374 days until the Arkon Shield falls

22 hours until Dungeon Purge

Even with my line of sight half-obscured, I couldn’t miss the creature standing stock-still in the center of the chamber.

The thing was roughly humanoid in shape. Each of its limbs was formed from thick ropy muscles, naked and uncovered by skin. The creature’s arms were abnormally long and hung loosely from its shoulders so that its bare knuckles dragged along the ground.

Its feet, like its hands, were also oversized. Six-toed and six-fingered, the creature was clearly not of human descent. Completing the picture was a single eye that stretched across its face, a distinct lack of nose, and a gaping hole in place of a mouth and lips.

“What is that?” I murmured into the shocked silence.

Before anyone could think to respond, the creature kicked into motion and raced forward, unnaturally fast and emitting an unearthly wail. Instinctively, I raised my staff and wreathed it in fire. The others also tensed in preparation, but no one moved to attack.

“Wait!” Jain ordered, seeing me ready to strike. Turning to the others, he added, “Slow retreat. Now!”

What, why? I wondered, but I bit back my protest and held in the dragonfire I had been about to unleash. Like it or not, I was not in charge of this fight. Backstepping with the others, I kept my gaze fixed on our approaching foe.

Despite the creature’s ungainly appearance, it moved far faster than any of us, and before we withdrew any significant distance, the monster flung itself into the doorway.

A second later, it rebounded.

A shimmering translucent curtain had appeared across the doorway. I drew to a halt. “Did we—how—what…?” I paused for breath. “What stopped it?” I asked in a calmer voice.

“A control ward,” Cedric answered, amusement tracing his voice.

“What the hell is a control ward?” I asked. I’d never heard of one before. “And why did no one tell me that was going to happen?” I demanded as the others regathered around us. It was apparent I was the only one surprised by the ward’s appearance.

The death mage chuckled.

Ignoring his companion’s amusement, Jain explained, “It’s a spirit Technique I earned in one of our previous dungeon runs. It works only in dungeons but comes in handy in moments like this.”

“I say,” I muttered. “How long will it last?”

“A minute,” Jain replied. “Time enough for us to plan our attack.

Meanwhile, the creature had risen back to its feet and was pacing across the entrance, its single eye fixed on us. Putting the time Jain had bought to use, I reached out with my will and analyzed our foe.

The target is a level 99 lesser horror. It has no Magic, is gifted with Resilience, is gifted with Might, and no Craft. Additional information revealed by anatomy: this is a creature champion.

“Bloody hell,” I said. “A creature champion already? Really?”

“About damn time, too!” Liyanda exclaimed. She rubbed her hands in glee. “And if we’re lucky, there will be more!”

I looked at her strangely. It was not the reaction I had expected. “How so?”

The fighter opened her mouth, but before she could get a word out, Jain interrupted. “Li,” he said warningly.

Liyanda closed her mouth with a snap. “Sorry,” she mumbled to the rogue before turning away.

I watched her curiously. Now, what was all that about?

“Considering this is a horror, it’s not so surprising,” Jain said, going on as if Liyanda had never interrupted.

My gaze flicked to him. The rogue’s face was studiedly neutral now, but I’d caught the glance he’d thrown the fighter earlier, and his expression then had been anything but warm. There is something about the creature champions they don’t want me finding out, I thought. For a moment, I considered pursuing the matter further but curbed my impatience. I would get no answers now, I knew.

“Why’s that?” I asked, letting Jain steer the conversation to safer waters.

“All horrors are champions,” he said.

I looked at him blankly.

“You’ve not seen one before?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Strange,” Jain replied. “They can be found everywhere on Overworld—or so we’ve heard—and seem common in our domain too. We’ve encountered them in all our previous dungeon runs.”

Heard from whom? I wondered but didn’t voice the question. “What are they?” I asked instead.

“We’re not rightly sure,” Jain admitted. “While the type and physique of the horrors may vary, they are almost always humanoids.”

“And often damn hard to kill,” Cedric added.

Pierre bobbed his head in agreement. “Even though horrors seldom have magic, they can soak up lots of damage, and their levels can vary widely too.” He glanced at Jain. “This one shouldn’t be a problem to deal with, though.”

The group’s leader nodded. “I agree.”

“How do we tackle it?” Pierre asked.

Jain rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking. “Send the dead orc in through first. The horror is crowding the doorway, and we need space to maneuver.” He looked at Cedric. “Have your pet run to the center of the chamber. The horror will follow it.”

The death mage acknowledged the order. “What about the rest of us?”

