[Sally’s PoV]
As we move quietly, we approach the first lot of monsters closest to us. Once we’re within a few metres of them, they notice us. This group had two leeches and one of the heretics. Keeping it as quiet as I can, I swing my sword and strike at the heretic, leaving the leeches to the others. Turning to face me, the heretic grabs at me, nothing special but it was fast.
Raising my shield to block, it grabs at it and fails. I hear a hissing sound coming from the shield, and without giving me time to check the monster once again reaches out to grab. Blocking again, I started hearing more of that hissing sound, I swung my sword at where the shoulder should be. I sliced through with no resistance…no, it felt like I cut through water. Looking at my blade, it had blood on it, and it was boiling.
Looking at the hooded figure, I see the area I cut was not cut, the fabric of the robe was but seeing through that slice I see red skin…no, its red liquid. Continuing to block, I wonder what this thing is, is it all blood? Blocking once again, I swung down from above my head, right down the middle of its body but I was off slightly, a bit to the right. This time after it feels like I’m going through liquid, I hit something hard before my sword bounces off it, a crack sound reverberating through the air. The hooded figure slowly flows away onto the ground, into a small pool of blood that starts flowing towards the pool in the middle of the room.
[You killed Hooded Heretic, gained 2,000xp]
Crouching down and moving the fabric to the side, I see a palm sized rock, hollow on the inside with a large crack on it. The System didn’t give me information on it. Frowning, I looked to the others who had finished the leeches off and showed them the rock. No one, including Olivia, had any idea what it was, but we believed it was the heart of the monster since it died after hitting it. I store the rock into a sack we had, it might be handy later. Deciding to aim at the spot I felt the hit for the next lot of hooded monsters, we did a check on our equipment while watching the other monsters who weren’t moving towards us.
Looking at the front of my shield, the places the Hooded Heretic had grabbed at had corroded the wood away. My senses told me it would be bad if it latched onto me, the corrosion made a small hole into the shield in the two spots it had grabbed, the area around it was also weak. Grimacing, I knew it was possible that I’d lose my shield here. Looking at the others, they were fine. According to them the leeches were relatively straight forward, they would just lunge at you. Olivia didn’t have to do anything.
Adjusting Pup in my shirt, we move to the next group of monsters. I had observed after entering that these monsters moved in groups, two leeches to one Hooded Heretic, and the groups got larger, with the last group having four heretics and eight leeches. The next group we approached had three heretics.
As a group we slowly defeated the groups of monsters, Alisha’s Lashing Fire Kick was surprisingly effective as it set the heretics on fire and burned them quickly. If they burned like that, the orb was intact and it gave a System prompt.
[Unpurified Crystallized Blood Stone.
Can be used as the core in a reanimated aberration or in the use of a certain ritual…]
As we fought the last group, I kept two of the Hooded Heretics on me while Gray distracted the other two. Alisha and Elizabeth both finished the leeches, both having been bitten by them, leaving large teeth marks on their skin. The smell of their blood had perked me up, I knew it would be dangerous to be near them, especially Alisha, when I was hungry. Parrying another grab and seeing a hole breakthrough again on my shield, I grit my teeth and try to stab into the rock.
Hearing it bounce off, I knew I had not used enough power, and I felt an arrow skimming my arm as it plunged into the same place I tried to stab, a crack ringing out. I stabbed once more and knew I had broken it as the aberration spilled into another pool of blood that flowed to the big pool of blood. I have come to know that Olivia is an amazing shot, she has not hit us even if the shots skim us.
Defeating the next aberration, the last one of the group, I turn to assist Alisha and Elizabeth, both have singed hair thanks to the fires Alisha had set. Finishing the last of the leeches off, we stop to take a break.
Looking at the pool, I still feel something is here, not exactly calling me but something isn’t right about that pool of blood in the centre. As I’m sitting and thinking of what is causing me to feel something wrong, Alisha sits down next to me and rests her head on my shoulder, a habit that I didn’t mind.
“Thirsty?” Holding one of the bottles of blood to me, I take it while thanking her and drink it slowly. “I feel there is something wrong, or we’re missing something.”
“We found the stairs, but you’re right, that pool of blood is weird.”
“So you think so too?” Nodding and fidgeting a bit, Alisha says “Those weird rocks we found might do something if we put them in.”
