Maria looked up at the Pythor King as it hissed.
It peered down at her with its luminous red eyes.
Maria yanked the N-Stoff Scepter from her inventory. “Please do something!” She cast {Firebolt}. A massive stream of fire shot from the scepter, engulfing the Pythor King's head. As it recoiled, she took Matteo’s hand and turned heel. She tried running back the way they came, but the Pythor King spiraled around the cavern and sent more boulders crashing down. Matteo screamed as Maria pulled him along. She weaved around the Pythors as they came charging. One lunged with its sword, but she parried the strike before knocking it into the path of a falling boulder.
The Pythor King belched more shots of magma. Maria dodged, pulling Matteo with her as one impacted the ground and sizzled against the stone.
“Keep going!” Maria yelled.
The Pythor King slithered over, its jaw open wide.
Maria spun around and hurled her sword. The blade caught in the Pythor King’s mouth, causing the monster to hiss and wail as it veered off course. She dashed for the exit and reached the tunnel. Complete darkness prevented her from advancing.
Maria took out some tattered cloth from her inventory. “Give me your sword!”
Matteo clenched the handle. He wouldn’t give it up. “Hold still, then!” Maria wrapped the blade in cloth before casting {Flames}, creating a makeshift torch.
More Pythor came running at them. Maria cast {Sparks} but nothing happened. Out of mana? She pulled Matteo out of the way of a Pythor’s attack and smacked it with the scepter before continuing their retreat.
The Pythor King crushed its minion as it pursued them into the tunnel, snapping its fangs. Maria and Matteo sprinted as fast as they could, but the Pythor King drew closer, shaking the entire cavern. Soon, the cave path grew too narrow for the beast. It hissed angrily, then retreated to its cavern.
Maria didn’t stop running. She ran deeper and deeper into the darkness, panting and gripping her side as she ran with Matteo. The hisses and screeches grew fainter, until the duo reached the crossroads again. Maria collapsed, her chest heaving with each breath and sweat covering her face. She needed a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts.
Matteo sat across from her, breathing heavily as well. The makeshift torch quivered in the boy’s hand. It was nowhere near as bright as Chariot’s sword.
“Are… you… alright?” Maria asked.
“What just… happened?”
Maria shook her head. “I don’t know… the ceiling just… collapsed.”
Matteo winced, rubbing at his elbow. It was scraped, with blood trickling down his forearm.
“Hold still.” Maria pressed her hand against Matteo's wound and cast {Basic Heal}. Her hand glowed golden for a moment, then the light vanished. She raised an eyebrow, then looked to her mana bar.
Empty.
Maria’s face went pale. How? {Firebolt} only cost 10 MP. She looked at the scepter.
N-Stoff Scepter
Damage: 5
Magic Attack Boost: +1%
“Now you’re cooking with gas!”
No wonder that {Firebolt} had been so incredibly powerful. The scepter must have drained all her MP casting it. It must have happened to the Pythor she got the thing from as well. She gulped it down a mana potion. MP: {40/103}. Just enough for four spells if she was careful. Only one mana potion left.
“What are we going to do?” Matteo trembled.
“Find a way out of here. I just need you to stick with me, alright?” Maria received a notification–a message.
Chariot: Maria, are you unharmed?
Tanalia: You good?
Maria breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn’t been crushed during the collapse. She opened her message menu.
Maria: I’m fine. Matteo is too. What about everyone else?
Chariot: We are all safe. Kylian’s worried.
Maria: Figured. Where are you guys?
Tanalia: Where are you?
Maria: Matteo and I ran back to the crossroad. We’re going to try the other path.
Chariot: We’ll find you. Stay where you are.
Maria: No, get everyone out. I’ll take care of Matteo.
Tanalia: We don’t even know if the other tunnel leads to an exit.
Maria: We don’t have another option. I’ll keep in contact.
Chariot: We’ll monitor your health bar. Do you have the medicine?
Maria: Yup.
Chariot: Focus on escaping with Matteo first.
