“YOU MONSTER!!!” Josh yelled, making everyone else turn around facing Max.
“You killed our FRIENDS!”
The shock on their faces made Max almost run away, but he couldn’t because he was frozen in place.
Josh turned to the boss.
“You will pay for this! Be careful guys, this guy can also use spells!”
The goblin boss shook his hands trying to say something, his face in confusion.
“For our friends!” another hammer lift by Josh.
But this time, everyone raised their weapons. Karen, Lysa, Rowan, Axel, Josh, and Max were the only ones left of their class.
Max couldn’t believe what was happening, he could see the goblin boss pointing the finger at him. But no one else paid any attention to him, now they wanted him dead.
Max was haunted now by guilt and remorse. “What have I done?!” His friends, if he could call them friends, perished because of his actions.
CURSE OF THE BETRAYED
The giant text covered his sight for a couple of seconds, then it disappeared. In his inventory, under his name, he could see it.
Curse of the Betrayed
Description: The souls of your fallen comrades lingered in the abyss, their betrayal seeping into the fabric of reality and binding itself to you. This curse now follows you wherever you go, drawing the attention of the realm’s most formidable and dangerous creatures.
Effect:
1. Attraction of Stronger Monsters: No matter where you travel, you will inexplicably attract the most powerful monsters in the vicinity. These creatures are drawn to you, sensing the aura of your curse and eager to test their strength against the bearer of such dark power.
2. Aura of Remorse: The curse exudes an aura that not only attracts monsters but also makes them more aggressive and determined to defeat you.
3. Echoes of the Fallen: Occasionally, you will hear whispers and see fleeting images of your fallen friends in moments of quiet or extreme danger. These echoes serve as a reminder of your guilt, fueling the curse's power and further intensifying the attraction of powerful enemies.
Max felt a chill run down his spine as he read the final words. He could almost hear the faint whispers of his lost “friends”, their voices mingling with the darkness of the dungeon.
“What am I supposed to do now?!” this couldn’t be worse, right?
“HOLY STRIKE!!” Josh yelled, and the goblin boss fell.
DUNGEON CLEARED - Victory!
The text appeared in front of them, and moments after that they were all teleported in front of the king once again.
The king stood up, and with a wave of his hand, he welcomed them back.
“Welcome back my great heroes!” he shouted, his voice spread across the court. “I’m glad to see you all safe back-”
The princess came sneaking behind her father’s back, whispering in his ear: “Uhm father-”
“Not now,” the king felt annoyed. “I’m giving a nice speech.”
“But father…”
“No buts, since your mother died I spoiled you too much. You can’t interrupt my speech.”
“But-”
“No buts, go sit back,” he waved his hand back at her, “and let me do my thing.”
She rolled her blue eyes and went back to her smaller seat next to him.
The King coughed to get his voice ready for another round of shouting.
“Where were we? Oh yes. I’m glad to see you all safe back and - weren’t there more of you or am I going crazy?” he stood there scratching his head. The princess looked bored and at the same time, her face was covered with an “I tried to tell you” attitude.
“Vlad, were there more of them?”
King’s right-hand man nodded. “Yes my lord, there were twenty of them if I recall, and now…” he counted them one by one. “One, two, three, four, five. Only five.”
“Six,” Max spoke up, he didn’t want to be forgotten this time, so he thought it was important to speak up.
“I didn’t see you young man, my excuses. Six of them, what in the God’s Friuna happened?”
“I would like to know that as well, you should all be back now, did the teleportation spell fail?” The King looked at the mages with giant staffs and pointy hats.
“No, my King,” Josh stepped up. “The Goblin lord killed them.”
“Killed them? How??!! That was not supposed to happen!”
“He burned the bridge and they fell.”
The king looked at the mages. “You told me you prepared the dungeon for them to get the basics down and nothing bad should happen to them! Explain yourself!! Now!”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
A mage stepped up, took his blue pointy hat off, and kneeled before the king. “And that is the truth my majesty, we can only investigate if darker forces, like followers of the Demon Lord, somehow got into the dungeon and did something without our knowledge. We will look into it.”
The king held his hand on his forehead. “This is a disaster. With only five of them-”
“Six,” Max added once again.
“Whatever, five or six it doesn’t matter, the Demon Lord is too powerful for you. How will you save us now?”
“Fear not my King!” Josh stepped up once again. Karen, Rowan, Axel, Lysa, and Max already knew where this was going. “There are only five of us, (Max didn’t even bother anymore) but we are the strongest and we always were the smartest in our class. With training, and some better armor, I believe we can beat this Demon Lord, without any problems!” and then he raised his hammer.
The five of them cringed, but the rest of the court yelled in excitement. The women blushed and hid themselves behind the transparent scarves that lay around their necks. The men yelled with him, motivated that the Demon Lord could be defeated.
“Why are people so dumb?” Max thought to himself.
“What a great speech, what a great leader! Amazing! Bravo!” the King clapped. “I’ll provide you all with the necessary stuff for your travels, the ex-heroes that decided to stay in our world will teach you everything you need to defeat the Demon Lord. Please, my Heroes, follow me.” He went slowly down the stairs trying not to trip and fall over his long white cape.
