“We can talk about my ethical dilemma later. More importantly, is that thing going to explode?” Steak asked, pointing at the glowing orb of ice.
“A suicide attack, huh? Somehow, I doubt it is. Those two seem too prideful to take their own life for a couple of trespassers like us,” Lilith said with confidence.
The Minor Nightmare that was once Jill, simply stared at the orb. The complete opposite of what Jill would do as she would’ve already ran before it even started glowing.
“I think we should step back a bit,” Steak said.
“Yeah,” Lilith agreed.
The orb got brighter and brighter, blinding the last two humans in the dungeon. Lilith ordered the Minor Nightmare to shield them from whatever was to come.
As they tensed up and closed their eyes in anticipation, the whole hall went silent. Then, the sound of breaking glass pierced their ears. The light was gone.
Steak opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw was a large pair of gray cold feet that didn’t belong to either of the twin mages. He slowly looked up to see whose it belonged to.
The person was twice the size of the twins. It looked human, but some parts of it were clearly not, like the four arms that it had and the two pairs of eyes. The tattered robes that belonged to the mages were fused into their body, covering them in select places. It looked like a godlike being.
“Ah, it’s been ages since we have done this brother,” the being said in Y’elo’s voice.
“Nay, it hasn’t been that long, sister,” the creature said in A-poy’s voice.
“Whichever is the truth, we don’t think it matters anymore. Come, let us get rid of these fools once and for all,” they said using both of their voices at the same time. It sounded distorted. Inhumane. Disgusting.
“They combined?” Steak asked.
“Intriguing. At least we only have to focus on one now,” Lilith said.
The twin mage raised one pair of hands above their head and the other pair stretched out in front of them. Ice and fire magic formed at their hands. Lilith quickly casted
“The curse afflicted both of them, so I guess they’re also considered as one entity now. I can’t mess up their timing anymore,” she said.
The twins launched both of their spells at the same time. Even with the slower spell speed, it was quicker than before. Their fusion had doubled the stats that they originally had.
Lilith’s familiar immediately moved to protect her from the ice spell. It shuddered when the two spells landed, but it seemed fine overall.
“This one doesn’t have any spells like the imp. However, it excels in physical stats and I can transfer some of my Health to it so that it can recover. Think of it as a walking shield for now,” Lilith explained to Steak.
“Hold on, you still got that fire spell, right?” Steak asked.
“Yeah, why?”
They were bombarded with a multitude of spells. In between them dodging and running behind stone pillars, Lilith kept reapplying the curse.
“I have an idea. It’s your turn to trust me this time,” Steak grinned.
The two of them quickly discussed his idea while trying to stay alive. Once they were ready, Steak and the Minor Nightmare ran straight at the disfigured mage.
The enemy already had a spell primed to shoot at him. The ice spell launched first. That was the general combo the twins were doing even before they fused together. They keep their enemy in place while the other finishes them off.
Steak stretched his right arm out, without activating
Lilith sliced her palm with her knife and stretched out her hand, aiming at her familiar. She used
Steak popped out his claws while his hand was still encased in ice.
“Lilith!” He called out.
She used
The Minor Nightmare jumped in front of him again, shielding him from the Magus Duplicia’s spells. After taking the hits, Steak hopped over it and sunk his claws into the mage’s chest. Activating
The Magus Duplicia tried to shake him off by flying around in the air. However, Steak and Lilith repeated their attack until their body had several fire claws in it. They managed to shake him off after the fourth attempt. The Minor Nightmare caught Steak before he landed on his head.
Flames erupted from the Magus Duplicia’s wounds. They tried to put it out by covering it with ice and using fire spells of their own, but with no success. It was a different kind of flame, a hellish fire that didn’t rely on oxygen to live. Using Steak’s claws as the target, it would continue to burn until they were all reduced to ash.
As the Magus Duplicia continued to groan and struggle, Steak and Lilith didn’t waste any time in this window of opportunity. From his inventory, Steak brought out the remaining rope that Lilith had and tied it around the mage’s torso. He dragged them down to the ground.
On the other hand, Lilith and her Minor Nightmare ran up and started wailing on them with physical attacks. She sliced and stabbed them as she dodged their flailing arms and spells. Her familiar whipped the mage with their tendrils, cutting them up.
Steak ran around one of the remaining pillars that were left standing and pulled on the rope as hard as he could. They went at it until it was over.
After seeing the messages, Steak collapsed on the floor. Lilith didn’t say anything either, they remained motionless. By the time Steak regained consciousness the ice that covered his arm had already melted.
He looked at the hand where he snapped off the claws earlier. It had no nails, it was just exposed flesh, though the wounds were closed at least. He didn’t have to worry about getting infected.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Are you still alive?” Lilith asked from behind.
“Mm, yeah,” Steak answered quietly.
“That’s good. You did great,” she said. The tone of her voice seemed softer than usual.
He looked at the Minor Nightmare that silently stood by her side. It was a blob of darkness that had tendrils all over it that squirmed and wiggled. The creature had no other features apart from that.
“Listen, I had no choice. And I’m not going to say sorry,” she said.
“You don’t have to explain yourself. I can’t really judge what’s good or bad right now. Besides, it’s not like we can bring her back to life. So, all I’m going to say is ‘Thank you’,” Steak said.
“Likewise,” she gave a slight grin.
“Moving on, I guess we should prepare for what’s next?” Steak asked.
“We haven’t received any notifications saying that we cleared the dungeon, so I suspect that we aren’t done yet,” Lilith said. Her tone was back to normal, like she flicked a switch inside of her that turned on work mode.
