Leiv said the last part so quietly it was like he was afraid to find out it was the truth.
A-hemm… So there’s one more myth busted. We were always taught that Udun Vanquisher of Death was a legendary mage that saved the day. It was supposedly under his leadership that the allied armies of the three kingdoms managed to finally defeat the army of the dead. The legendary King Nidas meanwhile was supposed to have died a hero’s death holding back the first wave of necromorphs. But this was how it really happened…
“So who’s in charge of defenses?” I asked, already having a vague notion of his response.
“General Hardy!” Leiv said proudly. “Who else?!”
A-hem… He was right. Who else? Ugh, if only you knew what version of these events made it down to your ancestors. In my history, General Hardy, King Nidas’ right-hand man, was portrayed as a traitor that joined the necromancers. I wondered why they twisted that story. What were they trying to hide from us? As an aside, those who visit the labyrinth of fright probably know more about all kinds of things from the distant past.
Our conversation lasted just over a minute. In that time, the wound on Leiv’s shoulder had partially healed over, while the bleeding stopped completely. A slight rosy glow had appeared on his pale cheeks. He’ll live. Although, based on the shouting from practically every direction, probably not for long.
“What will you do next?” I asked.
“Make my way to the King’s palace in the middle of town,” Leiv answered confidently. “They’re forming new units there with the survivors.”
I see… So that’s where the necromancers will strike. That leads me to conclude that I should stay away from downtown.
“But something’s telling me you won’t be coming with me, right?”
“Alas,” I shrugged my shoulders.
The guardsman snorted understandingly.
“Then you need to head for the northern gates. And step to. I think the hordes of undead have already broken through the eastern wall.”
* * *
— You have killed Necromorph (25).
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Chaos Particle (30).
― Scourge of the Undead crystal (3).
I am going on seven hours in the Labyrinth of Fright, and I’m still just halfway to the northern gates. Making my way across an entire city teeming with undead has proven harder than I thought.
I have almost three thousand chaos particles and around three hundred crystals in my backpack. Leiv was right, the beasts just keep coming and coming. And there are more of them in every wave. We tried to find a secluded little spot to catch our breath, but it was no use. Morphs are basically slithering out of every nook and cranny. I’m afraid to even imagine how long it took for the necromancers to get all these dead creatures for their army.
As an aside, some of the morphs had once been members of intelligent races. Humans, orcs, elves, gnomes. I also saw trolls and ogres.
The city defenders weren’t exactly asleep at the wheel though. In some sectors, they were even able to hold back the onslaught. But I figured every one of the defenders already realized they had lost the battle. Gryphon riders still appeared in the sky sometimes, but it was never long before they were caught by the flock of bats and torn to shreds before they even hit the ground.
In all that time, I didn’t come across any more forces of chaos. However, about an hour ago, I just about came face to face with a group of five mages who clearly were not of this time period. If not for Gorgie’s timely warning, I don’t know how that encounter might have ended. Based on the fiery blades the mages so generously used to pulverize the undead though, they wouldn’t exactly be thrilled to see a chaos faction contestant.
The level twenty-five necromorph we had just taken down was probably an exception to the rule. By and large, most of the creatures’ levels were under forty. But strange as it may have been, they weren’t all that hard to kill. They didn’t have any defenses as such either. Their speed and agility were also lagging behind. Their advantages were strength, numbers and lack of self-preservation instinct. In fact, they don’t seem to experience fear at all. And they never retreat. Their appendages get cut off and they just keep fighting. One or two creatures like that wouldn’t be too serious. But faced with thousands, or tens of thousands and maybe even hundreds of thousands, only one thought springs to mind ― to get as far away as humanly possible.
We nailed a morph while it climbed over the wall of a Solenholm manor. It was pretty sturdy, too. Tall. Thick. Stone.
Same as the manor behind it. The narrow windows were affixed with hefty grates. The doors were fitted with thick sheets of bronze. The person who built the residence seemed to have known what was coming.
But alas, it was not their lucky day. We discovered the owners’ mauled and half eaten bodies on a path in their courtyard garden. What was more, they seemed to have died about seven or eight hours earlier. The farther we went, the more bodies we found. And then we started seeing morph bodies, which was quite strange. Because I didn’t see a single warrior among the dead. Only civilians. Mostly old men and women. There were children, too. So it can’t have been the undead that killed all these poor folks.
A few moments later, I realized who was behind it when I found a dead one lying outside the front door. The werewolves.
What did that mean? Those hideous freaks must have run off to murder innocent townsfolk right after we crossed over instead of concentrating their efforts on the necromorphs. To them it made no difference whose lives they took to get their chaos particles. Alright then, now I was certain of one thing: if the Goddess Fortuna ever brought them into my path, I would do everything in my power to make sure that pack of villains never left the labyrinth alive.
