“Haaa… I should have expected better.”
The Cave Troll was down for good. Its body was not singed at all, but well-butchered. The flaming sword was simply an illumination effect. There was no actual change to the damage the sword caused. Not that he would complain, since he was spared the effort of holding a staff and a sword at the same time,but still….
Firebrand (Fireball Subskill)
Mana Consumption: 6/hour
Created from abused basic fire magic. Find out for yourself what it will work with! Does no damage. But looks cool either way! Reduces durability randomly when used on equipment. Can consume flammable object if left long enough.
’I guess there should be such limitations. Can never make it too easy for players.’
Winter swung his flaming sword a couple more times, before he decided to try turning it off.
’How do you turn this off again?’
Well.. the video never covered those…..
“Cancel,” he tested. The fires shut off like a faucet.
’Okay. That works.’
He tested it a couple times more for fun. Turning it on and off. Even tried whirling the sword in patterns like he saw on TV.
*Slip*
“Ah,” exclaimed Winter.
*Stab*
You took damage. -25 HP
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Winter’s curse echoed throughout the cave. He could not decide whether to panic or cry.
(Author: I will leave it to your imagination what happened there)
Lesson: Leave such maneuvers to professionals.
Recovering from his last debacle, Winter swore he would never twirl a sword around again. For any reason whatsoever. He was glad Daniel was not around to witness the fiasco, or else he would never hear the end of it.
’Worse,’ Winter shuddered.
’He would definitely tell Celine!’
Winter shuddered again. Meanwhile, a thousand kilometres away, Celine sneezed, though she was wearing a bikini under the Caribbean sun.
He was glad he found something else to keep him occupied. A troop of Goblins. They were no match for him without the impediment of a staff on his left hand - or a fireball.
’This might be it,’ said Winter to himself. This was the first room with lighting, that he encountered.
Winter did not spend just two or three days exploring the cave. He spent twelve days! Most of the time was spent in the fifth path. It branched a lot and went for really long. It exited to somewhere within the swamp. He did not bother to check since he was set to finish his current adventure.
Winter spent a lot of time luring enemies around the maze of caves when he encountered big groups. Now, some of them came up to twenty mixed mobs in a single large room. Sometimes more. He always lured the strong and fast Trolls away first, then thinned down the Goblin ranks, and went to the slow Dirt Moles. He encountered so little Cave Dwellers that it was not worth mentioning them as a threat, since he was so used to killing them.
Earth Spike was extremely handy, after a few experiments that ended in disaster. Mana bolt was bright and attracted enemies. More than he could handle single-handedly. Fireball, too, was more trouble than it was, not worth the extra damage. It attracted too many mobs.
Earth Spike was noisy. It exited the uneven rocky ground with a loud grinding sound,which was great in confusing enemies. The sounds echoed around the cave, leaving mainly the monsters he’d injured chasing after him, while the rest were swinging their head around, looking for the source of the sound in the near darkness.. He was much more careful, after he’d made a bad turn, that ended up in a dead end too the first time, chased by a pissed Cave Troll that got hit with a Fireball on the face, accompanied by another five of its kind, and maybe twenty goblins. He was not sure whether it was that many or not. Winter was definitely not keeping track, too focused on staying alive, and too lazy to check the logs.
He went back to having Fireball on his left hand, until he encountered mobs, since it depleted his sword’s durability pretty quick. His last encounter at the last room of the fifth path was a named Cave Troll. Sadly, he fled like a little girl, since it was surrounded by at least ten normal ones. He managed to lose them only after tripping them up with Earth Spikes.
Oh. His level had also increased by five from roaming around. He put stat points to Intellect and Wisdom, in anticipation of his release from the curse soon.
’This is odd.’
Underground, Winter expected the most practical illumination to be a torch. But the source of the light ahead was unwavering. It had a reddish hue. It should be a torch, right?
The corner was too sharp. It was shaped like a hairpin, leaving him unable to see what was the source of the light, without engaging half his head and body. He was worried that it would be another nest of mobs.
’I can always run when it gets dangerous. Yes.'
Having decided his course of action, Winter retraced his steps, using the rough sketch of the cave he stitched onto the rabbit skins. After he was sure he could escape far enough, he tucked the makeshift map back into his inventory and prepared his heart. The word ‘Reflex’ was ready to be uttered the moment he felt danger.
