“I hope you aren’t planning on making the same mistake.” I said calmly, not turning around.
The voice was speaking common imperial tongue but, based on the intonations, I had an approximate idea of who I was dealing with. Juvess, a goblin from Papa Gino’s house spoke with a similar accent.
To be frank, I found it hard to talk without my voice trembling. After all, the lowest level character in the room other than me was twenty-two. The goblin behind me, for instance, was twenty-nine. Plus his magic supply had nine thousand points. And Bug knows there might be more surprises in store.
“You’re a zero, but the Gatekeeper himself led you down here?” the raspy voice chuckled behind me. “No. I would not like to face someone who has killed an agent of chaos. I’m just bored. We’ve been down here for days waiting for the portal to open. Do you happen to know when the magister will open it?”
“I’m assuming the big black boulder in the middle of the room is the portal?” I answered with a question.
“Yes,” the goblin responded and finally showed his face.
He sat down on a stone ledge a step away from me and said with a funny tone:
“The name’s Dobbess.”
“Highlander,” I introduced myself curtly. I decided not to use my real name.
“Alright then Highlander, so do you know when they’re gonna open the portal?”
“Far as I heard, tomorrow.”
The goblin shouted out to everyone unexpectedly loudly:
“Tomorrow!”
His cry was met with jubilation from every corner of the room.
“So, you’re a newbie, right?” the goblin asked.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Then you better look for allies.”
“Is that an offer?” I asked.
“No-o-ope,” the green pipsqueak chuckled. “I’m only going in so I can kill that bastard.”
After he said that, the goblin nodded at the dozing mage. Seeing a baffled look on my face, he was all too eager to explain.
“You see, Highlander, the forces of chaos are not supposed to kill one another. It’s against the law. But there is a way around it.”
“Different laws apply in the labyrinth,” I guessed.
“Correct,” the goblin chuckled. “Gred insulted me, and tomorrow he will pay for what he said.”
This guy was proving to be quite talkative. And curious.
“So which one of us did you off to get here?” Dobbess asked, continuing to leer.
At first, I didn’t want to say anything, but I had a change of heart. I wanted to see what would happen.
“Your magister’s sister,” I answered calmly and stared into the goblin’s eyes.
It took a second to register, but as realization dawned, the smile slowly crept off his face.
“Did I hear you right?” he rasped with a parched throat, slowly backing away. “The Black Widow has perished?”
“You heard me just fine,” I answered, no longer looking at him.
I had already started to think my new acquaintance was going to leave me alone, but he stayed right where he was. His gaze was so persistent it was like I could feel it in my bones.
“And the magister didn’t punish you?” he finally squeezed out.
“Does it look like it?” I shrugged.
We sat in silence for a few minutes. He was clearly trying to come to grips with the new information, while I stared down my potential adversary mistrustingly. I didn’t have much faith I would simply be left alone in the labyrinth. Probably, someone would get the bright idea to take down and rob the newcomer.
Well, Bug help them.
I broke the prolonged silence.
“I have a question for you, too, Dobbess. Could you possibly tell me where we are? I mean, I know this is the Citadel of Chaos. But I want to know what part of the world its in.”
“Are you serious?” the goblin’s face stretched out in surprise again.
“Absolutely.”
“We are on an island,” Dobbess replied. “Us goblins know it as Snake Island. Your kind call it the Snake’s Tooth.”
I tried to recall the scant geographical knowledge I learned in school, but alas, nothing sprang to mind. I had never heard of this island before. The only thing I knew was that the island was large. The mountains surrounding the citadel on all sides, which I had seen from the observation deck stretched far beyond the horizon.
“And this island, what part of the world is it in?” I asked a clarifying question.
Understanding came into the goblin’s eyes.
“Snake Island is the largest in a group of islands located to the north of the Dark Continent,” he answered patiently.
“So, I’m still on the Dark Continent,” I whispered thoughtfully.
“You might say that,” Dobbess confirmed.
He wanted to ask or say something else, but I heard a sound from the distant corridor. Another five snakefolk had slithered into the room and, hitting me with disdainful looks, went to join their compatriots.
“Now this is getting interesting,” the goblin grumbled thoughtfully, getting up from his place.
I thought so, too. The magister had not in fact forgiven me for the death of her sister. And now she had sent assassins down to take my life. Or was this perhaps instead an overcomplicated way of trying to get to me?
“May the Goddess Fortuna bless you with her smile, Highlander,” the goblin bid me farewell and scampered off into the darkness. Based on the intonations in his voice, he didn’t believe I would make it through the next day.