Maria: Alright. Keep the others safe. See you on the outside.
Maria sighed and closed the message window. “Your family’s safe.”
“They are?”
Maria nodded. “Chariot and Tanalia are getting them out. We should get out too, before any more Pythors show up.” She looked down the other path as she stood. A chill ran down her spine. Maria helped Matteo to his feet and trudged into the darkness.
The winding tunnels eventually led to a series of wooden support beams. A mineshaft? Torches were mounted along the wall; all had long gone out. Maria wrapped them in tattered cloth and lit them with Matteo’s sword. She took a real torch and extinguished the sword.
She had no weapon, save for the N-Stoff Scepter. It was pathetic for melee. And what else might it do? Chariot called it: red text on weak items was dangerous. With only one mana potion left, she couldn’t use it for magic. Not now, at least. She wished she had grabbed a Pythor’s sword for herself.
Matteo was still breathing heavily, though it didn’t look like it was from exhaustion.
“You doing alright?” asked Maria.
“I’m fine…”
“You sure?”
Matteo shuddered and looked back at her. His eyes were wide. “I just want to go home.”
“Same. If you can stay calm, and just be brave right now, it would help a lot. I don’t have a useful weapon right now, and I won’t take yours.”
“What am I going to do with this though?”
“What do you mean? Use it to defend yourself if you have to. Fight the Pythors.”
“I can’t fight.”
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“You can.”
“I can’t. I don’t know how…”
Maria let out a long sigh. She felt more confident being with Tanalia and Chariot. They were experienced fighters, easily capable of protecting Matteo. She wasn’t? How to keep him safe, then?
An idea came to mind. “When I was younger, I was absolutely terrified of the dark. When you can't see anything, your mind starts playing tricks on you. I used to think there was something lurking in the shadows, waiting to jump out and grab my ankles whenever I climbed out of bed. But, eventually, I came to realize my fears were all in my head.”
“But the Pythors aren’t in our head.”
That explanation worked a lot better in her home world.
Maria paused trying to think up something else. “Don't let fear control you. You can admit you’re scared, but you have to tell yourself that you’re capable of handling whatever comes your way.”
“I’m not though.”
“You can be.”
"How are you so brave?”
Maria thought for a moment. “Being brave doesn't mean that you're not scared. It just means you're willing to face your fears.”
“Is that how you and the others are able to fight all those monsters?”
“Exactly.” Well, maybe not Tanalia. She’s probably just a daredevil.
Matteo stared at his sword as it glistened in the torchlight. “Can I do the same?”
“You can. I believe in you.”
A nervous breath escaped his lips. ”Alright.”
Maria nodded and adjusted her witch cap. “Let’s keep moving then.”
The duo trudged further into the mineshaft. Eventually, they saw orange light at the end of a tunnel. They breathed a sigh of relief as they exited the cave. The ravine was empty. Man-made scaffolding ran rampant around the walls of the crevice. Maria opened her map. Now out of the caves, it was much easier to tell their location. They weren’t far from the edge of the conjugation of chasms. Only one ravine over. She followed the scaffolding and crossed steep drops, keeping Matteo close behind, eventually finding a cave that lined up with the ravine nearest to the exit. Which ravine had they even come from? There were so many it was impossible to tell.
Chariot: Have you found a way out?
Maria: Not quite. The other path led to a ravine outside, but we need to go into another cave. What about you guys?”
Chariot: We’re still venturing through the caverns. We suspect an exit is near. There’s a slight draft.
Tanalia: Which ravine are you in?
Maria: On the map it looks like a… well a very skinny ‘S’. But with a small line midway through it.
Tanalia: I think I see it. We’re near one a few ravines away. Do you see the one that looks like a horseshoe?
Maria: Yes. So we’re not meeting up any time soon.
Chariot: Focus on getting out of these ravines. Once we’re both out we can meet up in the middle.
Maria: You got it.
Maria gestured towards the darkness of the cave. “Come on, we’re almost there.”
