Chapter 35 – Gluttony
“Slimes!” I shouted in disbelief as I tried in vain to bat away the jiggly green gelatinous glob of goo given life. I winced as the splattered goo started to burn at my skin where it made contact.
“Crush the core!” Asher shouted urgently.
In the center of the green monstrosity was a slightly darker looking orb. In games this was always the core of the slime and its weak spot. The problem wasn’t identifying the weak spot. It was getting through all the slime that made up its body.
“Era, chill it!” I called out.
Era fretted, “But you’re so close.”
“Just do it!” I ordered.
Era hemmed and hawed a moment longer before she blasted the jelly with cold air, clipping my arm in the process. Still, I grinned. That one blast of cold air turned the slime into a chunk of ice. One hammer from my mace shattered most of the slime exposing the core. One more hit and the ooze was done, and I was in intense pain.
The slime was acidic. It ate through just about everything it came in contact with. If that wasn’t bad enough, the sewer that was the sixth floor stank to high heaven. It was foul. The fact that I was crawling through a sewer was another issue. The knee-high water seemed to do a decent job of hiding the slime as well.
“At least I don’t feel an overwhelming need to eat them,” I said, a small shudder of disgust running through my body to go with the visual image. I picked up the small chunk of green glass and added it to my inventory.
“Gluttony isn’t just about food,” Era said. “Gluttony is about consumption. These slimes are the epitome of all consuming.”
I couldn’t argue with that. We just needed to find a better way to deal with them. “Okay, so, Era, you freeze them first. I’ll smash them second. We move on. Deal?”
“It will be slow. That proficiency requires more spirit energy than my wind blades,” Era said, sounding doubtful.
“We’ll make it work,” I said, catching movement in the water from the corner of my eye. Some kind of rat creature leapt from the water, large teeth aiming to chomp down on me. I batted it out of the air, blasting it toward the nearest wall. The thing bounced and landed on its feet. It had the nerve to hiss at me before leaping again.
I hit it again, this time Era joined me, hitting it with a pair of wind blades. My hit stunned the beast, but Era’s blade bisected the demon rodent.
“Slime incoming!” Asher warned, his eyes trained down the sewer tunnel where something round and green was moving through the water like a jellyfish.
“Freeze it as soon as it gets close,” I ordered, readying my shield in front of me just in case her attack failed.
Era puffed up turning slightly blue in color before breathing out a wave of super chilled air that formed little ice crystals on top of the water. Better, the slime bobbed in the water like an ice cube. I swung at it from the side, cracking through the frozen jelly and exposing the core. Two more swings and the core cracked.
I looked carefully at the water ahead but didn’t see anything else coming toward us, giving me a short reprieve.
“Okay, why am I not feeling any kind of aura or desire to eat?” I asked, hoping to get a more comprehensive explanation.
Asher answered first, earning a dirty look from Era. “Purgatory changes. It must have decided the auras weren’t working anymore, or it’s trying to be more subtle about it. Gluttony is another blunt instrument of the demons. It’s similar to greed but much more direct.”
I didn’t like greed. That floor was bad news for me. “So, what should I watch out for?”
This time, Era answered first, making sure she gave Asher a self-satisfied look at the same time. “As I said, Gluttony will try to consume everything. It would seem, in this situation, you are the object to be consumed. That said, do be cautious of any food or drink you see.”
That was just what I wanted to hear. It was the sloth demons all over again. Unlike the sloth demons, I was certain dying in a slime would hurt a lot more.
I glanced back over my shoulder to the ladder that led back up to my starting room, and was tempted to go back, if for no other reason than to rethink my strategy. Unfortunately, I just hadn’t seen enough of this floor yet. “Okay, we’ll keep going for now.”
I moved slowly through the dirty water, watching carefully for anything moving in the water. The slimes were fairly obvious when they were coming. It was the rats that I had more trouble with. As long as the rodents were in the water it was no problem. When they weren’t in the water the little demons were less obvious. They hung from the ceiling, popped out of drainpipes, and leaped from hidden ledges. In general, they were a nuisance, an easily killed nuisance, but still a nuisance.
