by J. Carrarn
"I am not done yet," he said out loud to suppress the fear.
The low rumbling of his voice echoed through the tunnel. Dust and debris fell, raining down on him. He looked up, realizing there was a faint red glow on the rock high above.
He had to get out of this tunnel before the lava managed to eat through the stone above him. Touching a random location on the wall, he drew back his fist and struck forward as hard as he could. This caused a bout of dizziness and he stumbled, but the rock crumbled and gave way as a deep boom resonated through the tunnel. More dust fell, along with some larger debris.
Carefully extending his arms, he scanned the wall. His punch had created an opening ahead of him, large enough to crawl through but too small to stand upright in. He stumbled across the stone on the ground and crawled inside. Feeling the wall in front of him with his hand, he steeled himself. Another blow, another hole in front of him, and another dizzy spell. The stone rubble clogged the passage before him, and he shoved it out behind him and into the tunnel. His arms felt heavy.
This is going to take a while, he thought and sighed. He ignored the fact that he had no idea where he was going or that he only had a few hours remaining before he shut down forever, and struck again.
Strike, dizzy, rest, clear rubble. In the darkness of the rock he usually loved, Solus continued forward. Without the timer, he had no idea how much time he had left, and he tried to increase his speed.
When the rest between punches had turned from one moment to many, he felt something. A slight tremor came from the stone below him. Placing his hands on the floor, he focused, trying to keep his fatigued mind from shutting down.
He wasn't sure what it was, but it was definitely coming from below him. Drawing a few labored and dusty breaths, he sat on his knees and punched downward. A loud crack came from the rock as it splintered, and then there was weightlessness.
He fell straight down, stone falling all around him, and the muted sounds of the small tunnel were replaced by deep echoes and rumbling as if he was in an enormous open space. He heard a soft dripping and hissing coming from his left, and the temperature increased sharply.
Curling himself into a ball, trying to make himself as small as possible, he braced himself for the impact. He counted to twenty when he slammed into the ground. A soft snap from his arm and the sharp pain that followed alerted him rather harshly that he had broken something. At the same time, he felt his mind go groggy.
Still conscious, he thought with some relief. If he had blacked out, he'd have never woken up again. As he lay there, he felt a pattern of repeating tremors running through the stone.
Staying perfectly still, he tried to discern where they were coming from. A heavy thudding, accompanied by loud booms as if someone or, more likely, something enormous was stomping around the cavern. Or hitting the walls… It was difficult to make out as it wasn't very close.
I wish I could see, he thought.
Weary anger flared up, causing yet another dizzy spell. Shoving the frustration away, he took a deep breath of the pungent, warm air. Feeling the dizziness reside, he crawled out of the crater that had been created by his rough entrance and managed to sit up.
Thinking was hard; his mind was sluggish and tired. Still, he knew that the sound could be another, possibly hostile, undead. Perhaps one of those lava beings? If he could somehow get hold of a mana-orb, no matter how small, he might be able to get his vision back and locate more things to hunt. First he would have to end whatever it was that was making the tremors. In his current condition, it seemed unlikely that he would be able to accomplish that. He couldn't even see it! He would need it to get it close enough to even make an attempt.
The thudding stopped; the sudden silence filled Solus with dread. He listened for movement or noise, when a hot, stale-smelling gust of air blew over his face.
"Fooooood."
Solus sucked in a breath, trying not to panic. The odd, gurgling voice seemed to come from right in front of him. Sticking out his hand, he grabbed only air.
Bile and blood, he though. It was a projected voice! But then what was the hot air?
"Foooood?" Dozens of the horrible gurgling voices came from all around him, and the heavy thudding returned. This time it was heading directly toward him.
Scrambling back, as fast as his broken body would let him, Solus collided with something hard and the pain in his back intensified.
A whooshing came from his right, and he barely managed to raise his arms in defense. Something struck them heavily, pushing his arms back. His hands slammed against his head, and he didn't get a chance to grab whatever it was that hit him.
