Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  All of my willpower went into keeping myself from swallowing to wet my suddenly dry mouth. They’d figured me out—that I wasn’t a vampire.

  “Careful,” Shamash hurriedly said through mind-speak. “They only know that you’re hiding your true form, not who, or what, you are.”

  I cast Time Crawl to give myself a moment to think. Shamash was right. All that they knew was that my Vampire Form wasn’t my true form. That didn’t necessitate me being human, or even a different race. All that it meant was that I was magically hiding my identity. That gave me something to work with.

  When time had returned to normal, I made a show of sighing with regret. “Forgive the deception, Master Gul. It is for my protection. I’m afraid I can’t show you my true face or reveal my family ties.”

  His grin only widened. He’d bought it. “I have no intention of revealing your secrets. That is the point of Hallow after all. You are welcome here regardless of your background or any secrets you wish to hide. I consider the exchange of Blue Magic a separate matter entirely.”

  Then why did you bring it up? I wanted to say but held my tongue.

  “Would you be willing to gift the ability to me if the price was right?” he said, retrieving a cloudy glass jug from his inventory and holding it between us. “This is a body of Half-blood, the best that money can buy. Two of them are yours if you agree…”

  His offer wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be. To most vampires, Half-blood was far too expensive. It was the richest vampire blood sold on the market. Trueblood was only available through gathering VT in the arena. He was pressuring me through revealing that he knew I was hiding something. I was sure he hoped to force my hand.

  If he had come to me a day sooner, I would have probably agreed to his offer outright. A lot of the stats I lost would be slightly made up for with my advancement in my bloodline’s rank. Even 1,000 levels would be fairly easy to manage. If my Intelligence dipped under 10,000, I could still cast Mind Buff to make up for the difference. The only true negative was that I’d have less unrefined mana to play around with during my fights. I could always tap into my large refined mana pool if I had to. But now that I had decided to rely on the Tir family, it would be impossible for me to Drain the Half-blood to make up for the loss in levels. The moment my bloodline rank changed, I’d lose their support.

  “Your offer is generous,” I said. “I’d be willing—after the preliminaries.”

  He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. I could tell he didn’t like my answer. “Three bodies of Half-blood if you do it now. It could greatly benefit my remaining matches in the competition.”

  I hadn’t forgotten that he had gone out of his way to reveal that he knew I was hiding my real form. Even if he still believed me to be a vampire, the scrutiny of watchful eyes would only increase if I didn’t agree. He might try to figure out who I was or start a rumor that I was hiding my true face.

  “Is it possible that he’ll unlock Shapeshifting if I reveal to him the rest of my forms?” I said through mind-link with Shamash.

  His answer was about what I suspected it would be. “It is, but his deduction is correct. He hasn’t been able to unlock Shapeshifting because he hasn’t seen you start and end with your true form. There’s another option. You could kill them, and we could leave town immediately.”

  I ignored the lich’s suggestion and addressed Parth’s request. “It’s not that I don’t want to help you now, or that I don’t consider your offer more than fair, but I can’t use the Half-blood to make up for my loss in stats if I gift you. It will make my fight with Manu Shah much more difficult.”

  He gave me the look of a parent about to rebuke a child. “You think you can defeat him?”

  Seeing his doubt, I was through with vampire etiquette and gave him a vicious smile. “I can.”

  My response wiped the growing smirk off his face.

  “I can’t show you my true form, and I can’t gift you the Shapeshifting ability yet. There is something that I’ll do for you that might give you what you want—and it will cost you nothing.”

  “I’m interested…” he replied.

  “You’ve only seen a fraction of my forms. This may not allow you to unlock the ability, but it may… How about I show you my other ones?”

  “How many are we talking about? More than five?”

  I laughed freely. “Take a seat,” I said, and began moving chairs to make more room.

  He decided to do as I asked.

  “If this doesn’t work, I’ll still take you up on your offer, but only after the competition.” Having an extra two bodies of Half-blood would be nice even if I didn’t use them right away. They in no way equaled a body of Trueblood together, but if my plan with the Tirs fell through, gaining the Trueblood from winning the prelims with the two bodies of Half-blood should be almost enough for me to reach the Trueblooded Rank. It should also give me enough time to find a way to regain my lost levels before the Festival of Parmida began.

  “If you can indeed defeat Manu,” Parth said, “then even without unlocking Shapeshifting today I can live with that.”

  Interesting. And here I thought the two of them were friends… “Then let me show you.”

  I began with my least powerful forms like the different kinds of Slimes, Wererat, etc. With each, I gave him some extra time to observe and even slowed the transformation process. Shamash suggested as much. He also recommended for me to not reveal my Primordial Cat Form. It was likely he would go to Manu with what he learned.

  Parth may have genuinely wanted me to defeat Manu, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t also try to sell the information for favors. He knew that Manu was aiming for me and yet he hadn’t mentioned it once. He should have also known beforehand that I had attached myself to the Tirs. It made his offer of Half-blood suspect. He may have just thought it was a safe gamble because of Half-blood’s worth, or maybe it was the most costly thing he could get his hands on. If he was looking to increase his power before the competition was over, then why didn’t he drink the Half-blood himself? He was only quarter-blooded as I was, and it would be a good jump in power for him.

