The stone double doors slid open and we stepped into a massive open cavern.
The short tunnels that we had spent nearly five hours ducking through were gone in an instant, replaced with a massive cave so large that it almost didn’t look like we were still underground.
I paused at the top of a large staircase looking down into the space and felt my breath catch in my throat.
Three rivers came from three different directions and flowed past moss covered rocks towards the center of the room. The moss made it almost look like the cave was actually a grassy field. Small trees and other plants dotted the landscape further giving it the illusion of life.
Above our heads, small specks of glowing stone made it appear like there were stars constantly hanging overhead. A single large stone acted as a sort of full moon, casting blue light down across the space and making it easier to see than in the dark tunnels, but that wasn’t the most eye-catching feature.
In the center of the room, where the three rivers converged, was a tree that looked like it was made of golden glass. It stood so tall that its glass leaves almost touched the twenty meter high ceiling and its branches spread out to cover a perfectly circular rock set into the ground where it buried its roots.
Ascilla let out a whistle. “Bet that tree’s where we have to go.” She said. I nodded. Whatever we were fighting would be down this staircase and this staircase seemed to lead right to the center of the room. There was also the matter of that perfectly circular slab of rock. Nothing quite screamed “There’s a boss here!” than an oddly geometrically shaped platform.
“Yeah, but first things first…” I said, opening my menu and navigating to my skills tab. “Spend your SP. No reason to horde it going into a boss.”
Ascilla nodded and opened her menu as well.
“Wait… seriously?!” She said. I clicked my tongue.
[Unable to apply Skill Points in this area]
The message floated in the air like it was taunting me and I hung my head. I guess it made sense that we wouldn’t be able to do something like this outside of a safe area, but the reality of not being able to level up before what I’d assumed would be a boss was frustrating.
It wasn’t like we’d gotten a huge amount of points, but there were some things I was desperate to try to unlock. Namely, increasing the amount of magic I could use. Spark was nice, but I could only use it twice with my current Mana Points and my MP regenerated so slowly that I’d get at most one extra use every five minutes.
I was also interested in seeing if there was any way to combine my magic with my sword skills, right now it felt like magic was a tool I could use to augment my fighting style, not really a part of it. It was worth exploring.
Ascilla let out a groan and stepped up to the edge of the staircase.
“Let’s get this done. I want to get out of here by lunch.” Ascilla said, rolling her shoulders. I agreed. It was already 9:00, if we had to be in here for another three whole hours I’d scream.
“Yeah.” I said, matching her pace as we both began to descend the staircase.
The cavern was cold. A faint chill ran down my spine as we slowly walked down the thousand steps leading into the basin where the rivers converged.
Two of the rivers were on either side of the path leading to the tree, while the third was directly behind the tree shooting off at a straight angle towards the back of the room. All three were flowing in the same direction.
As we stepped off of the staircase we found ourselves on a long and straight bridge leading to the tree. Now that we weren’t seeing it from above, its size really did take my breath away. Golden leaves that were reflecting light fell from above and turned to golden dust as they landed softly on the path ahead of us.
Ascilla ran up and tried to catch one but it vanished just like the rest as soon as she’d touched it. Still, that didn’t stop both of us from poking the falling leaves out of the air any time they came within arms reach.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Eventually, many many leaves later, we found ourselves standing at the base of a small three-step staircase leading up to the base of the tree. As we ascended the stairs, Ascilla paused and pointed.
Kneeling by the base of the tree was a single rat mob. It was hunched over and it was clothed in a dark brown cloak. We shared a look for a moment before stepping into the circle. As soon as we did, golden light flashed and circled the outside of the arena.
I looked over my shoulder to be sure, but there wasn’t any doubt. As soon as we’d entered the arena it had been sealed shut behind us. I drew my sword and next to me Ascilla held her axe in her hands.
The small rat turned and shuffled a few feet away from the tree trunk that dominated the center of the arena. It raised its hands above its head and as it did the ground shook so violently I had to take a knee to prevent myself from completely losing balance.