The sewer curved but never seemed to branch off. As I went around the fifth or sixth curve, I saw something new. A dead end and a ladder. The end wall had a round grate that allowed water to flow out of it, but it didn’t look like there was any way through it.
The ladder was as dirty as the rest of the sewer. I approached it slowly. The ladder spanned the height of the tunnel and continued upward through a hole in the stone. I had a feeling a rat would be waiting for me in that hole. I was wrong, it was worse.
“It’s a red slime,” Era warned, blasting frigid air into the hole where the red slime was already dropping free. I hoped the blast of cold air would have been enough to freeze it like it had been for the other slimes. I was disappointed to find out it only slowed the slime down. Still, I made sure to club the gelatinous body once so the irrational pride imbuement would keep its attention on me.
I was about to hit it again when Asher gave a warning, “It’s immune to fire damage and resistant to cold damage. Era, freeze it again.”
“It’s on cooldown,” Era replied.
“Then start cutting pieces off with your wind blade. You need to expose the core,” Asher ordered. “Victor, back away. If this thing touches you, it will melt you slowly and painfully.”
It was a good warning. I took a big step back, then quickly side stepped as the little blob spat a flaming ball of ooze at me. I sidestepped several more globs of flaming ooze while Era worked on slicing the slime apart.
“There,” Era shouted, finally cutting enough away to expose the core, though the gap in its body was quickly closing.
I moved fast, using quick strike to make sure I impacted the core. I hit the glass like orb and the monster reacted, spraying fire in all direction, burning me, Era, and Asher in the process and killing the latter two at the same time. I really needed to do something about their weak constitutions.
Still, I didn’t have time to worry. I attacked the core again, this time putting as much power behind the blow as I could. The core cracked and the slime deflated before melting away, leaving behind a chunk of red glass in the murky water.
Once my HP recovered, I cancelled Raphael’s blessing then recalled Asher and Era, neither of whom were very happy about the situation.
“Let’s hurry up above. It must be cleaner than this place,” Era said disdainfully. Not that I could blame her, I didn’t care for the situation either. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the area above might just be more sewer tunnel.
I grimaced as I gripped the grime encrusted ladder. My grip was a little awkward with a mace in one hand and shield strapped to my other arm. I didn’t want to dispel them just to recall them. Especially if it whatever was above me was dangerous.
I found a hatch at the top of the ladder with a wheel lock like old submarines used to use. Another awkward positioning and I was slowly cranking open the hatch. I pushed up on the hatch carefully with my shield and tried to have a look around.
Suddenly, the hatch was pulled open and I was pulled with it into a dimly lit room. I didn’t have much time to observe before something impacted my chest with a horrible crunch. I felt ribs break and snap, sucking all the air out of my lungs.
Through tear filled eyes, I got a look at my attacker. It was some k
ind of pig man demon carrying a giant hammer. It looked at me with hunger in its eyes. I couldn’t help but see the large stove suddenly light up behind it, casting the demon in a very sinister shadow.
“Era,” I gasped, barely audible with the damage I’d suffered. It would undoubtedly take a minute or two to heal. “Cold.”
I didn’t hear a response, but I saw the blast of bluish air envelop the demon, slowing it. It was very overweight, with a large potbelly. The thing wore an apron and only an apron. There were barely legible words written on it that I could just make out through various stains, ‘kiss the chef’. Unfortunately, the demon turned on Era after she drew aggro. Hopefully, she could evade it long enough for me to recover.
“Era’s dead,” Asher warned.
It hadn’t been long enough to fully recover, but it was enough that I could breathe and move, sort of.