  I then moved on to my more exotic forms. Hellhound, Rock Giant, the different kinds of Imps—by my tenth form, he had forgotten he was a well-mannered vampire. Was that drool at the corner of his mouth?

  Werewolf, Minotaur, and Incubus Forms were some of the last that I showed off. When I was done with them, there was one last Form I’d be showing him. It was also the most impressive.

  Back in my Vampire Form, I considered giving him the infamous Sai Darvish wink. It wouldn’t be helpful, so I shook my head, then began to change. I just hoped I’d made enough room.

  As with the other forms, I slowed down the process of change. My body expanded quickly regardless, and soon I took up half the room. I thought small thoughts as I curled myself into a ball as much as possible while my Metal Dragon Form took shape. I could change between a few different metals, like Tin, Copper, and Bronze, so I showed each of them in turn.

  Parth Gul had risen from his seat and taken a step back to make sure he had room to breathe. If he had doubts that I meant what I said about believing I could defeat Manu, then it seemed my last form had convinced him.

  A minute later I stood as a vampire before him. “Did you have any luck unlocking it?”

  He seemed to have spaced out and didn’t acknowledge I had said anything for a few seconds. “I uh. I didn’t unlock it, but I gained further understanding twice during the display. Thank you. Was that a kind of dragon?”

  “A Metal Dragon, yes.”

  “Amazing…”

  He asked me one last time if I’d reconsider, but his heart wasn’t in it anymore. When he left, I turned and gave Shamash a serious look. “Am I in trouble?”

  “I don’t believe so,” he replied. “That was well played. I know you’re interested in building ties to the Tir family but leaving here after the preliminaries is still probably the wi
sest choice. If one person expects something, it’s only a matter of time until someone else does as well. Parth should keep his mouth shut until after the competition, but after you gift him Shapeshifting, there’s no guarantee he will keep your secret safe.”

  I nodded my head to show that I understood. Just as I thought I had some things figured out, everything was once again turned on its head. There was nothing I could do for the time being except continue training and prepare for the coming fights.

  Chapter 24 – Dark Elf Wit

  With only seven undefeated competitors left, I was two fights away from making it to the finals. It was little surprise that Manu Shah had gotten a pass to the next round since the numbers were uneven. No one complained. Besides him, only Eshana was left from the lich’s list. I believed I could beat her, but there was always the possibility that she was hiding something. If I faced her in the next round, I’d have to be careful.

  Sai had also made it to the quarterfinals, and he’d be facing another unknown. It could be said that he’d be counted among those that had been lucky to not have to face any powerful opponents up to this point in the preliminaries, but his strength was nothing to laugh at. He probably wasn’t a match for Gansuk or Lusa Egotak. Once he lost, he’d have to face them to find out his final placement in the competition. I hoped he could reach the top 5 for the additional rewards but placing in the top 10 would likely be enough for him to make a way for himself so that he wouldn’t have to rely on his family for support. He’d already earned a small fortune in VT for making it this far.

  The remaining fights for the undefeated were all in the central arena. I sat amongst the Tir family as we waited for the arena to be prepared. This time Shamash had joined me. We’d arrived two hours early, and even then, it had been difficult to make our way to our seats. The Tirs had people arrive early, so at least there was no problem with finding one.

  It didn’t look like Hallow would be waiting for everyone to find their seat. Those in the stands of the central arena were already here, but, like waves on the ocean’s surface, large lines of people were still rippling toward the stands of the outer coliseum.

  The level of noise coming from the crowd was like a constant roar washing over you. When the names of the competitors were called, there was a sudden hush that started in the central arena and spread outward like a wave of force.

  I stood to my feet. He had called my name.

  Like the calm before the storm, all the energy that had been suppressed while people were listening for the names was redirected. Vampires were normally too pompous to cheer for others, but there were rare exceptions. Even they couldn’t help themselves when millions of people were gathered together to watch the same spectacle.

  Turning toward Jale, I bowed before heading toward the arena’s entrance.

  No words passed between us, but she smiled as she returned my gesture.

  I was swept away in the turbulence of the crowd’s applause. It was like all of the storm’s energy had gathered it into a funnel that was pressing down upon me. I was the clear favorite.

  Stopping at the top of the stairs, I felt compelled to play to the crowd. They were pouring down their support, so it was only right that I at least acknowledge them.

  It gave me a jolt when the volume rose another level in response.

  I looked across the arena to see my competition. He was a vampire dressed in blue and black, who seemed to be struggling under the pressure of the crowd. His chin was lowered to his chest and he had to look up to meet my eyes. I almost felt sorry for him, but he had done well to get this far.

  My wings tore through my skeletal armor as they pushed outward until they had reached their full breadth. I rose nearly ten feet into the air with a wave of my wings and hurried over to take my spot. Setting down on the black stone tile, I reached my starting point in the arena before my opponent had even reached the bottom of the stairs.

