The group began to move keeping low to the ground. I couldn't help but notice the ornate images on the wall. Most of the pictures were worn with age but one section had enough pictographs that my ability could translate it. I waived to the group to stop as I studied the image. It was surprisingly easy for me to memorize the words. It was a story about a kingdom in the canyon. A kingdom of artisans and builders who built monuments to heaven's. The kingdom was destroyed by something. Either my ability couldn't translate the word or the being had no name. It looked a bit like a human being only much much bigger. I attempted to follow the story but the rest of the wall was too faded.
"We have to keep moving." Zakia's voice pulled me from my thoughts. I nodded and fell back in with the group. I scanned the walls as we moved. I hoped to find another snippet of the story but there was nothing. The walls told the story of a king who I assumed was buried somewhere in the temple. Zakia gestured for the group to stop. I was just about to ask her why when I heard the voices.
"The war leader wants a way into lower tomb in the next day."The first voice said. With a slight cackle at the end. I caught the other's making plans for their attack out of the corner of my vision and held up a hand to stop them."We are going to need another cask of green fire brought in from the camp." There was a brief pause before a second voice replied. "I hate bringing that stuff. Why can't she just use her magic to blast the ground a part." The pair cackled before the first voice replied. "Don't let her hear you saying that. She has been looking for a way to impress the chief. If she needs to make an example out of you." I ignored the rest of their conversation and turned to the group. I gave them a nod. She returned the gesture and the attack was on. Zakia bolted around the corner followed closely by Angalia and myself. The hallway we were in was lit by torches so I decided to risk a spell. I dual cast ray of light and a trio rays shot forward and slammed into the hytal warrior.
Kita rushed in from behind and the two warriors quickly fell to our combined attack. Their bodies were dragged down a side corridor and left. There was nothing we could do about the blood so we extinguished the closet torch and pushed forward. I kept an eye out for whatever this "green fire" was if it was possible to blow this place up and take out all the hytal than that would be a simple way to solve the problem. We were forced to avoid a passing patrol of five armed hytal in order to keep our infiltration secret. We pushed further inside until we came across a set of double doors. The doors were at least ten feet tall and had the emblem of a roaring lion in the seam. I stepped up to the door and slowly pushed it open. I got the door open just enough to allow us to slip inside.
We ducked in behind a pillar and I scanned the room. I found a stone that had broken into two pieces. I wedged the pieces in front of the doors. It probably wouldn't hold for very long but hopefully it would buy us enough time to deal with this leader and get out. Once I was ready I turned and hid behind a pillar. A few seconds later the largest hytal I had ever seen entered the room from a hallway across from the door. The hytal wore dirty thick black robes. She held a wooden staff with the skull of something attached to the top. The skull was pointed toward the front like a bird's. The hytal muttered to herself as she entered the chamber.
"What is taking those fools so long. The war leader will reward me handsomely if I can bring back the gold this place should have." She reached the mid point of the chamber and then turned around. It took me a moment to realize that she was pacing between the two rooms. Once she had move out sight we all rushed forward. We took positions against the wall. Two of us each side on ranged fighter and one melee. We waited until we heard the clicking of her staff against the stone. We timed our attack for the moment she crossed through the door way. Zakia began a three count. When she hit two I began my casting. The hytal stepped into the room just as I spit the word of power. Magic, blade and arrow sailed through the air only to hit an invisible barrier. The hytal's confusion quickly turned into fury as her barrier shattered. Her grip on the staff tightened and she forced herself back. She spat words of power as Kita and Zakia chased after her. Angalia knocked another arrow and I began casting my second spell. I locked eyes with her as we raced to complete our spells. She was a split second faster.
The light in the rim dimmed as darkness poured from her staff like a wave. The darkness slammed into Zakia and Kita. Both women visibly dimmed and began to hack and cough. They were forced to their knees clutching their swords. I could see burning red veins protruding against their skin. Thankfully the darkness was unable to spread any further than their bodies. I shouted the words for my spell and a bolt of golden radiance shot forward. The hytal leader had just enough time to curse before it slammed into her chest. Just behind the bolt of light was an arrow that lodged itself into her armor. She unleashed a bolt of darkness from her staff a moment later forcing us to take cover.
"Do you have any healing magic!" Angalia called out as the hytal began chanting again. I shook my head and checked the cool down on my next spell. I still had two seconds. "Can you hit her with an arrow? We can't let her finish her next spell!" Angalia poked her head around the corner and shook her head.
