Somerset

by Aaron Oster

  What the fuck, seriously? Why are henchmen always so stupid?

  “Fine then, it’s your choice,” Sam said with a shrug, motioning Gordon out of the way.

  Fudge took a step forward, and Gordon leaped back.

  “Look at that, even your dumb dog has more sense than you,” he said, sounding just as stupid as Stork.

  “Yup, that’s definitely why he leaped back,” Sam said with a wide grin, then used Mana Flare.

  A massive flash of blue energy exploded out from him, sending the two men flying in opposite directions. Fudge slamming into the wall, and Stork landed on top of the still raging gnome.

  You Deal: -18 Damage to Human Guildsman (Mana Flare).

  You Deal: -19 Damage to Human Guildsman (Mana Flare).

  Sam turned to face the gnome, whose head was sticking out from between Stork’s legs and gave him the finger. Then, he abruptly turned away from them and walked out of the guild hall. No one stopped him.

  Once they’d made it outside, Sam immediately turned to Gordon and gave him a questioning look.

  “What the hell was all that about?”

  “I do not know,” he replied, looking quite worried. “But something is definitely wrong if guild officials are acting this way.”

  Sam’s question was answered a moment later when a new window popped up before his eyes.

  HIDDEN QUEST DISCOVERED

  Gnomes, and thugs, and corruption, oh my: You have heard some disturbing information about the guild from a merchant in town, and upon entering the guild hall, were immediately assaulted by the people in charge. Find out what is really happening in the Shtut branch of the Adventurers Guild.

  Difficulty: Very Hard Rewards: 10,000 XP, 1 Epic Item, 1 Spell Scroll, 10 Electrum Coins Time Remaining: D 6 : H 11 : M 33

  “Holy shit!” Sam exclaimed.

  “What is it?” Gordon asked, as he closed the screen.

  “I just got a quest to stop the corruption in the guild, so it looks like we were right. Something is definitely off. There are only two problems; one is that we have a time frame, about six days to complete the quest, and another is the difficulty. I don’t think I can take on a Very Hard quest by myself.”

  Gordon nodded, but was quick to offer a solution.

  “Quest difficulty is directly related to the recipient’s level. If you raise your level, then the difficulty should decrease, making your task a little easier.”

  Sam nodded, checking his clock and wincing. It was nearly two, and he still had to defeat a dungeon boss today.

  “Alright, guess we have no choice but to head for that dungeon you were talking about.”

  “Do you think that is a wise decision? Perhaps it is better to just accept the punishment for failure, rather than dying.”

  He shook his head.

  “While I appreciate your concern, today would be the best day to go at it alone. I got a divine blessing doubling my HP , and like you just said, I need to increase my level if I want to complete that quest.”

  Gordon nodded, then turned and began heading for the opposite side of the city, Sam following closely on his heels.

  It took them about 25 minutes to reach the city walls, and another 30 to reach the dungeon. It came as a bit of a surprise when Sam saw a couple of guards standing by the entrance and a small line of people stretching from it.

  “I didn’t realize that it would be this crowded,” Sam said as he stepped up to the back of the line.

  “Dungeons around cities usually are, especially if they are under the control of the Guild,” Gordon replied.

  “Wait. Are you saying that they won’t let us in unless we’re members of the guild?”

  “No, but you will have to pay a fee upon exiting. I believe the standard for non-guild members is 10%, though it may be higher here due to the corruption you mentioned.”

  Their suspicions were confirmed when they reached the front of the line, and one of the men looked Sam over.

  “Since you’re not a member of the guild, you will be taxed 40% on all goods collected while you are in the dungeon.”

  “Forty percent?! Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Sam practically exploded.

  “You’re always free to leave,” the other man said, not even reacting to Sam’s outrage.

  “And what happens if I don’t pay?” he asked, eyes narrowing.

  “The guild will place a bounty on your head. You will be hunted down and made to pay for the lost income, plus an additional 150% fine for making us take the time to hunt you down. You will then be thrown in prison for anywhere between 5 to 50 years, and upon release, you will be blacklisted by the guild.”

