As my foot touched down the unlit mine echoed it back at me.
My newly looted lantern lit the abyssal halls before me. My skeletons reached the bottom just behind me.
Slowly we set out into the black, I'd considered giving John the lantern but I'm not that brave.
I'd left Joe at the top of the ladder since I figured 3 people in these tight shafts were already troublesome, I was even surprised that Bandit could actually navigate this place.
The upper area was very segmented, with few rooms and easy-to-notice enemies. This place you could supposedly wander for hours if you got unlucky, it was just a mess of halls.
Sitting here pondering wouldn't make it go faster though. It brought a straightforward question to my mind do I want to take a stab at the boss?
Yes, my original plan was just to wander for some time and kill any fiends I came across. I was also right here, and it happened to be here too, but that also seemed like a great way to die.
Actually; that's the perfect reason. I'll die. Who knew this decision stuff could be so simple?
We reached a bend, and I initiated my perfectly concocted plan. Drawing my Handgun that wasn't really a Makarov I fired 2 shots into the black ahead of me. When you beat the boss the orb will appear at the back of the arena so you don't have to climb back out to leave. But I wouldn't be doing that so I'd just get lost and starve to death or something.
So I'd just bring them to me. Bandit holds their attention in front, and me and John sit back and provide support.
I sat there in the dark for maybe a minute before Bandit lashed out into the dark, something I'd learned fairly early on is that skeletons don't need light to see, very helpful. The sound I heard ahead was an absolutely revolting crunch, followed by an incredibly foul stench. Every mantis, mantises, manti? Was lv 5-6. It's a rule that applies all round.
at lv 5 lv you pick 1 new skill and 1 free AUX point, and every 5th lv after that. Since the enemies in this dungeon are all under The Weave, most of them would be magic-related, like Carl's mud spike things, or in the Stalker's case, Night Shroud. There's a key difference between Invisibility and Night Shroud, Night shroud is canceled upon an aggressive action.
John fired off a few shots into the dark. The ruckus ahead was starting to grow loud enough that even I could hear it through my double-layered ear protection.
That was pretty worrying, and that became truth when a Stalker slipped by and leaped at John knocking him over, I fired at the giant mantis and that seemed to get its attention. It gazed at me and chittered, apparently, this was a mistake, as John shoved his Berreta into the thing's mouth and fired, spewing exoskeleton fragments about and splattering green blood all over.
Soon another slipped by, we dealt with that too, then another, then 2 at the same time, then 3. Things had gotten out of hand very quickly and we were being swarmed, my plan didn't consider the fact I was gonna call every Stalker within the mile.
We started retreating backward, which quickly turned to Bandit scooping me up and John sprinting back to the ladder.
Bandit's double-jointed arm came into play as it started directly climbing the shaft, John hung off its left leg while I found grip in its right shoulder, John fired down into the literal horde of Stalkers below us, I'd handed him the other mag after he ran through the first back at the bottom. but it didn't take long before he ran out, Bandit stopped moving for a few seconds and I dropped mine down to him and he threw his up to me.
He ran through that half-full mag in a blur and I threw my last loaded one down. With a clatter, it fell down the shaft and John flipped the release and the slide clicked back into place.
I'm an idiot, I'm gonna die surrounded by the smell of gunpowder and smoke, in some dark-ass mineshaft. Some half-baked plan and a cocky man who'd recently got a taste of power are apparently quite the volatile mix.
Once that mag was empty I threw my mace and he threw the empty gun up to me. I'm many things, but I've always been a good catch.
As the only noise was left was the chittering and screeching below us I was becoming very aware of just how hard it was to hold on. I've never been a strong person, I'd never bothered to try to be either. But we were close to the top of the ladder, and that gave me the will to hold on for a while longer.
Jogn swung his mace at a Stalker who got a little too close for comfort sending it hurtling down. Then another came, then another, one lept onto Bandit's arm and jumped at me, wrapping its limbs around me, trying to crush me.
I clocked the thing in the side of the head with my mutated arm but it didn't seem to mind, so it bit into my shoulder.
reaching my hand down into my belt I grabbed a weapon that would've been useless, I felt my claws barely manage to pull it from the sheath I'd made for it and activated its skill.
It struck true, gouging a massive hole in the thing's heart, which I followed up by digging my claws into the thing's eye sending it into the black below.
"Eat That fuck face!"
I laughed maniacally as Heart Piercer returned to my hand loosely hanging the blade downward with the hilt above my palm being the only thing stopping me from dropping it.
I'd say that I was still struggling to hold on but for whatever reason, I couldn't feel anything anymore.
