The only sound present, other than smoldering crackle of burning mushrooms, was my heavy breathing. We had won the battle, but the margin for victory had been as thin as a razor. We had no way of knowing how many dwarves would come to investigate the massive series of explosions we set off earlier, and ten had nearly been our limit even with our mostly successful ambush. If one of our advantages hadn’t played out as well as it did, I doubt our party would be the ones still standing amongst the carnage.
Lowki came limping over at a snail’s pace, his maw slick with blood. I was glad to see he was still alive. The initial injury he suffered at the hands of the hammer-wielding dwarf had severely limited his mobility rendering him mostly useless for the rest of the battle. Based on the blood running between his teeth, he brought at least one dwarf’s life to an end. In rapid succession, I cast a regeneration spell his way and several quick bursts of my minor healing spell. Lowki moved a little easier as the restorative magic repaired torn tissue and broken bones, but it would likely be several minutes yet before he was fully restored.
A loud grinding noise of bone on bone signaled Ripley reincorporating her skeletal body. With the passing of the cleric, whose spell had unsummoned her so effectively, within seconds Ripley was standing tall, her sword and shield at the ready. She gazed around her surroundings before coming to stand near me.
Tallos was nowhere to be seen, though I knew he was nearby since I could spy the toppled mushroom he had been striding atop. Trotting over, we found him laid out awkwardly against a large jutting boulder in the cavern floor. His eyes were closed and he was unconscious. He was breathing fine, so I wasn’t too worried about this condition. From the matted blood caked down the side of his angular face, he must have been knocked out after colliding with the nearby stone outcropping. As I had with Lowki, I cast a regeneration spell on the unconscious elf and repeatedly cast my simply heal until his eyes finally opened.
“Take it easy, Tallos,” I said as helped him to a seated position. He was badly disoriented, so I used my hands to help guide him. “You took quick the nasty fall and hit your head. You’ll need a few minutes so take it slow.”
Tallos winched as he held a hand to his head, pain etched across his face. “Did we get them?” he asked shakily.
“Yeah, we did,” Stella answered as she carefully inspected our friend, coming close to his eyes as if she were checking to see if Tallos had a concussion. “Thanks to your shots before you fell, Xaz only needed to fight off one of the remaining dwarves. If you hadn’t taken out the warrior with your amazing shots, this could have gone very differently.”
“Don’t mention it,” Tallos said between gritted teeth. The pain evident on his creased brow began to lessen as my healing magic did its work. “I only wish I could have jumped to another mushroom as the bastard was chipping mine. What happened to that one? I owe him an arrow or two.”
Lowki’s abrupt roar, combined with the blood slowly running down his maw, answered the question. Tallos patted the great cat on his shoulder to show his appreciation.
My eyes inspected Ripley, gazing up and down her bony body. She looked none the worse for wear for having been unsummoned. “And what happened to you, Ripley?” I asked the mute skeleton. While Ripley could be destroyed, at least temporarily, nothing like what the dwarven priest had done ever happened before.
“The priest had some type of unsummoning spell,” Stella answered for the unspeaking minion. Ripley nodded along with her words. “It’s not a very common spell to have, but can be pretty powerful against enemies relying on summoned pets. Err, minions.”
“Is there any way to counter it,” I asked hopefully. Losing Ripley had left me fighting two powerful foes single-handedly. “Other than slaying the offending dwarf?”
“Yes, probably,” Stella answered, her teeth showing as she raised her left cheek, unsure how it could be accomplished. She told me as many moments later. “Maybe, using your spell to summon her again? Though, that would take too long.”
“Well, killing the cleric did the trick. Damn, I probably could have finished him by myself there at the end, but what the hell was that imp-looking thing?” I asked, recalling the high-level imp who suddenly appeared out of nowhere to so viciously end the dwarf’s life.
Stella didn’t answer immediately, instead moving her paws through the air at an invisible screen. In the next moment, a System prompt from what felt like a long time ago appeared in my vision.
“Ah,” I said as I scanned the information. “I had forgotten all about the six-piece bonus. It’s never happened before.”
Aratar’s Blazeweave {Set Armor Bonus}
Three-piece: MP increased by 300.
Four-pieces: Intelligence increased by 30.
Six-pieces: {Doom, Doom, Doom!} All of your damaging abilities and spells now have a slight chance of summoning a fire imp who will fight on your behalf for 30 seconds. The fire imp’s level will be set at your current level plus 5 (maximum 30). Note - only a single imp can be summoned by this effect at a time. However, if the effect is triggered while an imp is already present, the currently summoned imp’s timer will be reset.