Moments later, hundreds, no, thousands, of small black rats flooded out from every single crack and crevice in the cavern and flowed towards us like a tidal wave. They passed over our heads and dove straight down, slamming into the rat standing at the base of the tree. As they did, they sunk into its flesh making it bulge and twist in grotesque fashion.
The tide of rats slowed and eventually stopped. As they did, they revealed a twisting mass of shadows writhing in the place where the single rat had once stood. Slowly, the rat’s form solidified, revealing a two meter tall monstrosity with golden eyes and sickly yellow teeth. Its fur looked like it was covered in thick oil, and six arms crept out from beneath its cloak, each holding a unique weapon.
The top two arms held crossbows. The middle two held a sword and shield, and the bottom two were empty. Just by looking at it I figured that it would probably have a combination of all of the attacks we’d seen from the rats up to this point. What a pain.
I looked over its head as a set of three identical HP bars sprung to life.
[Jepta, Queen of Corruption Lv. 8.]
The boss roared a shrill, high pitched, roar that caused dozens of leaves to fall from the tree branches overhead and dissolve as they landed on the arena where we were standing.
I tightened my grip on my blade and let out a tense breath. The boss stood still at the center of the room, patiently waiting for us to make the first move.
“Ready?” Ascilla asked. Her voice was calm, but her knuckles were red on the hilt of her axe. I smirked.
“Always.”
The air was still and the only sounds that were filling the arena were the sounds of flowing water. I took a deep breath and pushed it out of my lungs.
The last golden leaf that had been knocked loose from the boss’s roar hit the ground and burst into golden powder. The next moment, the two of us charged.
----------------------------------------
The green haired knight walked to the center of the stage and spread his arms.
“Newfound souls of these once peaceful woods, unfortunately I have bad news.” The knight said. His voice was firm and his eyes were serious as he scanned the crowd.
As he began to speak, Rain noticed that the large open room slowly fell silent as the groups of players that had previously been talking amongst themselves all settled down to listen.
“Yesterday, we made a grave discovery. Two of the four guardians of these woods have been slain. Their bodies have been mutilated, and traces of a dark ritual lingered on their flesh. A ritual of corruption.” The knight began to pace back and forth.
“Two of your fellows… two of you travelers were caught at the site, the stench of corruption fresh on their blades. We took them in to custody, but due to our own negligence they were allowed to escape.” The knight gazed at his fellows standing in a row behind him and Rain noticed that a few of them wilted at his accusations.
“Now the spirits are weak! Their bond disrupted not once, but twice! Surely this time, the ritual will succeed! And should that future come to pass, none in this town will be spared.”
“Aided by the bastards of the Darkness, those we are hunting vanished into the misty forest. The home of the Wolfmother Lapina. We have reason to believe that they have reached her lair, and are planning to unleash the same corrupting spell that threatened to plunge these woods into chaos twice before.”
“Should they succeed. And should Lapina be allowed to fall to the powers of Darkness… I do not wish to think of such terrible outcomes.” The knight returned to center stage and spread his arms wide.
“And so we come to beg your aid! You who have braved this forest, you who are strong from your long journey! Heed our call!”
“We knights who from birth are blessed by the very spirits that are now being corrupted are incapable of fighting them. Our blessing makes us weak to their influence. We ask, no, beg! We beg you to take up arms for our cause. Enter the misty forest, journey to the den of the Wolfmother and save her… stop our woods from falling to corruption!” The knight finally stepped back into line as murmurs began bubbling up from the clusters of people.
“This totally sounds like an event, right?”
“Finally something that sounds like a game!”
“With this many people, we’ll get this done in no time!”
“Those guys are level 20! I wonder if the quest drops will be that powerful!”
Rain knit his brow. A few of the groups seemed like they were on the fence, but a good number of people seemed ready and willing to go. He was half tempted to speak up, but if he got the knights to turn on him now then there was no escape, and it wasn’t like he was going to be able to convince all of these people with the evidence he had now.
“When the sun strikes its highest, all who are willing muster at your guild hall! We shall reclaim this land and purge this corruption!” The white cloaked priest said, raising his cane into the air.
The hall erupted in cheers. Rain clicked his tongue. He had less time than he’d hoped.