I was slow climbing to my feet. When I looked up, the demon was back to normal speed, the chilling effect of Era’s attack had faded. The pig demon squealed loudly and swung its giant hammer. Thankfully, I got my shield in place and it was able to absorb the majority of the damage and as a bonus, send a stream of fire along the weapon until it hit the demon’s hands. I was disturbed by the smell of bacon and the fact that it made me feel kind of hungry.
I tried to counterattack but moving caused my broken ribs to shift painfully and stopped my swing short.
“Focus on defending until you’ve healed,” Asher ordered.
I would have yelled at him that I knew that, but it still hurt to breathe. Instead, I hunkered down behind my shield as best I could. I shifted slightly to block the hammer’s swing, this time shunting the swing toward the floor and mitigating most of the damage.
Unfortunately, the pig wasn’t completely stupid. Now that it was in close, it took the opportunity to punch at me with a hoof clad arm. I twisted just enough to take the hit on the arm instead of the already injured ribs. The crack of my arm breaking was not a good sign.
I tried backing away but when my back hit the wall, I knew I was done.
The pig man laughed and grinned, “Yum, human for dinner.”
Not willing to die without putting up at least a little bit of a fight I stepped forward and hit the demon with shield slam, stunning it for a few seconds and catching the scent of bacon again. It was my turn to grin. I had a wicked idea. With my shield hand, I grabbed a fist full of the apron and pushed with all the strength I could muster. I tried building up momentum as I pushed, the seconds quickly counting down in my head.
With a final heave of effort and a lot of pain in my ribs, I lifted the demon off its feet and pushed. The demon tipped backward into the stove just as the stun faded. The demon barely had a second to look at me in horror before it was engulfed in flames.
I sat down, breathing heavily and painfully.
“Close the doors,” Asher shouted.
I looked up just in time to see a flaming pig demon trying to pull itself out of the oven.
I cursed softly, unable to be loud at the moment. From my seat on the floor, I swung my shield at the demon’s face, using shield slam one more time. It bought me the few seconds I needed to climb back to my feet and push it back into the stove. I made sure to close the doors this time, latching them shut before collapsing again.
As disturbing as the smell of the bacon was, it really made me want a BLT for dinner. That said, there was no way I was eating pig demon.
“That could have gone better,” Asher commented.
I nodded tiredly and slumped onto my back. My regeneration seemed to be taking a long time to repair the damage. A few minutes to fully heal may not seem like much, but when you were in pain for the entire duration, it could feel like a lot longer. Once I was back to full health and my broken bones were healed, I called Era back.
“That could have gone better,” Era commented immediately.
Asher and I shared a look and a small laugh.
“What? What’s so funny?” Era demanded, making me laugh even harder.
When I stopped laughing and explained what was so funny, getting Era to giggle.
I finally took in the room. There wasn’t a door or window. It was just a small kitchen with one chair and a round table sized for the pig demon. There were dirty plates and utensils but nothing of any value to me, at least, not until the fire in the stove suddenly went cold.
Carefully, I checked inside the stove and breathed a sigh of relief. Tiny crystals and a broken demon pig tusk.
There was just one problem now. I didn’t know where to go next. The pig demon clearly wasn’t the end boss. This floor of Purgatory couldn’t have been that simple. That was of course when I heard the sound of rushing water coming from the hatch I entered through.
I quickly crossed the room and looked down into the sewer. It was now mostly filled with water. I tried to close the hatch, but it seemed the pig demon broke it when he pulled me into the room.
“Look around, there must be a hidden exit!” I said urgently, quickly scanning the room but finding nothing. There were no hidden symbols for me to press, nor were there any hidden switches. Within about a minute, the water had risen to cover my feet up to my ankles.
“I don’t see any way out,” Era cried out in panic. “I can’t believe I’m going to die again, and so soon after being called back.”
“We’re not dead yet,” I growled, throwing the dishes around, looking for anything I might have missed. When I pulled the table away from the wall, I found it. Another hatch in the floor. It was cleverly hidden. The table was actually the crank to unlock it.
