Lavinia creeps, claws dig into the wall and ceiling she traverses along with her latest prey in sight below. A creature with an elongated jaw lined with teeth, protected by a thick dorsal hide and sinuous overlapping scales. It’s eyes or what should be eyes glow in the dark of the dungeon, acting as the only source of light in this section but also as a defence. Setting herself right to avoid its muscular tail as it sways underneath the water, Lavinia leaps from her place on the ceiling, pouncing on her unsuspecting prey and sinking her teeth through its otherwise stubborn hide.
The beast, over twice her size reacts accordingly, thrashing about and flipping over on its back. Soaking and partially drowning, Lavinia holds onto the beast, claws piercing through its hide with Essence. Lavinia scratches, pulling her claws deep and as far across the creature’s body as she can between its thrashing. The beast slams her into the shallow pool’s floor, holding there as it attempts to drown her. Rather, Lavinia bears down her maw, ripping away at the pesky scales with immense strength of her jaws and as blood seeps into the pool in larger quantities her eyes dilate.
[{Blood Rush} Active!]
Essence channels through to her muscles and she disregards the struggle entirely, picking the creature out of the water with a roar of bursting excitement. It’s tail smacks her in the face, forcing her to drop it so it slinks away, it’s bioluminescent eyes dimming as it recedes into the murky depths of the water.
Sneering, Lavinia has a sniff and lunges, finding the bleeding beast in an instant and plunging her claws straight through it’s tough neck, nearly costing her a nail in doing so. She slices through it, spilling even more blood before licking the bits of flesh off her fingers as she straddles the beast for a greater drain.
“Lavinia!”
She freezes atop the dead creature, fangs hanging over the flesh as she turns to where white rings of light float in the dark, her Overlord Lucy warns, “Do not drain it, take what you need but no more, the meat stock won’t be any good without some juices.”
“Yes, Lucy.” Lavinia says, loud and clear. It’s one of three phrases she’s learned and one of her most used. Lucy is…kind. Kinder than Ken is anyhow. As she drains the creature, Lavinia peers into the dark, watching in shaded vision as Ken and her Overlord relate. Reluctantly, Lavinia releases the semi-drained corpse from her fangs and drags it through the shallow pool, tossing it up the edge and by Ken’s feet.
“Hey! Don’t get me wet, Lucy control your…pet, ugh.”
“Lavinia is minding her business, so should you. You haven’t busted through their camps like you said you would and you were so eager to start the test.” Lucy says, drawing his fuming attention back onto her.
Lucy handles him almost the same as Lavinia, enough that she wonders whether Ken is like she is, a familiar to her Overlord. It might also be the opposite, after all, Ken’s demands for mobility, action, food and blood are often met by Lucy and by extension, Lavinia as well.
She’d never thought of hunting for another creature before becoming Lavinia, it’s fine if it’s only Lucy, because she is kind. However, adding a third— Ken— to the equation upsets Lavinia. The beast she’s drained and hauled over now would have lasted days if not weeks were she on hers and Lucy's to share alone. She would not need to hunt for some time and she would rest and grow.
Nothing like that now.
“I’m outnumbered and they’ve got a Berserker for a leader. I’m strong but I’m not that strong.” Ken says, scowl deepening as Lucy lights the lantern, letting light pierce the unnatural darkness she’d cast over on the pool area.
As the light disperses Lucy’s power, the creature’s numerous companions awaken, startled by the scent and stain of blood in their waters they trash far away from the blotch, bumping into one another as they do. Their confusion is warranted. Lavinia was confused too when Lucy sent a thick smog of darkness to envelop all but her target— the now dead scaly creature— but it was to aid her hunt. Lucy is kind.
“Can’t you cast this sleep inducing darkness over them too? Give me an edge? They have an actual sniffer so it’s worth trying to steal while they’re asleep at least.”
Fingers massaging her temples Lucy turns to Lavinia, “Bring it.” Walking away from the pool area and back up the path to their new camp.
Ken quickly follows behind her and their voices and light soon abandon Lavinia dragging the limp, heavy weighted creature. It’s not the first she’s killed for her Overlord to make into rather salty meals and as such she’s noticed these creatures bear no crystals, not like the ones beyond the cave. Still, she reserves five points from the battle with the curly-tails and they’ve gone unused. With what Lucy and Ken keep talking about, Lavinia predicts another battle soon, one she would have very little impact on.
