Labyrinth to Tartarus: A LitRPG Saga (The Eternal Journey Book 3)

by C. J. Carella

  Hawke had the feeling that a higher-level miner would have gotten a lot more ore out of the deposits, but no one else in the party had learned the Arcane gathering skill. Still, he finally had some new materials to work with. Melting and purifying the ore would help him improve his Arcane Smith level, which remained woefully low. The good news was that his Stronghold had a set of high-level tools and forges that would allow him to work with Mithril and even some of the rarer metals he had collected at the old battle site where he had found Saturnyx. Crafting was one path to power he had not been able to explore in the past few weeks, but he hoped to change that soon.

  A few pounds of metals richer, he sat down by the lakeshore and turned towards his character sheet. Time to level up and prepare for the next encounter.

  Thirty-Four

  Hawke split his new Attribute points between Intelligence, Spirit, and Willpower. Time to go a little mental. More Mana was always good, and Willpower was important both for monster-taming and to resist controlling effects. For his new spells, he picked Bolt of Life and Healing, which replaced Lesser Healing.

  Major Bolt of Life

  Time to Cast: 1 second. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Cost: 10 Mana. Duration: Instant. Range: 300 feet. Effect: Heal 2 Health (or inflict 6 Life damage to Undead) per caster level every second for 10 seconds. The Celestial version costs 20 Mana and heals 4 Health (or inflicts 12 Celestial damage) per caster level every second for 10 seconds.

  Healing

  Time to Cast: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds. Cost: 25 Mana. Duration: Instant. Range: 50 feet. Effect: Heal 20 Health per caster level (or triple that amount as damage against Undead). This spell will also remove any crippling injuries and effects, except those caused by natural aging. Missing limbs and organs will be regained in a matter of hours, depending on the extent of the injury. The Celestial version costs 50 Mana and heals 40 Health (or triple that amount as damage against Undead).

  The regular Bolt of Life had been so weak he’d almost taken it off his combat roster, keeping it only because of its range, but the new version was a powerful ranged heal and the damage-over-time against Undead was impressive, plus its range had increased notably. That was about all he got; levels between milestones were easier to gain but didn’t provide as many bennies. He had also increased his Leadership level, but he wouldn’t be able to improve it until after he left the Dungeon.

  Only three more levels before I hit the Common Realm’s cap, he thought. What happens then?

 

  One of his pending quests required him to travel to the lands of the Fae, so perhaps that should be his next step. But what would happen to the Domain he had claimed? The idea of spending some down time taking care of business before moving on was appealing to him. He had no intention of abandoning Orom and its people until he dealt with the dangers threatening the valley. And the Nerf Herders, of course.

  Let’s deal with the problems right in front of me, he told himself.

  The tough fight with the Gargantua had made him reconsider one of his previous decisions. They were going after the level’s boss next, and he had to upgrade his gear. Even with his backstab bonuses, doing meaningful amounts of damage to the giant monster had been rough. In the vaults of Domort the Necromancer, he had found a level 20 Epic Quality bastard sword. He had held off on using it, but if they wanted to make it through the Dungeon, they would need all the advantages they could get. It was time to say goodbye to the Saturnyx Twins and find his beloved Fury a new home.

  He called the sword from his inventory. It was a long, double-edged straight blade made of a golden alloy, with runes of power carved along both sides of its fuller. Its hilt and handle were made of mithril, undecorated. It had two open sockets, one where the blade met the cross-guard, and another on the pommel at the end of the long handle. When unsheathed, the weapon glowed with Light magic.

  Brand of Occissor (Epic Quality)

  This weapon was made for the legendary Common Realm Paladin known as Occisor, who wielded it in battle during Second Ragnarök.

  Item Level: 20 (Minimum Level 15).

  Average Damage: Strength x 2 (Physical), Willpower x 2 (Light, doubled against Beyonders, Demons or Undead).

  Attribute Bonuses: +6 to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Spirit and Willpower.

  Mana Storage: 200 Mana.

  Jewel, Orb or Rune Sockets (2): Pommel (empty), cross-guard (empty)

  Spell Magnifier: Reduce casting times, cooldowns, and Mana costs of any spell used while wielding the sword by 30%.

  Durability: 800/800. Requires Sword Skill.