Thinking about it, it did say those rocks were crystallised blood, so maybe something would happen if we put them in. So I ask “Should we try it then? Maybe we’ll get something from it.”
“Mm, let's ask everyone first. Can I sleep here for a bit?” “Sure.” As Alisha drifted off to sleep, I checked the message I had received when I got to level 16.
[You are more at ease with the monster within.]
‘What a strange message, not much I can do about it though.’ Thinking this, I tilt my head and rest it on Alisha’s head as I also take a short sleep, letting the others keep watch as we had stayed up last rest.
[Alisha’s PoV]
[Alice has levelled to 4!]
[You have levelled to 16!]
[The monster within awakens more.]
Looking at the Demonic Fox Awakening skill, it’s sitting at 25% now. When I hit level 16 it was during a fight and for a moment I had felt like my monster side was going to take over, causing me to stop for a second and get two of those leeches latched onto me. Shivering at the feeling, I drift off to sleep on Sally’s shoulder, while thinking about what she said.
Being shaken awake a few hours later, I slowly stir as Sally does the same. Looking around, I see Gray and Olivia asleep and Elizabeth had taken first watch. She does this a lot, but thankfully she has been more willing to rest if we insist. Sitting up and yawning, I grab a drink and some meat while Elizabeth woke Gray and Olivia up. We rested between each fight, so we didn't sleep long.
“Shall we continue to the stairs?” We’d found the stairs fairly easily, only one set of stairs in this room.
“Mm, Sally and I want to try something with the blood pool in the middle first, we want to put those orbs into it and see if something happens.”
Nodding, Elizabeth and Olivia look at the pool while Gray frowns and thinks. “It’s indeed suspicious, but hell why not. Just be prepared in case a monster appears.” Saying this, Elizabeth taps the sword on her waist. Nodding, we took our time to eat and drink and then got up and moved to the pool. Grabbing the sacks we had stored the rocks in, Sally grabbed one of the broken ones and threw it in. There was a hissing sound as it sank, and we waited for something to happen. After a few minutes, nothing occurred and we added the rocks one by one.
Taking the last one out, one of the few unbroken ones we had, Sally looks at us as we nod to show we were ready. Throwing it in, Sally raises her mostly corroded shield and steps in front of us. Readying my wind magic with Alice on my head, we waited as the hissing sound soon faded, then it happened. The blood from the walls and floor suddenly moved to the pool faster and faster, the pool of blood was bubbling and heating up like crazy, a foul smell piercing my nose quickly. Pinching my nose and seeing Sally do the same, we watch as the pool starts calming down, as a massive hand reaches out of it, made purely from the liquid of the pool.
Another hand reaches out and both grab the edges of the pool as a giant head emerges from the pool, the pool was being absorbed by this thing. It had no eyes, no ears, only a wide mouth leading to a void within it. As it fully emerged, its system prompt came up.
[Level 17 Champion Herald of the Blood God]
Without waiting, the aberration raises its fist and slams it down where we are. Moving quickly, Elizabeth kicks Gray away as Sally and I run in opposite directions. Hearing a loud crack behind me, I punch out at the other arm of this monster while getting my Lashing Fire Kick ready. Hitting the arm, it felt solid while some surface liquid flew off. Spinning, I send my flaming leg at the arm and connect, a sizzling sound coming out on contact. Trying to ignore the smell of burning blood and the foul smell this thing was letting off, I kept my assault up but it seemed fruitless.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
I was doing damage, but it didn’t seem bothered. It then raises the hand and slammed it down where I was. Dodging quickly and feeling the force from the arm hit the ground, I heard a crackling sound. Looking at where the arm slammed down, I am shocked to find the ground had the same type of corruption that Sally’s shield was affected by. The arms were safe but its hands could corrupt things it touched? Not wanting to feel that on my skin, I keep my distance trying to find a weak spot.
“Kraa!” “Woof!” Working in a team, Alice and Pup were keeping their distance, and while not able to participate fully were pecking and biting at the arm opposite of me. Looking over at Sally, she was keeping its attention…I think, it was slamming its fists down on us without looking. Gray was with Alice and Pup, trying to attack the other arm. After a few more minutes of attacking and not achieving much, I pull back and jump back to where Olivia was.
“I ain’t getting anywhere, you?” Asking Olivia this while looking over the situation from afar, Olivia quickly replies “None, even Elizabeth said she wasn’t getting anywhere. Can’t break through the weird skin.”