“Since the effect has finally triggered, I can tell you it has a less than one percent chance of happening based on the data I can see,” Stella added, her paws moving in a blur. “That may seem incredibly small, but it can trigger on each tick of your DoT spells.”
“That’s a really low chance of happening. It’s not something you could probably ever rely on,” Tallos said as he took a seated position on the felled stalk. The pained expression on his face was nearly completely faded. “How many battles have we been in, and it finally triggers now?”
“You’re not wrong,” Stella replied, looking at Tallos and then at me. “But, with more and more damage over time spells going at once, it could start happening more often in the future.”
“Still,” I said with a shake of my head. “While I may have been able to handle the last dwarf, the imp’s summoning assured it. Better later than never, I suppose.” For good measure, I cast another instance of regeneration on Tallos and then at Lowki. Both motioned their appreciation to free them of any lingering pain. Even with the magic, we would all probably be sore for some time.
Pain in my side rippled through my chest as I returned to inspect the fallen dwarven leader. Narrowing my eyes in confusion, I quickly intoned another regen upon myself. My health was fully topped off, but the uncomfortable reminder in my side reminded me that not long ago I had several shattered rib bones, not to mention a collapsed lung. I turned to face my canine friend. “Say, Stella…” I started to say.
Stella looked squeamish, her shoulders growing closer as she balled up. Her outward reaction interrupted me. I looked at her questioningly before she finally spoke. “I know what you’re going to ask. You’re not going to like the answer.”
When she didn’t continue, I waved a hand to encourage her to elaborate. “There should have been no way for the dwarf’s mace to have devastated me like it did,” I finally said when she didn’t respond. “My aegis should have stopped him from hurting me.” As I spoke, I pulled up the description of one of my most powerful abilities. It was a lifesaver and essentially quadrupled my effective health pool since mana was depleted first when it absorbed enemy attacks.
Empowered Aegis – Your magical prowess is no longer contained inside only your Core. Now, a permanent barrier of magical energy protects you from hostile spells and attacks at all times as long as you have mana to spare. This magical protection draws against your mana reserves when struck, stopping most magical and non-magical attacks at a one-to-one damage ratio; health to mana. Note – Physical and magical attacks will still cause you to stagger, become dazed, or even be stunned. The physical component of such attacks will bypass this protection, though the damage will not.
Stella’s eye flittered at the abilities description. Her eyes scanned its entirety and, like me, nothing within hinted it could fail so spectacularly. With a great sigh, I got the impression Stella was hesitant to share some new tidbits of information.
“His mace... really hurt,” I said softly, not wanting to sound accusatory. “This isn’t your fault. If my aegis can fail, we need to know more about it. Stella, whatever it is you know, just tell me. It’s okay.”
My aegis was one of my most reliable fail-safes. Every drop of mana acted like a supplemental health pool. It would keep me fighting when others would have long been slain. Until that brutal hit, I hadn’t realized how much I had been relying on its protective ability. Having a nearly eight-thousand-point barrier guarding me against physical and magical damage was far more comforting than I had really given thought.
“You’re right,” Stella finally replied, her eyes repeatedly flicking up to a screen only she could see. Something within her Accelerator access had the answer I was hunting for, and it seemed as if she was taking it personally. Maybe, she felt it was something she should have caught or mentioned earlier, though I doubted it to be the case.
Stella let out a long exhale, her cheeks puffing out as she released tension in her body. “Stouter never reached a tier three Hunter class, so I hadn’t known something like this could happen. Sorry, I didn’t know about this beforehand. The System has shown it can function this way sometimes.”
“Basically,” she continued as she eyed her invisible screen again. “Certain areas, or at key points of quests, there is a slim chance the System… disables something. It could be a skill, a spell, or in this case an ability. There could be more, but it won’t tell me more than this right now.”
“Wait, an ability can just stop working?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes, but usually only for a short time or during a single event,” Stella answered with the slightest shake of her small head. “Within this cave system, according to the metadata, the silvern concentration can cause protective enchantments to cease working for a short period of time. We have no way of knowing if or when an area has one of these… side effects. The chance appears to be pretty low. This is what happened with your Empowered Aegis. It dropped and took a bit before it reactivated on its own. From what I see, it was reenergized around the same time your imp minion was summoned.”