“Hurry, down the hatch,” I ordered Asher and Era.
Era bemoaned the order, “Back into the sewers? I think I’d rather die.”
“Enough with the drama, just go!” I ordered.
“Fine, fine,” Era complained, floating down the hole.
I climbed down just behind her and pulled the very heavy hatch closed behind me. I turned the wheel and locked it shut, cutting off the water that was pouring down the hole. Feeling a little bit of relief, I climbed down the ladder into the newest section of sewer.
“A cistern,” I groaned. I was standing on a platform in the middle of a cistern. There were eight sewer lines that fed into this room and each of them were large enough that they would need to be explored.
Asher cleared his throat. “I’m sure you’ve already taken this into account . . . but, we’re trapped down here. The only way out now is . . . well, to die.”
I nodded. I had also realized that. “Can we clear this place on day one?”
“Unknown,” Asher answered. “But we’ll need to try.”
I nodded in agreement. If we did die, I would be clearing that first sewer tunnel for quite a while to get strong enough to deal with the rest of this place. “No sense in just standing here, let’s go.”
Chapter 36 – Spiraling
The different paths off the cistern were an all-consuming smorgasbord of gluttonous creatures. There were slimes of all colors. In addition to the green and red, there were blue slimes that liked to freeze you, yellow slimes that tried to electrocute you, brown slimes that tried to turn you to stone, and the most dangerous metal slimes that tried to cut you to pieces. As if the slimes weren’t enough, I also got the pleasure of fighting every kind of rodent demon known to man. There were rats, weasels, snakes, rabbits, and frogs . . . all demonized in some way. Rabbits were given a spike in the middle of their foreheads. The frogs’ tongues had poisonous barbs all over. Snakes with dozens of fangs instead of just two like a normal snake. Weasels that created whirlwinds and air blades. And the rats . . . rodents of unusual size.
All that in just two of the eight paths, each one ending with a mini boss.
I sat tiredly on the stone platform that was the center of the cistern. I needed the rest.
“I know it’s risky, but you could spend your experience,” Asher suggested.
Era scoffed, “Are you insane? What if it draws in the de
mons? Or worse, what if a demon were to get ahold of it. It would undoubtedly try to destroy us.”
Asher grunted. “I said it was risky. The alternative is to hope we’re strong enough to clear this place as is. Otherwise, all the experience points Victor has gained will be wasted.”
“And they will still be wasted if he dies or if the scroll is taken,” Era protested. “I say no. It is not worth the risk.”
Growing tired of their bickering, I interrupted, “It’s my decision. Now both of you, quiet down before something hears you and decides to come investigate.”
Asher and Era both glowered at me, but I ignored them as I considered my options. I could spend the experience points I’d earned and hope it would make me just strong enough to get through this place. There was a risk in doing so. If I died, I would lose those points, not the eight unused points I’d come in with but whatever new points I’d earned. I also doubted the eight unused points would go back to being unused. And if those eight points remained spent, I wouldn’t get as much experience from trying to farm the first sewer of this floor.
There was also Era’s warning about the demons being attracted to my scroll. I’d never opened my scroll inside of Purgatory. I didn’t know what would happen if I did and neither Asher nor Era knew for certain.
Sighing I decided to risk it. I pulled out my scroll and dumped the experience points I’d earned into Body. It was enough to get the next point but woefully short of the point after that. Still, I dropped five unused points into strength and four into recovery. That was when I heard the first of the roars coming from multiple tunnels. I quickly rolled up my scroll and stuffed it back into my inventory.
“Quickly, into one of the tunnels you’ve already cleared,” Asher urged. I could hear the fear in his voice.
I dashed across the stone platform and into the tunnel that previously held the multitude of slimes and moved away from the cistern. I heard what sounded like fighting, which was accompanied by the sound of more the roaring. I hunkered down around a bend in the sewer and waited for anything to come.
Purgatory: The Devil's Game Page 38