Nevertheless, she summons her Reais Identity Sheet, resolved to be as strong as she can to serve her death willing master.
Name: Lavinia
Race: Demon
Class: Vampiric
Age: Immortal – 29days.
Crystal Essence: [Pink]- Lvl.5— 29.01ESQ
[Available Essence Points— 5]
Faith:22[+]
Agility: 17[+]
Perk: {Reais Smite}, {Blood Rush}, {Wave Shot}, {Crimson Blink}
Overlord: Lucy McNil [Available Familiar Points— 0]
Looking up and down the sheet as she lugs the corpse around a corner, Lavinia marvels at how much sense it makes and how much stronger she’s grown since encountering Lucy. Her attributes have almost doubled from what they were before and alongside the untested {Wave Shot} is another ability, one Lucy brought to the surface.
{Crimson Blink}— allows the user to swiftly teleport short distances by harnessing the power imbued in Crystals and Blood.
All the explanation and details she requires provides themselves with little more than an concentrated thought. Just about everything detailed on the sheet provides some more information and all she ever needed to do was ask. Lavinia doubts she’d have ever stopped to ask before becoming Lavinia, but now that she does, she knows well enough not to attempt using {Crimson Blink} again. A single teleport could jettison her into walls, enemies and then leave her stranded, without any Essence or blood to spare for other abilities.
With her Crystal Essence at the Pink tier and only half way to the next, she simply isn’t ready to exercise the potential her Overlord has unearthed within her. However, the attribute boosts are sufficient enough that her other Perks are easier to use, especially Faith based perks.
And so, Lavinia decides to enhance them even further with the available points. With only five to spare Lavinia once again favours Faith with the majority of 3EP and Agility with 2EP.
Finished with herself and just in time as she turns around the last corner before their camp— a place Ken set to launch an attack on the other team of humans. Sure to move and act quiet, Lavinia hauls the beast corpse to the side of the camp where the moss grows before reporting to Lucy.
“Good girl.” Lucy says with an enchanting smile, “I have another job for you.”
“No.” Ken says, approaching Lucy, his purple eyes glowering down at Lavinia, “I have a job for you.”
***
Their camp provides a valuable vantage point overlooking the cavernous systems sprawl but the scarcity of the caves luminous rocks and crevasses left hiding spots for enemies.
However, whoever hides among the shadows can wait, the next prey lies in plain sight with a raging camp fire drawing attention to their group of three with the flickering flame and climbing smoke. Their indifference to the attention they’re drawing worries Ken more than anything as Lavinia notes in his conversations with Lucy.
“Attack them or don’t. You’ve bulldozed through to this point so why stop now?” Lucy mutters, stirring away at her reptile soup.
Ken grunts, saying nothing more beyond glaring at the other team’s camp fire. His eyes linger on the largest, donned with armour possibly as heavy as his teammates and a long, broad sword to complement his physique. The others are men as well. One exudes the same power and energy Lucy does and wears similar, loose thread clothing and hangs a satchel around his neck. The last of the three is a mouse compared to both and the only human Lavinia has answered yes to her most recurrent thought, “Can I eat that?”
A mouse in the berserker’s shadow and a mute thrall within the Casters light Lavinia can’t figure out a purpose for the man beyond existing beside them. Perhaps he hunts as well, after all her target— the Sniffer— rests beside him and his bags. Whatever the case, Lavinia crouches at the edge of the natural formed balcony within the growing Dungeon, awaiting the attack order from either of her humans.
“I’m abrasive, I know but I’m not stupid. In fact, no one in this challenge could be this stupid.” Ken says, propping his chin up in thought, “It has to be a trap.”
Lucy rolls her eyes, “Of course it is, did you hear me say it wasn’t?”
“So? What’s your advice? Isn’t that what you’re here for? Show me the true path to power or whatever.” He groans, turning away from the camp to face her in another one of their arguments.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“It is not. I represent the wisdom of Magic and its protection. I will guide your actions and protect you against opposing forces of magic, but I will not-”
“Yeah, yeah, you won’t aid me in martial conquests.” He snorts, eying Lavinia as he returns to the edge, “At least you gave me this thing.”
“Don’t get her killed like the rest of your subjects.” Lucy says, dishing a pinch of spices into the large pot she manifested from thin air. She beckons on Lavinia, “Come taste this.”