  The man said this in a mechanical voice, as though he’d repeated it thousands of times before.

  What a bunch of assholes!

  Sam snorted, then shoved past the guards and entered the dungeon.

  He would find a way to keep everything he found in here, no matter what the guild said!

  22

  As soon as he entered the dungeon, a message flashed before his eyes.

  DUNGEON

  You have found a dungeon.

  Name: Ant’s Haunt Age: 20 Years Type: Hollow Difficulty: Hard Recommended Level: 6-10

  Sam winced when he saw that number. It meant that he barely qualified for this dungeon and that he probably would have been a lot safer with a party. He quickly checked his supply of Healing Herbs, and found that he still had four from his fight with Bun Ni, the Kung Fu bunny.

  “So what types of monsters do you think are in here?” he asked, looking around the narrow, winding tunnel.

  “I would assume that there will be some type of insect-like creatures. Most likely giant ants or such, judging by the dungeon’s name.”

  “That reminds me,” Sam said, reaching into his bag, and removing the softly glowing dungeon core. “What can we do with this thing?”

  There was suddenly a loud screech from up ahead, and he turned a fearful gaze at the tunnel ahead.

  “I would recommend putting that away. It will only attract attention here. Suffice it to say, that is a very valuable resource, and worth a lot of money to the right party.”

  He nodded, quickly shoving the core back into his bag, and drawing his wand instead.

  He really wished he’d have bought some type of replacement for his wand back in the Armorer’s shop, but he hadn’t wanted to waste the money. Now he was very much regretting that choice.

  The two of them rounded a bend in the tunnel and came face to face with two gigantic ants.

  DUNGEON MONSTER

  Name: Uncle Antonio Gender: Male Level: 7 - HP: 130/130 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 110/110

  Status: Aggressive Worker ants are a basic dungeon monster. Watch out for those mandibles!

  Sam swiped away the notification and, ignoring the terrible name, used Mana Flare. He’d turned off his damage notifications before he’d walked in so they wouldn’t distract him, so he would be able to fight without needing to worry about the bothersome messages. Both ants staggered back under his surprise attack, and then Gordon hit one from the side, tearing open its tough carapace and into the soft flesh beneath.

  Carefully taking aim, Sam fired a Mana Burn into the exposed area and watched as a sizable chunk of the ant’s HP dropped away. He was about to attack again, when he noticed that its HP was slowly dropping, despite his attack already having ended.

  Of course! The damage over time effect!

  He grinned, then fired off two quick Mana Shots, finishing it off.

  Uncle Antonio dies! +244 XP

  The other ant chose that moment to launch itself at him, and Sam just managed get his Mana Cloak up before it crashed into him. He staggered slightly under the force of the attack, but his HP , which was now at 200, remained maxed out.

  He quickly fired off a few Mana Shots, followed by another Mana Flare. Then Gordon came in from behind and practically tore its head clean off.

  Uncle Antonio dies! +211 XP

  �
�Damn, that was easy,” Sam said with a grin, as the ant dropped to the ground with a loud splat. A moment later, they both vanished, leaving a Healing Herb, and a few copper coins in their place.

  “Sweet!” he said, bending down and scooping up his loot.

  “So, who do we kill next?”

  Something slammed into his side, and Sam cried out in pain as he lost 38 HP . Turning his head, he saw another ant had snuck up on them, and had its massive mandibles buried in his side.

  “Mother fucker!” he yelled, pointing his wand and using Mana Burn.

  The ant’s jaws released with a hiss, as blue fire washed over its body. Gordon was on it in an instant, his razor sharp teeth taking one of its legs off at the knee. Sam used that opportunity to fire off two more Mana Shots, and another Mana Burn, before his MP began running low. The ant however, was still not down, and taking a quick peek at its status told him why.

  DUNGEON MONSTER

  Name: Cousin Antony Gender: Male Level: 9 - HP: 67/180 - MP: 10/10 - STA: 122/160

  Status: Aggressive Scissor ants are a basic dungeon monster. Watch out for those mandibles!