But when I made that promise to myself, I had no idea how soon I would have to make good on it.
Gorgie warned me about the incoming shapeshifters with plenty of time to spare. Obviously, they had also decided to make their den here until the end of the test.
We had just happened to finish looking through the house a few minutes earlier. Its owner was clearly not a mere commoner. This was no simple home; it was a true fortress. The cellars were full of provisions. Lots of weapons. In a distant wing we discovered a large storehouse filled with all kinds of stuff. Fabrics, carpets, lots of bags and boxes of various sizes filled with assorted wares. I assume we’re in a merchant’s house. If I go looking, I’m sure I’ll find a hiding spot or two. But there’s no point. Pinebogey gave me a clear indication the Labyrinth would not allow me to take anything out with me. You can only take out what you take in. If you survive, of course…
But Pinebogey told me only half the truth. He didn’t mention tablets or esses. If that’s what I find in the hiding spot, I don’t actually have to take them out of the labyrinth.
The werewolves could also smell me. They had learned my scent before we crossed over. I could hear how happy they were when they noticed I was swinging through. They came scampering down the corridors, anticipating a bit of fun.
I met them in the big main room after activating canopy of invisibility. You might say I was using live bait so that, gods forbid, none of them would flee. Gorgie meanwhile jumped out the window, hiding outside.
The four werewolves flooded into the room with joyous howling. The alpha out front, the rest just behind. The contender was the happiest of all.
“What a nice surprise!” he roared out loudly. “We’d already given up hope of ever seeing you again! We figured you got eaten right at the start! But looks like you found somewhere to hide like a rat!”
The rest gave vile snickers. Not exactly like orcs, but it made my skin crawl just the same. As an aside, the alpha was not joining in the fun. Instead, he was sniffing the air tensely. He must have smelled Gorgie. He’s really starting to freak out.
I need to keep him busy.
“Well, it doesn’t look like we’re all that different then. By the looks of thi
ngs, you’ve been hiding out here,” I expressed with a smirk.
“Don’t you dare compare wolves to rats!” a big black-haired fellow shouted out angrily and bared his teeth. “We are warriors! And you are a rat!”
“You sure have some strange notions about what makes a warrior,” I continued chuckling. “Look at all the innocents you slaughtered. Women, children, the elderly. And all for chaos particles? I saw the fifth member of your group. He try to take on someone his own size and die like a rat?”
Getting the werewolves worked up proved to be child’s play. Just a few insulting phrases was all it took to get them all champing at the bit. Actually no. Not quite. The alpha was not moving. Now fully transformed, he reminded me a lot of my accursed enemy Livid. All his attention was trained on the place Gorgie was now hiding. He sniffed out our ambush in the end, the furry bastard.
He tried to stop his compatriots but Gorgie and I beat him to the punch.
Taking out my blades and tossing on Canopy of Invisibility, I activated lightning. But alas, I was not able to stun the alpha. Gorgie took care of him for me, though.
The other werewolves meanwhile were stunned while moving fast, so they tripped and rolled forward out of inertia. Before the “fingertips” of my lightning reached their bodies, the surprised expressions on their stupid gaping mugs stuck forever in my memory. And in the following instant, my sword pierced through the first of the beasts’ eyes. I enhanced my blow with Blade of Vengeance just to make sure. When all was said and done, I waved off the victory notifications and dashed over to help Gorgie.
The alpha was a tough nut to crack. But that was only at first glance. By the time I was ready to activate Ram, the werewolf’s body was already a solid lump of bloody pulp. Gorgie’s spike was flitting up and down like the needle in my momma’s old sewing machine. The wolf’s chest had two big holes in it. His side had a deep tear wound from Gorgie’s claws, his right shoulder was mangled, and his left arm was hanging limp. The alpha of the already vanquished pack’s wounds were not healing as fast as Gorgie was dealing out new ones. We were a matter of moments from victory but, suddenly, something happened I did not foresee. The werewolf rolled to the right with the last of his strength and got next to the window Gorgie broke. And an instant later, instead of lunging at his opponent, he disappeared out the hole and fled straight through the bushes and flower beds.
It was so unexpected that neither Gorgie nor I had time to react. The harn first dashed off after him, but soon came back empty handed. The werewolf had gotten away.
I reassured my friend as best I could and suggested we take this breather for all it was worth, rest up and use another couple tablets.
As for the alpha… I was hoping he would be easy pickings for the undead in his state, but my inner voice was telling me this beast wasn’t going to give up quite so easily.
Chapter 6
IT HAD BEEN FOUR DAYS since we came to the ancient capital of Darta. The Labyrinth of Fright had yet to release us. At first that made me nervous, but then I got used to it. Honestly, I had to do a lot of running around, but I knew what I was agreeing to when I stepped through the portal.
