Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  What I didn’t take was his extra clothing or jewelry. At first I thought the rings and pendants would hold magic, but I quickly found out they were normal jewelry. Shamash didn’t think they had any value, so I let them go. It was only the storage ring that the guard captain wore that had any real value.

  As soon as I placed the ring on my finger, I could feel that something had changed. The space inside my inventory expanded. Even though my inventory bore some of the weight for me and I had to bear the rest, I normally couldn’t feel much of anything besides its slight pressure. But as my inventory space expanded, I immediately felt some relief from the weight as if it were spread out over a larger surface, making it easier to bear. This change was also subtle. Because of my Strength, it barely affected me. I now had twice the Inventory space. Leaving the guard captain’s corpse, I quickly looted the other guards. I only looted the same types of items, of which there was an abundance. They didn’t have as much wealth as the captain did, but there wasn’t much discrepancy. The remaining guards didn’t possess any jewelry, so that must mean that the captain was either a collector or a diva. Despite the carnage around me, I allowed myself a small grin at the thought. If this was the way things were going to be, little moments of humor would help to keep me sane.

  I checked a few of the slaves and found out that all they possessed was a cup in their inventory. It made me wonder if vampires ever ate any physical food, or if they just drank blood. The guards didn’t have any food in their inventories either.

  With that out of the way, I changed back into my Vampire Form and cast Vampire’s Might. Only after I’d absorbed the blood from my victims did I also cast Devour to absorb their flesh. This was necessary to match this attack with the attack at the Vampire Gate. Shamash had said that it was a mistake for me to use Devour, but since I had used it during the first attack I needed to also use it here.

  Bloodline: Inferior

  Next Rank: 1%

  The only change I noticed with my Vampire Form was that a Next Rank section appeared with 1% right next to it. If I were reading this correctly, it would take me 99 more guard posts like this one to finally reach the next rank. I wanted to slam an imp head against the wall. This was going to take longer than I thought. I couldn’t help but wonder if there were any imp punching bags I could purchase. Poor Zorik. What would he think if he found out about my imp hitting obsession? That imp that had kidnapped me really left a long-lasting impression.

  I collected the Lesser and Intermediate Dark Cores from amongst the fallen vampires’ skeletons and placed them in my inventory. Flamethrower ignited from the palm of my hand and scorched their remaining bones. I still didn’t understand why the lich was having me handle things this way, but he seemed to know exactly how they would investigate.

  “Won’t they be suspicious of the difference this time?” I said as I worked.

  “Yes,” Shamash replied. “But it should only help to reassure them that you are from an opposing vampire family. Even though the Tammaro family is in command of the southern gate, they won’t be the only ones that investigate when it’s attacked. The ruling families will also be involved to confirm it’s not a real threat. Because of the interaction between Solar and Dark Magic, there isn’t any solid evidence left that it was actually Light Magic that was used in the killing. There are many types of Fire Magic. Your low level flame will char rocks and bones, where other types of flame will not. It would take a higher level flame to do what your Solar Magic did. Adding a little charring will make the investigators think that a lesser flame was used this time because they were lower level vampires while also confirming it was Fire Magic.”

  That made a little bit more sense.

  When I reached the guards, I also set their guard towers ablaze and all the equipment that was capable of burning. I took a few handfuls of the ore that they mined, not because it would be worth much if it wasn’t in mass quantities, but because I was interested in the differences between the kinds of Dark Ore.

  We hadn’t been there for a quarter of an hour and we were already leaving with four platforms blazing behind us.

  To further persuade myself that what I was doing was necessary, I began to sort through my popups as Invisibility took hold.

  The stats I gained from Drain weren’t anything compared to what I received at the Vampire Gate, but it was still a decent boost.

  +51 Str

  +39 Dex

  +99 Int

  +85 Wis

  Including the 203 levels I’d gained, my take was more than decent. It seemed that I had underestimated how many of the one hundred odd vampires were of a higher level than I was.

  Elorion

  Character Sheet

  Level: 6,100

  Health Points: 563,716

  Current Mana: 5,811,394

  Base Mana: 5,799 ,899

  Mana Per Minute: 251,170(4,186.166 Per Second)

  Attributes

  Strength: 6,551

  Dexterity: 6,213

  Constitution: 5,344

  Intelligence: 11,516

  Wisdom: 25,117

  My mana was quickly recovering, but with only 4,000,000 refined mana left, my current max was around 10,000,000.

  “What is the reason you’re having me take the vampires’ currency if I can’t use it?” I said.

  “Who said you can’t use it?” The lich let loose one of his creepy chuckles.

  “Is there a market run by other races, then?”

  “There are, but they will be closely observed by the region’s sovereign guards. What we need is a place where the vampire ruling authority doesn’t reach. There are many black markets in the vampire realm if you know where to look. The one that I’m thinking of also has a leveled coliseum. Spending some time there to hone your skills would be of great benefit.”

  I shook my head, unsure what he was getting at. “You want me to kill everyone in a vampire arena?” Why would I need currency if I’m just going to kill everyone?

