First off most of my chapters except for discussion, Stagola's viewpoint, and side stories has an average of a little over 1000 views which is awesome. Second I'm not pooping while making this chapter so I might not post today, instead I'm more likely to post Saturday. Also yes I shall refer to the Blood Sorcerers as BS from now on and I'm aware that its already used as an abbreviation for Bullsh*t and Bachelor's of Science degree.
P.S. If you ever comment on any of the posts it glows red to me so I will check it and usually respond so go back and check on comments that you asked a question about if you're curious.
P.S.S. I just realized its going to be a major pain to do stats and skills this time around with how long this arc is.
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When Emperor logged back in the next day, Stagola was already there glaring at him. Emperor snickered and then burst out laughing while Stagola seethed.
-You actually believed that I'm an NPC this entire time, priceless. I knew referring to you as a champion like the NPCs do would pay off in some way.
"You're an a**" replied Stagola, who then walked over to chat with the other players.
Emperor went over to apologize then organized the group to start up their journey again. He noticed while doing this that two of the noob BS's had Schmied combine the BS cloak with their old armour to remove the class disadvantages from it while adding on some of the cursed items to upgrade it.
'Clever usage of the cloak and items but having a fork and book with evil energy seeping out of it attached to your armour is a bit strange looking.'
They began walking through the city once again before eventually finding a place near the center that seemed like a square or plaza. In the center it had a fountain but instead of water, blood sprayed from various sources. It was a statue of a baby to an old man, all of the faces twisted in disturbing ways. The blood flowed from various sources including the nose, mouth, eyes, scars, etc. It was a gruesome sight but some of the BS's began to drink from the fountain and they said it was high purity blood. Apparently this was the equivalent to a mana potion. They stopped and canteens were made to carry some of the blood because it would be useful in the battle against the boss.
It took them another hour to reach the other side of the city. Which showed a tunnel leading even deeper into the caverns but there was another bridge. Not as long as the first and a little bit wider but it was pretty much the same otherwise. This time they decided to cross all together as the previous bridge proved to be quite sturdy and deciding groups now would cause fighting amongst themselves.
This time the crossing was uneventful as only a few minor mosquitos attacked. Normally it would cause some problem as their cramping into a group prevented them from luring the mosquitos close enough to surround and kill. But with the BS they didn't even need to care as they formed iron spikes from their blood and shot it at the enemies. As they entered the tunnel they felt a warm draft flowing from the cave. Also it was wider than the previous tunnel, once again suggesting it was used more often and by bigger things.
They warily entered, keeping an eye out for any oversized mosquitos. The cave didn't have much bloodstones in it so the noobs that hoarded unreasonable amounts of them took out some to use as a light source. They also passed some over to others that didn't have any. It created a scene like fireflies flying through the night sky due to the red glow and empty darkness. A few mosquitos traveled towards them once in a while but were completely unprepared to fight.
They seemed to be attracted by the light rather than the people holding it and they were very small compared to the other mosquitos. The melee fighters easily wiped them out whenever they came, allowing the BS to recuperate lost blood over time. This was to preserve the fountain blood until they reached the boss.
The size of the mosquitos was disappointing to some of them. A few of the noobs were hoping to encounter and fight the giant mosquito in these tunnels. They reasoned "Better here than on a bridge or in a chamber".
Eventually they entered another chamber that was almost pitch dark. They couldn't see the roof nor could they see the floor that far ahead of them. There was a few hill-like structures in the distance that faintly glowed red. While they took in these sights a suspicious sound caught their attention. Drip! Drip! Splat! Crunch! etc!
They had no choice but to slowly inch forward while keeping their eyes on the ground. They remember the pit in the previous chamber and they didn't want to be introduced to anything similar. They semi-consciously headed for the nearest glowing hill because of curiosity about the sound which was coming from the hill.
They reached the hill without encountering any bottomless pits or traps. The hill up close revealed itself to be a mound of pure gore with some bloodstones mixed in. A small mosquito pulled itself out of the mound and flew closer to them which they killed. Then a plop noise was heard as a larvae hit the hill from above. It immediately began digging into the hill but it was killed by one of the noobs that was climbing the hill casually. He was a gore fan that giggled from the sickening crunching noises coming from underfoot. Then a quest appeared before all of them.
Quest: Purify the Blood Mounds
Time Limit: N/A
Difficulty: E+
Requirements: Have Blood Sorcerers in your party/raid group
Ancient mounds of gore were constructed in the caverns by the BS's in worship of their patron god. Now the mosquitos use them as places for their young to metamorphose into adults in a nutrient rich environment. Cleanse the mounds of their insectile filth and erect barriers to protect them. The god behind the Blood Sorcerers is both generous and cruel.
Rewards: +5 permanent blood stat to Blood Sorcerers, non-believers will be given misc. rewards, new mosquitos spawn slower
Failure: All Blood Sorcerers in your party/raid group die
Effects of failure: All Blood Sorcerers -10 all stats, 2 items from everyone is randomly cursed
'Sh*t for only a E+ quest those rewards and effects of failure are great.'