“I’m using her.” Ken seethes but Lavinia skips over without restraint or hesitation.
“No, you’re not. Gather the will to fight for the power you seek or find the bravery to abandon it. Here you are, little Lavi.” She coos and Lavinia opens wide for the spoonful. “How is it?”
“I can eat that!” Lavinia cheers.
Lucy only chuckles, stirring some more before shutting the pot and setting the spoon through the handle. “Another hour on the fire and the meat should be soft enough. Do you think you can make some progress before it’s time for dinner and sleep?”
Her passive aggressive tone strikes its last nerve with Ken. Scowling he commands, “Come here demon, let’s end this. Watch our backs, Caster.”
“Finally.” Lucy groans to her feet and the metallic staff snaps to her open palm, “I’ll counteract their Caster’s magic…if they cast any to begin with.”
“Remember, your target is the sniffer, the big canine monster lying there. See it?” Ken asks Lavinia.
She nods, “Yes, Lucy.”
Brows furrowed, Ken ignores that and checks himself. His two curved daggers glimmer as he channels a power through the metal. Lavinia’s ears, covered by a sprouting fro of hair still manages to pick on the subtle vibrations throughout the blade as it did Lucy’s staff, easier even.
Concerning herself with her own challenge, Lavinia narrows her sights on the creature they called the Sniffer. A beast of great, hard armour from the looks of it, but smaller than she unless it could stand on it’s short, frail hind legs. It may or may not have eyes, too far too tell or even make sense of what she sees from the camp.
“Let’s go.” Ken says, leaping off the balcony and into the rocky jungle. Keeping to the edge of the walls, Ken wall runs across with two of his blades held in his balancing hand.
Lavinia leaps out after him, failing to keep up with Ken’s speed but making good headway as she sprints. The cavern itself is well lit, spotted by bushes infested with glowing bugs, the pests are so many they appear as the bushes leaves. Careful to avoid knocking into them, the strange monolithic walls and shattered black crystal rocks, Lavinia bolsters her body with Essence, eyes narrowed at far wall lit up by the camp fire.
Feet gripping onto the walls surface, Lavinia claws and stamps across, a poor attempt at imitating Ken but one she quickly leverages to scale above the rocky maze of unseen danger below. A fiercesome power springs to life within her as she reaches the crux of her run and leaps off, covering the distance between the walls mid-end. As she hurtles down, Lavinia glances back at the camp and Lucy generously empowering her through the glowing tip of her staff.
Crashing onto her feet, Lavinia winces but quickly shifts into another sprint, already Ken has met his challenge, although rather than devour each other they’re talking. Sickled daggers humming in each hand Ken faces off against their Beserker leader, a man double of Ken size and over four times Lavinia’s. He palms a giant sword by its blunt end, hefting the entirety with one hand and swinging it over his head as he quakes with laughter.
Ken, the Berserker’s Caster and their strained looking third member exchange looks before the giant man slams the weapon where Ken stood a moment ago, “Surrender? Be your subject? Don’t joke with me! Urrooaaoaa!!”
{Augur’s Roar Activated}— Attributes -5
Lavinia grits as the sprain from her fall suddenly worsens. Baring the pain she creeps along the rock incline leading up and around the Berserker’s camp as well as the exit through to the next path.
“Very well!” Ken sneers, his violet-eyes blaze as his skin and flesh melt away, taken by his aura as he shimmers into the ready Beserker, his daggers caught by the large weapon in a striking clang of gnashing metal
The Sniffer stands at the ready, tensed as every one of them watching the Berserker and Ken battle and wreck through the monoliths and crystals. Lurking close Lavinia confirms the creature has no eyes as she extends her claws, coating them with a burst of Essence that strengthens her biceps.
“Henry! Look out!” Their Caster calls out a moment to late as Lavinia pounces.
“Reais Smite!” Lavinia roars, sending a gash through Henry's stomach, leaping off his falling body as the Sniffer snaps at her.
Its face is wholly a mouth. It’s three jaws split open as it hounds a somersaulting Lavinia. She spares quick glances at Henry and the Caster, neither stand to intervene— the Caster’s attention fully turned onto the battle between the Berseker and Ken with Henry potentially dead.
“Rugh!” The Sniffer vomits its tongue at Lavinia, latching the blackened appendage around her arm as it’s fluid quickly sears through the flesh and bone.