"I can't see her. She must have gone further back!" I peeked around and swore. I only hesitated for a moment before making my choice. "Listen cover me with your arrows. I am going to try and drag them both back here." I turned and forward before the rational part of my brain could tell how bad of an idea this was. I ran forward and wrapped them both in my arms. My first instinct was lift them up like sacks of potatoes but my muscles made it very clear I couldn't do that. Instead I began dragging them backwards. "If we get out of this points are definitely going into the physical attributes." I had nearly gotten them around the corner when the hytal reemerged. A ball of pure darkness was floating above her staff. My eyes went wide as I made a decision. I dropped both women and ran forward.I got sight of a barrel as soon as I entered the room. I didn't even think about what I was doing. I began casting my pyro magic spell as I ran. The hytal released her ball of darkness. It shot forward like a cannon giving me just enough time to dive forward. The sphere of darkness clipped my leg sending a pain through my body. I managed to fight down the scream just long enough to finish my casting. Fire shot from the palm of my hand and over the barrel. For a moment nothing happened, panic began to build in my heart as the flames slowly faded. Then there was a crack, a green liquid spilled onto the ground. The world seemed to lurch to halt as the orange flames licked at the liquid.Then liquid caught and my world exploded. Green flames shot out and into the room. I covered my face with my arms hoping that it would give me even the slightest protection against the pain. The sound of stone cracking hit my ears following by a scream from somewhere else. I lifted my head slightly and then darkness swallowed me.
I woke up with a gasp as pain shot through my entire body. The blinking red of my health bar was sitting defiantly at one percent. I forced my arms to move and begin a casting. Each movement felt like a blade carving into my skin. I whispered the word of power and a sphere of light illuminated the cavern. I wheezed out in pain before turning my attention to my notifications.
Notice! You suffer from the Burned Condition. Your movement speed is reduced by 85%. Your strength is reduced by 80%.
You have been awarded 600 experience for defeating Hytal Warrior level 6
You have been awarded 1000 experience for defeating Hytal Caster Level 10
You have completed the Quest: The Enemy of my...
You have discovered that a Hytal advance scout has entered the canyon. They have taken up residence and the tomb of a lost king.
Rewards:
Increased relationship with the Ifrit of the Black Canyon.
1000 Experience points
You have completed the Quest: Sanctity of the Canyon
Although you did not official receive this quest you entered the temple and faced off against a foe many levels more powerful than you. You pushed the Hytal back and destroyed their forward camp.Rewards:
Increased relationship with the Ifrit of the Black Canyon
2000 Experience points
Congratulations! You have gained 5000 relationship points with the Ifrit of the Black Canyon. Your relationship has gone from happy(+500) to Helpful(+5500)Notice! You have lost 5000 relationship points with the Desert Storm Tribe. Your relationship has fallen from Apathy (-250) to Distrustful (-5250)
Congratulations! You have gained 10,000 Relationship Points with Angalia! Your relationship has improved from happy(+500) to Admired(+10,500).
Congratulations! You have gained 3,000 Relationship Points with Kita! Your relationship has improved from happy(+500) to happy(+3,500).
Congratulations! You have gained 10,000 Relationship Points with Zakia! Your relationship has improved from happy(+500) to Admired(+10,500).
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Congratulations! Your skill Lumos Magic has leveled up. Lumos Magic has reached levels 8 and 9. You are able to learn additional spells.
Congratulations! Your skill Dual Casting has leveled up. Dual Casting has reached levels 6 and 7. The spell power increases by 230% and the modified cost is 282%
Congratulations! Your skill Pyro Magic has leveled up. Pyro Magic has reached levels 2 and 3. You are able to learn additional spells.
You have leveled up! You have reached levels 3 and 4! Hard work, dedication, and luck have guided your steps. Blood, sweat, and tears have forged your path. Grow and strive forward into the horizon. Through the completion of your trials and labors, you have taken another step into the future. Your hard work has earned you the following rewards.
Category Per level Unspent Points Attribute Points Because your Aetheric nature your per-level rewards have been modified. You have been awarded 7 Attribute Points to distribute however you like. 14 Skill Progression +25% Progress to any skill of your choice. 50%
The joy I felt at leveling up was suppressed by the incredible amount of pain I was in. I slowly inched my hand toward my belt and the healing water I had left. The process felt like it took hours but when the liquid poured into my mouth it was like drinking ambrosia. My health began to inch back up and the pain slowly faded. I had to drink all the water I had left and it wasn't enough to completely heal my wounds. My conditions were weakened but my maximum health was reduced from 100 to 75. On the bright side, I was able to move. I pushed some stones off of me and crawled until I found a spot I could stand up. I leaned against the closest wall and took stock of my situation. I was somewhere deeper in the tomb. I could still breathe which meant that air was coming in from somewhere. Of course that assumed that oxygen worked the same as it did in my world. I pushed those worries down. Worrying about the physics of my new world was rather pointless. I was just about to start spending my points when I caught a faint flicker of light on the opposite side of the room.
