~Thorben~
Lieutenant Malone lumbered towards them with the confidence of a veteran warrior, wielding his massive two-handed broadsword with a single hand. He grasped his guige and pulled his shield forward, equipping it in his offhand. A red energy seemed to have imbued both blade and shield, as they glowed dimly, yet menacingly, in the candlelit room. His eyes held a promise of pain.
Without a word, Thorben and Tanrin advanced to meet the absurdly bulky lieutenant. Their childhood training once again proving to be a boon in the present, despite that they had frequently cursed it in their youth. They spread apart to attack from opposite sides, hoping by forcing their enemy to divide his focus, they could land a fatal blow quickly. Thorben knew better than to wait. He needed to dictate the pace of the fight and immediately went on the offensive. Tanrin quickly followed suit.
Thorben’s blade lashed out only to be deflected by Lieutenant Malone’s broadsword. It felt as if he’d struck his father’s anvil! If it wasn’t for his blacksmith’s forearms and wrists, he would have lost his sword. Well, if it wasn’t soul bound and all. He pivoted away just in time to avoid a potentially devastating bash of the brute’s shield, continuing to circle away.
While the man was definitely stronger and bigger, he was also slower. Thorben’s footwork was superior, giving him enough of an edge to not have died yet. Tanrin hadn’t been idle. A knife bounced off the glowing red armor, not leaving a scratch. Not deterred, his brother sent another but adjusted his aim to the only unarmored part of the Lieutenant’s body, his head. Unfortunately, the results was for it to be swatted out of the air by the broadsword. Thorben had to admit that the man’s defense was superb.
What the hell had the duke done? Whatever magical boost that the duke had cast on the lieutenant was beyond impressive. More impressive was the method of casting. There was no wand, no chanting, and the only hand motion was the throw after conjugation. Realizing that his mind was drifting down a path of curiosity that would distract him and probably end up getting him killed, he shrugged it off and refocused on the task at hand.
Just as he brought himself out of his musings, the sound of what he initially thought was a gong reverberated off the walls, followed by a brief cry of pain. It wasn’t until he saw his brother’s look of astonishment, as he frantically back peddled, that he realized it was something else. His brother’s shoulder was bleeding with a piece of an axe buried in his shoulder. He quickly scanned the room, looking for where the axe had come from. Then he saw it, his brother’s axe was missing a large piece from hit’s head.
“That was my good axe, ya dimwit!” Tanrin said as he discarded his damaged battle axe.
“Catch,” Thorben huffed out as he tossed one of his own to his brother. It wasn’t a battleaxe, but his throwing axe would be better than no axe. Tanrin caught it with his offhand, opting to leave the piece lodged in his primary arms, shoulders, knowing full well that it needed to stay in place until he could properly treat it. Blood loss was no minor thing. The brief moment when Thorben had taken his eyes off of his enemy was all that the man had needed to backhand him with the hilt of his sword. Lieutenant Malone capitalized on his distraction, and he sent Thorben flying into the wall. Thorben landed heavily, he was having difficulty focusing.
“Weak fools. You should have taken his Grace’s offer. Maybe now you comprehend the power he offered you. Pathetic” Lieutenant Malone shook his head as he rushed towards Thorben to finish him. Thorben cast one of his two remaining lightning arrows at the man’s chest. While it arrested the man’s forward movement, that’s all it did. The Lieutenant smiled. “As I said, he offered you genuine power. Not the parlor tricks you so pathetically wield.” During his tirade, he hadn’t stopped his advance, quickly closing the distance between them.
Thorben couldn’t believe it. Nothing had stopped his bolts before. Why didn’t I aim for his head?! Damn it! Before he could get hung up on it, his mother’s words slapped him in the proverbial face. Improvise, adapt, and overcome. So he did just that. As the Lieutenant adjusted his sword to begin a diagonal slash at Thorben, he released a bolt that reduced the chain holding the giant metal chandelier to rubble. The metal monstrosity of a candle holder came crashing down on the Lieutenant, knocking his sword out of his hand and causing him to stumble forward.