“So, does that mean the System could, on a whim, decide to kill me?” I asked, disbelief thick in my voice. “How is it fair?” I had a mix of relief and apprehension. I felt relief as this only had a slight chance of happening, but it was tinged with a dash of anxiety that this new addition could lead to not only my death but the death of all my friends.
“Nothing like that,” Stella answered confidently. “The Game wouldn’t allow the System A.I. to unilaterally kill a Hunter, or turn something against them. My best guess is the Game added this to create some spice in what may have been an otherwise monotonous skirmish. Before you ask, I will know immediately when and if this happens again. At our level, the odds of this happening are like one in a one hundred in any given battle.”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“So, rolling a one on a D-hundred, nice,” I said sarcastically out of the side of my mouth. None of my party knew what I was referring to, so I waived away their uncomprehending looks. “Never mind, it’s something from my world back on Earth.”
Stella looked like she had something else to share, so I raised my eyebrows at her.
“Everyone following of live feed probably knew when we entered this area what random negative effect could trigger,” Stella capitulated. “It creates a sense of excitement that something might go horribly wrong at any moment. I’m guessing it heightens the viewer’s experience.”
“At least it’s relatively fair across all Hunters, right?” I asked nonplused to which Stella nodded. “Can an area also affect mobs like it can with us?”
“Sadly, no,” she replied. “Though, I am positive something like this cannot trigger when two Hunters are battling one another.”
“There’s that at least,” I replied sardonically. “Well, if this ever happens, please let me know right away. I don’t care if you have to scream it, we can’t afford to miss these, I’m going to call them, critical failure events.”
“I can. I will,” Stella offered with an easy smile. It seemed like it had been a long time since I last saw that when it probably wasn’t that long ago.
“Looks like we’re alone, for now. There’s no sign anyone else is coming,” Tallos said as he eyed the downed dwarves and a nearby forge which had since gone long dead from inattention. “Maybe there’s some good stuff lying around we could make use of.”
“It’s too bad we can’t use their weapons and armor,” I said offhandedly. “Ripley would look like a beast wearing their gleaming armor.”
We separated, collecting everything of note, though only I could loot the silvern armor since its toxic nature hurt anyone who touched it. Ripley and Lowki moved toward the tunnel entrance to keep watch. I left instructions for Lowki to round us up if either of them heard anything.
Not wanting anything to go to waste, I took the time to fully loot every single crate of the explosive ballista bolts. Who knew when something like this could prove useful? Additionally, I was able to store away the damaged ballista Tallos had fired. Although it was damaged, I hoped we would be able to repair it.
Collecting everything of value, I allowed the first of my blinking notifications to pop up as I worked.
Experience Awarded: Silvern Dwarf Siege Architect x6 (level ranges 26-28)
Experience Awarded: Silvern Dwarf Ordinance Maven x4 (level ranges 26-27)
Experience Awarded: Silvern Dwarf Smith x4 (level ranges 26-27)
Experience Awarded: Silvern Dwarf Warrior x11 (level ranges 26-29)
Experience Awarded: Silvern Dwarf Prelate (level 28)
Notice (Condensed)! Experience has been split among party members.
Level Up! You have earned enough experience to advance to level 21. Tier 3 class characteristic attributes have been applied. You have 7 attribute points to distribute.
As a Wraith, please know you will be able to choose a new skill or spell when you reach level 22, level 24, level 26, and level 28. When level 30 is achieved, your tier 4 class will become available.
“Nice,” I smiled at the large influx of experience, bumping me a level higher. Stella matched with her own from my shoulder. “Can’t wait until I hit twenty-two. The sooner we get more average-tiered spells, the better.”
“Where are you thinking of putting those seven free points?” Stella asked.
Pulling up my character sheet, we reviewed my current attribute distribution. Having seven points to play with, I took a moment to consider what to do. “Last level, we put most into Constitution which, considering how spectacularly my aegis failed minutes ago, I think it wise to raise my health pool even further.”
Stella nodded her agreement as I placed four points into Constitution increasing my health by another hundred and twenty points. My new total health sat at a generous twenty-three hundred. True, it was only around a third of my total mana but it was a nice buffer if my aegis ever took a shit again. Spying my incredibly low dexterity, barely above thirty, I considered what to do with the last three points. “I hope I don’t come to regret this,” I said as I placed my final points into Dexterity. “Let’s try to get that to the fifty-point attribute threshold soon.”
“I think that’s a good goal, plus the next time we go shopping we could look for some dexterity gear or jewelry,” Stella added.