“Standard dungeon formation,” Jain replied. His gaze darted to me, and for my benefit, he explained further. “Liyanda will take point and draw the creature’s attacks. Pierre and Cedric will attack from the rear from range, while I will support Liyanda upfront.”

“Where do you want me?” I asked, unsure what role the party wanted me to play.

Jain frowned. “Stay behind Liyanda. She will protect you. I need you close by to heal her in case—”

I cut him off. “I can heal from afar.”

I saw Cedric’s eyes narrow, but I ignored him. “You can?” Jain asked, looking surprised.

I nodded, not bothering to explain further.

“All right, then you stay in the rear with Cedric and Pierre and add your own attacks to theirs, but remember your primary purpose will be to keep Liyanda alive. Understood?”

I nodded, and Jain swept his eyes across the rest of the team. “Everyone ready then?”

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“One moment,” I said. Before he or Liyanda could step out of reach, I cast flared conduit and touched a hand to both their shoulders.

You have forged a life magic conduit to the player, Jain. You have forged a life magic conduit to the player, Liyanda.

“What was that?” Liyanda asked, frowning as she felt the spell’s effect.

“A conduit. It will allow me to heal you from outside of touching distance,” I replied.

“Nice,” she said and didn’t inquire further. I could see that Jain’s reprimand from earlier still stung.

“Okay, let’s get to it, people,” Jain said.

✽✽✽

Cedric’s reanimated pet shambled ungainly into the room and, just as Jain predicted, the moment it crossed the doorway’s threshold, the horror set upon it.

The undead creature seemed to have lost some of the coordination and speed the orc had possessed in life, and while it swung its axe just as powerfully, the lesser horror avoided the blows with ease.

Dancing around Cedric’s pet, the horror raked the undead with its clawed hands. The reanimated warrior made no attempt to dodge. Swinging its axe before it, the undead kept up its relentless advance into the room. It’s nothing more than a meat shield, I thought of Cedric’s pet. But given the pounding it was taking, it was a mighty effective one.

The rest of us entered the room with Liyanda leading the way. Crouched down low and protecting as much of her body behind her tower shield as she could, the fighter edged into the room. Jain, two steps behind her, strolled casually by comparison, his two short swords twirling in his hands.

I stayed in the rear of the formation, letting both Pierre and Cedric walk ahead of me. If things turned chaotic, I didn’t want to get in the way of the others. And to be honest, I didn’t know my companions well enough yet to trust them to protect me. Alone and apart, I could see to my own defenses while still playing the role Jain expected.

After entering the room, the three of us in the back spread out against the rear wall while Liyanda and Jain marched onwards to engage the lesser horror.

By now, the creature champion had cut Cedric’s pet nearly to ribbons. Despite the dead orc’s size and armor, the lesser horror’s claws ripped through the metal as easily as a knife through butter.

“When do we begin our attack?” I asked.

“Wait for Liyanda to engage first,” Cedric replied.

The fighter was still a few yards from the horror and closing cautiously. With some time on my hands, I opened my magesight to study our foe.

A dense mass of spirit leaped into sight. The horror’s spirit weave was by far the most complex I’d ever seen in any of Overworld’s creatures and almost as intricate as a player’s. It was curiously distorted, too.

My brows drew down. I couldn’t say what made me think that, but I thought there was something… peculiar about the horror’s spirit.

I turned to Cedric. “You notice its spirit?”

The albino caster tore his eyes away from the destruction the horror was raining down on his pet to glance at me sideways. “What about it?

“I’m not sure, but it looks… off,” I replied.

Cedric frowned and gave me his full attention. “Off how?”

“I don’t know, but it seems mangled.”

The death mage snorted. “You’re imagining things. That creature’s spirit weave is as tangled and incomprehensible as any other I’ve seen. Now stop wasting time and focus on the battle.” He paused. “You’re going to use the same spell you used against the orcs?”

I still found the skewed nature of the horror’s spirit intriguing, but Cedric wasn’t interested, and there was not much point discussing the matter further with him. “Yeah,” I replied. “You?”

“Decaying ray,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow. Decaying ray was a ranged spell. “I thought only Seasoned players could cast projectile spells.”

Cedric grunted. “Decaying ray is a seasoned-ranked spell. A Veteran mage etched the spellform into my Focus, which is the only reason I’m able to cast it.” He eyed me sharply. “Is that not the case with your own spell?”

I kept my face expressionless and replied blandly, “Of course.”

At the back of my mind, I chewed over the nugget of information contained in the death mage’s words. A Veteran player. There was no way any human player had attained that rank yet—which meant a non-human player had enchanted Cedric’s Focus. More confirmation that they’re from a sponsored city.