The five newcomers caused a commotion among the others. I caught myself on various sides of curious glances. In the end, I got fed up with all the unhealthy attention and followed the goblin’s example, moving closer to the wall. Farther from the middle of the room.
Leaning my back up against the unexpectedly warm wall, I placed my hands on my knees and thought. Only now, with the slight lull in tension, did I finally come to appreciate everything that had happened to me over the last few hours. Defeating the Queen of the Draks, warping to the Citadel of Chaos, agreeing to take part in their test. Like a little leaf torn from its branch by a strong gust of wind, I was flying off into the unknown.
I thought back on my conversation with the troll time and again, then with the magister. And every time I came to the same conclusion ― I had made the right decision. Enough running around. Time to stay put for once. Well and the fact that people would be trying to kill me tomorrow was no longer so far outside of my frame of reference. In fact, it had become more the rule than the exception. Beyond that, I had plenty of “party favors” to hand out to potential adversaries.
Gradually, as if all on their own, my thoughts started going back to Mink. It was like my heart was being squeezed in a vice. Her little figurine appeared in my hand. It’s all I have left of my beloved now.
Hurriedly wiping hot tears on my sleeve, I tried to get myself together. This is no time for moping. I have a tough day ahead of me. I need to get ready.
Chapter 3
MY GUESSES about the iridescent tablet proved correct.
— Attention! The Higher Powers smile upon you! You have replicated the legendary feat of Ramilia the Illustrious! You defeated a magical being more than 80 levels higher than you!
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Experience essence (16000).
― Silver tablet (50).
― Diamond tablet (3).
— Iridescent Tablet “Queen of the Draks” (1).
I looked around warily to make sure no one was watching. But the coast was clear. Everyone else was just minding their own business. The initial curiosity had dwindled fairly quickly. The only one still looking at me was the goblin. Obviously, he just couldn’t figure out what magic tricks I possibly could have used to take down the Black Widow. He didn’t go scampering off to tell any of his order-mates though. I could only guess why he was acting so restrained. After all, just a f
ew minutes ago, Dobbess had proven to be quite talkative. He’s probably afraid of being perceived as a blabbermouth. He wants to make sure I’m not lying first.
Just in case, after activating Sixth Sense again, I read deeper into my notifications. And the more I read about my last battle, the rounder my eyes went in surprise. Beyond a doubt, Earth Tremor’s destructive abilities topped all the spells I’d activated before. That’s what using offensive magic in the right location can get you!
Honestly, I didn’t know how the mountain that housed the Queen of the Draks’ lair had fared though. In one way or another, before the uncivilized creeps got there, it had been a monster hunter city. My ancient predecessors had a fairly meticulous approach to construction. I could only guess at the scale of the destruction, but the number of dead in my system notifications proved just what a misfortune my visit had been for the creatures that called those caverns home.
All told, I counted up three hundred victory notifications. Just over two hundred of them were low-level creatures. Different kinds of insects, lizards and even fish. Clearly, a few underground bodies of water also got hit. The snake ruler’s “Guard” had also taken a beating. The dead draks, guides, and poisonteeth totaled almost a hundred and fifty. But there were more serious monsters on my account as well. Twenty-eight black vipers ranging in level from forty to forty-five. As well as sixteen cave monitors ― all over fifty.
When I finally got to the full loot list, I had to rub my eyes. In esses alone, I got just under one million five hundred thousand. A-hem… I’ll be just fine on those for the next few years. All in all, I had just over five and a half million experience essences in my backpack. The rewards for gathering the legendary resources in the anomaly were just painfully generous.
Seeing all the tablets, and more specifically their number, took my breath away. Just shy of two thousand four hundred silvers, four hundred eight stone, one hundred twenty apiece of iron and bronze, almost fifty diamond and the cherry on top ― one more iridescent.
When I saw the second pearlescent sheet, I chuckled happily, unable to hold back. How did I miss this?!
A few intrigued looks immediately shot my way. They’re looking at me like a fool. The werewolves gave vile snickers. I could easily hear them joking around and saying I must have lost my mind. The smallest one figured I was unable to take the tension here and fear had driven me crazy. A few moments later, utterly shamelessly, they were divvying up my belongings. These guys move quick. Oh well, I’ve got a lot of surprises in store for you.
The snakefolk reacted to my “hysterics” with scornful looks and hissing. I wonder what they’re whispering about. But alas, the system gave me a clear indication that their language was beyond my grasp due to anatomical incompatibility. Too bad, of course. But what can you do? Truthfully, I’d take just being able to understand them. Even if I couldn’t say anything. Obviously, you can’t just partially activate a language pack. The Great System is all or nothing.