Gritting his teeth, and relying solely on muscle memory, he rolled to the side, and lashed out with his Katana at the man’s head. His strike clanged against the Malone’s arm bracer, which was made of thick plate mail and seemed to be enhanced with a magical buff. He managed to scratch it, but soon found himself dodging shield bashes and strikes from some form of hand to hand combat technique. They exchanged a flurry of blows. Thorben taking the brunt of several powerful strikes and seeing his health bar dip into the red. The Lieutenant looking not worse for the wear. He would not last much longer unless the pulse of the battle changed.
This guy is damn near indestructible. Can I slow time again? Thorben altered his active meditation technique and, as he did; he felt a drained sensation, like when he would eat too much and drift off to sleep when relaxing. He immediately stopped, recognizing that it would not work. His mind raced as he wove around the Lieutenant. Suddenly it hit him and he couldn’t hide his grin.
“That last hit must have knocked something loose in your head, or are you that happy to meet death?” Lieutenant Malone said as he stepped into Thorben’s kill circle. Thorben didn’t reply as he swung his Katana in a horizontal slash aimed at the Lieutenant’s neck. A grin lit up Malone’s face as he raised his arm to block the strike again, only to be replaced with shock. The Katana disappeared, then reappeared on the other side of his arm. As his soul blade cleaved through Lieutenant Malone’s neck, it pitched forward as an axe embedded itself in the back of Malone’s decapitated skull, and landed at Thorben’s feet.
***
Dungeon Completed!
Experience Gained!
Level Up! You have reached level 4!
Level Up! You have reached level 5!
(235/625 experience to level 6)
***
As the former lieutenant’s body turned into a gruesome fountain of blood, he turned to face the Duke, who was the visage of frustration. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good dungeon, boss, or the work it takes to put one back together?” As he continued talking, the pitch of his voice raised, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why couldn’t you just join me? Then we could have challenged adventurers and taken all their stuff! Such an inconvenience!”
Tanrin retrieved the borrowed axe from the Lieutenant’s skull and moved to stand next to Thorben. “Any idea what the hell he is going on about?” Tanrin said as he clutched his injured arm to his side.
“No, clue. I’m willing to bet he has gone mad.”
“No, I have not gone mad! You have ruined plans that my benefactor put into motion. I will suffer the consequences of his wrath!” The Duke shrieked in fury.
“You won’t have to worry about that! I am here to put an end to your reign of terror. No more will the countryside be subject to the travel tax and your other evil whims. No more will your ‘soldiers’ travel and ransack villages. No more will you torture and kill children. No more will you breathe.” Thorben clenched his teeth.
“I see you still don’t understand how this works,” The Duke said as he sat back on his throne with a scornful sneer. “I have to provide loot, and safe passage to leave, since your have beaten my dungeon. My benefactor altered the dungeon so that I could remain above ground and continue to rule. I am tasked with preparing the dungeon. As such, the loot is currently in a chest at the end of the dungeon. You may retrieve it before leaving my castle.”
Thorben couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He walked closer to the Duke and his cowering pet. He knelt down and grabbed Cliff’s hair and wrenched his head upward to look into his eyes. “Thank you for delivering my message.” A disdainful look was the last thing Cliff saw as Thorben drew his Katana slowly across the man’s throat with a precision any surgical healer would be proud of. He watched as the man slowly bled out, holding a hand up to let the duke know to keep his mouth shut. He enjoyed watching the life slip from that whimpering dog’s eyes. Afterwards, he simply walked up and leveled his Katana at the Duke’s chest. “I don’t think you are understanding how this works.”
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“Stupid, incompetent, sorry excuse for an adventurer! I am a dungeon spirit now! You can’t kill me! Go ahead, try,” Duke McGuire said with a laugh. He pulled his tunic aside, baring his chest.
Thorben looked back at Tanrin. Tanrin shrugged his shoulders. He turned back towards the Duke. “Okay,” he said. The Duke didn’t even flinch when the blade entered his chest cavity.