The next notification informed us of the substantial increase to nearly every spell and skill I had. It was an impressive haul, to say the least. Then again, we had managed to defeat over twenty-five highly skilled silvern dwarves.
Notice! Skill and Spell increase messages have been condensed.
Skill: [Axe] has increased to level 17. Skill: [Stealth] has increased to level 15. Spell: [Lesser Boil Blood] has increased to level 14. Spell: [Lesser Soul Leech] has increased to level 14. Skill: [Throwing] has increased to level 14. Spell: [Lesser Arrested Affliction] has increased to level 13. Skill: [Dual Casting] has increased to level 12. Spell: [Lesser Necrotic Aura (Pet)] has increased to level 11. Spell: [Lesser Ignite Bones] has increased to level 11. Spell: [Minor Flamethrower] has increased to level 10. Spell: [Minor Healing Wave] has increased to level 10. Spell: [Chained Lightning] has increased to level 10. Skill: [Roaring Sweep] has increased to level 9. Spell: [Lesser Wyvern Sting] has increased to level 9. Spell: [Undeath] has increased to level 9. Skill: [Firearms] has increased to level 8. Skill: [Quick Cast] has increased to level 8. Skill: [Execute (Axe)] has increased to level 6.
The final notification waiting was the update to our current quest from Mammoth to explore the mines. Sadly, as I read the message, the quest still didn’t give us a clue as to the total number of dwarves like I had been hoping. I desperately want to know but would need to wait.
Quest Update – “Mystery in the Mines.”
Objective One: Secure the release of Mage Marrek. COMPLETED.
Objective Two: Investigate the local silver mine and identify the cause of villager Corm’s demise. COMPLETED
Objective Three: Eliminate the Subversive Silvern Dwarf threat posed to strike against the citizens of Mammoth. 31 of ???.
Objective Four: HIDDEN
Rewards: Variable. Experience, at least one rare magical item, and a significant increase in reputation.
After regrouping, we had a massive amount of silvern equipment, tools, and materials. Everything found its way into my dimensional bag which was more than capable of handling the weight. The magical properties of the bag meant it didn’t feel an ounce heavier as it rested on my leather belt.
We were also pleasantly surprised to find nearly every single dwarf in the cavern carried a significant amount of coins on their persons. Most were silver or copper with only a smattering of gold coins, but every bit helped. The strange coins were unlike anything we had seen thus far, but would no doubt be traded as easily as those minted on the surface. These were stylized with what was probably an important dwarven figure. Into the bag, they went.
We were also surprised when we discovered some of the equipment worn by our vanquished foes was not toxic or harmful to the touch. Up until this point, everything we looted was too dangerous to make use of. Even better, some were actually upgrades for either me or Ripley. I had a feeling we would need everything we had, plus some when we found whoever was leading these dwarves. The damnable priest had been tough enough, so a part of me worried about whoever the commander was and how powerful they could be.
The least inspiring upgrades were the generous amount of rings worn by the warriors. Nearly every dwarf carried at least one, some as many as three rings on their fingers. None were too special, offering either a small Constitution or Strength bonus, but they were still upgrades to Tallos. Along with the enchanted jewelry, Stella and I assured our ranger friend we would rectify his lack of magical equipment. Tallos got excited when I said it would include a powerfully enchanted bow.
“I can’t wait. Oh, I’ve also heard stories of quivers being able to summon arrows at will, so let’s keep an eye out for one of those too,” Tallos said excitedly. Stella and I both agreed we would before silently chuckling to each other when Tallos returned to inspecting the more notable loot we had acquired.
{Unwavering Boots of the Resolute}. These heavy plate boots have been enchanted to lessen the impact of hazardous terrain, allowing the wearer to move over slippery surfaces with relative ease. Quality: Well-Crafted. Rarity: Rare. Type: Plate. Slot: Feet. Armor: 25. Durability: 890/1,000. Effect(s): plus 2 Constitution, plus 2 Strength, and the wearer is able to ignore most negative effects of hazardous and unstable terrain.
The plate boots were made of dense and thick silver metal, though the steel was clearly not comprised solely of the special silvern material. The soles of the boots reminded me of the hardened mushrooms within the cavern but felt like memory foam to the touch. The boots were probably incredibly comfortable to wear. Stella and I spoke briefly as to how the dwarves could have removed the silvern toxicity. If we could figure it out, perhaps the abundance of armor and weapons of the stuff could become useful. The gear stored away was largely useless to anyone other than our unfriendly silvern dwarves.
