Xane woke up only 5 hours later. His need for sleep heavily lessened. He found Von and Garry silently watching the entrance way. Garry looking more asleep than actually guarding. Apparently nothing had attacked last night. The fire was mostly charcoal and only a small smolder was left. He had totally forgotten to give Von logs beforehand. He saw that his remains of his shooting attempt was gone and presumably burned.
Another thing was the intense acrid smell that was purmiating in the room. His senses were stronger than before and he could tell that it was the mimic decomposing that was doing it. He should have put it away earlier too. He did so now as he got up and stretched. As he got closer the smell got so much worse. Touching it felt even worse than that. I really hope its stench doesn’t permeate inside the ring. He knew it shouldn’t by the way the ring worked but you could never be too careful.
Next he went to Von who had noticed that he was up and about. “How was your beauty sleep?”
“Good and at least I am beautiful.”
Von had mocked hurt plastered on his face, ”Ready to go it's very boring to just sit here with nothing to do. Also I thought about it and I think that I should keep my actual bullets in reserve. Could you reload it? Also how long does it last? Forever or like 20 minutes?”
“Yeah that sounds like a smart idea. And it lasts for quite a while.” Xane didn’t know what the conjuration rank did but even without it the bullets he created would last at least 12 hours a very long time. “About 12 hours.”
“Huh,” Is all he replied.
“Ready to got then?” Xane said this after gathering up all he could. And since he could grab it all that meant pretty much every scrap was taken never knew what could be useful. Even with his prolific pilfering the ring had so much space left inside.
“Yes but you should feed Garry.” He said the last part with disdain hidden in his voice, “I think he was thinking about eating me.
Xane had forgotten about that part of having a pet. The snake looked eagerly at Xane. Xane wasn’t going to run out soon but only had 8 boar left. The snake could easily eat 1 a day. He decided to take one out and started carving off a huge chunk and threw it to Garry. It swallowed and still had the look of hunger but less so. “Sorry I can’t just keep giving you whole hogs like that. I’ll run out quickly.” Von snickered, “Why are you laughing.”
“Just you talking to a giant snake like its a child.” Xane could tell it wasn’t all but gave up.
“We need to get going.” They started moving again to the forked path. They were slow and careful heading up. They didn’t want to get into a big fight again forcing them to heal and waste even more time. He didn’t dream last night but still had a feeling that they were running out of time.
It didn’t take long. They only had to deal with one low level shadow elemental. Xane tried his new bullets and they worked better than he had hoped they would. They seemed to just explode large portions of the shadowy mist away from the main mass. He only needed to shoot a few shots into them to kill it. The noise being much quieter also helped with his decision to use it more.
They chose the next path, taking their time and watching carefully for threats. The scenery was slowly changing as they went down. It went from bare stone to small amounts of odd looking mushrooms. The further they went the more numerous the mushrooms became. It looked like they were repulsing the light as even when he got close they were blackened and dark. Xane chose to inspect one.
Prerequisite skill Herbology not learned. Only name will be given.
Godly eyesight bypasses part of prerequisite. Basic information will be given.
Shadowshrooms(unknown)
Basic information: Well isn’t this a conundrum. I can only give really shit information. Well here’s it goes. The shadowshrooms are mushrooms that have been heavily saturated in dark magic. More specifically the secondary school of shadow magic. They will convert light magic into dark magic. That’s all, even the last thing I said was a bit iffy. But who cares not like da-
“Ok then…thanks I guess.” It really seemed like more and more that different people or things were writing these. Most notifications seemed streamlined. Descriptions of monsters and items though got weird. This time it really wasn’t helpful but whoever wrote it tried to give more information than it was supposed to and got cut off.
Pushing that odd tidbit to the side he went to harvest one. The moment he grabbed and pulled it tore and a notification appeared.
Harvest failed.
He tried again.
Harvest failed.
Again.
Harvest successful.
Congratulations, you have learned a new skill!
Herbology(Common) Rank 1
If picking plants is your thing then Herbology is your game. This skill increases your chance to successfully pick a plant and quantity of it you gain. This skill is slightly affected by wisdom and dexterity.
