Underworld - Scorching Sun: A LitRPG Series

by Apollos Thorne

  At that moment, an elder vampire slowly ascended from the announcer’s booth until she hovered over the arena near its center. The woman looked down on the ruined stage for a long moment before turning her gaze. Her eyes fell upon me. It was only her aura and mana density that indicated her age and stature, for she looked to be little older than twenty. She only studied me for a few seconds, but it put me on edge. I wasn’t sure if it was because of her obvious strength, or because Shamash’s words already had me uptight.

  She looked back to the arena without any change of expression and reached out her hand. A funnel of power leaped from her palm, but it wasn’t violent or forceful. As it came in contact with the ground, the melted rock obeyed her command. It trembled as it reformed and took shape. The stone beneath the tile first squared itself and solidified before the first large tile, which had formed a few feet above the ground, slammed down. After the first, the woman swept her hand side to side as she repaired the stage and put the tiles back in place. She wasn’t moving quickly, but in less than a minute over a hundred tiles were reformed. It wouldn’t be long now before the arena was repaired.

  The lich had let me watch her for a moment before he continued where he left off. “There are tales of a different age when the humanoid races ruled the whole of the Underworld’s Cavern Level. The monster races were kept to the Dungeon Level and were weaker and less in number. It was war between the elves and dwarves that drove a rift in the peace that held the monster races back. Before the war, the elves hadn’t segregated themselves, so the many kinds of elves, including the dark elves, were one people. The dwarf clans were also committed to a sole king. When war came, it didn’t just split the elven people, but also the dwarven clans. Humans were no different. They took sides, and even schemed to gain resources while the other two fought. That’s when the monster races rose up under the leadership of a vampire prince. At first, they were stopped in certain areas of the Cavern Level to be dealt with later when the war concluded. But the rift between the dwarves and elves was never fully mended. As the humanoid races changed focus to only take care of their own, the monster races took advantage and slowly gained ground. That age had no clear ending point, but over thousands of years, the humans, elves, and dwarves dwindled and now the monsters reign.”

  The elder vampire turned her attention to repairing the walls as Shamash finally came to his point. “The dwarves, elves, and humans have some natural affinity, but what you’re imagining is even more extraordinary. You want humanoids and monsters to band together as one. Even if it were possible to form an alliance to face a common foe, what would happen after your foes were defeated? Are you beginning to understand what it might take to make such a long-lasting union possible? I haven’t even mentioned the beast races, which would bring their own set of difficulties. If one day you reach your true potential, bringing the tribes and peoples that you personally want to care for under your own patronage might be possible and I’d be willing to help you. But anything more than that would require you to take a step beyond the Head Mistress and even the vampire ancients. Such power could pierce the firmament and link the Underworld with the world of the surface, ushering in a new age that would transcend all that came before it…”

  How could I not wish for such a future? One where I could protect all the people I cared for. The lich’s passion only started where mine left off. It was when he spoke of surpassing the Head Mistress that a dormant part of him seemed to awaken. I’d never even hinted at wanting to link the Underworld with the surface. The surface had its own problems, and their technology could help them defend themselves to a certain point, but against even Mistress-level monsters, they’d be little more than a billion course dinner. Was this the lich’s true goal, or was it just one grand possibility? And what if it was? It sounded more like the apocalypse than a good thing. But what if I was the one with the power to control the change? If magic suddenly appeared on the surface world and everyone’s talents were unlocked, sure there could be chaos, but it could also be the greatest blessing I could offer them. Longer life, the ability to heal, and protect themselves against the monster races who’d been preying on them from the shadows for ages…

  Then I realized the obvious. “Isn’t there a limit to how powerful a person can become?”

  The lich actually smirked. “If there is a limit to power, the lich have not found it, nor have the most ancient of powerhouses alive today. The realm of magic is vast and much has been forgotten—and perhaps even more remains to be discovered. Don’t limit your dreams based on what’s currently considered possible.”

  Fine. I got the point. The only way to get what I wanted was to follow the lich’s original advice and grow as powerful as possible. I wouldn’t murder whole swaths of people, but I knew he was right.

  I was tempted to look up from my lap to see Jale’s face. She symbolized the fantastical hope that I could rely on others for protection and the future of my friends. Even teaming up with her to somehow figure it out together was absurd. I was living in a world where any moment some ancient monster could appear on a whim and obliterate Hallow out of boredom. I’d be powerless to stop it, much less escape with my life. The Tirs currently existed in a state of moderate safety, not because of their great power, but because they’d found a place where they fit in the current political environment. If I stayed, or asked for their help, all I’d do was mess things up. In the end, I didn’t turn to Jale, but she turned to me as if noticing my internal turmoil.

  “I’ve received the approval of the Tir family elders here in Hallow to request that you be allowed to become Trueblooded by the main family. After today, I don’t think they’ll hesitate to make an exception.”

  When I heard her words, I froze in place and couldn’t even turn my head to look at her. “You’re serious?”

  “Very. I know you carry a heavy burden on your shoulder, Zerin. The Tir family will help you bear the weight.”