’Here goes nothing!
TTRRRINNG!
What he saw was unexpected. He caught a glimpse of a dragon breathing fire and uttered the word without another moment of thought. Winter did not even have the time to register the window that signified he had some sort of information from the system.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Reflex!”
Augmented effect! Speed x1.1!
Augmented effect! Speed x1.3!
Augmented effect! Speed x1.5!
Augmented effect! Extended time 0.5 Second!
Augmented effect! Extended time 0.5 Second!
Augmented effect! Extended time 0.25 Second!
Augmented effect! Extended time 0.25 second!
Augmented effect! 200% movement speed for 20 seconds!
In the throes of his extended time, speed, and perceptive ability, he had the time to read off the message while his feet rocketed down where he came from.
*Crash*
You ran into a hard obstacle at great speed! -250HP.
*Groan*
Winter sat up and began gathering himself. His ears were perked up, ready to bolt at the first stomp of the large dragon’s footstep.
*Silence*
There was nothing. To be sure, he remained unmoving and waited longer.
*Silence*
Scared, but curious as to why the dragon never pursued him despite being awake and breathing fire, he tentatively walked back to the hairpin turn.
'It is definitely not an Illusion! It looks so solid! It has the feel of weight, fierceness. It is definitely alive!'
Winter was stuck between trying to justify what he saw, and justifying why he was not dead. In any game,dragons were among the ultimate monsters. If you meet one alone, you better be strong, or die like a dog.
He furtively glanced as little as possible. The visage of the breathing dragon remained still. Even the fire remained still! The breathed flame was several hues of red, with the darkest red at the center of it, closest to the mouth.
The creature that was unmoving was majestic. It must have been as tall as thirty meters to the top of its head. Its wings were spread wide beautifully. Each scale glittering as crimson as the flame it breathed. From the bottom, Winter could not see the eyes of the dragon. But he was sure it was set in the same tone as the snarl visible at the corner of the great beast’s mouth.
The stilled scene was even odder, as the fire that was aimed down at a spot was cut off near the end, as if the dragon was but a picture inside a three dimensional movie.
’It is frozen! The stones!’
A little closer now, Winter could see displaced peebles where the dragon crashed down its feet to brace itself while breathing out inferno. It remained floating on the air. Never going higher or lower, despite Winter spending a few minutes observing.
He could not touch the dragon from any angle. His movement was stopped up to the point where the fire was cut off. A skeleton missing upper half of its body was where the inferno would have landed. The clothings it wore were completely gone. Whether from age or what incinerated the upper half of the corpse, Winter had no idea.He picked up the charred stick lying beside the skeleton.
Damaged Sun’areth (Durability: 50/2000)
Once a relic of great power, it is damaged beyond repair. Its owner suffered defeat battling Fuenos, the Great Fire Dragon. Crafted from a piece of the Mother Tree, it is unique, meant for great things that unfortunately ceased with the death of its owner. The weapon that is supposed to grow together with its master was ruined before it reached its full potential.
Restriction:
Magician and extended class only
Level 60
Attack: 5-10
Magic Attack: 15-25
+10 INT
+15 WIS
+500 Mana
Additional effect: Recognition
Possessing this staff alone is a mark of great power. Despite its damaged form, a well-practiced Mage would recognize this staff and its true worth. Preferred treatment from Magician-type NPC. Negative familiarity with Priest-type NPC while equipped.
Cannot be repaired
Despite being charred, Winter could imagine how beautiful the staff originally was from the uncharred bottom half. The wood was originally a beautiful white, almost like a marble, with veins even paler than the white of its wood. The grain was smooth. The tiny runes visible between the veins were not carved, but as if it was part of the staff itself. A meter and eighty centimeters in length, gradual thickening near the top, with it ending with nothing there. Judging from the empty spot at the top, the top seemed to hold an orb in the past. It was a good weapon, despite the damage.
’I wonder if I will ever get to see the finished product.'
There was another good news from the system, but he would think about that later. This mystery beckoned him.
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Author's Note:
1. Credit to -The Slacker- for the diligent PR
2. Special Credit to Veresliosi and Vim1inc for bouncing stuff around
3. Do let me know of mistakes you find. Try as me and my PR to spot them, we might miss some.
4. Next chapter marks the end of spelunking in a cave. Can expect it this Friday.
5. Enjoy!