He harvested a good amount of the stuff. It was enough to immediately get him to rank 2 of the skill. There were many failed attempts. His harvest rate was less than 3/10 however there were so many that it really didn’t matter. He was plucking till his heart's content. Until a rather large one further inside blew out a puff of murky black mist.
You are inflicted with Festering Shadows
You are inflicted with Shadowy Slumber
Shadowy Slumber
This affliction causes the afflicted to feel fatigued or out right put them to sleep. Heavily reduced in proximity to light.
Reduces physical and mental stats by 5%
If constitution is below 50 immediately afflicted will go unconscious.
Time remaining: 30 seconds
Xane could feel the stats diminish. He felt slower. Not slow enough to realize he should back up. As he did so he actually looked at the mushroom. It was almost half the size of himself and was mostly like the smaller ones. The entire mushroom was slightly misty yet substantial. It ate up the light stronger than the rest.
Shadowshroom Mother
Level: 27
Important stats:
Intelligence: 51
Constitution: 43
Endurance: 41
Strength: 30
Information: When a Shadowshroom grows up and absorbs enough ambient mana it will become a Shadowroom Mother. These versions grow tendrils that are strong enough to allow the mother to drag itself to unclaimed portions of land to spread its race further. They are not intellectual monsters as much as a rat is. Their high intelligence stats allows the Shadowroom Mother to have a vast pool of mana allowing it to cast natural abilities that consume mana for great lengths of time. Its main attack is a puff of poisonous clouds that can put low constitution creatures to sleep. Don’t underestimate the tendrils for its strength isn’t something to laugh at.
High intelligence doesn’t mean actual high intelligence? Xane was confused for but a moment. He did put high amounts in intelligence but at a point he didn’t feel smarter perse. He thought slightly faster but didn’t feel, well smarter. It was an odd sensation that Xane didn’t like. He also should have been paying more attention as another attack came. A condensed ball of the mist shot forth slamming into the thoughtful Xane to caught up to react in time. He of course blamed the -5% penalty to his stats.
The ball hit him, sending him back. It burned as if it was acidic and cold eating at his flesh. As Xane was on the ground Von aimed and fired his entire mag at the mushroom. The first few shots landed. However, the mushroom wasn't going to stay still and moved as a shadowy sphere surrounded it blocking the rest of the shots. It dissipated as the last one hit. It was slowly forming back as an orb shot towards Von. Von had the good sense to dodge out of the way coming to a rolling stand.
Xane had gotten up. That one shot had taken out 13% of his considerable health pool. The Xane that first got here would have just melted into goo from that attack. Von wouldn’t fare too well against it Xane being happy he dodged, “Do not get hit by that.” Xane immediately took out his colt and fired a staccato of rounds. The shadowy shield had barely formed as it was demolished by the first 2 shots. The rest slammed into the unprotected body. Chunks were torn off and holes created.
Yet it still came shooting another blast of shadows. Xane tried to dodge. Yet another ability of the shroom was shown. The darkness around him abated by the light of his blade decided it didn’t want to act like normal shadows and encompass Xane restraining him enough that the ball hit his shoulder spinning him around.
Another attack came in the form of tendrils of shadow swarmed towards him attempting to restrain him. This happened as another sphere of darkness attacked Von. The thing doesn’t even need to look?! Xane panic thought as he spun unbalanced. He wasn’t about to let it wrap him up though. He was used to this style of attack with the jungle creeper and that one shadow octopus using similar ones. Xane replaced his revolver with his rapier and slashed through two tendrils. This further unbalanced him but reduced the tendrils to three instead of five. One of them grabbed his leg. Another two grabbed his arms. All three pulled the unbalanced Xane from his footing forcing him to the ground.
Xane hit the ground hard barely able to move. More tendrils swam out either grabbing or stabbing into Xane. He could feel his health dropping as it seemed to be sucking the life straight out of him. Von was getting harried by attacks he could barely dodge no chance to attack back since he was out of ammo and would most likely die from two or maybe three hits. To the mother with its basic intelligence it believed the fight won. The mother would have been right if it was only a duo. Garry was biding its time as the fight broke out. Garry wasn’t super intelligent but natural instincts told it to surprise it when the time was right.