I pushed the sphere of light forward in that direction and revealed the entrance to another chamber. I made my way over to it being careful not to trip over the loose stone. When I stepped into the new hallway I caught another set of pictographs. I placed a hand on the wall and began to read the story. The king of this ancient empire led his forces into battle against the being from before. It described a battle that shook and tore apart the very ground. The combined might of the king's army wasn't enough. They were going to lose the battle. It was then the court's magician proposed an idea. A grand spell that imprisoned the monster. The spell used the magic of every living being in the kingdom. Their lives were burned to fuel a prison. The creature was locked away. I stared at the story hoping that there was more to it. Unfortunately, there was nothing more to know. I turned and began making my way down the hallway. My sphere of light sat above a large coffin. I got halfway down the hall before stopping. There was no way I was going to go through whatever came next without spending my attribute points. I pulled up my status screen and had a serious choice to make.
Name:Darterrius Solomon Maximillian Level:4,43% Age:26 Species:Altazian(Human) Alignment:Neutral(0/0) Languages: All Renown:Insignificant(0) Characteristics Health: 120 Magic:200
Regen/min 7 Stamina:120
Regen/min 6 Attributes Agility:10 Charisma:10 Endurance: 12 Intelligence:20 Luck:10 Perception: 10 Strength:10 Vitality:12 Wisdom:14 Skills
(Level,Experience,Affinity) Crafting Skills Cooking 2,5%,92% Magic Skills Dual Casting 7,30%,100% Lumos 9,50%,100% Pyro, 3,60%,100% Abilities Arcanum Infinitum:You always have 100% affinity with every magic. You are immune to the adverse effects of casting magic. You can teach any magic that you know.
Eidetic Memory:You have a have an enhanced memory.The effectiveness of this ability increases with the user's Intelligence attribute.
True Speak: The user can speak and understand any language.
Six points went into Wisdom there wasn't much to think about there. Getting Magic regen up was a no-brainer. If I was going with my usual plan then I could focus on Charisma next. Whenever I had the chance to play Tabletop games with friends being the social and mental character was almost always the way to go. Of course, this wasn't a game which meant death was probably final. Increasing my health was also a good idea. More health meant not dying when I get blown up. Hopefully, that wasn't going to become a consistent problem. I let out a sigh and put eight points into vitality. Watching the red bar increase was nice but it wasn't enough to reach the new maximum. Instead, it got me to 150 points. I flexed my hands and rolled my shoulders. Overall I was still in pain but it was getting much better. The 50% skill progression clearly had to go to Lumos magic. When I placed the points there I was greeted with a new prompt.
Due to your hard work and dedication, you have advanced a skill rank. Your Lumos Magic skill has advanced from Amateur to Student. -5% to Spell Cost. and +5 to Spell Duration. You have been awarded 1,000 experience points for this achievement.
Getting a fresh 1,000 experience was pretty damn good. Once I confirmed my choices I read through my sheet one more time.
Name:Darterrius Solomon Maximillian Level:4,71% Age:26 Species:Altazian(Human) Alignment:Neutral(0/0) Languages: All Renown:Insignificant(0) Characteristics Health: 200 Magic:200
Regen/min 10 Stamina:120
Regen/min 10 Attributes Agility:10 Charisma:10 Endurance: 12 Intelligence:20 Luck:10 Perception: 10 Strength:10 Vitality:20 Wisdom:20 Skills
(Level,Experience,Affinity) Crafting Skills
Cooking 2,5%,92%
Magic Skills
Dual Casting 7,30%,100% Lumos 10,0%,100% Pyro, 3,60%,100%
Abilities Arcanum Infinitum:You always have 100% affinity with every magic. You are immune to the adverse effects of casting magic. You can teach any magic that you know.
Eidetic Memory:You have a have an enhanced memory.The effectiveness of this ability increases with the user's Intelligence attribute.
True Speak: The user can speak and understand any language.
Alright Charisma and Endurance would definitely be next. I dismissed the screen and turned toward the room with the coffin. I let out a sigh and prepared myself. I brought both hands up and prepared myself for battle.