On the first day, we did manage to get to the northern gates, but we were in for a disappointment. It was as if the Great System was mocking us when it said we would not be allowed to leave. And meanwhile it called the capital of Darta an anomaly. That must have been some kind of clue but, alas, it was eluding me.
I remember standing and watching the huge flow of refugees slowly but surely disappearing through the wide-open gates. The people were fleeing to the mountains, hoping to make it through Slate Pass and away from the hordes of undead. I didn’t know whether they’d make it. My history textbooks never mentioned them, but I sincerely wanted to believe the townsfolk would escape to safety.
Over those two days, Gorgie and I did some decent hunting, taking down the lone morphs prowling the city streets in search of human flesh. We tried to keep away from the middle of town. That was where the necromancers had brought the bulk of their forces, trying to break through the defenses of the royal palace.
King Nidas had already become a semilegendary figure in life so it was no wonder there were always so many mages and valiant warriors at his court. Based on the flashes of color and ominous blaze, especially easy to see at night, the necromancers were facing quite stiff resistance.
But that was in the middle of town. On the outskirts, true chaos was taking hold. The brutes hunted in packs. And they were methodically seeking out every townsperson that hadn’t made it to the northern gates.
Once Gorgie and I got lucky and saved a family. A man, woman and three children with two old folks. By some fantastic means, they had managed to sit things out so far in the basement of their home without attracting any undead. But Gorgie sniffed them out right away. Thanks to his sense of smell, we were able to lead the poor folks to the fortress wall and bid them farewell. Before we left, they promised to pray to all gods of light on our behalf. I understood that. We’d had to fight morphs a few times on the way, and Gorgie and I took them down very quickly. After every beast we killed, they looked at us a bit differently. At first they were panicking in fear of the harn, who was honestly getting scarier and scarier with every level. The scales were gradually giving way to bone armor. The ridge on his back had grown and changed shape. Let alone his claws and fangs. But then I saw little sparks of timid joy and hope appear in their eyes. All that time, the old lady was thanking the Goddess Mercy for sending them their good sir mage and his odd animal companion.
And by the way, my “odd animal companion” was already up to level thirty-two. I had poured all my silver tablets into Gorgie along with almost five and a half million esses. We were bringing his level up every few hours so we wouldn’t overburden the harn’s energy system. Honestly though, every level-up was getting easier for his regeneration to take care of.
After every activation, a ravenous hunger was awoken inside Gorgie. And that was putting it lightly. In fact, it was more like a savage lust for food. At times like those, he looked with hungry eyes even at necromorphs, regardless of the fact the rotten scraps of flesh covering their dead bodies could hardly be called meat. I should also clarify that I had never noticed such a tendency in Gorgie before. I think it’s all down to the quickly forming bone armor on his body. It was sucking all the juice out of him. Thankfully, this being the richest city in this world, we had no problems finding food. There were plenty of abandoned butchers’ and fishmongers’, as well as bakeries and restaurants. Not to mention the supply cellars. My Gorgie was full and happy the whole time.
When the harn hit level thirty, we had a couple surprises in store. The bone armor finally grew all the way in and Gorgie’s defense got a significant bonus of thirty percent. Now it’s up to more than two thousand points. I was aware that wasn’t all that much, but with the harn’s agility, speed and flexibility, each at four hundred sixty points, you’d have to hit him to get to that in the first place. His strength and the power of his attack abilities were also growing with frightening speed. It hadn’t even been a year since we first met, but I had managed to mold this once cute little cave cat into a true monster. But he was my monster, endlessly loyal to me and willing to tear anyone to shreds at a moment’s notice if they dared try and harm me. And for that matter, I felt similarly about him. Our bond had grown stronger. Gorgie shared his determination and courage with me, while I responded with care and stopping him from getting ahead of himself.
Another surprise after the harn hit thirty was his spell – it now had a new maximum level. I wouldn’t exactly call that surprise pleasant though. Thorntail’s Jump was still stuck at a maximum of six which, to be frank, disappointed me. I was hoping that we were only at the beginning there, but what happened, happened. Either that “rare” spell let us down, or it was something to do with the harn in particular. It didn’t much matter at the moment.
As for the spell itself… One minute of invisibilit
y after a hundred-foot jump with four second cooldown and mana expenditure of just one hundred forty points ― the harn was now a spectral angel of death! If we came up against the werewolf alpha now, he would not be able to get away again.
Defeating his compatriots landed me thirty silvers, a few thousand esses and ninety chaos particles. For clothes, the shapeshifters were wearing only pants and vests. They didn’t have any weapons or personal items even though I definitely remember them taking backpacks into the portal. They must have hidden it all away somewhere.
At first, I thought their hiding spot would be in the manor house but, scouring all the floors and gardens turned up nothing. However, thanks to Sixth Sense, I did discover the owner of the house’s hiding spot in the end.
Labyrinth of Fright (Underdog Book #5): LitRPG Series Page 6