The mother never put up its shield again not wanting to waste the mana. This allowed Garry to launch himself from the sidelines. He bit down. The venom having no effect on a monster of this kind. The strength at which it wrapped and squeezed was though. The mother tried to send out pulses of its mist hoping it would make the snake let go. But just like how the mother didn’t want to let go Garry too didn’t. It was a battle of attrition as Garry squeezed and the mother pulled in the mana and health of Xane. With the shots on Von gone however he was able to rush in. His new blade slicing down on the top of the shroom biting deep inside. The mother couldn’t pull fast enough and eventually died.
Xane wasn’t in dire straits but more than 60% of his health was lost in that battle. It was worse than the mimic fight was. He really needed to stop getting grabbed so easily. Xane vowed to pay more attention and take less risks. Inspect everything. Xane stored the corpse and took a breather. They set up camp yet again as Xane cultivated to regain strength. It took only a few hours as the ambient mana density was so high down here.
Once in tip top shape Xane refrained from going on another mushroom looting spree. Ok he lied, while Von wasn’t looking he snagged a few here and there gaining another rank in herbology in the end. That skill felt much faster to gain ranks in than others.
The fight was also great experience. In learning how to fight as well as Von gaining a level from it. Xane didn’t ask Von what he did with his points though. That thing felt personal although if it ever mattered he could just inspect him again. He also learned that when Von ran out of ammo he wasn’t that useful. Xane needed to get more magazines for his gun. Get as in make and he had no idea how too. Xane’s colt on the other hand didn’t have an easily reloaded mag. He saw from a movie a quick reload thing but his spell only took 2 seconds to cast and as he got better at it it probably would be faster. In the end he just reloaded both guns in the break.
The mushrooms were getting worse and worse. The air itself a weakened version of the Shadowy Slumber effect. The longer they were in it the worse it got. It only got slowly stronger in effect but they would be at 100% in an hour. They decided to go back. As they did so they found their path blocked by smaller versions of the Shadowshroom Mother.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Shadowshroom Guards
Level: 9
Important stats:
Strength: 27
Constitution: 23
Endurance: 23
Information: They are like the protectors of shadowshroom kind. Like usually low levels. Like..uhh… most likely are in large groups too. Uhmmm they are physical fighters? Like uh yeah that about covers it.
That was not very useful like the last one. Physical fighters was something he could understand. Well at least he assumed they wouldn’t be throwing around balls of darkness that felt like icy hot if icy hot was also an acid. Xane quickly aimed and fired at one. The blue round slammed into one in the head instantly killing it. Well that was easy. He did the same to 5 others not missing a shot. Now he wished he could say that it was because he was an excellent shot. He was good but the only reason all 5 hit was because there were up to 30 of the little things standing in their way. How they managed to get past them and set up a perimeter was beyond Xane.
The forces lined up weren't much of a threat. They had agreed to breath and talk as little as possible but Xane still spoke. “Just kill as many and run.” Xane said this as he cast reloading his colt and the staccato of rounds killed even more He even got a double kill with one round piercing all the way through to another one. Von himself fired his gun, killing more as he started running forward. Garry just bulldozed through them like they were bowling balls making space for the trio to get past. Xane switched out for the rapier, slashing both that and his dagger, easily killing more.
Even with all that there were so many left. He also looked back instantly regretting the decision. There was a swarm of the guards moving forward. He also happened to look up something pulling his sight. He noticed more slowly moving on the ceiling and preparing to drop. “Shit just run.” And they did. They took multiple strikes from either the ceiling or surrounding guards. Xane had an errant thought and tossed backwards multiple burning logs hoping to distract or even hurt the pursuers. He actually felt experience go into him doing so. The things either were that weak or him just casually throwing a decently sized log was enough damage to kill them. He did not look back to check having to deal with the enemies up front. Ok he took a quick peep.
They fought their way through the hoard they found themselves in the middle of. They, mostly Xane and Garry, slew many as they went barged to the other side. On the good note they also didn’t really get damaged. They were small and many but the guards didn’t pose much threat in the way of attacks. They mostly used tendrils to lance out. Xane’s own strength just tore them apart if he didn’t bother to cut at them. Xane also found out how hard it actually was to cast magic while in combat and running something he would train better on later. It didn’t take long for them to get back to the room that they killed the mother version in. They didn’t stop running since the guards didn’t stop chasing. They only paused when they made it back to the diverged path and the chasing pitter patter of small feet couldn’t be heard anymore.