  Ready to move to your new crib? Hawke asked Saturnyx as he took out a Holy Orb of Life he had been saving for the occasion and inserted it in the open slot in the sword’s pommel.

 

  Hawke brought the two weapons together, ready for the blinding flash of light that took place when Saturnyx’s essence passed from one weapon to another. When the light dissipated, the Brand’s handle had been replaced by Saturnyx’s golden hilt, guard and pommel, with the new Orb glowing faintly red, inhabited by the Fury’s spirit.

  Bastard Sword of Righteous Fury (Epic Quality Item)

  Level 17 Soul Sword

  Item Level: 20 (Minimum Level 15).

  Damage: 70-420 (Physical, tripled against Demons), 41-246 (Light, tripled against Beyonders, Demons or Undead).

  Attribute Bonuses: +23 to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution; +6 to Spirit and Willpower.

  Jewel, Orb or Rune Sockets (2): Pommel (Orb of Life), cross-guard (empty)

  Spell Magnifier: Reduce casting times, cooldowns, and Mana costs of any spell used while wielding the sword by 30% (total 40% with Elysian Cross-Guard).

  Dragon-Bone Hilt: Provides Damage Resistance: Elemental (Fire) 55% Elemental (All Others): 25%.

  Elysian Steel Cross-Guard: Reduces the Mana cost of spells by 10% (total bonus 40%).

  Orb of Life: adds +3 to the effective level of the caster to determine spell effects.

  Skill Bonus: +15 to Sword Skill.

  Sense Evil: Can detect the presence of Demons, Undead and Beyonders within a hundred yards. Note: Powerful entities may be able to mask their presence.

  Durability: 850/850. Requires Sword Skill.

  “Definitely an upgrade,” Hawke said, hefting the sword and doing some simple swings and thrusts with it. Despite being longer than the weapons he had been using for the past months, the Brand felt light and comfortable in his hand, thanks to Saturnyx’s magic. All he was missing was his shield, which he called up a moment later. Back to sword and board! Time to put the Paladin back into Paladin-Ninja.

  Lesser Shield of Order (Masterwork Quality):

  Level 15 Item (Minimum Level 10 to use)

  Block Bonus: 36%. Damage Absorption (Successful Block Only): Physical: 60/50%, Elemental (All): 30/40%, Force (Chaos): 50/50%, Forces (All Other): 30/40%. Durability: 500/500. Requires Shield Skill

  Attribute Bonuses: +5 to Strength and Constitution, +3 to Willpower and Spirit

  Special Abilities:

  Enhanced Bash: Striking with the shield inflicts Strength + 10-30 Physical damage and 20-120 Force (Order) damage.

  Dome of Order: One per day, the shield can generate a dome
of Order energies surrounding a twenty-foot radius. Any spells cast from outside the dome will have no effect on those inside; this includes Area of Effect (AOE) spells, and both inimical and beneficial spells.

  “How do you feel?” he asked Saturnyx.

 

  “Same here.”

  Name: Hawke Lightseeker. Race: Half-Elf, Eternal. Class: Twilight Templar, Monster Trainer. Level: 17

  Experience/Next Level: 30,430/33,000

  Attributes:

  Strength 27(70), Dexterity 25(54), Constitution 42(92), Intelligence 26(40), Spirit 24(43), Perception 24(30), Willpower 22(41), Charisma 20(22)

  Characteristics:

  Health: 1,096 (26.2/min)

  Mana: 1,522 (27.3/min)

  Endurance 888 (26.2/min)

  Identity: 21

  Skills

  Blacksmithing 4, Climbing 2, Detect Traps 3, Disarm Traps 4, Dodge 7, Lore 4, Shield 7, Spear 4, Stealth 4, Survival 3, Sword 7(22), Swimming 2, Tracking 3

  Languages: Common Fey, Vulgate, Lesser Celestial

  Perks

  Aegis of the Fae, Dark Vision, Elementalist, Fae Stealth, Mana Sight, Sidhe Caster, Sidhe Speed Casting, Speed-Casting (Life and Light Magic), Spell Penetration, True Sight, Undying, Unlimited Potential