Seeing as Ripley could use the boots without ill effect, we swapped them with her movement-increasing ones. My friendly minion no longer needed the faster travel speed since I nearly always had my song of travel up whenever we were not engaged in combat. She would move a little slower during combat, sure, my song instantly disappearing on such occasions, but the ability to ignore slippery or unstable ground felt more akin to her role in the party.
{Chain Shirt of the Devoted Redeemer}. Blessed by an unknown god, this seemingly delicate chain shirt increases the effectiveness of all healing spells cast while this garment is equipped. Quality: Well-Crafted. Rarity: Rare. Type: Chain. Slot: Body. Armor: 18. Durability: 674/1,000. Effect(s): plus 2 Intelligence, plus 50 mana, and plus 25% increase to all healing spells cast by the wearer.
Taken from the body of the defeated dwarven priest, a part of me wanted to equip the flexible chain shirt right over my blazeweave kimono. The circular links were incredibly small, tightly packed together, and were around the width of a pencil eraser. They had to have been forged through the use of some spectacular use of magic with how compact the links were. Sadly, I decided to not wear the impressive armor when Stella clued me in I could only receive the special effects from one item per equipment slot. Not wanting to break up my blazeweave set, at least for now, I stored the shirt in my inventory.
{Imbued Gauntlets of Parrying}. These impressive plate gauntlets have been enhanced with magic that enhances the accuracy and effectiveness of the wearer’s ability when defending against hostile attacks. Note – This effect does not increase offensive abilities and skills. Quality: Well-Crafted. Rarity: Rare. Type: Plate. Slot: Wrist. Armor: 17. Durability: 975/1,000. Effect(s): plus 2 Constitution, plus 50 health, and plus 25% increased likelihood of parrying, deflecting, or otherwise defending incoming melee attacks.
Like with the boots, the heavy gauntlets were a perfect item for front-line combatants and suited Ripley’s role as our party tank quite well. Part of me wanted to wear them instead, replacing my old moss troll bracers, but with how much more active Ripley was in melee combat than I was, it made sense for her to wear them. Now, even if she used her greatsword, she’d be better able to deflect incoming attacks. With her sword and board combo, her defenses would become even more considerable.
{Bracelet of Nullify Affliction}. Adorned with an impossibly thin enchanted jewel, the wearer of this bracelet is able to call upon the item’s properties to instantly remove all harmful afflictions affecting both the wearer and all nearby allies. Note – This effect does not prevent new afflictions. Quality: Well-Crafted. Rarity: Rare. Type: Plate. Slot: Wrist. Armor: 17. Durability: 1,000/1,000. Effect(s): plus 2 Constitution, plus 50 health. Special Effect(s): Once per hour, the wearer of this item can emit a sphere of radiant energy that instantly dispels all negative afflictions and similar effects which are average tiered or lower. The range of this effect is 15 feet.
A smile widened on my lips as I considered the bracelet. I seriously considered replacing my moss troll bracers. While we hadn’t yet faced someone like me who was capable of layering afflictions, we now had a perfect counter if we ever did. The question was whether I wanted to wear these or to only equip them out when I wanted to trigger the special effect.
“Hmm,” I said, blowing a raspberry. “Should I keep the extra regeneration from my moss bracers or switch to this one?” I wasn’t asking anyone in particular but was certainly open to the suggestions of my teammates.
Having explained the differences between the two items to Stella and Tallos, it was Tallos who spoke up first. “Sounds to me like you should wear the new bracelet. You said it also gives you extra health, which you said you wanted more of. Plus, the troll bracer's regenerative effect only works when we are not fighting something, so why not wear those a battle to help speed along your recovery?”
“It’s a good point,” I said, impressed by his well-reasoned line of thought. “Thanks, Tallos.”
Moving my old bracers to my inventory, I equipped the plate bracelets and admired the round gemstone affixed to the silvery metal. The gem sat directly behind my wrist. Brushing across the flat jewel with a finger, I found it was perfectly level with the bracelet’s metal, almost like it was nothing more than a sticker. It was interesting as, from above, the gem looked like a normal cut and faceted gemstone. I wouldn’t be able to use its special effect for close to another hour since it had been used by the cleric, so I hope it won’t be needed any time soon.
Moving towards the only unexplored tunnel left to us, with the red glow in the cavern greatly diminished as all dwarven forges went out, we peered into the darkness beyond ever curious what new adventure awaited us next.