Hearing more whooshing, he quickly raised his arms as something began pounding at him. Every time he tried to grab at it, he was too late; he was too slow and sluggish. He needed to do something, and fast! Angry at his inability to see or grab his assailant, he roared as loud as he could. The sound rolled away from him, echoing around. Cracking and crumbling sounds came from the ceiling high above. A moment later, things started striking the ground everywhere, small bits hitting him.
"Angrryyy foooood?" The voice sounded from further away, and he realized his roar must have blown it away.
A tingling sensation came from his hands as the tips of his fingers became numb.
Out of time!
He groaned, imagining the thing pummeling him until he couldn't move anymore and then ripping his mana-orb from his skull. Would this be the end? He was so weary that he didn't even feel afraid anymore; he just wanted to lie down and rest. Then, just as he felt like giving in to the sensation, an idea popped into his mind. Exhaling loudly, he groaned and let his body fall on its side, one hand close to his head, the other beside his chest. He shivered a few times, then lay motionless.
This time he could hear faint movement accompany the thudding as something came closer. Solus didn't move, waiting for the thing to get as close as possible. Something struck at his chest, but he remained still. He held his breath and kept his eyes closed.
"Fooood?" the voice gurgled, and then another blow struck him in the head. It took all his effort not to make a sound or try to grab the thing. More blows followed, but they were half-hearted, and they soon stopped.
"Food!" the gurgling voice said happily, as if it had confirmed what it wanted to know. A soft scrape came from beside Solus, and then something gripped the sides of his head.
Got ya! Solus thought, moving as fast as his sluggish body would allow. He snatched for the thing with the hand beside his head, and this time he gripped something that felt like an arm.
"Foooood angry, food angry!"
The gurgling voice cried in alarm, and whatever he was holding onto began to struggle madly. Something struck his head, increasing the throbbing he felt. Angry, he grabbed the thing's limb with both hands and began drawing it closer. The thing's struggles increased, becoming desperate. And when Solus found its shoulder, it started to howl and wail.
Ignoring the thing's cries, Solus grabbed at what he hoped was a neck and squeezed as hard as he could. It felt like he was trying to crush a piece of old-world metal, and his tingling hands barely had any strength left in them.
He had to tear its head off!
"Foood angryyyy!" the voice howled, and the thing's paws clutched at Solus's wrists while its other limbs struck at his torso.
Solus didn't care. His mind was clouded red with rage. All he wanted now was to end this thing! Slowly he felt his fingers gain purchase. He doubled his efforts, and as soon as he felt the flesh of the thing's neck begin to give, he brutally twisted it.
There was a loud snap and then a soft hiss. A stinking waft of stagnant air surrounded him. Struggling closer, Solus wrapped his legs around the thing, keeping one hand around its neck as he groped about its head.
Some type of fleshy creature, bald, and with large ears, he thought.
Grabbing the side, he switched his grip so that he had both hands around the skull and began squeezing. His fingers
were too weak to crack the skull open. Stretching his arm out, he groped around the cavern floor until he managed to find a large piece of rock and began to bash in the skull with it. It took a few hits, but finally, it cracked. Tearing the wound open, he stuck his hand in the skull, searching through the soft tissue inside until he felt the edged hardness of an orb. Without bothering to remove it, he began absorbing it.
A tiny trickle of energy flowed into his body, dispersing everywhere before any could reach his mana-field. Savoring the sensation, he lay down, still hugging the thing.
Although it was a small orb, fitting easily in his hand, the tiny stream of energy continued to flow for a long time. Eventually, some of the energy reached his mana-field, and the surrounding darkness receded. A blurry image began forming- rock, soft green glowing rock, and a red glow from the side. His rock-sense returned suddenly, and he felt a massive amount of stone surrounding him.
A string of sharp pings came in rapid succession. Summoning his status window, he hoped it wouldn't be another unwelcome surprise.
