by Jamey Sultan
She nodded in understanding. “I can’t imagine what I’d do if I were ripped from my home and transported to another world…” She trailed off and shook her head.
They both stayed silent, lost in their thoughts.
***
What felt like days later, but had probably been an hour at most, the guards returned, their heavy footfalls announcing their presence.
Linnaeus rapped roughly on the bars. “You’re up.”
Chapter 8
The aftermath of the fight between the guards and the Vampire was clear from the layer of frost glittering on the walls and the puddles that dampened the passageway. The carnage had been mostly cleaned, but streaks of frozen blood still stained the walls, dripping down to the ground with soft, melodic taps.
Holy shit… No wonder Linnaeus is so pissed, James thought as they passed through the battlefield.
***
After equipping themselves, James and Nidra found themselves in the arena surrounded by a cheering crowd.
The announcer’s voice boomed overhead, “Welcome to the arena semifinals. There are only four teams left. Who will win and take home the prize?”
The cheering intensified as a notification flashed in front of James’ vision. The notification was accompanied by a 3D model of a shield hovering over it. It was lifelike, and James found that he could shift the notification as he pleased just by thinking about how he wanted it to move.
The shield was an enormous slab of black metal that almost seemed to absorb the light. Peering from its center was a woman’s face, made from gold with dark sapphire eyes. Her face was carved exquisitely, frozen in an expression of pain and horror, her mouth open in a silent scream. Two fangs protruded from beneath her lip, made from chips of diamond that glimmered and sparkled.
Half of the face appeared to be Human. In contrast, the other half was more ephemeral, almost transparent, so James could see the skeleton underneath.
The Wailing Tower
Rank: Legendary
+ 10 Strength
- 5 Dexterity
- 30% Movement Speed
Deals 10% of damage absorbed by shield to ALL creatures within a 5-meter radius as sonic damage
Grants the Spell: Banshee Screech (4/4 charges). Charges regenerate one per week.
Forged from Darksteel and crafted with the voice box of a Banshee, this shield is said to be able to withstand any blow and return its force back on the attacker.
“That’s right,” the announcer said over the awed cries of the crowd. “Found by some of our bravest adventurers on a deep dive into the Old City, this year’s prize is The Wailing Tower, the shield wielded by the Cracked King himself. So, get ready to place your bets because this competition is about to get rough.”
James ignored the announcer as he read through the description of the spell, Banshee Screech.
Banshee Screech
Range: 20 feet
Cast time: Instant
Cooldown: 5 Minutes
Cost: None
33% Chance to inflict Stunned
33% Chance to inflict Disorient
33% Chance to inflict Off-Balance
Unleash your inner beast with an ear-splitting burst of sound that will damage and knock back enemies.
James gaped at the item description and imagined someone with that shield on a battlefield. They’d tear through swaths of enemies like tissue paper.
“And now, the moment you’ve been waiting for… Please welcome your contestants, Arik and Lucien.” The announcer paused for a second to allow the crowd to cheer. “To get to the semifinals, they had to beat a Gorgon and a Naga. Now, they have to fight their own companions.”
James wasn’t particularly surprised that they were set to fight Arik and Lucien; they’d been brought to the arena before their two friends had returned.
He let his attention drift to the stands, where a rush of movement accompanied the announcement. The crowd thronged toward betting places where they could put down money on whether James and Nidra would kill their friends or not.
He scowled. Assholes.
James refocused on the announcer, who was rattling off a brief overview of each of their abilities and classes.
“—Arik. He’s a Dwarf who grew up right here in Iron City and a fan favorite. He has the Hammer class, one unique to us Dwarves. He uses a combination of metal magic and his own smithing skill to create weapons that give him special bonuses. It’s a class limited only by the imagination of the smith, one that really shows off Dwarven ingenuity!”
“Next up is Nidra the Wood Elf. She fights with offensive Fire magic but hasn’t been too lucky with it yet. Maybe in this match, she’ll do better. She uses her magic to fire—” The announcer paused to chuckle at his own pun. “—balls of fire at enemies.”
“Next up, we have Lucien! A fighter who specializes in short-bladed weapons, Lucien has the rare Rogue variant, the Blade. The Blade specializes in weapon use while ignoring those pesky other parts of being a Rogue, like lockpicking and traps. What he had to do to unlock it only he knows, but I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant.”
James glanced at Lucien and saw his mouth tighten. He hadn’t seen Lucien in some time, but now that he had a chance to examine the teenager, something seemed off about him. Lucien’s skin had taken on a grey tint, and his eyes had dark bags under them as if he hadn’t slept for days.
Lucien reached up to scratch at his forehead, and James saw the barest sliver of burnt red skin along his forearm when his sleeve pulled down. It wasn’t enough to see clearly, but it was enough for James to see that Lucien had a new mark.