  “No. You are far from being ready to take on the Hallow Amphitheater. There are countless Lord-level vampires there that call it home. They’re used to dealing with people with something to hide, so your Vampire Form won’t be closely scrutinized. We can use it as a base of operations, trade for some items we might need, and you can watch vampire mages fight. Your Light Magic gives you an advantage, but if you get in a true mage duel, you don’t have the experience to handle some of the talented vampires you’ll eventually run into. You can also participate in low end fights to gain experience. The fights are usually to the death, so no one will bat an eye at you Draining them. The biggest problem will be that you won’t be able to use your Light Magic. It’s probably a good idea to not show your Primordial Cat Form either unless you have to. Any Colossal Magic will only attract unwanted attention.”

  I wasn’t sure if vampires sweat, but it certainly felt like I was right now while in my Vampire Form. “So if I lose, I die?”

  “Yes. But we’ll study your opponents, and you don’t have to take any fights you don’t feel comfortable with. You’ll also be holding back a lot of your strength to focus on offensive and defensive magic. We’ll look for vampires with richer bloodlines to fight, or other monsters that you haven’t faced before.”

  “There’ll be other races?”

  “Most will be vampires, but a good third of the population is made up of other races. Lord Darius was fond of the place because of its brothels. It’s popular for some of the lesser vampire nobility. It isn’t a small settlement and usually fluctuates between having one and two million people at a time. It’s not just the humanoid, monster, and beast races that you can fight though, but also normal monsters. Some may benefit you because of their essence, but you can as easily sit on the sidelines and take it during the killing blow. It’s the stats from Draining them that you’d be most interested in.”

  “Okay, but won’t they be looking for me?”

  Unable to give a literal shrug, Shamash floated up
a few inches before floating back down. “It will take us a week to fly there. Even if they did hear about the attack on the Vampire Gate, no one there will care unless it affects them.”

  “So no more guard posts for now?”

  “There are a few places we can hit on the way. We won’t attack anything within a couple hundred miles just to be safe.”

  “Great…” I wasn’t sure if I was excited or beginning to seriously question whatever possessed me to sign the lich’s contract.

  Chapter 5 – Passage of Many Rivers

  Shamash led me to another place to hide and recover. It didn’t take a full ten days this time for me to refine my mana since I hadn’t used all of it at the mine. It still took a number of days, so I had time to continue to work on my Dark Magic, Vampire Form, and the slow crawl to Grandmastering Light Magic.

  I was given a quick education on the bottles and vials I had taken from the vampire mine. The bottles were blood mixed with other ingredients to improve the taste. Human blood. Shamash gave me the option of Draining them for some extra stats or selling them. The stats would be mediocre at best, and the money could be used to purchase higher quality and quantities of blood of all types. I wasn’t excited about Draining or selling human blood, but, since it would help me kill more vampires, I decided on what seemed like the lesser of two evils and would sell it.

  The vials wouldn’t be worth me to use. My Light Magic’s ability to heal and regenerate, they would have a lesser to no effect on me. They were used for fighting off poisons and ailments mostly. Others gave boosts to elemental magic. The ones I had received were for Fire and Earth Magic. I assumed those were the elements the vampires I’d killed had used. Because my Fire and Earth Magic were Blue Magic based, they wouldn’t help me. Some of them were worth more than the bottles of blood though so they were definitely worth selling.

  The lich gave me another job to do as we waited. He scanned through the mana tablets while I began making Dark Mana Orbs in mass. It helped me to progress toward the next Dark Magic Rank but would also give me more currency to buy whatever I wanted at the Hallow Amphitheater. I also made a smaller amount of Light Magic Orbs of all ranks. These I could also sell for an even better profit, but if I tried to sell too many at a time then it would be suspicious. Light Magic creatures were rare as it was, but common enough that their orbs were collected for creating a drug that had similar effects as alcohol on Dark Magic creatures.

  Shamash didn’t have to tell me how ridiculously lucky I was to be able to create my own orbs. Mistress-level vampires could hunt them in mass, especially minor ones, so that they would easily be able to make money, but I had it even better. I could literally make as many as I wanted. All it took was mana and time. I obviously wasn’t restricted to minor orbs either. I made a boatload of them because they would allow me to make a lot of purchases without drawing attention to myself. For the larger purchases, I made sure to have plenty of intermediate, advanced, and master orbs as well.

  It made me question why I should even bother picking up the bottles of blood and potion vials. The lich’s answer was that it was more efficient. If I collected things I could sell, that was less orbs that I had to make. It would save time, so why not do both?

  About a week later, I found myself walking alone toward a two-story guard tower. It was made of dark stone and square in shape, placed directly between two cavern walls that skirted the sides of a passage we needed to take. It wasn’t fancy. The bottom level had a large double wide entrance with the doors pulled back, welcoming all travelers. There was only a single guard that waited to greet those passing through. Inside, I knew there were more guards. We’d counted ten of them in total. In all honesty, it was like a vampire style welcome center on the side of the road that you might run into when traveling throughout the US and arriving in a new state. I imagined all the vampires passing through getting patted down then asking for local attractions.