Xane himself wasn’t winded by any means. Von however, with age and lower stats was. The poisonous air affecting him more than Xane. Garry was also fine but his stats were more comparable with Xane with its higher levels. With all the fighting Garry still hadn’t gained a level. That proved how hard it would be to level up later on.
Xane quickly refilled both weapons in case the pursuers were just lagging behind. However, after a bit of waiting nothing came from the darkness. They waited till full health and the infection had abated before deciding to get closer again. This time they brought more light in the form of torches. He stopped before since torches didn’t last long. He did notice however that flames seemed to push back the field of debilitating mist. This sparked a plan. This plan was going to use up the considerable fortune of wood but would be worth it.
Xane made large torches. Torches were a kind word as they looked more like bonfires. He had diced up chunks of wood for fuel as well as carved out some larger ones filling them with the confetti of wood chips. This project took much longer than any of them had hoped. The plan was simple as they carved their way through the guard forces he would systematically place down the blazing logs as light and to keep the shadow mist away from. Something he was learning from this place was that fire was great.
They set out guns raised. Xane placed the first log, the flames still burning even though he made them but an hour ago. He still got amazed by the rings power. When he got back to his own world he would- he didn't really know what he would do with it. Use it to always have cold drinks. That sounded kinda crass. He pushed thoughts away as he focused on the mission at hand. They placed the first one in the room where they fought the mother. The fire burned bright and pushed back the darkness.
They started pushing forward, wary of attacks from any direction. Xane had Garry focus mainly on the back as Von made sure nothing would drop on their heads holding up a smaller torch so the ceiling would be lit. His torch also kept back the mist but not as much as the stronger logs did. Xane for his part was focused mainly on the front and placing fires down.
All having their jobs, they weren’t surprised when the first one attacked. A glob of goop was thrown at them. None had expected such an attack but dodged easily. The goop splattered on the ground a ways back and burned stone ever so slightly like a weaker version of the orb the mother used. That wasn’t the only one though. A volley of attacks were launched at them. Surprise over the group tried to dodge. Mostly successful and the fact the attacks didn’t do much damage bolstered their resolve.
They weren’t just going to let it happen however. Xane rolled out one of the logs fire blazing inside. It was a crude cage like construction to keep the main bits inside but left the fire able to spill out. It was a miracle what one could do with blades sharp enough to just carve wood like butter. The log left a trail of embers and lit the way showing the hidden mushrooms. Most tried to get out of the way and succeeded with minor injuries. Some caught on fire easily. This again proved Xanes point of fire's importance.
That wasn’t the only attack as Xane had made more spears. This time he had doused them in alcohol so they would burn hotter. He had given a few to Von as well both throwing without really aiming. They didn’t have to with so many arrayed against them. Volleys from both sides were thrown as the ranged battle went on. For defense Xane had sacrificed a bed duct taping cut wood along the bottom for extra protection. Yes it was made of wood, they were just careful in not burning it.
Lighting poorly crafted javelins in the log they threw one after another quickly running out. Xanes supplies were not endless. The fight was mostly one sided though as the attacks from the mushrooms were intermittent at best as Xane’s group threw in vigor as well as had a makeshift barricade.
The fight wasn’t over by any means. Somehow even though they paid attention mushroom guards appeared behind them. Garry went at it without remorse tearing apart the small contingent. Garry was able to just smash into the soft low level mushrooms splating them against walls and the floor.
The trio didn’t stay put. Xane slid the barricade forward slowly. When he ran out of spears he started shooting, casting his spell as quickly as he could. The spell however was costly and he could not spam it. His mana regeneration wasn’t amazing either. With this in mind he shot more cautiously as well as urged Von to not blow his load unless something big attacks. As they fought the hoard they moved further in. A bit farther than they first got something big did attack.