  “Gordon! I’m almost out of MP. Do something!” Sam called out, shoving the horrible name to the back of his mind, and backing away as the angry ant scuttled towards him.

  Gordon slammed into its side, tearing a massive chunk out of its carapace with his claws, but suffered a bite from the big ant in retaliation. Sam fired another Mana Shot at it, but it only knocked off 10 HP . The ant turned back to him, hissing in anger, and resumed its charge. He dove to the side as the ant came near, and just managed to avoid being caught in those crushing mandibles again.

  As he got shakily to his feet, Sam’s eyes locked on the gap that Gordon had created in the creature’s armor. He then remembered how much more damage had been done when he’d hit the last ant in that area, and aimed there again, using the last of his MP for another Mana Shot . The ant took a few more wobbly steps, then crashed to the ground as its HP bottomed out.

  Cousin Antony dies! +378 XP

  Now that the battle was over, all of the notifications that he’d been getting suddenly flooded Sam’s vision.

  LEVEL UP!

  Congratulations! You have reached level 7! You have 5 new attribute points to distribute.

  Would you like to distribute them now?

  Yes/No

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  Through your care to hit a specific target, you have gained a new skill!

  Critical Strike: If you know where to aim, no one is safe from you Effect: +200% Increased damage when hitting a vulnerable area

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  Through your underhanded tactics, you have gained a new skill!

  Sucker Punch: If you attack first, you’ll probably come out on top Effect: +100% Increased damage when attacking an unprepared foe

  ABILITY RANK UP!

  Congratulations! Your Mana Shot ability has advanced from Novice to Beginner!

  Mana Shot: Fire a small beam of condensed mana. You may now fire an additional second shot Level: Beginner 12 (4%) Damage: 11-14 (+4-7 Damage 2 nd shot) Cost: 20 MP

  Range: 20 Ft Cast Time: Instant Cooldown: 2 Seconds

  Sam staggered under the flood of new notifications, each one coming in as soon as he shoved the previous one away. As soon as the last notification was gone, he let out a sigh of relief, noting that no new monsters had appeared.

  “Hey, Gordon, is there any way to stop notifications inside a dungeon altogether?” he asked, walking over to where the ant’s corpse was lying, and picking up a pair of shiny blue herbs.

  “Unfortunately, there is not. All you can do is keep them from showing during a battle.”

  He sighed, then used Inspect on the blue herbs, already suspecting what they were, and excited by the discovery.

  ITEM FOUND!

  Name: Potent Mana Herb X2

  Durability: 7/7

  Rarity: Rare Quality: Good Effect: Restores +100 MP when eaten

  “Hell yeah!” Sam said, immediately popping one of the shiny herbs into his mouth, and placing the other in his bag.

  This would really help him if he ran into another sticky situation like the one he’d just had.

  He took a moment to check his HP , noting that it had almost completely refilled by now. Next, he checked Gordon, and was surprised to see that he was now at level 9! Sam debated checking his status, but a quick check of his clock decided him against that.

  He would take care of that once they’d cleared the dungeon.

  “Alright, let's keep going,” he called to the dog, then motioned at the tunnel ahead.

  “Do try and be aware of your surroundings from now on. I will not be able to save you every time you wind up in trouble.” Gordon called back to him.

  How did the dog manage to be so insulting, without ever resorting to foul-mouthed cursing the was he did? Sam had to find out!

  They spent the next hour killing the extended family of horribly named ants, among which Sam discovered Aunt Anty’s, and Big Brother Ant-some’s. By the time he’d killed the eighth such ant, Sam was just about ready to go, the only thing keeping him from doing so being the divine curse looming over his head. He’d also found a few more Potent Mana Herbs, and some more copper coins.

  They emerged from a low tunnel, and into a much wider one. The ceiling was at least twelve feet up, and the walls were far enough apart that it felt quite roomy compared to the rest of the dungeon. Something had been bugging Sam for a while - pun intended - about the dungeon and the lack of people they’d seen.