“AAh! Reais Smite!” Punishing the mutt with a heavy swipe that rends it’s acid pouring tongue. The burns burrow deep where it held her, threatening to eat through her left arm entirely, even as she fuels the area with Essence. Lavinia growls baring her fangs at the whimpering Sniffer, “Will eat that.”
The tedious beast isn’t done either. The acid burn seals the wound Lavinia’s smite made and it pants, as if to show that it is unharmed before bursting into a galloping charge. Eyes widened in surprise narrow with infuriation as the beast charges. Quick thinking, Lavinia grasps her melting, boiling left arm and rips it out in one quick swing so she smacks the Sniffer in the mouth with it.
Doubling over, Lavinia grits the agony away, trembling as her precious blood pours out of the gaping wound and then a grace of calm and ease settles over her pain stricken mind and body. Bolstering her and sealing the gushing gap as well.
“Yes, Lucy.” Lavinia grunts to her feet as the Sniffer paces, watching her for its next move.
The Crystal previously embedded in her left hand grows out of her right after, an ever present part of her being. She taps into its power as the Sniffers three jaws drool with acid and its paces shorten, waving her ripped arm ahead the Sniffer diligently follows, pacing towards the direction of each wave.
Gasping, Lavinia tosses the arm to the side and watches as the Sniffer pounces after it, leaving its behind exposed. Her right arm surges with Essence as she concentrates a large portion of her reserves into an orb of unstable energy she chucks at the Sniffer, “Wave Shot!”
The orb travels a short distance, reaching the Sniffer before it explodes in a spreading arc of volatile Demonic energies. The wave smacks and slices through the Sniffer’s undefended, fragile legs and cuts up into its stomach before launching the beast far over the edge.
“Lavinia!” Lucy yells, transported behind her by a warp of dark mist, “You weren’t supposed to kill it, oh I hope you didn’t kill it.”
“No, Lucy?” Mournful for Lavinia she leaps off the edge in search of the Sniffer.
“Urrooaaa!” The Berserker roars below, bleeding profusely from cuts and slices all over his body, his armour bearing cracks reeking the same energies Ken puts out. “Caster! Bring it, bring it now!”
Their Caster slams his staff as his eyes go white with power similar to Lucy’s he mutters something in a language Lavinia doesn’t understand and the entire cavern rumbles. The Berserker laughs hysterically once more, rising to his feet as the monoliths and broken, obsidian crystal assemble into a chain-linking, slithering colossus. Gems for eyes and a splintering maw form at the top rock, glowing and roaring in sync with the guttural chanting Caster.
“Ken!” Lavinia hears Lucy shout as the rock formed serpent crashes atop his head. Gritting away the throbbing pains in her shoulder, Lavinia narrows her eyes at the muttering Caster, if Ken’s smushed then someone has to protect Lucy from the Beserker and his monster.
Resolved, a feeble flicker of Essence bursts to life in her hand as she charges, “Reais Smite!”
***
Lavinia swipes, scratching away heaps of rock and debris from the thrashing rock-serpent. Leaping off as its igneous form lashes out, smashing the ground with a rumbling tail whip. Landing on its body Lavinia digs in as a pest, Essence infused claws sunk deep she starts off sprinting.
“Aaahh!” letting out a battle cry of her own she claws out a line of crystal, dirt and rock as she runs up the rock-serpent. Another slam and unworldly hiss, the rock-serpent whips and tosses, forcing her off as it battles with the cave walls for space.
“Your Chosen is lost, a bloody paste between rocks!” The Berserker starts, rejuvenated and without any of the wounds Ken inflicted thanks to his Caster. Waving his massive sword at Lucy he demands, “Submit, Caster.”
Looking up from the embrace of the shrubs where the Sniffer had fallen, Lucy measures the Berserker and casts a glance at on looking Lavinia before gracing an answer, “He would’ve won if you didn’t cheat, Casters aren’t meant to get this involved.”
“Haha, the restrictions always have loopholes, animating dirt and magic-sensitive crystals into a mindless monster isn’t against the rules.” The Berserker’s Caster quickly defends himself, walking up behind him with a wide grin, “Once you join us, you’ll learn many techniques.”
“Can’t have two Casters on a team.” Lucy counters, gripping her staff.
His grin grows as he sizes her up, “Who said you’d be joining as a Caster?”