  It was then that I knew that I must go. Shamash was wrong about one thing. I was already torn between protecting two families, and the best way to protect this one was to leave.

  I finally freed myself from my statuesque state and looked to her. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

  If I wasn’t mistaken, she blushed.

  ***

  That morning, before my fight with Manu, Eshana and Lusa had fought for the position of fighting Manu for second place. I’d missed the fight because I’d arrived too late, but Sai explained it to me in detail.

  It seemed the two girls had been evenly matched. It was Nature against Water and Earth Magic, which were very closely aligned in the first place. They both used their incredible defenses, Lusa encased in her tree, and Eshana behind her wall of stone, while attacking one another from a distance. It became a fight of attrition for neither party seemed to be able to cause the other much damage. Eshana won because Lusa ran out of mana first.

  Parth Gul ended up losing to Gansuk and another lesser known Lightning Mage, so he was out of the running. That meant Sai would automatically place above him, for he’d defeated the same mage earlier in the contest. But he’d have to face Gansuk to see who’d take 5th place.

  The arena was repaired, and the last fights had already started, but the two melee experts were being saved for the final fight of the day. Only a few placement matches would take place tomorrow. The chief of them being for second place.

  I wished Sai luck as his name was called.

  He gave me a dorky wink and said, “Don’t act so worried. After my fight with Manu Shah, I have a surprise I’ve been working on.”

  I just about rebuked him, but if he had something he thought might work, I wouldn’t give him a hard time, for now. After the match, I wouldn’t hold back.

  As the match started, no one was surprised when Sai circled Gansuk, taking advantage of his speed. The orc couldn’t match the vampire’s footwork, but his attack speed was nearly the same. Gansuk used his more powerful attacks to slowly corner Sai, bu
t more than once the sabre-wielder broke free. It was only when he was finally unable to get out that Sai lunged forward while unleashing a wave of energy that burst out in all directions.

  What he’d said was true. He’d launched an attack mimicking Manu Shah’s. It had stunned him and ushered in Manu’s victory.

  Gansuk stumbled back, but as Sai dashed in to finish him off, instead of stunning the orc, it infuriated him. Sai ate an axe-beam to the chest a moment later but was helped up by the orc after the fight was called. Sai’s plan had been solid, and it might have worked against anyone else, but Gansuk’s physique was probably the most outrageous in the entire preliminaries.

  My friend made it back to his seat with a dejected look, but he couldn’t hide what he was really thinking from me. His face said it all. Sure, he had lost, but he was satisfied.

  I congratulated him on sixth place. “That’s only five places below mine.”

  “Oh, is it?” he said. “Why the emphasis?”

  “No reason. You did well.” I couldn’t help it and gave him an orc-pat on the back. “Sixth place is great.”

  His grave expression drew a grin across my face, spanning from ear to ear. I had to grit my teeth to not let my laughter escape.

  ***

  I spent the rest of the day at the Tir residence. The family was inclined to begin introducing themselves to Sai and me. The elder who had saved Sai’s life was called Rishi Tir. He was an elder of the Hallow branch of the family. That meant his standing was only less than that of the elders of the main branch. I didn’t completely understand how the structure worked even after meeting dozens of people, but in comparison to Rishi, Jale was a true princess of the main branch and was considered to have the highest authority in Hallow, despite her age. This authority wasn’t all encompassing though. As was witnessed by her having to get the elder’s approval to request permission for me to become Trueblooded. The strangest part was that no one seemed to resent Jale’s authority, and even supported her whenever they could.

  There was too much to do if I was going to leave tomorrow for me to stay indoors. I requested my leave, by telling a half truth. It was time I spent the thousands of Orbs I had in my possession and, while I was out, I’d take Parth Gul up on his offer since I didn’t plan on relying on Jale’s help. The VT I’d won in the preliminaries wouldn’t be enough to get me to Trueblooded after all, so the two bodies of Half-blood he offered would be a worthy trade. It also gave me the chance of befriending the son of one of the leading merchant families in Hallow. If I were to return, having such connections could only help.

  The difficulty was leaving without the Tir family sending someone with me, but they didn’t even offer. It seemed the peace with the Shahs was surer than I thought. The more I thought about it, it was probably because the awards ceremony hadn’t even taken place. If they attacked me now, everyone would know who had done it.

  As I left the Tir residence to meet up with Shamash, I suspected someone would be following anyway, but saw no one. Despite that, the lich and I were prepared even if they did. He wasn’t willing to make purchases for me, but he’d offered to set up the meeting with Parth Gul, so things were all set.

  I met him at the same shop we’d first gone to when arriving in Hallow. Upon entering, this time we were no longer strangers. Security knew me, and there wasn’t a vampire salesperson that didn’t peek around the corner to get a glimpse of me after the word spread that we were here. I’m sure they were hoping I’d spend some of my VT. It was a currency spendable anywhere in Hallow, but the truly rare, VT-only items weren’t sold here. What they couldn’t know was that we were about to submerge them in more Master Orbs than they would see in a year.