  Spells

  Animate Shadow, Armor of Life, Army of the Dead, Aura of Light, Bless Crops, Bolt of Darkness, Bolt of Life, Bulwark of Light, Burning Light, Consecrated Ground, Dark Step, Death Cyclone, Death Stare, Enlightenment, Dark Tendrils, Deadly Roots, Fireball, Gift of the Martyr, Growth, Hammer of Light, Hammer of Twilight, Healing Blows, Healing Wave, In Extremis, Indomitable Aura, Lesser Healing, Minor Death Curse, Nature’s Grip, Nature’s Guardian, Raise Dead, Send Thought, Sense Life, Shadow Leech, Dark Step, Shield of Light, Shroud of Darkness, Shroud of Twilight, Simple Spell Inscription, Song of Sorrow, Steal Life, Terror Gaze, Touch of Light, Transference, Twilight Mantle, Twilight Step.

  Special Abilities

  Analyze Monster, Create Magical Trap, Disarm Magical Trap, Dual-Casting, Evolve Monster, Greater Bond, Identify Spell, Mana Channeling II, Dispel Magic I, Leadership IX (Chosen Foe I, Command IV, Generalship II, Messenger I), Living Shadow, Node Mastery V (Node Recall, Node Sight, Advanced Node Travel), Monster Pet (Level 15 Young Tarakken), Ritual Magic I, Seal Inscription I, Soul Rider, Spell Deconstruction, Spellcraft III, Stop Monster, Summon Monster, Tame Monster, Tantric Touch, Timeless Mind, Tulpa Creation I

  Arcane Vocations

  Blacksmith (Level Three), Mining (Level Four), Skinning (Level One), Steward (Level Four)

  Hawke noticed the rest of the party was staring at him. He felt taller, more energetic. It wasn’t just a feeling, he realized. He’d picked up at least an inch or two in height, something he noticed when Tava, not a short woman by any means, came closer and he found himself looking down at the top of her head. And his shoulders were wider. His armor’s enchantments had made it conform to his larger body; if he’d been wearing ordinary armor, something would have broken, either him or the gear. Considering his new Strength and Constitution, probably the gear.

  Power was amoral, capable of doing good or evil. Might did not make right, but without might, you couldn’t make anything happen, for good or ill. The feeling was intoxicating, and that made it dangerous. It was too easy to give in to the temptation to do all kinds of things, simply because he could. He had to weigh every decision even more carefully than before, because the consequences of anything he did would affect a lot of people.

  Please keep reminding me not to be a dumbass, he told the sword, and through her, the other two women in his life.

  Don’t worry, we surely will, Nadia replied, and he felt the others’ silent agreement.

  Thirty-Five

  The door to the Baron’s chamber swung open and Hawke sent in his Darkness Guardian.

  The powerful summoned creature began to take hundreds of points of damage immediately as it was greeted by a torrent of lava spewing from the mouth of the ugliest demon Hawke had seen yet. Dergal Pain Giver looked like a cross between Jabba the Hutt, the Blob from the old horror movie, and a live volcano. It wasn’t quite as big as the Gargantua, but made up for it by being disgustingly, obscenely fat, a mass of red-skinned blubber that leaked lava and filled a third of the chamber; its grotesquely tiny horned head looked down from the top of the flabby mound, as if someone had decapitated a doll and placed the trophy on a pile of manure. Equally tiny arms protruded from the fleshy folds of the demon’s body, busily making casting passes as it prepared to cast a spell.

  Dergal Pain Giver (Infernal, Undead)

  Level 15 Elite Noble

  Health 7,500 Mana 3,000 Endurance n/a

  Dergal’s mouth might be small, but it could spit hot lava with the pressure of a firehose. The Darkness Guardian had a good deal of resistance to damage and twelve hundred Health, but at the rate it was getting blasted, it would be gone in less than five or six seconds. It was doing its job, though; Hawke had sent it in first to soak up the level boss’ initial attack. Better to sacrifice the level 12 monster to buy the rest of the party time to deploy and prepare.

  Once again, he had divided the group into three teams. He led the front-line force, with all the higher-level front-line types, along with Gosto’s Dire Spirit and a Nature’s Guardian that would likely turn out to be a waste of Mana. Tava led the second team, with Luna, Alba, Gosto, and Rabbit. Olaf and Grognard remained in the hallway, where they could provide some support while staying out of the line of fire.