> Rebooting…
> … … ……...
The pings came every time a dot appeared and lasted until a new line showed up.
> Mana levels at minimum.
> Requirements unlocked for additional patterns.
Name: Os Solus
Age: 1
Sex: Male
Race: Demi stone elemental
Type: Mutation
Class: Stone shaper
Strength: 48/48
Constitution: 39/39
Dexterity: 24/24
Endurance: 90/90
Intelligence: 34/34
Wisdom: 23/23
Charisma: 9/16
Mana-field: 14000/14000
Physical density: 19000/19000
Skills: 2
Inscriptions: 3/7
Mana generation: ERROR - ANOMALOUS DRAIN DETECTED 1 [32]
Solus silently stared at the status window as he continued to drain the mysterious mana-orb. His mind was still foggy, making it hard to decide what to do. After what seemed like hours, the energy leaking from the orb finally began to abate, and then stopped entirely.
With a relieved sigh, Solus called up his evolutions list. The list that appeared was a bit longer, some options having turned readable.
> Rank A+ class evolution:
> Stone-body shaper (Wisdom+++ and Dexterity++)
> Rank A+ sub-racial evolution:
> Lava elemental (Dexterity++ and Intelligence++ and Constitution+)
> Temporarily locked: Requires fourteen thousand life essence.
> Rank S racial evolution:
> Tectonic earth elemental (Strength+++ and Wisdom+++)
Solus gawked at the additions. He had never seen an S rank before, nor anything that was locked. Seeing the life essence requirement, he sighed and shook his head ruefully.
None left in this galaxy, he thought sadly before turning his attention to the other two options.
The stone shaper had three wisdom points, just like the S race, while the lava-element sub-race had three increases. Both seemed impressive, although he didn't like the mental image the stone-body shaper gave him. He quickly looked at the additional information below both options.
"Rank A+ stone-body shaper – required: Demi stone elemental or stone elemental evolution and high wisdom. The most versatile of the stone elemental classes, it transforms the stone elemental's body into organic rock. Although lacking the overall stopping power of the other classes, it is highly efficient in infiltration and espionage."
"Rank A+ magma elemental – required: Demi stone elemental or stone elemental evolution, high wisdom and dexterity. Capable of turning as hot as the core of a planet, these elementals are best suited for wars or exterminations. They can also be used to terraform a world overrun by dangerous vegetation. Highly intelligent. WARNING! Magma elementals are banned from grade A worlds or above. Failure to comply is punishable by the death of the elemental's creator!"
The S race details weren't added, but it wouldn't have mattered either way. Taking another look at the locked line, Solus wondered if he would be able to find any life energy if he went through the rifts. Perhaps not all the worlds out there were as barren as this one? The idea appealed to him. Seeing new worlds, finding different undead, or perhaps even non-undead?
Need to get stronger first, he thought, shoving these fantasies away.
He needed to get out of here, and that meant he had to evolve. In his current state, he was too weak. He turned his attention to the options he thought would probably get him out of here.
"Rank A+ mineral elemental – required: Demi stone elemental or stone elemental evolution: The physically most sturdy of the stone elementals, mineral elementals can shape not just stone but also metals and crystalline forms. WARNING! Where stone elementals are hard to control, mineral elementals are almost impossible to control. Use with caution. NO REFUNDS!"
"Rank A+ class evolution: Advanced stone shaper class. Required – stone shaper class: Increases the size and scope of what a stone shaper can do while reducing the mana expenditure. One of the most useful utility classes to have in your arsenal. Can be used to create entire cities on new worlds. Note: this class is not useful as a combat improvement. If combat is required, mineral shaper is recommended."
Solus scanned across the other options, but his eyes kept going back to the advanced stone shaper class and the magma elemental. More intelligence was always good, and if he didn't have to fear the heat, he could easily get out of here. The prospect of easily controlling even more massive amounts of stone was incredibly appealing, however. In his mind's eye he saw himself summoning mountains from the barren wasteland. Would he be able to do that? Looking at the mineral shaper option, he weighed the pros and cons. Choosing this evolution could end up being the wrong move. He wondered how much metal there was even left on this spent world. It would be a great pity if the Wyrms had already eaten it all.