They followed the King to the bailey. Max looked at the vast open area of the courtyard surrounded by stone walls. The ground was a mix of well-trodden dirt and patches of rough grass, covered with heavy footprints of countless soldiers and horses. At the center of the bailey, a large, circular area was made for training, bordered by wooden posts and rope to mark the combat zone.
The clang of metal on metal echoed through the air as knights and squires practiced their swordsmanship. Max looked in awe at how fast they moved and how powerful their attacks were. Wooden training dummies, scarred and battered, stood in neat rows, each one bearing the marks of one type of practice. Nearby, the archery targets made from straw and wood were set up against one wall, where archers practiced and honed their skills, their arrows with great precision finding their targets.
Twenty small wooden tables stood on one side, holding equipment for different classes.
“You can find all the necessary equipment for your class here, we prepared a little too much now it would seem.” The King laughed, making jokes about their dead friends, and a moment ago he was shitting himself.
“I can’t be forgotten now I guess,” Max approached the tables looking for Mage equipment. Not long after, he found it.
“This is the best of the best, for your level of course, that we could make. In the future you will need to upgrade your gear, this won’t be good enough.” Vlad said in a cold tone.
Max took the stuff and it all went to his inventory. He looked at it, reading carefully.
ROBE OF ARCANE MASTERY
* Description: A flowing, deep blue robe adorned with silver runes that glowed faintly with arcane power. The fabric is lightweight and enchanted to provide protection against magical attacks.
* Attributes:
* +50 Mana
* +10 Magic Resistance
* +5 Intelligence
WAND OF ELEMENTAL FURY
* Description: A small, slender wand made from ancient wood that pulses with elemental energy. The staff channels the mage's power, amplifying spells cast through it.
* Attributes:
* +30 Spell Power
* +15% Casting Speed
HAT OF ENIGMATIC INSIGHT
* Description: A wide-brimmed hat made of enchanted fabric, embroidered with mystical symbols. It enhances the mage's cognitive abilities, allowing for quicker spellcasting and deeper understanding of arcane lore.
* Attributes:
* +10 Intelligence
* +10 Wisdom
BOOTS OF ETHEREAL STEP
* Description: Sleek, silver boots that shimmer with an otherworldly glow. They allow the mage to move swiftly and silently, leaving behind faint traces of arcane energy with each step.
* Attributes:
* +15 Agility
* +10 Movement Speed
AMULET OF MYSTIC SHIELDING
* Description: A pendant with a large, radiant gem at its center, suspended from a delicate chain. It creates a protective barrier around the mage, absorbing a portion of incoming damage.
* Attributes:
* +20 Magic Resistance
* +10 Armor
GLOVES OF ARCANE DEXTERITY
* Description: Fine leather gloves etched with intricate sigils, enhancing the mage's ability to manipulate magical energies with precision and speed.
* Attributes:
* +10 Dexterity
* +5 Spell Power
And he also got 100 gold. Max didn’t know if this was much or not, but anything free was good enough in his books.
“Also,” the King started speaking to them once again. “You will find a map, to get to your master. Some are close, some even closer, and Merlin is the one furthest away. Good thing there are no mages left now, they would have to walk reaaally far away.” he started laughing annoyingly once again, just like he forgot about Max, once again.
Max opened the map, it really looked like he had a long walk to get to this Merlin guy.
“Well, you can now go, you can rest if you want, or not. We can only wish you good luck, and may Preyya shine a light on your road.”
Everyone around them pressed their hearts with their index finger.
“But why are we going to them? Isn’t it better if they come to us?” Lysa asked.
“Oh, no. This way you will learn more about the world, train, etc., etc. A lot of positives until you reach your masters.” The King responded.
“But what if we die on the road, or if the Demon Lord wakes up before we arrive?”
“The Demon Lord will need at least 5 more years to wake up, so you don’t have to worry anything about that. And just follow this map and you will be safe, you are going through populated areas, of my Kingdom. Every city and town was in advance informed of your arrival, so no need to worry, the road is completely safe.”
“Safe? Like we were in the dungeon?!” Karen said.
“We still aren’t sure what happened there, but on the road, you should be totally okay! Now go my heroes! Go! Your masters will explain everything to you in greater detail.” the King turned around and left.
“For a guy who needs our help, he really acts like he doesn’t.” Max thought.
“Here is some extra gold for your travels because your friends won’t be needing it anymore.” Vlad approached every single one of them and gave them some extra gold, and then he stood in front of Max.
“Sorry young man, this is for heroes, no begging here. Guards!”
“I’m not a beggar! I’m also a hero!!” Max yelled.
“Oh, my bad! Sorry. Please wait here, I’ll come right back with your gold.” Vlad said.
“Thank you!”
“Well, see you in a couple of years guys! Good luck.” Josh said and went.
The others just nodded, Karen and Lysa hugged, Karen cried a little, and everyone left, leaving Max alone.
After some time the sun started to play hide and seek with Max, and it hid behind the castle walls. The moon stood high in the sky, and the air was cold to breathe.
“This isn’t so bad,” Max thought. “Maybe this time, I will do something in my life. I feel guilty for the death of my friends, but it wasn’t entirely my fault, the wand was broken.” Slowly everyone left the bailey, leaving Max completely alone there. It took him five hours to realize that Vlad had forgotten about him, and then he took out his map and went.