  “I noticed a lot of people entering on our way in. Why haven’t we bumped into anyone yet?” he asked Gordon, who had pulled a stick from seemingly nowhere, and was chomping away on it as they walked.

  “I do not know,” Gordon replied. “I would have expected as much, seeing as this dungeon is not very large. Perhaps we have just been fortunate, and have picked the correct path each time, while the others have gotten lost.”

  Sam thought about that for a second. Could Gordon be right? After all, his Luck attribute was pretty high for his level, due to the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot tied to his waist. He had been feeling an odd compulsion each time they came to an intersection, to go a specific way. Was this how Luck worked? If so, then he would have to keep working on increasing it.

  He’d also thought that Charisma would have had a more noticeable effect. People hadn’t been treating him any differently when he’d increased it. Or maybe they had and he hadn’t noticed? Sam really couldn’t be sure as he hadn’t tested it. Maybe he would do an experiment once they left the dungeon to test its effects. Like approaching a random stranger with a question, then increasing his Charisma and trying again to see if he got better results. He also had to wonder if it was affecting his interactions with Milly. With looks like her’s, her Charisma must have been through the roof!

  His wandering mind snapped back to the situation at hand, when the tunnel abruptly opened up before them, expanding into a wide open chamber. The chamber walls and ceiling were riddled with small tunnels, which gave Sam a distinctly uneasy feeling. Scanning the room, his eyes alighted on a glowing blue sphere resting in a nook against the far wall; the dungeon core.

  “Guess we’ve found the boss room,” he said, eyeing the numerous tunnels nervously.

  He could just imagine a swarm of ants pouring out to overwhelm them. They probably wouldn’t be happy that he’d killed off so many of their relatives, and would probably be looking for revenge.

  “It would appear that we have,” Gordon replied, dropping his stick and sniffing the air. “The boss is near, though I cannot see her,” he said after a few moments.

  Sam nodded. He couldn’t see the boss either, but he wasn’t about to step into the room to check.

  Holding out his hand, he fired off one of his spells, aiming for the dungeon core. It did nothing, of course, as it was out of range. The bolt of blue energy petered out long before reaching its destination, bu
t Sam’s attack had its intended effect. There was a loud shrieking sound, and a moment later, the biggest, ugliest ant Sam had ever seen emerged from one of the tunnels in the ceiling.

  It was huge, black, and covered in small bristling hairs. A pair of iridescent wings sprouted from its back, and a small golden circlet rested on its head. The monster ant turned its huge, bulbous eyes on them and hissed, clacking its massive, drool-covered mandibles at them.

  BOSS MONSTER

  Name: Queen Ann Tee Gender: Female Level: 12 - HP: 500/500 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 270/270

  Status: Aggressive Ann Tee is the queen of the ants, and their mother as well. She has ruled over Ant’s Haunt since its creation.

  Sam took one look at the ant, and slowly backed down the tunnel.

  Horrible name aside, there was no way in hell he and Gordon could take that thing alone! It’s HP was massive, and judging by its non-existent MP pool, its physical attacks would be devastating!

  He only stopped his back-peddling once the queen was out of sight, then turned to Gordon.

  “You were wise to back away from that fight. I do not believe that we could have succeeded in defeating such an intimidating foe,” the dog said, dipping his head in a show of respect.

  “Great, but that doesn’t solve the issue at hand. I still need to kill a dungeon boss by the end of the day, and unless there’s another dungeon we can challenge and beat in the next few hours, we may just have to take our chances.”

  “Is a divine curse really that bad?”

  “Yes!” Sam exclaimed, throwing up his hands in annoyance. “They’ve ranged from outright screwing me over, to stopping me from talking for half a day. I don’t want to be cursed again!”

  “Very well then. I suppose we should…” Gordon trailed off as a loud shrieking sound came from the tunnel behind them.

  Sam whirled, pulling his wand from his pocket and leveling it down the tunnel. He couldn’t see anything, as it abruptly curved to the left about ten yards further down, and that made him all the more nervous.