“Really? That kind of felt like the final fight, didn’t it?” Steak groaned.
“I agree, that was the highest Level I have personally encountered,” she said.
“Speaking of Levels, I guess I should spend my points now that I don’t have the boon anymore,” Steak said.
“Yeah, you should do that before we go past these doors. I’ll go organize some of my stuff and review my current skills,” she said.
Opening up his status screen, Steak quickly decided to place his last two points in Spirit. This brought it up to 10 when combined with the bonus that Lilith’s cloak gave. He could now have
However, it was only after spending the points did Steak think of the idea that the skill might increase in Mana cost when it also increases in rank. The thought made him violently scratch his bald head.
Skills
Rank
Cost
Desc
Metamorph
1 - 30%
n/a
Change your form
M.morph-Bearcat claws
1 - 80%
2.5/sec
Claws that can pierce common-grade metals
M.morph-Turtleboar Shell
1 - 45%
2.5/sec + Dmg
Damage that hits the shell will be reflected and blocked as long as the damage done is less than the user's Mana
Absorb Element (Passive)
1- 12%
n/a
Absorb elemental magic and use it as if it was your own. Low conversion rate at lower ranks
Ferocious Flesh (Passive)
1 - 0%
n/a
Increased physical traits
Status
Name
Steak
Strength
3
+1
Level
7
Vitality
2
+1
Race
Human
Agility
2
+1
Class
Druid - Metamorph
Dexterity
2
+1
Health
110
Magic
1
Health Regen /s
0.14
Spirit
10
+4
Mana
100
Points
0
Mana Regen /s
2.5
Next Level
46.32%
“‘Do not forget yourself,’ huh. It’s too late for that now, isn’t it?” Steak chuckled.
“You seem delighted,” Lilith said. “Don’t go insane on me now. There’s only two of us left.”
Steak flinched. “Oh, it’s nothing. I just got a new skill that helps with my stats,” he said.
“How’s your Mana, is it full yet?” She asked.
“Yeah, I've been putting most of my points in Mana Regeneration since most of my skills consume it over a period of time,” Steak said.
“Okay,” she sat down. “I’m gonna have to rest up a bit more before we go past those doors. I still haven’t fully recovered from that fight just now,” she said.
They sat in silence as they rested, exchanging food and water amongst themselves, the last few portions that they had. Steak glanced at the Minor Nightmare from time to time, still bothered by the fact that it used to be Jill.
To take his mind off the creature, he asked Lilith some questions about her old life. It might give him some ideas of his own situation.
“I used to be a college student, studying finance. I had one year left. I also did photography for work, mostly weddings. Those days were exhausting,” she said.
“Weird, I can’t really see the connection that has with your Warlock class. Summoning demons and cutting yourself,” Steak stopped himself, assuming the worst. “Sorry.”
“No, I didn’t die by my own hands. Someone else took my life. The first person I trusted. Oh, how I wished I had these powers back then,” she had a sad smile on her face. “Anyway, I’m over that now. I don’t really miss my old life. I probably got the Warlock class because I was into ghosts and the occult when I was a teenager,” she laughed.
“Damn, I’m jealous,” Steak said.
Lilith raised an eyebrow at him.
“Oh, not the part about getting betrayed and killed. I’m just jealous that you can remember. Well, I do remember stuff, like I can remember some concepts and objects. It’s just, I can’t remember anything about myself,” he said.
“Hm, you said that you were a druid, right? Maybe you were an outdoors type of person. Or maybe you handled animals, like a zookeeper,” she suggested.
“Well, if that was the case, my old self would definitely hate what I have become. I’m barely a month old and I already can’t count how many animals I’ve killed,” he scratched his bald head. “No, I probably wasn’t anything like that. I think I was just homeless. That would explain the debt thing that Dick talked about in the white room,” he said.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m actually jealous of you,” she said.
“With what? You’re the one with all the cool spells, gear, and talent,” Steak complained.
“I wish I didn’t remember my old life,” she continued with a smile on her face. “Here I am in this fantastical new world where each step I take I go deeper into the unknown. Yet I am still shackled with the doubt and insecurities I had in a life I cannot return to. The hatred that I had of the people that have wronged me, still here. People that don’t even exist in my plane of existence. Though, the fault may very well lie with me, my own pettiness,” she said.
“I don’t think that’s being petty. I have no clue about the people in your old life, but if they were an asshole to you back in your old life, then I think the hate you still have is valid. Screw them!” Steak grinned.
Lilith laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. You should also stop worrying about your old self. The way I see it right now, you have near infinite potential. You don’t have any regrets from your old life. Now, you’re Steak.”
“Ugh, I still don’t like that name though,” he sighed.
“I like it. Despite how much of a prick Dick seemed, I think the name he gave you suits you,” she said.
The two continued talking about useless things until Lilith recovered a sizable amount of Mana. After gathering their stuff and making sure they didn’t miss any loot from the Magus Duplicia, they continued onward to the double doors.
Beyond it was a large throne room, square in size. The wall on the other side of the room and the ceiling above were missing, showcasing the empty fog beyond the castle. Large boulders were scattered around the room, the same ones used to break through it.
A grotesque throne sat opposite of Steak and Lilith. Behind it was a view of the fog. Steak thought some sort of plant took over and used the throne as support so that it could grow tall. However, that idea was quickly disproven when he saw the face on the throne.
It was the face of an old bearded man with his eyes closed. Spikes grew out of his forehead that had the same material as the plant-like thing growing around the throne. Upon closer look, he realized that it was actually flesh. And, the flesh was still alive as muscles squirmed and the branch-like tendrils shivered.