Shadowshroom Elite Guard
Level: 20
Strength: 60
Constitution: 41
Endurance: 29
Information: Oh boy are these guys big like really big. If you go by their standards at least. The elite guards are like if you mash together 15 of the weaker guards together and then threw in some strength potions in the mix for good measure. They pump almost all their stats into strength and constitution making them hard to kill. They lose the ability of their weaker brethren to throw globs of themselves but half actual arms. Like real arms instead of tendrils. They even wield weapons of super hardened mushroom stuff. I won’t bore you with the specifics but it is similar to iron in strength.
If there was one he honestly wouldn’t be afraid of it. However there were 3 of them. And big they were. The smaller ones went to Xane’s knees mostly. These elite guards were thicker and taller reaching to Xane’s belly. The elite guards bulldozed the smaller ones that didn't’ get out of the way. Two had large mallet like weapons while the last one had a sword two times the height of itself. An impractical weapon for both such tight quarters and for such a small creature.
Xane wasn’t about to let them bulldoze them. He took out another roller and sent it down like it was a bowling ball. It spilled burning coals and slightly singed his hand. The three elites just vaulted over it like it was nothing. Luckily it still ravaged the back lines even bursting open pouring the flames over the small guys. Xane threw out his last one, chucking it instead over head, again burning himself. The middle one with the massive sword just cut through the thing like it was something it did every day. Now Xane could probably throw a ball faster than any living human on his world 3x over. The log wasn’t going that fast but even then it was going quite fast.
Xane was stunned momentarily by the feat. It wasn’t too costly of a moment but he did pay in his barricade. Xane was so stunned that he was too slow to pull back as the one in from took the momentum of the downward slice and carried it towards his old bed cutting deep but not fully in half. The rest was demolished as Xane backpedaled and the other two brutes smashed the barricade. My bed. He didn’t think it was going to survive the battle but really really hoped it would.
The bed's sacrifice though was enough time to let the trio set up. Xane ordered the attack, “Fire.” He and Von shot all their rounds into one that had a hammer. The thing didn’t stand a chance. All but a few shots missed. The elite was made holy that day. The others, if possible, seemed surprised at the quickness that one of their own had fallen.
The other one with the hammer was next. It wasn’t Xane or Von that was going to deal with it. While Xane rushed forward with the distraction of one of them falling he squared off with the sword wielding one. The hammer toting one in response went for Von. It didn’t make it 3 steps as a giant snake shot from the side and immediately started to wrap and squeeze. The elite wasn't going to give up yet and tried to pry the snake off with its one free arm. When that didn't work he started beating the snake with its arm forming a blade instead. The blade took a bit to form though and by the time it did it was already dead in the eyes of Garry it just didn’t know it yet.
Xane fought the last one. He missed his sparring days and finally felt like he was doing something he was actually good at and knew what to do. The elite was an elite for a reason and was able to wield the larger blade with deftness that he didn’t know was possible. Each took slashes and jabs neither able to get a clean hit. Xane feinted left, slashing the under arm hoping to slow the attacks. He saw in disbelief the hit heal itself, the blade shrinking a bit. The thing can heal itself! He wasn’t taking much damage, being much faster than the mushroom elite. However if it did manage a good hit he would be in much more pain than it.
The fight felt like forever as they parried, dodged, and took damage. Von was staying back knowing his involvement would do more harm than good and Garry was still crushing the other one as it desperately tried to kill Garry.
Xane decided to try and finish the fight with a daring attack. He put away his rapier and started to cast mana ammunition. If he could get it reloaded then he could easily sway the fight in his favor. It was really hard to cast while something harried him. He failed 2 times before he got a break as Von tossed his last spear at it plunging into its side. The mushroom quickly decided killing Xane was more important than the spear but not fast enough. With his colt fully loaded he pulled his rapier back out and ran back into the fight.
The spear made the movements of the elite more awkward for both parties. It was annoying as it almost hit Xane while the elite flailed about but seemed to annoy the elite more so. Xane again feinted left and dodged a large downward swing. Aiming he shot 2 quick rounds into the head. Staggered from the attack and unbalanced from the swing, Xane slashed down, almost decapitating the arm. However the thick arm just started to close up. Not today. Xane thought giddily. He expected as much and aimed again. This time right at the arm. Bang Bang Bang. He demolished what was left of the arm severing the blade falling to the ground.