  My opponent was a talented Ice Mage, but he’d had to fight tooth and nail in every fight to make it to this point. Showing him how effortlessly I covered the distance was to make him face the reality of how far apart we were.

  I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Opening them, I cast Time Crawl to better take it all in. Never in all my life had I thought I’d ever see something like it. Millions of people were watching my every move. If only Aeris and the others could see me now. I basked in their praise. I could see how people fell in love with this feeling. Without the others, I felt the euphoria, but it wasn’t without a tinge of bitterness.

  Time Crawl was over soon enough, and the match was about to begin. How could I not take the time to glance at my competition in the stands?

  I found Eshana watching me closely. She was prepared this time when she caught my gaze and met my smirk with one of her own. Despite our game of probing, we both bowed our heads to one another. I think she looked forward to fighting me as much as I looked forward to fighting her.

  Turning to Manu, I didn’t hide behind civility and directly glared at him. Afraid I might give Shamash a heart attack, not that I really believed he had a heart in the first place, I left it at that and looked away without even a nod of the head.

  Just to make it clear, I bowed to the Tirs one more time and then focused all my attention on the Ice Mage across the arena. I had no intention of underestimating him, but he just wasn’t in the same league. He should be grateful, though, for I planned on doing something a little different. My tail grew slowly—large and bronze.

  With a word, the fight began.

  I let my opponent make the first move. Even though my Crimson Incubus wings were towering behind me, he flooded the ground before and around him with a thick sheet of ice. It might actually add to the challenge of what I had in mind.

  Without hesitation, he didn’t stop with the ground, and raised a wall of ice between us that was flawless enough that it acted as a sheet of meter thick glass where we could still see one another.

  He reminded me of Lord Darius, but he was at a far lower level and without the arrogance.

  Seeing that he planned on waiting for me to come to him, I took a step forward, and launched myself into the air. I flew toward him from thirty feet up.

  Seeing my approach, he raised two ice pillars behind him as thick as an ancient oak and quickly created a roof between the wall and two pillars.

  It was interesting to see that he hadn’t totally caged himself in. There was wisdom in that. His current structure would block any direct magic projectiles while allowing him a few exits in case he needed to flee.

  Almost as if there was a scorpion siege weapon that was hidden beneath his roof, a large spike appeared upon it as I approached. It was aimed right at me. A second and a third one appeared when I was less than ten feet from being directly over him.

  I was close enough that his projectiles should be reasonably difficult for me to dodge, but I didn’t slow down. He couldn’t miss, so he fired.

  As the giant arrows of ice ate up the distance in an instant, I whipped my tail forward and swiped them from the sky. Using the momentum of my tail, I pulled my wings in and let it take me in that direction. As I spun, I started to change. I redirected the swing of my tail to go right up and over my head until it nearly pointed straight up into the sky. Falling toward him, my body exploded in size as I took my largest form.

  More ice arrows fired off and it was impossible for them to miss. They punched into my gut as I looked down upon his small ice fortress while upside down. The projectiles shattered and ricocheted against my growing mass.

  With the added weight that being a Metal Dragon provided, I drove my bronze tail down upon his ice abode as I finished my somersault and landed on my feet like a crocodile with feline reflexes. I felt it was a good landing, but the entire arena shook and the tiles beneath my claws buckled into rubble. So much for the sheet of ice hindering my footing.

  Instead of cheering, there was an enormous gasp like a whirlwind from the stands.
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br />   With serpentine flexibility, I looked over my shoulder to see that there was literally nothing left of my opponent’s defensive structure. Not even a half standing pillar. It had been turned to slush.

  I was like a Komodo dragon stretching his neck. Finding my opponent had fled in the direction opposite of the shoulder I was looking over, I was glad I’d decided to bring out this form early. I wasn’t as large as the one hundred foot adolescent dragon I’d defeated, but I was at least a third its size, and far bigger than I was in any of the other forms that I commonly used. It even made my Primordial Cat Form look tiny. Keeping this from Eshana and Manu until I had to use it would have been the normal strategy, but my lack of experience meant I was uncoordinated with it so I’d decided to get some practice.

  Swiping my tail toward him, I spun in the direction I was already looking. It wasn’t awkward in the sense that I was lacking strength to manage my weight, but because I’d rarely had to turn such a big truck around. I laughed at myself for immediately comparing myself to a semi instead of an actual body. Awkward or not, I was a bacon-loving dragon!

  I wasn’t sure if my smile reached my metal dragon face, but as I began to chase him, I was grinning from ear to ear.

  He was quick enough on his feet to run and fire off ice shards as he went. Most of them were even well aimed.

  I didn’t try to dodge or block them, for I didn’t have to. Opening up my mouth, I caught a number of them before chomping down. It was odd chewing since I wasn’t used to having my teeth in their current position, but I’d always enjoyed chewing ice chips, and after so much time without anything to eat, fighting him became a treat.

  I wasn’t really even trying to corner him, but it happened anyways because of my size.

  As a last-ditch effort, he began summoning a massive Ice Shard that would have been able to injure me, but before it could gain enough momentum, I snatched it from the air and snapped it in half with my teeth.