“What is your spell called anyway?” Cedric asked.

Urgh. Now, why does he have to be so curious? Before I could be forced to come up with a suitable lie, though, Pierre interrupted. “Will you two stop nattering and attack already?” he snarled.

Glancing forward again, I saw Cedric’s pet lay twitching in a heap on the ground. Liyanda, meanwhile, had already engaged the lesser horror. Though perhaps engaged was not the correct word. Huddling behind her shield, the fighter was letting the creature rain blows down against its hardened surface.

Jain had slipped around the lesser horror and, making good use of the distraction Liyanda provided, was slicing at it with his twin blades. His attacks weren’t doing much damage but appeared to annoy the creature. Finally, the monster swiped at him in irritation.

The rogue, though, was too agile to be struck. Dancing out of the way, he waited until Liyanda shield-bashed the creature to regain its attention.

Pierre had begun his own assault too. A flight of arrows arced through the chamber and struck the lesser horror in the hip, thigh, and shoulder. But the creature was as unfazed by the ranger’s attacks as it had been with Jain’s.

Cedric lowered his staff, and I followed suit. A miasma of black formed at the tip of the death mage’s Focus, and a heartbeat later, a bar of black energy burst out, splashing into the lesser horror’s chest. This at last, gave the creature pause, causing it to momentarily stop its assault on Liyanda.

Glaring at Cedric with its single eye, the creature snarled in fury. But before it could advance in our direction, Liyanda moved on the offensive. Rising from her crouch, the fighter stood tall and lashed out with her tower shield at the distracted monster.

The creature staggered backward.

Flowing forward in the same motion, Liyanda hacked downwards with her broadsword. Where Jain’s smaller blades had failed to bother the creature, the fighter’s heavier broadsword cut into the horror’s ropy muscles, and it wailed in agony.

I launched my own attack. Taking care not to hit either Jain or Liyanda, I shot a fire ray at our foe. The burning lance of heat struck the creature mid-center.

It stumbled backward again.

With a pleased grin, I summoned more dragonfire. But before I could blast the horror with another fire ray, both Jain and Liyanda leaped forward and landed blows of their own. An instant later, they jumped back, and with perfect timing, Cedric and Pierre released their next volleys. Catching on, I did too, only a fraction slower.

Soon, in a coordinated series of attacks, blows were raining down on the hapless lesser horror from all directions. In the face of our concentrated fire, despite being higher-leveled and a creature champion to boot, our foe succumbed quickly.

✽✽✽

You have gained in experience and are now a level 60 Trainee.

Barely a minute later, the battle was over.

Driven under by our ceaseless attacks, the lesser horror collapsed to the ground. When its defeat seemed inevitable, I stopped my own attacks to conserve mana and lifeblood.

I’d advanced only a single level from the battle, but considering the minimal effort I had expended in the fight, I wasn’t complaining. Striding forward, I joined the others gathered around the corpse. “That was easier than I expected,” I said to Jain.

“It did go down easily,” he admitted.

Cedric pulled out a scroll from his robe, then looked questioningly at the group’s leader.

Jain motioned for Cedric to wait. Kneeling over the fresh corpse, the rogue shoved his arm beneath the creature’s ribcage and all the way to his armpit. What’s he doing that for? I wondered, perplexed.

Then the realization hit me. Jain was looking for the corpse’s champion core.

My gaze flitted to the rest of the group. They were watching their leader avidly. “What’s he doing?” I asked.

No one answered or even met my gaze. They’re definitely hiding something.

Jain yanked hard, pulling out a small white object. Before I could get more than a glimpse, he shoved it into one of his pockets, but I was confident it was a champion core. The rogue rose to his feet. “Now you can continue,” he said to Cedric.

The death mage unfurled the parchment he held and began reading. Letting the mystery of the core lie—it wouldn’t do to appear too eager—I focused on what Cedric was doing. The mage was raising a new pet, the lesser horror this time.

“Is there anything he can’t reanimate?” I wondered aloud.

Jain smiled. “There are some restrictions. The corpse must be freshly slain, and Cedric may only control one pet at a time. And as you saw, the undead don’t make for the best fighters.”

I nodded, but despite these limitations, there was no denying the value of reanimate dead. It allowed the party to constantly reinforce itself, and if the group could do that with a creature champion, well then, it didn’t matter how lackluster the undead’s performance was. It gave the party a definite edge. Enough to have cleared three dungeons? I wondered. I suspected so.

Cedric completed his spell, and his new pet clambered to its feet. “Time to move on,” Jain said. “Let’s see what else this dungeon has in store for us.”