“Finally, we have James. A complete mystery, James was last seen entering the Temple of Sytar a few weeks ago. We spoke to the priests, who confirmed that James is indeed the chosen of Sytar. If one of you is lucky enough to kill him, well then, you’ll win big. You’ll be granted a powerful bonus from the god of death himself. But it won’t be easy. James somehow has access to a Divine-tier school of magic, Arcane Magic! With this, he was given a Legendary class, the Arcane Warrior class. So be on the lookout for his magic, but at the same time, watch out for his sword! From what we’ve seen, it’s dangerous.”
And after a moment of building tension, the announcer screamed, “Let the fight begin!”
James eyed Lucien and Arik warily. He wasn’t sure what they were going to do. The news that he had a sort of magical bounty on his head given by the god of death wasn’t exactly great to hear. Neither was the fact that Lucien had raised his daggers.
James didn’t want to fight them, but he would.
A sharp crack rang out as Arik smacked Lucien on the back of the head. “Don’t be an idiot. We aren’t going to fight them.” He looked at James, who’d also raised his blade, and his expression soured. “Right?” he said more than asked.
James lowered his blade and shook his head to clear it. He couldn’t shake the feeling of aggression whenever he drew Tyrfing, but it was worth it. Nobody would step on him as long as he had the sword. “‘Course.” He gave Arik a weak smile. “We just need to figure a way out of here. But I have an idea for that. Just play along.”
James ran at Arik and Lucien, blade raised.
Their eyes widened in alarm, but Arik didn’t react. Lucien did, however. He pulled a blade from his pocket and sliced across James’ side as James ran right past them. Lucien’s blade passed through James’ armor as if it weren’t there and traced a shallow cut along his side.
James ignored the blow as he reached his target—the gate out of the arena.
Without slowing down, he used Tyrfing to slash open the gate and barreled through, followed by the other three.
Behind him, he heard an uproar from the crowd as the announcer reassured everyone to stay calm. The thud of boots on sand clamored as the guards jumped into the arena in pursuit.
James yelled at the trio to pick up their pace as he barreled down twisting passageways in an attempt to lose their pursuers. As the sounds of th
e boots grew dim, James realized that Nidra and Lucien had started to fall behind, unable to keep up.
James quickly pulled up his Essence bar. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too far gone. It was still around half-full. It seemed to drain slower than his Stamina had.
His Endurance was much higher than either Nidra’s or Lucien’s. Nidra had invested heavily in Intelligence and Wisdom, while Lucien had invested heavily in Dexterity.
James nodded to Arik, and the two of them slowed down to give Nidra and Lucien time to catch up.
James couldn’t hear anything but the panting of the two adventurers. It sounded like they’d lost their pursuers, although James wasn’t sure if anyone had actually been chasing them. They’d escaped relatively quickly and wound their way through a series of confusing passageways under the arena.
The hallways were made of the same red stone as the rest of the Coliseum, but these were slightly wet.
While he waited for Nidra and Lucien to catch up, James examined the wall more closely. He found that the damp patches of the wall were crawling with tiny green creatures.
Qylestewn (Level 0)
James examined the Qylestewn. They looked like a type of bug with long spindly legs and four arms, each ending in a hand. Instead of an insect’s face, they had almost humanoid ones, with long noses, sharp teeth, and two crossed horns protruding from the tops of their heads. Their backs looked like that of a ladybug, but black with green spots.
When James got close, he saw that the spots were actually tiny skulls.
One of the bugs bit him on the nose.
You have resisted [Weak Nausea Poison] due to a Constitution > 30.
James swore and smushed the Qylestewn with his thumb.
You have killed a Qylestewn (Level 0)
+0 experience points
Why would I reward you for that?
Qylestewn Syrup
Rank: Common
Harvested by crushing Qylestewn, this syrup has a different effect based on which regional variant of Qylestewn it is harvested from.
This particular brand was harvested from a Swamp Qylestewn and can be used in a nausea poison. It’s also Very Gross. Don’t get it on your hands.
James frantically wiped his finger on his pants but couldn’t get rid of the disgusting smell. He glared at the bug and placed a hand on the pommel of his dagger, ready to draw it and smush some more, when he heard a voice echoing down the hallway.
“—Somewhere around here.”
“You good?” James asked Nidra, who’d just gotten to him. She nodded but couldn’t speak through gasping breaths. Lucien appeared to have recovered enough Stamina to keep running, even if he still looked sickly, but the mage was still panting. Her Stamina must have been abysmal.
A howl echoed through the hallways.
“We really need to go. Now.”
Nidra nodded. “Let’s go, then.”
Chapter 9
This time, they paced themselves so that Nidra could keep up, letting her set the pace so that she could run for as long as they’d need. They passed more cells, some with people and some with animals. Wherever they came to a turn, James chose the left branch, following his tried-and-maybe-true method of maze-solving. He had no idea if it would work, but the alternative was to scurry around blindly, so hopefully they wouldn’t…
Goddamnit.