Even if it had a core like the Hooded Heretics, we’d have to break through its skin. A gurgling sound suddenly entered my ears and looking at the monster it drew back its head and released a wave of mist, red in colour, directly at Sally. Unable to react in time, Sally rolls away from it being slightly hit by the mist. Shaking her arm, I see red and black blotches growing on her arm as she grimaces.
“Let's just keep attacking, we might just break through.” Saying this, Olivia notches her arrow and fires once again at the aberration’s head. “Remember, this thing is a Champion Class, be careful.” Nodding, I ran back to the arm I was attacking and tried using my claws. Seeing it slice the skin a bit, it slowly regenerated back. Not looking forward to cutting deeply in fear of what may come, I keep attacking wishing I could see its damn health to see if this was effective.
Picking a spot, I keep slashing, managing to pick up enough speed while attacking to outspeed the regeneration that it had. Seeing the arm once again coming down for a strike, I use my wind to push me aside, however it changes the path of the attack towards where I was about to land. Shit, can’t dodge this. Using my magic to push as much wind in front of me as possible, I grit my teeth as the palm slams me down into the ground, crushing my back against the ground. Feeling my back absorb the impact, my wind holds up, taking most of the force from the hit along with my arms.
Groaning, I get on my feet, feeling burning on my arms, looking down I see the same botches that Sally had. Feeling the pain from them starting to kick in, I felt something wrong, like my blood itself was going against my body. Knowing this was bad, I quickly moved back to Olivia to see Sally there as well, looking in a worse state than I saw before. Olivia was using healing magic but wasn’t making much progress.
“Alisha, whatever this is, I can't heal it quickly. Take a potion and come back in a few minutes, I’ll try a few things with Sally, I can’t make promises.” Nodding, I grab a potion from my waistband and quickly drink it, one of the very few we had left. As I’m about to leave, I hear Sally mutter something. Moving closer, she was muttering “Something in its mouth, like one of those rocks. Deep in.”
Looking at the head, which was now focused on Gray, I see through the mouth and see something is indeed there, but compared to Sally’s improved vision, mine can’t make out what it is, but I knew something different was there. Coming up with a rather stupid idea, I dash to Gray’s side.
“Gray, can you keep it distracted for a bit longer?” Seeing him nod, I move quickly to Elizabeth’s side, my arms still burning, I can feel it creeping upwards towards my neck and chest. Knowing that the healing potion was barely helping, I knew my time was limited, so I arrived by Elizabeth and grabbed her arm. Turning to face me, I tell her Sally’s findings and my plan. Looking a bit amused and scared at what I was proposing, she nodded anyway and together, we once again moved towards Gray. Alice, possibly knowing what I was doing, grabbed Pup by the scruff of his neck and flew towards Olivia.
“We have one chance at this Alisha and by the Gods I hope it works.” Nodding to Elizabeth’s comment, we move past Gray as the aberration’s mouth opens again and…jump in. Seeing the orb-like rock right in front of me, Elizabeth and I stab our claws and sword into it, managing to pierce it and stop ourselves from falling. Just as I free one hand to continue stabbing this orb, a mist rolls through the mouth. Ignoring it, I start stabbing my claw into the orb, in an attempt to break it further while dangling with one hand. Elizabeth was doing the same with a dagger while also hanging from her sword.
As the mist rolled over us, I could feel the burning from my arms speed up. Biting my lip, I keep stabbing, feeling my arms slowly lose strength. Finally, one stab later, the orb cracks right down the middle as my mind starts going blank. Using my free claw, I slash my leg in an attempt to keep myself awake as Elizabeth stabs into the crack and swinging her body up with the help of her sword, lands a kick on the dagger, splitting the core into two. Using the remains of my strength, I turn my body, crotch on the orb and jump off it out of its mouth, losing consciousness before I land.
***
Stirring awake, I lift my heavy eyelids, and sit up. My body still burns, aches and feels incredibly fatigued. Looking to my side, I see Olivia with bags under her eyes with her hand on me, healing. Seeing me sit up, she stops and helps me up onto my butt while looking a bit angry and continues healing me. Knowing the answer to her anger, I let her heal me as I see Sally walk up to me, and without a word slaps me before hugging me.
