The Sanguinary Mass thrashed before me, a grotesque blob of twisted limbs and screaming faces.
I gripped my nunchaku tightly, the metal cool against my sweat-slicked palms, my heart pounding like a drum machine in my chest. I knew I had to time my attacks perfectly, or I was fucked.
I launched a quick strike, the nunchaku whistling through the air and connecting with a sickening thud. But the creature barely reacted, the hit absorbed into its shifting mass of flesh like a drop in a bloody bucket.
Shit.
The creature’s Health Bar floated above it. My strikes had barely taken anything off it.
No surprise, I thought, as the monster unleashed its first wave of attacks.
Tendrils of fused body parts whipped out from its form, lashing at me with brutal force. I tried to dodge, but they were relentless, knocking me off balance and sending me sprawling into the blood. I choked down a mouthful of the coppery liquid, gagging as I pushed myself back up, spitting out the vile stuff.
The lake around me began to churn, and fucking hell, jagged spikes of coagulated blood shot up from the lakebed like some nightmare from a death metal album cover.
I scrambled onto a nearby rock, my Nikes slipping on the slick surface, narrowly avoiding being turned into a human kebab. I leapt from rock to rock, the world reduced to the next step, the next breath, as the blood spikes erupted around me.
As if the tendrils and spikes weren’t enough, the monster released smaller, writhing creatures from its body. Blood Leeches, glowing with neon lights like something straight out of an 80s horror film, swarmed toward me.
I fought back, blasting through them with my punching skills, but they were overwhelming. Each leech that latched onto me drained my strength, leaving me feeling sluggish and weak. I could feel my Health Bar dropping steadily, the green draining away like sand through an hourglass.
I gritted my teeth, selecting a Health Potion from the Quick Use Menu as I dodged another tendril. I needed to turn the tide, and fast. My inventory was filled with an assortment of weapons and items, but nothing that seemed up to the task of taking down this monstrosity.
Then, I remembered the boombox.
I jumped onto a tall, jagged rock formation, avoiding the creature’s reach. Slamming the boombox down, I hit play on the 80s mixtape and cranked the volume up to the max.
“Hope this works…”
“Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins started blaring from the speakers, the heavy synth beats pulsing through the lake of blood. The creature convulsed at the sound, its many mouths releasing a horrifying, synthetic scream that echoed across the lake’s surface.
Neon shockwaves rippled out from the boombox, shattering the blood spikes and stunning the monster.
The Sanguinary Mass reeled from the sonic assault, its countless eyes blinking rapidly in confusion and pain. But it wasn’t out of the fight yet. With a guttural roar that shook the very air, the monster surged forward, its massive maw gaping wide.
Before I could react, a grotesque tendril, thick as a tree trunk and pulsing with sickly veins, whipped out from its writhing mass. It slammed into my chest with devastating force, sending me flying off the rock. I felt ribs crack as I was hurled through the air, my vision blurring from the impact.
I crashed into the blood lake, plunging beneath the surface. The coppery taste filled my mouth as I struggled to orientate myself. Pain lanced through my chest with every movement, and I could see my Health had taken a significant hit.
Kicking frantically, I broke the surface, gasping for air. The Sanguinary Mass loomed over me, its horrific bulk blocking out the crimson sky. I knew I had to act fast or I was done for.
An idea struck me—crazy, probably suicidal, but it was all I had.
I quickly accessed my inventory and pulled out the Digital Decoy device. Without hesitation, I activated it, creating a flickering, glitchy hologram of myself. The hologram appeared a few feet away, mimicking my movements with a slight delay.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered, then started swimming as fast as I could toward the rock where the boombox sat, the music still blaring out of it.
The Sanguinary Mass, momentarily confused by the sudden appearance of two targets, hesitated. Its countless eyes darted between me and my digital doppelgänger. After a split second, it made its choice—lunging toward the hologram with an ear-splitting roar.
I used this distraction to my advantage, pushing through the thick blood toward the rock. My chest burned with each stroke, my broken ribs screaming in protest, but I gritted my teeth and pressed on.