One of the Blood Sorcerers cheered and said yes thinking that this quest was awesome.
As the quest was accepted by one member, the god Sangre has interpreted it as all of you accepting it. Quest accepted
'That idiot, without even considering to refuse nor talking with us. Oh well we were probably going to accept anyways.'
-Ok Blood Sorcerers do you have any sort of barrier/purifying skills?
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
One of them responded "Yes but both take a while to charge up so we haven't used them at all."
-Perfect start purifying this hill then set up a barrier later. We will defend you while you do it. The E+ difficulty suggests that enemies will come and attack us while you do this.
One of the noobs said "Such a generic quest, but with a name like Sangre I'm hoping to get vampiric weapons from him. It'll be sweet to get a weapon that absorbs the enemies health."
Another one said "Not very likely since it's only E+ difficulty, even if you get a sword like that its stats will be sucky."
A third one said "But it said something about him being generous that must be the rewards."
A fourth one said "The generous part could also apply to the effects of failure, saying he could do much worse but doesn't. While the cruel part refers to the rewards to non-believers."
The noobs continued contemplating while the BS's started up their rituals. The villagers only looked at them confused at what was happening. Noticing this Stagola told them that the BS's were going to kill off their young then block off the place where they grow so we'll encounter less mosquitos. After he said this a window popped up in front of the champion BS's about familiarity rising which was ignored since they were concentrating.
Their ritual started with them cutting themselves then spreading blood around the perimeter of the hill then lining up on this line of blood. They began chanting strange words without any unity. There seemed to be no set chant for them as one of the noobs was even chanting about penguins. An eerie red glow spread covering their bodies which quickly turned brown like dried blood while dark miasma covered the area.
A dark miasma covers the area, -5% dark resistance due to non-dark class or lack of class, reduced stamina from heavy atmosphere, -5 all stats
'This will make things more difficult, at least it's weaker than last time.'
Just as expected mosquitos came closer to investigate the miasma and glow. They were quickly killed since they were aggroed by the BS's and didn't even notice the other people. Their group easily surrounded the hill and set up a defensive line. The mosquitos came from all directions explaining the + in the difficulty level but with their numbers the only difficult thing was the wait. Thankfully the BS's could do the purifying and barrier at the same time. After ten minutes a surge of dark miasma surged into the hill. Bits of insect chitin flew out of it like rockets then a brownish red aura surrounded the hill.
The dark miasma has dispersed
1/10 Sangre Blood Mounds has been purified and protected
They got ready to set off towards the next hill when a sound was heard. Plop! Schreee! A larvae landed on the hill only to make a shrill noise then explode violently. Some of the noobs cheered while even the villagers smiled a bit at the sight. The villagers were being desensitized and peer pressured to enjoy to such sights. Which is a good thing since desensitized people made good soldiers. The champions didn't need to be desensitized since they saw it as just a game.
The rest of the mounds were purified without a hitch and the quest got completed. After they set up the final barrier instead of the black miasma disappearing it compacted above them in a maelstrom shape.
Quest Completed
Then various items dropped from it and levitated towards the non-BS players and villagers. Emperor received a strange red horn that had not a single scratch upon it. Its slight yellowish color gave it a bloody enamel color and it was slightly twisted right before the end. The end appeared to be razor sharp and had real dried blood on it.
He handed it over to Stagola to identify it. Stagola himself received a fork and was depressed.
Item: Sangre Tooth
Rarity: 3 Star
The tooth of a god, extremely sharp and hard. Would be rarer if Sangre didn't have thousands of teeth that often fall out and regrow. Given as a quest reward on a whim after it fell out while Sangre was searching his dumpster for reward items. Can be sold for a high price or implemented into equipment. If implemented into equipment it will increase bleeding when attacking enemies, raise dark resistance, and increase respect with dark races/undead. But it may negatively impact relationships with anyone related to churches of light.
Item: Sangre fork
Rarity: One of a Kind
A fork used by a god, eww. It is very durable and made from an unusual material. It used to be cursed but that was removed by Sangre before he gifted it. It can be sold to unusual people or melted down by a very skilled smeltor.
People got all sorts of unusual items, some useful and others... not so much. Prompting the observation that the generous and cruel part both applied to the reward. But Emperor was very satisfied with his reward and asked Schmied to attach it to his armour. He refused and said he didn't have the right tools for that and wasn't skilled enough.
After examining the items and resting a bit they headed off towards the other end of the chamber. It was lit up by a few bloodstones. When they reached the tunnel the giant mosquito appeared before them.
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Here's chapter 24, lots of windows this chapter. Thought the tooth may be a bit overpowered so it won't be attached until after this arc. I'm not delaying the boss battle on purpose, it just sorta happens as I get new ideas that I want to incorporate. Also even though the mosquitos are referred as such they aren't, this allows me to add in things that mosquitos don't do. The hills of gore then metamorphosing is inspired by maggots and flies. The larvae are inspired by leeches and Monster Hunter giggis.
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Next chapter: http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=4367