  Where’s the closest fast food joint, or gas station perhaps for some overcooked taquitos? Can’t forget to grab some little tubs of ranch that will make anything taste better…

  As we’d scoped the place out, we’d seen more than one group passing through. The guard on duty would greet newcomers, then the group would stop for a time inside before leaving out the back and continuing on. Walking toward the tower from half a mile out, I could see the back entrance was also open, so it wasn’t exactly heavy security.

  The guard on duty was level 8,614 and wearing some kind of leather armor covered in dark green fur. Each of the guards wore the same gear and the highest level was 14,200. My best guess was that he was currently on the top floor. It would have been easy enough just to pass through like normal travelers, but that wouldn’t be any fun.

  I saw the guard was watching me as I neared. His eyes had a tint of red, which caught my attention. I didn’t remember seeing any other vampires with anything but dark brown or pale blue eyes. I hadn’t exactly been paying close attention to the eyes of the vampires I killed, but this was strange enough to catch my attention. We were out of the Tammaro family’s territory, so it must be a characteristic of the vampires of this region.

  As I drew near, the vampire on duty bowed his head without diverting his eyes. Shamash had spent an hour lecturing me on how I should respond, and not respond, to a vampire greeting, especially a vampire guard. I had a tendency to smile when anyone greeted me as a basic courtesy. That would be a huge red flag at the moment. Vampires didn’t smile, wave, or shake hands. They followed a strict order of social rank, even among strangers. If you were of a superior rank, just looking at an inferior vampire was enough to acknowledge them.

  He explained in too much detail what I liked to call the game of nods. If a vampire was of a similar social rank as you were, the slightest nod of your head was considered good manners. To nod lower than the person greeting you was considered a bow of subordination and an acknowledgement of your lesser status. If you weren’t sure if your status was lower, then it was the safest course of action to bow lower than the person greeting you.

  Ultimately, I didn’t nod at all, but met the guard’s gaze so that he would know that I acknowledged him. This action was like telling them that I was superior to a random tower guard without so many words.

  “Welcome to the Passage of Many Rivers, Master,” he said, even bowing slightly at the waist.

  There were no visible rivers here, but beyond this chasm path was a place that three rivers intersected, hence the name. I got as close to him as I could before I met his eyes again.

  When I did, he continued, “It’s my duty to collect a drop of blood, then you’re welcome to approach the counter with any questions or proceed on your way.”

  One of the issues I would soon run into when arriving at the Hallow Amphitheater was that I could rely on Shamash’s magic to help me understand the vampire language, but I couldn’t speak it well enough to pass as a true vampire. I was sure that this guard had already been spelled so that he would be able to understand any language I used, but he’d also realize immediately that I was using a different one. Shamash had begun teaching me and I was already progressing at an incredible rate because of my Intelligence and Wisdom stats, but being able to speak it and speaking it naturally were two different things. Regardless of how I responded, the guard would immediately suspect there was something wrong.

  I was only two steps away from him. I dropped my eyes as if considering what he said. Finishing my approach, I looked up at him again. Like the other travelers, I lifted my hand as if to offer it to him so that he could take my blood sample. This was how they kept track of people that traveled from one region to another. It was in a sense blood magic, but the lich had assured me that it couldn’t work like voodoo. They could identify who I was through my blood, but it wouldn’t give them any power over me.

  The guard reached out to grab my hand. He had a small black needle in his other that he was about to use to prick my finger. The drop would be placed on a small sli
p of paper, then enclosed in a case with hundreds of other slips.

  If they were to take my blood, it wasn’t vampire would test, even if they took it while I was in my Vampire Form. When it was placed on the paper and lost its connection to my will, it would revert back to my true blood. The secret of what I was would be discovered soon after and all the work we’d done to hide our presence would have been for nothing.

  As his hand came in contact with mine, I grinned from ear to ear. I couldn’t help it. Vampires were arrogant and took themselves too seriously. It was difficult for me not to mock them.

  The guard seemed to move in slow motion as he looked up to see my expression. I was already transforming into my Solar Mage Form as my foot struck him in the chest and tossed him back. He crashed through the entryway and to the floor near the middle of the room. Not one, but two Artificial Suns shot out from my palms. One slipped through the window of the second floor and the other stopped right above the shocked guard. To his credit, he had removed his sword from his inventory as he flew through the air, but it was already too late.

  I’d practiced transforming between Light and Dark Forms to rid myself of the fear of self-implosion. It was a fear that was unfounded considering the rules Blue Magic was based on. If I was practicing partial forms, there was a real danger, but changing from a Dark Form to a Light one, or vice-versa, wasn’t dangerous.

  This guard tower had many advantages that a small force could use to fight a larger one if attacked, but against me, it was instead a death trap. Not only was my magic deadly, but it blinded them and took advantage of the enclosed area so that my Light Magic became even more deadly. I spent 15,000,000 MP just to be safe, but it was more than enough.

  Before Shamash had rejoined me, I changed back into my Vampire Form and cast Vampire’s Might on the corpse of the guard that had greeted me. I suspected the red tint of his eyes might have been more than just a family characteristic. When his blood filled me, I was happy to see that my guess had been right.