“Idiot, you and Elizabeth both. You both nearly died doing that!” Not saying anything, I hang my head feeling guilty and hug Sally back as she grips me tightly. After a few minutes, she lets me go and sits down next to me, grabbing my arm. I see the notification that came up while I was passed out.
[You have defeated Champion Herald of the Blood God, gained 20,000xp]
[You received a drop: Crystallised Drop of Pure Blood.]
[A Hidden Condition has been met.]
[Dungeon Performance Rating has increased to D+]
With the huge amount of experience received I was quite shocked. I was currently very close to level 17 already. Turning to where the monster had been, I saw nothing there but a hole in the floor, with something in the middle. Noticing my glance, Sally, who still had a grip on my arm, said “After you and Elizabeth were done being stupid, the monster turned back into blood and condensed into this.” Handing me a deep red orb that needed both my hands to lift, solid all the way through, I saw the information for it.
[Greater Orb of Condensed Pure Blood.
An Orb made from highly purified blood, it is useful to monsters who require blood.
Grade: C]
“What does Grade mean?” Seeing Sally shrug, I turn to Olivia who gives me an angry look before shrugging as well. Still interested in what it means, I decide to claim the drop I received from the Herald. Seeing the information basically said what the name implied, I handed it to Sally.
“This could be helpful to you.” Nodding, she takes it and puts it in the sack with the Orb.
“Right, you’re somewhat healed. You’re lucky that weird corruption disappeared when the monster did. I can’t heal your broken leg yet, you overexerted yourself too much as it is, healing your internal injuries just added too much to the strain. Don’t be stupid again.” Getting up angrily, Olivia moved to Elizabeth next and checked on her. Seeing that Elizabeth was up before me, I knew she hadn’t been as bad as me. I could see a red mark on her cheek, possibly a result of an angry Sally.
“Well, it was stupid but at least it worked out. Rest, no monsters have appeared so take your time.” Saying this, Sally let me go and got up and moved over to Gray, who was sleeping. Alice and Pup were sleeping beside him, seeing them safe gave me some relief. Grabbing some water and meat out, I eat quietly before resting my head and sleeping well.
***
Leaning on Sally’s shoulder as I got up, my leg had yet to completely heal but was in good enough condition for us to continue. It would only take a few more hours to be usable and we had decided to check out the staircase that had appeared in the pool. We had decided on this based on the fact the first set of stairs may have been a trap and this was likely the real staircase down.
Stepping onto the stairs, Sally moves me onto her back and I wrap my arms around her neck, we make our way down. With the exception of Elizabeth and I, everyone else was in good condition. Alice was on Gray’s head while Olivia carried Pup in her arms. As we descend, I notice that the stairs are spiralling down, and after twenty minutes of walking, we get to the bottom and into another room.
The new room still had the same obsidian walls and floor, lanterns running along the sides. In front of us was a large door. When my eyes landed on it, the System gave me a prompt without requesting it.
[Trial of the Blood God.
A trial that is unique to you. Failure will mean death.]
“Well, I think we need to wait till Alisha has recovered before continuing.” Speaking up, Elizabeth looks at me and winks. Looking at the doors again, I knew there was a chance that we would be separated upon entering, recovering fully would be for the best. Sally puts me down against the wall gently as the rest check their equipment.
The corrosion from the first floor had affected our equipment, looking at my gauntlets, I knew they were on borrowed time. Sally’s shield was useless now, it was full of holes, chipped and broken away, something we had no way to fix. Flying over and sitting on my head, Alice gives me a peck, a sign she was hungry. Putting a piece of smoked meat on my head for her, I lean back on the wall and close my eyes.
After a few hours, thanks to our fast regeneration, I was fit to fight. My leg was still a bit stiff, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Facing the doors, I prayed there wouldn’t be anymore blood related events inside, I was tired of the smell. Following behind Elizabeth, we entered the trial together, and with a flash of light, I arrived in a new room. In complete darkness, I knew I was alone, as I saw a quest from the System.
[Trial Quest: Thunderstruck.
You have entered a trial within the Temple of the Blood God. Overcome this trial and you may receive a reward.
Rewards depend on performance in the trial.]
Feeling worried since Alice had also disappeared, I look around, seeing the scenery start to light around me, a desolate landscape, a sky covered in dark heavy clouds. I hear the rumbling of thunder in the sky as a flash of lightning lights up the surroundings. Seeing monsters in my surroundings, slowly moving towards me, I prepared myself while hoping Alice was fine.