  We walked up to the blood merchant and Shamash handed him a list. It had the name of every beast and monster they had in stock. Only the ones we’d already purchased had the number of bodies we requested.

  “You want to buy all of these?” the same salesman that had looked me up and down the first time asked with a tremble in his voice.

  “30 bodies of each except for the ones specified,” I said. Amongst the group was a request for 10 bodies of vampire Quarter-blood. The rest of the request was so ridiculous he didn’t even seem to notice. “If you are low on stock for any of the rarer ones, just give us what you have.”

  With a flick of my wrist, I retrieved a bulging bag out of my inventory that would have made Santa jealous. It was filled with 1,000 Master Dark Orbs. “This should cover it and our purchases in other departments.”

  It was the first time I’d ever seen a vampire go limp. He leaned heavily against the counter as he looked down at the open sack. His voice cracked as he called for someone to fetch the order from their warehouse. Master Orbs weren’t even given a specific trade value because of their rarity. One Advanced Orb was worth 1,000 Minor ones, so we estimated a Master Orb was worth close to 100,000. With a Minor Orb worth about 10 dark coins, that put a Master’s worth at close to 1,000,000. In his eyes, 1,000,000,000 dark coins had just been dropped in his lap.

  We left him there staring and skipped the Orb department. There was nothing there that I’d need. We went straight back to the jeweler we’d spoken to before. It was obvious by his blank look that the other salesman had already relayed the message. He was trying to keep it under control, but his right eye was twitching. He couldn’t bring himself to speak, but he welcomed us with outstretched hands.

  Once again, Shamash had another list that he handed to the man. It was mostly jewels we were interested in, for Russ could easily incorporate them into his own creations and they wouldn’t weigh as much to transport. We also purchased numerous unjeweled necklaces, rings, earrings, and pendants. Jewelry was actually the easiest way for non-Blue Mages to quickly equip such item bonuses. We wouldn’t get the superior buffs that came from full armor sets, but we wouldn’t have to transport such things either.

  There was one item that I purchased separately. Most of the jewels and gemstones we focused on buffed their respective Alignment at 100% because of the steep price increase for anything more. But there was one element for which I made an exception. The finest Wind-stone in the entire store gave a remarkable 121% Wind Buff. The problem was it wasn’t unfaceted. The smokey crystal sat as the centerpiece of a multilayered necklace. The layers were intricately woven with a silver chain that shone with its own light. The necklace itself was on display behind the salesman and in its own glass case.

  When I asked the man about the chain that held it, he explained it was made of wind-ore alloy. It was tougher than steel but also merged with a person’s form, so if Aeris was to become one with the wind, it would as well. Its greatest advantage though was that it enhanced any gemstone of the same alignment, so the Wind-stone might grant a 121% Wind bonus, but as a part of the necklace it increased to 133%.

  Taking out a handful of Master Dark Orbs, I set the four of them on the table. When he didn’t react, I took another one out of my inventory and set it next to them. He opened his mouth as if he were about to agree when I set a sixth one next to the pile. On a whim, I asked, “Do you have any special pieces for the Metal sub-element?”

  He spun quickly and retrieved a second piece as if he were afraid he’d lose the deal, and placed a simple looking bracer down on the counter next to the orbs. While I was examining it, he took the necklace out of its case and placed it in a magic bag before setting it to the side.

  The magic bags by themselves weren’t cheap, yet he was packaging the necklace in one as if it were a throw-away grocery bag. Talk about service. It also probably meant that I was overpaying, but I didn’t care.

  The bracer wasn’t large and was more like a thick bracelet. The gemstone looked like a long piece of heavily grained rock. Its dark grey color made it look rather bland, but through the Mana Realm I saw the rich luminescence of highly compressed Metal. He explained that it had the same functions as the necklace, but it only buffed 117% even with the ore enhancing it. It seemed Metal gemstones we
re much harder to come by.

  I didn’t know if Travis had left the Underworld, but in the case he stayed, I wanted to get him something unique because I knew how difficult the decision was that he was having to make. And if he had really left, wearing it would be a useful token for remembering my friend and second as a buff to my Metal Dragon Form. I was sure he’d approve.

  I accepted the deal, and the vampire packaged the bracer in a magic bag of its own. Which gave me an idea. The best storage rings were already a part of our order, but I also asked for a couple dozen magic bags to be added. I wanted to leave Jale and Sai with something when I left and using such an item to store it would add to the surprise of what they found.

  By the time we had everything settled and put away in the Gear department, the blood we’d ordered had started to arrive.

  Somehow they’d found more workers than last time, for the cylindrical thermos-like containers that held the blood came in a train of carts. There were hundreds of gallons on each cart, and in the first load alone, there were ten.

  This was an opportunity I’d probably never have again. There were only so many creatures in existence and only a limited number of stats I could gain from each one. After today, it would be exceedingly difficult for me to find a creature I hadn’t Drained at least thirty bodies of. Most mature vampires couldn’t say as much, but that didn’t mean I’d be in a class of my own. Jale and Manu had both probably drained as much blood from such an extensive number of beasts and monsters. The children of most nobles had. All that this was doing was putting me on an even playing field.