Reaching the rock, I hauled myself up and grabbed the boombox, hardly able to grip it my fingers were so slick. My hands shook as I fumbled with the controls, hitting stop before switching it to Death Metal Mode.
I turned to face the monster, watching as it thrashed and swiped at my decoy, thinking how ridiculous the hologram made me look, before realizing, yes, that’s what I actually looked like.
The hologram flickered and glitched, its movements becoming more erratic. I held my breath, waiting for the right moment. Just as the Digital Decoy began to fade out of existence, the Sanguinary Mass realized it had been tricked.
Its massive bulk whirled around, hundreds of eyes locking onto me with murderous intent. The creature let out a roar of pure rage and surged forward, churning through the blood lake with terrifying speed.
I stood my ground, feeling like Brody from Jaws before he blows up the shark. A grim smile spread across my face as the monster bore down on me.
“Come on, you son of a—” I growled, then hurled the boombox with all my might straight into the creature’s gaping maw.
For a split second, time seemed to stand still as the blood beast kept coming.
Then, the world exploded.
The blast was deafening, a wall of sound and fury that sent shockwaves rippling across the blood lake. The Sanguinary Mass seemed to implode, its grotesque form rupturing from within as the Death Metal Mode unleashed its full, destructive potential, accompanied by buzzsaw guitars and furious blast beats.
The force of the explosion catapulted me backward. I sailed through the air, my ears ringing, before crashing back into the lake. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and for a moment, I floated there, half-conscious and disoriented.
As my senses slowly returned, I realized I was near the shore. With the last of my strength, I dragged myself toward solid ground. My arms trembled with exhaustion as I crawled onto the blood-soaked earth, coughing and gasping.
I collapsed onto my back, staring up at the crimson sky. All around me, bits and pieces of the Sanguinary Mass rained down, sizzling as they hit the ground, the air now thick with the stench of burned flesh and ozone.
A notification blinked in my HUD:
Sanguinary Mass defeated!
XP gained: 15,000
I let out a wheezing laugh, wincing at the pain in my ribs. “Holy shit,” I muttered, struggling to catch my breath. “I can’t believe I survived that thing. Jesus…”
As the last of the Sanguinary Mass’ body parts slapped on to the lake and the surrounding earth, an eery silence soon settled around me, punctuated only by my heavy breathing.
The smell of the blood and offal covering me was cloying. I did my best to wipe most of it off my face and out of my eyes, but it had found its way into every single orifice.
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“Fuck, I really want a shower now.”
But there was no chance of that, not unless it was an upgrade option for the SC. That was of little concern right now, though. My main concern was still finding Floss.
I brought up my HUD and checked the map. At least the bastard hadn’t moved again. Maybe this was it. No more flitting around. Floss wanted his big showdown, and I was going to give it to him.
Though certainly not in the shape I was in now, with multiple broken ribs and god knows what else. The fight had really done a number on me, and I’d gone through more than a few Health Potions just to stay alive out there.
Checking my menu, I saw I had just one Health Potion left, plus a Healing Scroll that I hadn’t used yet. As I was in so much pain from the broken ribs, I decided I would use the Healing Scroll now, and save the last Health Potion for my fight with Floss. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. When it came to fighting Floss, I would just have to be clever about it. Confronting him head on in combat probably wouldn’t work out too well for me.
The Sanguinary Mass was a level 27 monster, and I’d barely managed to defeat the thing. Floss was a level 43 psycho with probably hundreds, if not thousands of kills under his sugar coated belt. Something told me I hadn’t seen half of what he could do yet.
“I need better weapons,” I muttered, thinking about what I had in my inventory, which was mostly low level stuff that required me to be up close and personal to use. “Wait a minute…”
I suddenly remembered the keytar I’d got for killing the Fashionista at the mall.
“A fucking keytar, seriously. What good is that gonna do?”
Shaking my head, I took the thing out of my inventory so I could take a look at it. It was a typical 80s keytar, but amped up to eleven. For a start, it was known as the Synthslayer. The body was a sleek, aerodynamic shape, crafted from what looked like polished chrome with neon blue accents that pulsed gently in the dim light. The keys were a garish mix of hot pink and electric yellow, each one glowing softly as if charged with some inner energy.