Paying no attention to the werewolves snickering and snakefolk hissing, I got back to examining my loot. Based on the timestamp, the notification for my second iridescent tablet was slightly delayed. It only came after I warped to the Citadel of Chaos. I must have just automatically dismissed it while talking to the Gatekeeper.
This tablet had been awarded to me by the mysterious Higher Powers, impressed by my deeds as ever, for masterful use of a powerful spell which essentially caused a mass die-off of three hundred bloodthirsty creatures. As for the draks and their queen, they clearly deserved it. But I did feel bad for the utterly blameless little fish and small lizards. It’s one thing to hunt or fish for nourishment, for survival. It’s another thing entirely to get caught in some undertrained juvenile mage’s crossfire. Although, who could say what kind of fish they were or how vicious they may have been.
To get past the unwelcome thoughts, I opened the description of both tablets in turn. So then, the first, which dropped for defeating the queen of the draks was standard, just like the kind I got for the eel or gulper female. Out of a long list of spells, I chose the only one that suited me.
Damage Dispersal.
― Level: 0+5 (0/20).
― Type: Spell.
― Rarity: Epic.
― Description:
― Using magic, the Queen of the Draks can spread 70% of damage she receives to all currently controlled entities.
― Requirements:
― Intellect – 95.
― Expends 4000 mana points.
― Note:
― Remains active until all controlled creatures are dead.
When I finished reading, I stroked my chin in thought. Now I see why that brute was able to hold out so long. She was “sharing” the damage intended for her with her underlings, basically sucking their life away.
While creating the spell bookmark, I wasn’t thinking about Gorgie or Mee. Even someone with half a brain could see I wasn’t even remotely considering using this spell on my friends. In fact I was thinking about the Mask of Jorogumo. It would allow me to take control of up to five unintelligent creatures at once, and I would use Damage Dispersal on them. I had just one little thing left to take care of. My Mind was still just a bit too low to use the mask.
― Congratulations! You have raised your Mind by 10 points.
― Present value: 26.
Continuing my experiment, I took out Black Widow’s mask and tried it on. It felt warm against my face. There were no straps or other kinds of fasteners. It was as if the mask just grew into my face. Like it became part of me. I didn’t experience any negative feelings or discomfort. And the thing was pretty easy to take off. I just had to tell the system, and it was back in storage. And in fact I did just that several times.
After I’d had enough fun, I decided to take my experiments further. With the mask back on my face, I slowly looked around the room. Much to my surprise, the system informed me that my Will was high enough to take control of everyone I could see! The only stumbling block was if my potential target had Mind. Then I realized just how powerful Master Chi must have been! That both scared me and filled me with confidence. What could this artifact do in its original condition? What possibilities did it open up for its wearer?
I daydreamed for a bit and put the mask into my backpack. Yet another thing to play close to my chest. Hopefully, my foes like surprises.
With a malicious grin, I got to studying the second iridescent. Unlike the first, this one looked like the kind I got for gathering resources. It contained a legendary offensive earth magic spell.
― Stone Spikes.
― Level: 0+5 (0/30).
― Type: Spell.
― Rarity: Legendary.
― Description:
― Using earth magic, a mage can cause sharp stone spikes to instantly grow beneath an opponent’s feet.
― Effect:
― Deals 15000 units of damage.
― Requirements:
― Intellect – 60.
― Expends 1000 mana points.
― Note:
― Cooldown time: 9 hours.
― Radius: 130 feet.
Looks like the Higher Powers really did appreciate what I’d done in the snake den. They even provided me with a spell of the corresponding element.
― Congratulations! You have raised your Will by 10 points.
― Present value: 134.
In light of recent news, and specifically the fact that the Steel King had several Primordials under his command, raising my Will had become top priority. I thought back on the old mage who was present for all of my conversations with the King. He had once confidently declared he could “crack” my will no problem. Back then, I had less than half of what I do now, but who could say what that old man was truly capable of?
After I got a handle on the new spells, I decided to finally look at the bonus crystal and sphere I’d gotten while gathering oblivion stones and guardian hearts. If memory serves, the Woodwose said I did
n’t have enough Mind to read them. And alas, a few seconds later, I realized that twenty-six points was still not enough. The descriptions of the mysterious stones were still hidden from me.
But the Mind boost didn’t entirely go to waste. Beyond being able to use the mask, I got another helpful ability. Now I could raise Gorgie’s characteristics without summoning him. There were probably a few other beneficial aspects, but I hadn’t yet noticed. I’ll figure that out eventually.
Labyrinth of Fright (Underdog Book #5): LitRPG Series Page 3