James kicked at the dead-end wall in front of him. He could still hear the pursuers behind him. He looked around, but there was nowhere to run. They were in a T-shaped section of passageway with a dead-end on either side. “We need to go back.”
Arik grimaced. “They’re getting really close.”
“Sorry… guys…” Nidra panted. “My… fault.”
“Not your fault.” James put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re in this together.”
“I have an idea,” Nidra said after she’d caught her breath. She then blasted a fireball down the other side of the hallway.
James squinted against the sudden brightness. “What the fuck,” he hissed angrily as she retreated back into the shadows. “They’ll definitely find us now.”
Nidra’s eyes widened a bit at the unexpected anger, and she explained, “Everyone drop into Stealth. We’ll hide in the shadows and wait for them to go explore the other side. Then we’ll double back.”
“Ohhh, great idea,” James said once he understood.
They waited in Stealth as a group of guards rushed past them, boots clattering against the ground. They were led by a Hunt-Hound, a hunting-dog type creature with four tails and two heads, both sniffing at the ground. For a moment, it looked like their plan was going to work, the guards were about to turn down the other corridor, but the Hunt-Hound pulled its handler back on track. Six guards turned at once, and James’ Stealth broke. Up close, James could see they looked rough. One of them was missing three fingers, and another his eye. A third was limping.
James had enough Essence to cast Arcane Teleport five more times, which wasn’t great, but it was the fastest way out of there.
He cast it. The world froze, and he ran to the other side of the guards. As soon as the world unfroze, he swung Tyrfing in a wide arc that slashed through two of the guards. He’d been hoping to get a third, but the third guard, a level 39 Soldier, reacted quicker than the other two and threw himself to the side before Tyrfing could hit him. James ignored the level-up notification as another guard responded with a heavy mace blow that would have caved in his head if he hadn’t been protected by his Arcane Armor. He made a mental note to get a helmet.
James prepared to retaliate, but a dagger hit the guard in the eye before he could. There was a quiet “Yes,” behind him as Lucien celebrated the hit.
James’ surprise attack had caught their attackers so off-guard that they weren’t able to respond. The soldiers’ party descended into chaos, and they quickly fell to a series of fireballs. James killed another one, while Nidra and Lucien each killed one of the last two. Arik reacted too slowly and didn’t kill any of them. He grumbled about kill-stealing while they looted the guard’s bodies and dumped all their treasures into James’ pouch. None of them had a helmet James could use. The only one with a helmet had been burned so badly by Nidra’s fire that her helmet had fused with her face.
Once they’d finished looting the corpses, James directed the group down the passageway they’d just come from. They followed the passageway all the way to another split, where they took a new, unfamiliar corridor. The whole time, James kept an eye out for any sort of markings that would let him know they were going in the right direction.
***
“Quick, over here.” James grabbed Arik and pulled him into an open doorway. He gestured, and Nidra and Lucien followed. They dropped into Stealth, and James pushed the door closed. A lock clicked. A few seconds later, a group of guards rounded the corner and ran past.
You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Stealth.
You are now Skill Rank 19.
They were in an empty cell, similar to the one James and Nidra had been locked in for the past few days.
As soon as the guards passed, James let out a sigh of relief and cut through the locked door. The four of them spilled out into the hallway. They’d been trying to lose the guards for about twenty minutes, and Nidra had been getting close to bottoming out her Stamina.
“Just how many guards do they have?” James complained as they wound down yet another empty passageway. “Also, how the hell haven’t we found an exit yet?”
“Over there,” Arik pointed at a blue glow coming from an adjacent passage. It wasn’t exactly the flashing exit sign James had been hoping to see, but it was the only thing they’d seen so far that broke the monotony of the underground.
The blue light emitted a deep thrumming noise that echoed through James’ body like concert bass. It felt more like a vibration than the noise. The vibrations got more intense the closer they got.
“I think I hear something back this way.”
James cursed; it s
eemed like the guards were closing in on them.
With the sound of pursuers close behind, James urged the group to pick up their speed. They ran toward the light, hoping to find a way out.
It wasn’t.
James skidded to stop in front of a translucent blue barrier crackling with energy that blocked off the entrance to another tunnel. Behind the shield were indistinct shapes fluttering about. This close, James could pick out the individual noises that made up the thrumming sound. It was actually buzzing.
Behind them, a group of guards stepped out of the shadows. One of the guards took a step back behind the others. Once clear, the guard sat down on the dungeon floor and began to chant as Mana swirled around him. James blinked; he’d never seen anyone sit down before a fight.
James examined the guard on the floor more closely.
Name: Siren Dott
Race: Dwarf
Level: 41
Class: Silencer
Siren closed both of his eyes. A third eye opened in the center of his forehead and glowed white. A white circle sprung to life on the floor around him. A guard stood on either side.
You have been [Silenced].
- Duration ???
While [Silenced] you are unable to cast spells or use Abilities.
Three guards advanced on them.
They were between levels 30 and 50, and all had the Guard class.