Matteo stood beside her, staring ahead. He gulped and nodded his head. Slowly, he raised his sword.
The torchlight guided them as they wound through the tunnels. Eventually, they emerged into a wider chamber. Maria froze. Illuminated in the torchlight was another wall of snow-white scales.
She held Matteo’s shoulder tight and gestured for him to stay quiet. It’s here? How? Did they circle back into its lair? Is this the same one? Maria looked at Matteo and pressed her pointer finger against her lips. Matteo nodded, and shuddered as he looked at the Pythor King. Was it worth pushing on? This was the nearest exit. No telling where the other caves led to. It looked to be the rear of the Pythor King at least. Slowly, Maria moved around the length of its body until she found a way around. Its body arched slightly over a narrow dip in the cavern floor. Maria gestured with her hands, instructing Matteo to crawl under the body, slowly and quietly. Matteo gulped as he crept towards the Pythor King and got down on his hands and knees.
Once Matteo was through, Maria crawled after him. She kept the torch low, not wanting the flames to burn the bottom of the Pythor King’s underside. Once through, she got back to her feet and looked ahead. The cavern was long and wide, and the Pythor King was woven around several rock pillars. From the darkness, a distant hiss echoed.
A chill ran up Maria’s spine. She spun around, trying to discern which direction it came from. Scurrying noises came from around her.
“Somethings watching us,” she whispered.
Matteo looked around with his sword shaking in his hands.
A Pythor leaped from the dark!
Maria pulled Matteo out of the way, but was unable to block the attack. The monster's blade cut her arm, and she stumbled back, wincing as blood dripped down her arm and soaked her cloak. She swung her torch in defense, but the monster swung again and struck her a second time. Her HP had dropped to {387/532}.
Maria cast {Firebolt} and engulfed the Pythor. It screeched and flailed around the cavern. More Pythor stepped into the light.
“Maria…”
“I see them.” Maria pushed through the pain and raised her torch. “Stay close to me.”
The cavern rumbled as a loud hiss echoed.
“It’s awake!” Matteo yelled.
“We can’t go that way,” Maria said.
Two Pythors attacked. Maria pulled Matteo away and fled further into the cavern. She found more layers of man-made scaffolding around the walls and stolen crates with red barrels lying around.
As the two Pythors caught up, Maria spun around to face them. She blocked one of their attacks with her torch, causing sparks and embers to fly at her. She parried and struck the monster with her torch. It caught fire. Flames traveled along the cloth under its armor. It screeched in pain and dropped its weapon. Maria took it and slashed the Pythor’s neck until it was severed.
The second Pythor attacked her.
Matteo yelled and swung his sword. He smacked the Pythor’s weapon away. It gave Maria just enough time to lunge forward and stab the monster’s neck to finish it off. A loud ding echoed in her ear
Name: Maria Marigold
Lvl: 8 >> 9
HP: 387/532 >> 437/594
MP: 31/103 >> 41/115
Total Defense: 83
Total Attack: 27.5
“Maria! Look out!” Matteo yelled.
Another Pythor ran at Maria. She screamed as it nearly cut her. Maria fell and pain flared up her back. She dropped the torch! It bounced off the cave floor, and the flame dwindled. The Pythor hissed and extended its neck to attack, but Matteo swung his sword and stabbed it. It screeched and flailed as Matteo pulled the sword back and swung until the creature died.
Maria winced and looked back at him.
“I did it!” He stared at the Pythor while it disintegrated.
“Good work,” Maria said in a pained voice.
The torch died.
“Maria?”
“I’m here. Just stay still.”
“I can’t see!”
“I can’t either. Hold on a second.” She reached out and grabbed at what she assumed was his shoulder.
Matteo jumped.
“It’s me! It’s my hand!” She felt around for the torch and managed to grab hold of it.
A low, deep hiss echoed through the cavern. A crimson light emerged from deep within one of the tunnels. The Pythor King slithered out, and its giant red health bar returned, only chipped away a smidge.