Bandit rounded the top of the ladder, shoved me somewhat harshly into his rib cage, and bolted, John was quickly lost but he'd catch up eventually, with unending stamina and all that.
As we dashed through the hall I looked at my duffel bag and realized it was covered in blood, mine and Stalker.
"Oh god, hahaha, I'm bleeding! Man, I didn't even notice!"
I'd forgotten about the chunk that stalker removed from my shoulder.
I felt elated, the adrenaline blocked every sense other than excitement, which was weird, this wasn't anything to be excited about at all.
I'd almost died being an absolute idiot, and that thought just made me smile.
I reached into the blood-stained bag, fished out both my crimson vials, and downed them, we breached out of the mines to the quarry where Bandit let me down and I breathed in the fresh air.
Soon both John and Joe emerged from the mine.
"Ohh, I forgot about you."
Stolen story; please report.
I said to no one in particular with a chuckle.
----------
+302 xp!
Lv up! (x2)
AUX applied. (x2)
Please select a skill to lv. (x2)
Please select a new skill!
Please select a new AUX!
----------
I gazed upon the labors of my hubris with both amusement and wildness.
I put the free AUX into Tolerance to start countering my low mist resistance, then I checked the new skills.
----------
Ossuary, lv 0: Access a pocket dimension to store bones and animated skeletons.
Scrimshaw, lv 0: Allows you to mold and shape bone.
Flesh pit, lv 0: Allows you to store zombies and slow their decay.
Flesh Grafting, lv 0: Allows you to bend and mold flesh.
Dread Blades, lv 0: Infuze your minion's melee weapons with necrotic energies for a time.
----------
I had a little trouble picking between Ossuary and Scrim but decided on Ossuary ultimately. I Put a point into Ossuary and Boneworks.
----------
Ossuary, lv 0: You may access a pocket dimension to store bones and skeletons, inserting things into the Ossuary takes 1 minute, and withdrawing things takes 30 seconds. You may expend 10 mana to withdraw and insert 5x faster. you've currently stored 0/2 skeletons and 0/5 pounds of bone.
----------
Ossuary, lv 1: You may access a pocket dimension to store bones and skeletons, inserting things into the Ossuary takes 57 seconds, and withdrawing things takes 29 seconds. You may expend 10 mana to withdraw and insert 5x faster. you've currently stored 0/4 skeletons and 0/10 pounds of bone.
Boneworks, lv 3: skeletal minions, remain till they fall, as knowledgable as you under most circumstances. Costs 35 mana, you've currently animated 3/4 skeletons.
----------
Last was my new Title.
----------
Power Leveler: You've lv'd twice in the same info card, as a reward you gain +1 xp per kill.
----------
After all the reading we ascended the quarry and exited the dungeon.
I sold my cores to the overseers and shambled on home.
Once I arrived the adrenaline started to fade and I ached all over. So as soon as I laid down I started to drift away, not before checking my status page though.
----------
Name: Admatha Sullivan Marwood
Titles: Iron Will, Power Leveler, Idiot
Race: Homo Sapiens (Mutation x2)
Overall condition: Worn Out
lv 5, 14/200
Subclasses,
Locked (lv 15)
Locked (lv 25)
Locked (lv 35)
Main Class: Necromancer
Affinity: The Ancient
----------
stats
Body: 2.17, 2.17/30 x0%
Toughness: 6.94, 4.96/10 x40% (Mutation x2)
Endurance: 3.73, 3.11/10 x20%
Fortitude: 4.32, 4.32/10 x0%
Mind: 7, 5/10 x40%
Will: 12.34, 8.82/10 x40%
Tolerance: 2.1, 5.17/10 -60% (Mutation x2)
----------
Skills:
Inform, lv MAX: Activate to reveal an item's info card or yours if you so desire, items must not be currently be possessed by a living creature.
Animate Dead, lv 0: Animate a fallen humanoid corpse/complete skeleton as a minion, costs 35/15 mana, casts in 0.5 seconds.
Boneworks, lv 3: skeletal minions, remain till they fall, as knowledgable as you under most circumstances. Costs 35 mana, you've currently animated 3/4 skeletons.
Ossuary, lv 1: You may access a pocket dimension to store bones and skeletons, inserting things into the Ossuary takes 57 seconds, and withdrawing things takes 29 seconds. You may expend 10 mana to withdraw and insert 5x faster. you've currently stored 0/4 skeletons and 0/10 pounds of bone.
Fleshworks, lv 0: Fleshy minions, Rapidly decays after 24 hours, retains only the knowledge they had in life. Costs 15 mana, you've currently animated 0/3 zombies.
Unseen Whispers, lv MAX: No words need be spoken to command the damned.
----------