With a sigh, he closed the window and rose. Before he decided, he would need to find a good place to hide.
Finally able to see again, he observed he was in an immense cave that stretched on in all directions for as far as he could see. Large, pointed rocks grew out of the ground, stalagmites, while similar ones… stalactites, grew down from the ceiling. Not many stalactites remained, though. Most lay shattered on the ground, broken stumps on the ceiling showing where they had been.
Looking down at the thing that had attacked him, Solus saw a pasty grey undead creature. Unlike a zombie, it didn't have cracked or ripped skin. Instead, its skin was smooth and glossy. It had a bald, wrinkly head and a thin, muscular physique with four slender arms. He growled deeply in disgust as he kicked the thing away and turned to look at the red glow.
Falling from a large hole in the roof, a stream of lava ran from the north of the cavern to the south, ending in an enormous lake of molten rock that stretched out over the cavern's southern half. The green light from the stone was entirely overwhelmed by the red light coming from the superheated lava, and he could barely sense the stone below the lake. Squinting, he saw small shapes in the distance, moving around in the lava.
Seeing the black dots and recognizing them as the lava beings he had encountered before, he let out a low rumbling growl. If those cursed things hadn't attacked him, he wouldn't be here right now! He glared at them for a while before turning to the west. Green rock glowed softly there, undeterred by the glow of the lava. Walking forward, his body still sore and painful, Solus was just glad he didn't have to crawl anymore.
He didn't run into more undead, but he did see signs of recent fighting. Destroyed stalactites and debris littered the scorch-marked ground. Something seemed to have been throwing boulders around, as they lay scattered everywhere. It looked like a war zone.
Perhaps between those four-armed things and the lava beasts? Solus thought as he observed a massive boulder that had snapped a towering stalactite in half, lying inside the r
ubble.
It took a long time to reach the cavern's western wall, and when he did, he frowned. Scratch marks, fist indentations, and fractures covered the wall as if something had been pounding at it for a long time. Solus remembered the heavy pounding he had heard after waking up. The attack had distracted him, but where was the thing that had done this?
It can't have been that four-armed thing, he thought. That thing had been too weak to be able to do this.
He tried to see if he could trace the thing's movements with his stone senses, but there had been so many tremors and shakes in the area recently that tracking the thing, whatever it had been, was now impossible. Gauging his energy level, he frowned. If he ran into any trouble right now, it would go badly for him.
He walked up to the cavern wall, shaping it, and the stone grumbled as a tunnel formed. Stepping in, he quickly closed the entrance while scanning the surrounding rock. He didn't find any caves or tunnels, just an enormous amount of rock all around him, and he continued shaping the stone before him until he was deep inside. When he felt safe and secure, he created a large room with a bed before sealing the entire tunnel behind him.
As he lay down, he shuddered as he remembered the last time he had fallen asleep. Focusing, he drew the stone closer around the room, creating a shell and increasing the density as much as he could. When spots appeared in front of his eyes, he stopped and nodded. That would have to do.
Closing his eyes, it took a long time for his mind to calm down enough for sleep to take him.
—
Climbing up another small stair, Derin only felt admiration for Borl. They had been moving through the labyrinthine city for a long time, and the green zombie still knew exactly where he was going. Some of the paths they had taken had been so obscured by buildings, Derin knew he would never have found them. They passed hundreds of small alleys, some with windows. Derin looked inside, and every room was taken, most by multiple undead.
The sheer number of the undead he had seen so far made him wonder how those Kaots would ever succeed in conquering this city. He wasn't even sure Solus could. The memory of the de facto leader of Skulltown made him wonder where the giant stone shaper had gone, and if he was still, for want of a better term, alive.