“I told you so,” the Duke quipped as Thorben withdrew his blade and the wound sealed up as if it had never been there. Thorben proceeded to repeat this process in his best attempt to make him a human pincushion. “Are you finished with this nonsense yet?” The Duke inquired, staring at him as if he was acting like an infant throwing a tantrum.
Thorben stepped back, baffled. “How is this possible?”
“A simpleton like you would not understand the complexities of the soul fusion that my benefactor performed, so I won’t even try to explain,” The Duke stated condescendingly.
“Did you say soul fusion?” Thorben asked with a smile.
“Brother, you might want to see this,” Tanrin called out.
Thorben walked over to his brother, keeping his eyes on the Duke lounging on his throne. “What is it?”
Tanrin had looted the body of the Lieutenant as soon as Thorben had stabbed the Duke. He had taken the bracers off the Lieutenant’s wrist and discovered a familiar tattoo. “The Order of Buanaì.”
Thorben stalked back over to the Duke. “What do you know of the Order of Buanaì?”
“So you know of my benefactor?” The Duke replied smugly. “Mazoga himself performed the soul fusion.”
Thorben felt a familiar pull and raised his sword to the Duke’s chest again. “Where is Mazoga? Where do I find the Order?” He asked with fury raging in his voice.
The Duke stared Thorben in the eyes. “We have no more to say. If Mazoga wants to find you, then he will. I won’t tell you anything, and there isn’t anything you can do about it. Collect your loot and leave.”
“I think I’ll do something different,” Thorben responded as he once again pushed his Katana into the Duke’s heart.
“Haven’t we been through this?” The Duke taunted.
“Not this. We haven’t,” Thorben said. He leaned over to whisper into the Duke’s ear. “Your soul is mine.” He once again felt, more than heard, a howling wind get sucked into his sword, but this time a prompt appeared.
***
Soul Fragment Claimed (Karen). Would you like to place into empty soul slot?
***
Thorben mentally selected yes and watched as a blue energy left the Duke’s chest and entered his sword. Simultaneously, the Duke became corporeal and began choking on blood. Thorben removed his sword. “How..?” The Duke sputtered, blood dribbling down his chin. Before Thorben could respond, the life left his eyes, and the Duke was dead.
***
Legendary Dungeon Core Slain!
Experience Gained!
Level Up! You have reached level 4!
Level Up! You have reached level 5!
Level Up! You have reached level 6!
The level prompts continued to flood his vision. The weight of the kill pressed down on him with a building intensity.
Level Up! You have reached level 7!
Level Up! You have reached level 8!
Level Up! You have reached level 9!
What was happening? Thorben tried to process the flood of experience entering his body!
Level Up! You have reached level 10!
Level Up! You have reached level 11!
Level Up! You have reached level 12!
He wanted to scream. The pressure in his head was building! Gravity had increased and his bones creaked in protest.
Level Up! You have reached level 13!
Level Up! You have reached level 14!
Level Up! You have reached level 15!
***
Sweat dripped into his eyes, and he reached to wipe it out. His arm moving in exaggerated slowness. He mopped the moisture off his head. His hand came away red and dripping. Blood was seeping from his pores.
***
Level Up! You have reached level 16!
Level Up! You have reached level 17!
Level Up! You have reached level 18!
***
He screamed in pain! His muscles rapidly expanded and engorged to the point of bursting through his skin. He gasped and struggled to maintain consciousness.
***
Level Up! You have reached level 19!
Level Up! You have reached level 20!
Level Up! You have reached level 21!
***
His entire being screamed in outrage, even though his voice had long since gone silent. Time distorted. Each second feeling as if a lifetime had passed. Trapped in a silent agony, he begged for death but it didn’t come. The pressure bombarded him from all sides, defying all logic. How could something both push you down and simultaneously attempt to blow you up?
***
Level Up! You have reached level 22!
Level Up! You have reached level 23!
Level Up! You have reached level 24!
(15,860/26,250 to level 25)
***
Thorben turned to face his brother when his world went dark and he felt his body hit the floor.