If an amorphous face could frown the mushroom would have. If it could speak it probably would have said, “Well shit.” Xane shot his last round in the head again. It reeled from the blow, still not dead. Xane then repeatedly slashed and stabbed the mostly defenseless monster it tried to use its other arm as a shield but that too was quickly cut through. It died with both arms gone and multiple holes in its head.
Xane felt exhilarated. It was the first fight that he felt was actually a fight. Everything else was ambushes and wild creatures that didn’t fight as he was trained to. That exhilaration fell as he looked around. Garry had killed its forever ago in battle time, both he and Von were hopelessly trying to fend off the hoard heading towards them. Xane was pretty much bottomed out on mana. “Shit there are so many.” He didn’t know if they should retreat or keep going. On one hand they were low on resources and there were still so many. On the other they were low on resources and didn’t know if they could retake this space if they left.
“Push forward,” Xane yelled. He re-pulled out his blades and rushed to join. He slashed and impaled many. The lower level ones are barely a threat one on one. Even though they didn’t do much damage it stacked over time 1 damage might be 1 damage but 1 damage done 10 times stacked up real fast. And the problem was they didn’t just do 1 point of damage. Xane’s considerable health pool was dropping as he waded in the middle of the fight. He really wished he had a faster way to heal. His stamina was also not doing too well going below 60% for once in quite a while.
He didn’t give up. He kept on killing and tossing out fire. Von said something he didn’t hear. Xane took a glance and Von said it again. “-Mother..” Mother? Oh shit another one of those. Indeed another mother entered the fight. Xane was caught off guard as one of its orbs shot towards him. Xane barely brought his blades up in a cross pattern taking little damage and being pushed back. The swarm let the mother pass. This one was level 30 just a level higher than the last and they barely killed that one.
He knew he should have retreated. But he had one last thing up his sleeve. Well in his ring at least. Xane took out what looked like a terribly made wooden rendition of a grenade. It was more like a molotov though the thickness of the wood slightly thicker than paper. It was filled with the goo from the mimic. Xane first pulled back and reloaded as the mother seemed to eye them. It didn’t like what it saw and shot shadow orbs in quick succession. They were easily dodged and Xane managed to cast the spell one last time. He felt a headache from draining his mana pool but powered on.
Xane aimed and fired. The same shield like mist blocked the first, second, third, then it shattered. That was what Xane was waiting for. He threw the grenade. It shattered on impact coating the mother in the tan liquid restricting its movement and slightly burning it from the acid quality. That wasn’t what Xane wanted it for though. He took out a torch and threw that too. The mother tried to reform the barrier but it was too late. The moment the fire went in contact with the mimic juice it caught fire.
The mother went out in a blaze of glory. At least that was the plan. The mother still on fire moved towards the group shooting its orbs at them. It didn’t seem to be able to aim very well though with most missing. Xane shot his last rounds pushing it back. Von had gathered up some spears and were now throwing them. Much of them were no longer on fire but would still make great weapons. Xane himself risked an attack. When a nasty throw slammed into the mother Xane ran forward and pushed his enter blade into the mothers head. He then proceeded to try and lift the monster up. It was surprisingly easy. He lifted and tossed it into one of the still burning logs. It tipped it over sending coals and embers everywhere. In the end though it did indeed die in a blaze of agony it really wasn’t a glory filled tale.
The other shrooms seemed to lose most of their vigor after that. It was mostly just clean up. Some just ran. He saw how they snuck up on them and got past them. The guards ran towards the wall and merged with the shadowshrooms on the walls. Xane though gave no quarter, slaying all he could find. He even took fire to the mushrooms on the walls. They didn’t burn as well for some reason but the multitude of fire attacks and logs were starting to set the entire place on fire.
“We should keep going down before we suffocate.” Von said questioning.
“Yeah sure,” Xane was pulled from his bloodlust. “That is probably a good idea.” He couldn't however be pulled from his lootlust. He grabbed as many bodies as he could. The elites being the first thing. Who knew if they were valuable or not. Am I becoming a hoarder? No…no just practical..yes practical. They went down Xane taking most of what was left of his fires as well. Singing his hands a bit for his troubles.