that was his race’s namesake for the very first time.

  Akaton Evolution required both hands to cast. Grey light surrounded his hands as arcane words fell from his lips. His pupils widened and his heart began to thud rapidly as the Power gathered inside of him. His teeth bared and he became aware of every hair follicle on his body. The magic continued to build.

  Richter hadn’t known what to expect. Using Basic Element magic barely had a noticeable effect on him. Deeper Magics had more insidious consequences, temporarily unbalancing his personality in sometimes dangerous ways. Blood Magic could make him a slave to his emotions. Spirit Magic could fill him with a giddy high. It made him feel as invincible as a fool on PCP and left him with the same hunger to use it again. This time he needn’t have worried. As the Chaotic magic began to fill him he knew a peace that he’d seldom known before. This was his birthright!

  Roiling tendrils of grey energy built on his hands. They danced and flowed across his skin until the power concentrated on the tips of both index fingers. Twin beams of Chaos magic left his hands, condensing into one ray of Higher Energy before striking his summoned spider. It outlined the arachnid in grey energy before disappearing completely.