***
Welcome to Baherune’s Beta Launch!
A world full of adventure awaits.
We here at Liberty Gaming would like to thank you for testing our revolutionary gaming technology. It is due to volunteers like you that virtual reality gaming is able to be developed and refined for future generations of enthusiasts.
Please stand by, as we apply the most up-to-date patch to Baherune. Please ensure that you have installed all software updates before logging in.
[Baherune 1.2 Patch Successful]
***
Thorben slowly came to and struggled to wade through the ocean of pain crashing into his soul. He pictured his mother, father, and brother as an anchor. Instinctually, he knew he needed a tether to life or the power pressing on him would crush him. He needed to weather this. His family needed him. By force of will alone, he slowly adjusted to the pressure. He imagined a box composed of his rage, and let the ocean flow into it. The box could fit in his hands, yet the water flowed into it, well past what should have been possible. Eventually, it could hold no more and he snapped the lid shut. As his mind adjusted to the world around him, HUD prompts immediately bombarded him.
***
Duke McGuire’s Keep is unclaimed. Would you like to claim it?
***
Ummm… sure.
***
Duke McGuire’s Keep is now owned by Thorben Deepiron.
[Error Detected: Mazoga’s Training Dungeon spawns located outside of designated area. Re-locating Boss Spawn…. success. Relocating Dungeon A.I….. error. Analyzing error….. Dungeon A.I. stable…. Dungeon Core stable… Dungeon A.I. relocation cancelled.]
Perk earned: For being the first in Baherune to claim a guild hall, you have been awarded the “First Time Home Buyer” perk.
Perk earned: For being the first in Baherune to clear a Public Dungeon, you have been awarded the “Dungeon Vanquisher Numero Uno” Perk.
Experience Earned (x3)
Level Up
Level Up
***
Despite that, it felt like he was out for a while. He sat up and shook his head before his brother had made it over to check on him. “I’m okay. Another HUD thing.” He then went over and shook his hand, claiming the Duke’s wealth. Tanrin indicated he had already done it for the others in the room. Ignoring all the HUD notifications, he marched out to the inner courtyard and sat on the edge of the raised platform that sat in the center. Tanrin joined him, sitting in silence. After catching his breath, he pulled himself up using the intricately carved vines on the marble pedestal, grabbed the nearest wagon, and began dragging it towards the stables. If there were any more soldiers, they would no doubt have assisted the Duke, so he made no attempt at stealth. They made their way to the courtyard and to the gate shack’s door.
Upon their return, the boy sat guard a short distance from the girl, and much of the food they had left was gone. While it seemed a bit of color had returned to his face, Thorben knew the haunted look in his eyes would linger for a long time. He maintained a white knuckle grip on the hilt of the sword, and his eyes darted around the room near constantly. Whenever his eyes lingered on Thorben, a battle waged between the desire to be brave and naked fear.
Thorben put up his hood and headed to the corner of the room as Tanrin sat down near the kids. Tanrin gave the kids a comfortable distance, and after a bit of time spent talking softly, discovered that they were both from Farfield. Mason, the boy they’d saved from torture, was the son of the village carpenter. He’d told Tanrin that the girl’s name, Leah. They both had families back waiting for them. Leah’s parents were gone. Her mother had passed away in the cage while shielding her daughter from the soldiers’ eyes, and her father as the Sergeant’s previous torture victim.
Thorben’s heart broke as he thought about what these two kids had been through. His rage mingled with sorrow, both demanding action. Silently he approached, unwilling to let these kids stay in a place that had inflicted so much pain. As he approached, Mason’s demeanor became increasingly on edge. Tanrin calmed Mason. “He’s my brother, and he has ended the threat to you and your village at great personal risk. Do not judge him by his looks, rather by his actions.” The boy considered his words and seemed to calm. “What are you doing, brother?” Tanrin asked.
“This place has done enough to these kids. I won’t let them stay here a minute longer. We are taking them home. Now.” Thorben answered solemnly, reaching down to gently pick up Leah.