Maria glanced around the cavern. With the crimson light now illuminating it, she could make out the scaffolding all around. It looked as though this used to be a part of the mineshaft network, with abandoned barrels, crates, and explosives lying around. At the far end of the cavern was another tunnel. Maria presumed it was the way out.
“What do we do?” Matteo asked.
The Pythor King opened its gaping jaw. In the crimson light, Maria’s sword glistened. It was still lodged in the monster's mouth.
It lunged at the two.
Maria cast {Lightning Bolt} and dodged to the side with Matteo. The giant serpent crashed into the cavern wall and hissed. It slithered around and shot more magma balls at the two. They trailed through the air, splashing against the cavern walls and floor. The balls illuminated the cave in bright red and heated up the chamber. Maria and Matteo tried to reach the exit, but the Pythor King slithered in front, blocking the way. Its elongated body broke some scaffolding, causing planks to fall near a pile of explosive barrels.
Maria cast {Firebolt} and struck a red barrel by the Pythor King. It exploded, taking off a significant chunk of the monster's health. It writhed around, hissing in pain as Maria retreated with Matteo.
“I have a plan!” she yelled. “I’ll distract it. You gather as many red barrels as you can into one pile! I need one big explosion from a couple of them.”
Matteo nodded and ran off to gather barrels, and Maria chugged her final mana potion.
The Pythor King whipped its head from side to side before striking the ground beside her. Maria rolled to the side, but the Pythor King bashed her with the side of its head and knocked her against the cavern wall. She groaned, slumping to her knees before wobbling back to her feet.
Chariot: Your health is low. What’s happening?
Tanalia: You in trouble?
Her HP had plummeted to {146/594}. No time to send a message. The Pythor King belched another hail of magma balls. Maria limped away, narrowly avoiding them. For as long as she could, she evaded the Pythor King’s attacks, but the longer it went on, the more tired she grew. One hit was all it would take to finish her off.
As it slithered past the explosive barrels, Maria cast {Firebolt}, hitting each one. The explosions took off small chunks of its health, but nothing substantial.
“Maria, It’s ready!” He pointed to a pile of red barrels.
“Get away from them!” Maria yelled. She cast {Lightning Bolt}.It struck the Pythor King, stunning it and giving Maria enough time to reach the barrels.
Matteo ran to the other end of the cavern.
The Pythor King returned to its senses and slithered after her. Maria struck it with {Lightning Bolt} once more, stunning it beside the barrels. She cast {Firebolt} at the barrels.
Nothing!
The Pythor King hissed as it rose, preparing to lunge at her.
These barrels were a darker shade of red than the others. Perhaps it meant they were sturdier. She needed a stronger flame. Much stronger. But how?
The N-Stoff Scepter!
Maria equipped the scepter again. The Pythor King lunged at her, but she stood firm and aimed the scepter at it. She cast {Flames} and the spell erupted from the tip like a volcano. The blast was so intense it was like Master Eardwulf himself cast it. Tanalia had called it: the scepter was powerful! A massive explosion went off and shook the entire cavern.
The Pythor King flailed and hissed as its health started to drain. Maria ran to Matteo and pulled him away from falling debris. Several boulders fell from the ceiling and struck the monster, crushing it. The Pythor King writhed around for a few seconds before it shimmered and disintegrated into an explosion of polygons and sparkles.
Name: Maria Marigold
Lvl: 9 >> 14
HP: 146/594 >> 196/903
MP: 0/115 >> 10/174
Total Defense: 83
Total Attack: 27.5
Short Star Blade Acquired
Serpent’s Blade Acquired
Pythor King Scale x3 Acquired
Pythor King Fang x2 Acquired
The cavern had been lit up by fires started from the explosion. Maria breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her brow. The cavern had settled, but it probably wouldn’t last long.
“We did it!” Matteo said.
Maria chuckled and slowly rose to her feet. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You mean it?”
She smiled. “Absolutely!”
“Can we get out of here?”
Maria nodded and took his hand. He had stopped quivering. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”