  First things first. As the Darkness Guardian kept lumbering forward, pushing through the stream of lava, Hawke gave the word and he, Alba and Girl hit the boss with Shadow Leech. The trio of spells did the job; Dergal recoiled, unable to continue casting, and it even stopped vomiting lava for a moment, allowing Hawke’s Shadowling to close in and tear at the massive demon with its pincers. They had bought three seconds during which the Baron couldn’t use magic.

  Girl struck with Twilight Step, appearing behind the monster’s tiny head and slashing at it – only to discover there was a protective aura around the boss that absorbed damage like Hawke’s Bulwark of Light, except the Infernal effect had an effective Health of 5,000!

  Hawke fired off his spell rotation, aiming carefully to avoid hitting Girl or his summoned pet with the area attacks, before teleporting in and landing a critical hit with his new sword. That was enough to drop the boss’ defensive aura and carve a few hundred points off its actual Health as the second team’s spells and missiles began to hit the gigantic critter. That was when they got the next unpleasant surprise of the fight. Dergal was regenerating Health at the impossible rate of 1,000 per second.

  The boss wasn’t just sitting there, either. Girl had to somersault away when its tiny head began to spin in circles like that chick in the old Exorcist film, spitting lava in every direction. Hawke caught a splash on his shield, which reduced the 600-damage hit to 342, which was easily absorbed by his Celestial Bulwark and Shield of Light. His return blow barely inflicted a couple hundred damage after the Risen Infernal’s defenses were accounted for. The ugly mother-effer was a tough nut to crack. Hawke placed a Consecrated Ground under both him and the massive monster and kept fighting.

  Digger’s shell was smoking after taking several lava hits, and Girl’s Health had dropped below fifty percent before Blaze and Gosto healed her back. Gzzatt’s Stalwart abilities kept him alive as the Arachnoid used his bladed spear to slash away at the monster. Nadia kept herself healed while she fired off her deadly spell rotation at the hybrid. Blaze was the only front-line attacker still unhurt. The agile Drakofox flew over the mountain of blubber and used his Life and Light magic, healing friends and hurting the monster. The second team had taken some lava hits, but nothing serious. For a moment, Hawke thought they had the situation under control.

  “Adds!” Nadia shouted.

  Hawke had taught the local members of the team the gamer t
erm for minions a boss could summon to join a fight. The warning alerted everyone as a dozen fifteenth level Soul Burners showed up, appearing out of flaming clouds that formed on the ground all through the chamber – including a bunch that appeared between the three teams.

  Soul Burner (Infernal Revenant)

  Level 15 Elite Minion

  Health 759 Mana 371 Endurance 759

  The arrival of the extra mobs wasn’t completely unexpected, of course. Both the Realms’ and the Earth gamers’ lore warned that level bosses often had bodyguards. The second and third teams turned their attention to the newcomers. Olaf welcomed them with the Celestial versions of both Mass Blast Undead and Mass Blast Demons, once again turning the critters’ hybrid nature against them. One of his new Priest abilities allowed him to reduce the casting time of spells by spending more energy, allowing him to cast both 10-second spells instantly, although at the cost of over 200 Mana. The AOEs didn’t inflict much more damage to Dergal, but its minions lost half their Health just moments before Tava, Luna and Gosto hit them with their area-of-effect attacks. Several monsters dropped. Hawke sent an augmented Healing Wave to finish off the rest. The spells’ 100-foot radius of effect wasn’t large enough to get all of them, but only four out of the dozen minions lived long enough to use their special attack. One targeted Olaf. The other three went after Grognard. The Battle Mage couldn’t survive a trio of DOTs. He went down for the second time.

  Hawke saw the poor bastard’s icon go dark on the Party Interface. He gritted his teeth and redoubled his efforts, only to discover that the boss’ protective aura was back. By the time the party tore through it, the Baron had regained a good chunk of its Health. Hawke did a little bit of math in his head – a lot harder than it sounded when he was fighting for his life at the same time – and figured that at their current rate, they were going to run out of people before the demon ran out of Health. And to top it all, the sumbitch started casting again, and everyone’s Shadow Leech was still on cooldown.