Lucy’s lips curl into a sneer, “Well then, I’ll have to decline your offer. Lavinia!”
Lavinia, startled by her own name jolts away from the tossing rock serpent, it roars after her, releasing itself from vertical confines to incline on its rocky belly. It’s maw rages, snapping at Lavinia’s dust trail as she leads the mindless creature towards the bickering humans.
Lucy raises her staff, ignoring the leers and positioning of the Berserkers group behind her as she channels power into the end of her staff and strikes the ground once Lavinia dives face first through her legs. A shimmer of her power ripples through the air and the rock serpent smashes its head into incorporeal wall Lucy’s divined. Rock, crystals and dirt splatter through, bathing the Berserker in his trump card’s remains.
Lucy snaps to him, pointing the staff tip at his head, “Not a step closer.” She warns, pulling Lavinia away from her legs without looking away she commands, “Lavinia, watch the other one.”
Facing another being with the same energies as Lucy is a larger challenge than even the rock-serpent. Exhausted of Essence she bares her fangs up at the fiend as is all her strength will allow.
“What do you think you’re doing, Caster? Your Chosen is-!”
“A bloody paste between rocks? I heard you the first time.” Lucy drawls, “But I’d rather die than submit to a brute worse than Ken, and you are worse than Ken.”
The Berserker breathes so heavily Lavinia could swear it billows the hairs on her neck standing behind Lucy. His voice booms with an enraged response and Lucy take her first step back, forcing Lavinia forward to the Caster looming over her.
His staff nothing like Lucy’s strange blood metal. His is a long rod with roots growing out of the sides. Up till now this Caster hasn’t looked a Lavinia, he flashes his row of teeth at her, unable to keep a grin off his face as he says, “You snatched yourself a familiar, a strong one too…assuming I don’t snuff it out of existence right now.”
Lavinia steps back, uneased by the man. He lurches forward to snatch Lavinia, she swipes but doesn’t reach him as the earth crumbles around his feet. Embarrassed, he loses the grin as on all fours he struggles to pull his feet out, “Ah! W-what’s going on?” he gasps as he’s drawn knee-deep into the ground. “Nei! Nei, I’m-!”
He’s taken neck deep in one go, dirt and rock fill his mouth before another word can be uttered.
“What are you doing?” The Berserker roars, brushing past Lucy to address his Caster. Lavinia gives the towering Berserker some breadth of space as he squats beside the sinkhole. Grabbing a handful of hair of his unspeaking Caster he pulls and yells, “Get out of there!”
Blood bathes him as the severed head of the Caster is all he drags out, “No!” Without the head the body sinks away and a pool of darkness forms where it bled. Distracted by his Caster’s head, the Berserker is that last to notice Ken’s curved blades slice out of the pool of darkness. Stealing two swift slashes at the Berserker’s eyes and neck, Ken rises out of the gap, his head and hair drenched in the Casters blood and his eyes trained on his screaming foe.
Ken presses forth, his blades set to skewer the Berserker but a man catches his wrists. “Enough, this is pointless, the Sniffer is dead, isn’t it?”
Lavinia recognizes the man in an instant as the one she slashed right as the battle with the Sniffer started. He should be dead or injured but all proof of her [Reais Smite] is in his ripped white shirt.
“You let them kill the Caster!” Nei, the Berserker cries, crawling away from Ken with squinted eyes. “You let them kill the Sniffer too! What a useless Chosen you are, Henry.”
Henry, the Berserker’s Chosen only holds Ken’s bloody glare, letting up only when Ken looks away, “And now we’re two teams without a Sniffer, one without a Caster too.” Ken groans to his feet, stumbling back into Lucy’s arm he manages to prop himself up against a mossy wall.
All four humans look between themselves, Lucy breaking the tense silence, “Why didn’t you intervene earlier, Henry?”
“I couldn’t.” his eyes glimpse at Lavinia, pouring a cold stare over her as she rethinks her earlier evaluation of the man. He is no mouse.
Lucy purses her lips, the curt answer clearly unsatisfactory she glances at a heaving Ken— the rock-serpent riddled his body with punctures and covered it all in dirt, it’s amazing he managed to end their Caster.
“No matter, we win now. You’re outmatched.” Nei says, growling as he hoisters himself up. “Leave everything behind, including that familiar of yours, or die.”