The neck of the keytar extended out like a guitar’s, ending in a headstock shaped like a lightning bolt. Various dials, sliders, and buttons dotted the body, their labels written in a futuristic font that seemed to shimmer and change as I looked at them. Synth Blast, Discord Strike, and Power Amp were just a few of the intriguing options.
A thin strap made of what appeared to be glowing fiber optics was attached to each end, designed to sling the instrument over the shoulder. On the back, a small digital display flickered to life as I held it, showing various waveforms and energy readings I didn’t understand.
Despite its flashy appearance, the keytar felt surprisingly solid and well-balanced in my hands. There was a weight to it that suggested it was more than just a musical instrument. As I ran my fingers over the keys, I could feel a subtle vibration, as if the keytar was humming with barely contained power.
“Okay,” I admitted, a grin slowly spreading across my face. “Maybe this thing isn’t so useless after all.”
On my HUD, I brought up the keytar’s info box, skipping the description to read the item’s properties.
Synth Blast: A concentrated beam of sound that can stun enemies and deal damage over a distance.
Harmony Shield: Creates a protective barrier of musical energy that can deflect incoming attacks.
Tempo Manipulation: Allows the user to speed up or slow down time in a localized area, affecting movement and attack speed.
Discord Strike: Fires dissonant chords that disrupt an enemy’s abilities or weaken their defenses.
Power Amp: Temporarily boosts the user’s strength and speed.
Further abilities available on level up!
“Okay, not bad. Not bad at all. But I’ll have to do some practice with it first.”
After using the Healing Scroll on myself, I got up and headed away from the lake of blood, continuing on in the direction of Floss’ carnival. Viscous blood and gore still dripped off me, and my Nikes squelched as I walked. God knows what I looked like, soaked in blood as I was. If I came across any players, they’d probably mistake me for some nightmarish mob.
Not that there was much chance of that. I hadn’t seen any other players since that asshole Savage, and before that, it was outside the First Trial location.
Out of interest, I checked the player count on my screen.
1876 Players Remaining
Jesus Christ. If the other players kept dying at this rate, there wouldn’t be many left to go into the next Circle.
At least I was still alive, as selfish as that sounds. I just needed to keep my friends alive as well.
Soon, I found myself entering a canyon between two small mountains.
As I made my way through the canyon, the walls of rock on either side loomed ominously, their surfaces flickering with an eerie, neon glow. The narrow path twisted and turned, and I found myself constantly on edge, expecting an ambush at any moment.
My instincts didn’t disappoint.
As I rounded a bend, I came face to face with a group of low-level mobs. They looked like a twisted mashup of 80s punk rockers and feral animals, with mohawks made of pulsing neon quills.
“Porcupunks - Level 5,” my HUD helpfully informed me.
The pack of Porcupunks snarled and charged toward me, their eyes glowing with murderous intent. Perfect. Just what I needed to test out this keytar.
I slung the instrument over my shoulder and positioned my hands on the keys. As the first Porcupunk leaped at me, I hit the Synth Blast button and played a couple of wonky riffs on the keys. The music that erupted from the Synthslayer was a wall of sound—a screeching, distorted synth melody that wouldn’t have been out of place in a cyberpunk rave. The notes warbled and oscillated wildly, creating a disorienting cacophony that was equal parts aggressive and psychedelic. It was as if Vangelis and Nine Inch Nails had a musical lovechild, then fed it nothing but energy drinks and strobe lights.
I liked it a lot.
The result of this musical madness was a beam of concentrated sound that erupted from the Synthslayer’s headstock, slamming into the airborne Porcupunk. The creature let out a distorted screech as it was thrown backward, crashing into its companions.
“Holy shit,” I grinned. “This thing packs a punch!”
Two more Porcupunks flanked me, their claws extended. I quickly toggled the Harmony Shield function and let my fingers dance across the keyboard once more. A shimmering barrier of musical notes materialized around me just as the creatures struck. Their attacks bounced off harmlessly, the shield pulsing with each impact.
“Screw you, Porcupunks,” I said, feeling more confident by the second.
The remaining Porcupunks grouped, circling me warily. I decided to try out Tempo Manipulation next. As I activated it and played a couple of discordant riffs, the world around me seemed to slow down. The Porcupunks’ movements became sluggish, giving me plenty of time to sidestep their attacks and counter with quick jabs from the keytar’s neck.
As the effect wore off, I found myself surrounded again. Time for something more aggressive. I hit the Discord Strike button and strummed across the keys. Visible waves of dissonant chords shot out in all directions. The Porcupunks stumbled, clutching their ears, their movements becoming uncoordinated.
Taking advantage of their weakened state, I unleashed a flurry of attacks, using the keytar like a club. But the mobs were resilient, and I was starting to tire.
A few neon quills lodged into my legs.
Status Effect: Neon Intoxication
Duration: 5 minutes
Effect: Vision becomes distorted with neon afterimages and color shifts. Movement speed reduced by 20%. All damage dealt and received is randomized, fluctuating between 50% and 150% of normal values.
The world around me suddenly burst into a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors. Every movement left trails of neon light in its wake, and the edges of my vision pulsed with an electric glow. I staggered, my legs feeling heavier than before, as if I was trying to run through syrup.
“Shit,” I muttered, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it. “This is going to make things interesting.”
I knew I had to finish this fight quickly before the unpredictable damage effects of the Neon Intoxication put me at too much risk. With the world swirling in a psychedelic haze around me, I gripped the keytar tighter, ready to unleash its full potential and end this bad trip.
Activating the Amplify function, I felt a surge of energy course through my body. My movements became faster, though still off-kilter due to the status effect. The world around me blurred into streaks of vibrant color as I moved, making it challenging to aim my strikes accurately.
I swung the Synthslayer at the nearest Porcupunk, and to my surprise, it hit with far more force than I expected, sending the creature flying in a spectacular burst of neon. The next strike, however, barely seemed to scratch my target.
Realizing the unpredictable nature of my attacks, I decided to go all out. In a disorienting whirlwind of motion, I unleashed a barrage of strikes on the remaining Porcupunks. Some hits landed with devastating effect, while others were frustratingly weak. The erratic damage output kept me on edge, never knowing if the next attack would be a game-changer or a dud.
Finally, in a move that was part skill and part dumb luck, I managed to execute a wobbly power slide. As neon trails streamed from my fingers, I strummed across the keytar’s keys, unleashing a cacophonous finale that miraculously hit all the remaining mobs at once.
As the last Porcupunk disintegrated into a shower of glowing pixels (that’s how it seemed to me anyway), I staggered to my feet, breathing heavily but grinning from ear to ear. The Synthslayer hummed in my hands, its vibrations sending ripples through my Neon Intoxication-addled vision.
“Now that’s what I call... a killer solo,” I quipped between breaths, the words slurring as I fought to focus my eyes. The cheesy one-liner felt even more ridiculous given my current state, and I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically for what seemed like hours, but was probably just seconds.
Doing my best to focus on my swirling HUD, I saw that I’d gained some XP from the fight, though not nearly as much as from the Sanguinary Mass. Still, it was progress, and more importantly, I now had a much better grasp of what the Synthslayer could do. Plus, as an added bonus, I’d leveled the weapon up to Level 2.
I didn’t bother looting the Porcupunks, for I could hardly see straight anyway. Instead, I staggered on a bit, the world around me a blur of neon, until I came to a flat rock. Then I just sat there playing the keytar like some blood-covered busker. My unskilled efforts probably sounded like shit, but who cares. I was tripping balls while jamming, enjoying myself for once.
So much so that after the status effect had wore off, I went back and took a handful of quills from the corpse of one of the Porcupunks. For later, if there was a later.
In Infernum, I was starting to realize, you take your kicks where you can get them, like everything else in this hellhole.
Slinging the Synthslayer over my shoulder, I headed out of the canyon toward Floss’ carnival… and whatever fate awaited me there.