"This is a magnificent skill. when you are able to use it freely then you will have nothing to fear from any evil force. such a power will be invaluable to the Church of Freya!" Cadfael exclaimed in a delighted voice, after examining Arthe's Wrath of the Heavens ability.
Whilst Cadfael continued extolling the virtues of Arthe's skill he was taking a look at the loot that the Barrow-Wight had dropped. It looked like some kind of ornament. It was shaped like a spike and it glowed slightly with a white light.
Shield Spike of the Holy Guardian.
Durability: ?
This piece of equipment can be attached to a shield. When it is that shield gains extra defense as well as some attack power.
Equip (attached to shield):
+20 Defense
+10-20 Attack
All resistances +10%
+33% Chance to reflect dark magic.
Requirements:
Knight/Paladin only
Level 50
+50 STR
+50 VIT
Arthe was pretty impressed with the shield spike as it granted great bonuses, unfortunately it was a level 50 item and he was only level 32. Still he and Cadfael had the rest of floor 4 to clear of mobs as well as the whole of floor 5. Plus they had yet to confront the last two bosses of the dungeon and they were usually around level 60, so it was highly likely that Arthe would be around level 50 when he finished the dungeon.
By his count there was 6 days left until the Grand Melee started so that meant he had 5 days left to clear the dungeon. Ample time really, just as long as there were no more unfortunate surprises. It would probably take them the rest of the day to clear floor 4 and Arthe thought floor 5 would probably take about 2-3 days.
For the rest of the day Arthe and Cadfael went around slaughtering anything that moved, even some of the harmless critters inhabiting the dungeon were mowed down by the whirlwind of destruction. As they drew nearer to the far side of the dungeon, where they guessed the stairs leading down to be, the monster crowds became thicker and more mixed. At one point they were surrounded, on one side were Kobold Warriors and on the other were the generically named Goblin Rabble.
Now usually this would never occur seeing as Kobolds tend to have levels in the late 20's and Goblins the early 50's, but this dungeon was anything but normal. Years of being locked up inside this dungeon together with no real means of gathering food had forged an alliance between the various races inhabiting each floor. On the fourth floor the goblins used the Kobolds to gather food and excavate minerals, whereas the Kobolds used the Goblins for protection from the floors above and below as well as to provide weaponry and other equipment.
This symbiotic relationship had culminated in a joint venture to exterminate 2 intruders from the floors above who had cut down the Boggarts and many of their other allies already.
Of course Cadfael and Arthe didn't know any of this and just saw the monsters as so many experience points and potential loot sources, as such they preceded to decimate the ranks of both groups. In the process Arthe leveled up twice more and Cadfael managed to retrieve a good amount of gold coins and even an ancient gold ring from the named Goblin Captains. It appeared that the goblins had been looting some of the sarcophagi littering the tomb.
This gave Arthe the idea to try it himself but he had to be more cautious about it in case Cadfael disapproved. However it seemed that the dead buried here were from a different denomination and had also been buried so long ago that even the name of their country had no meaning to him, therefore he didn't care and even joined in. He was careful not to disturb the bones when he retrieved the items and even cast blessings upon the bodies to help them rest in piece, or so he said. Personally Arthe thought he was casting blessing to make sure that the bones didn't get up and attack them for looting their tombs.
From looting the crypts Arthe received some ancient coins, a couple of plain rings with no bonuses and a Gold Torc which he couldn't identify because his skill was too low level. He resolved to show it to Mathis and get it identified for free rather than go to the Mage's Guild and pay a fortune, despite now having a fortune from hunting so much. Cadfael thought that the Torc probably had some sort of blessing effect as he said it gave off a faint aura of purity and peace.
The two of them were now approaching the boss room which was sealed with a magnificent double door set in an intricately decorated archway, even the door looked like it had been carved and covered with gold at some point in the past but now it was scratched and damaged by goblin claws and other monster appendages.
"Great, nothing good ever waits behind a door like this. When I played Continent of Magic if you saw a door like this you knew a Skeleton king or an Arch-demon of some description was lying in wait for you." Arthe said as he looked over the door carefully.
He spotted one set of marks on the door that was unique amongst all the others. It was a five clawed gash on the edge of the door but where it differed from the other marks was the size. each claw mark looked like it had been made by a sword! Arthe turned to Cadfael and asked him to bless them both before they entered in case they were rushed by the boss that was obviously waiting within. After the blessings he buffed himself and repaired all of his and Cadfael's equipment, then he gingerly pushed the door open.
In the center of a large rectangular hall lined with columns and sarcophagi was an enormous Ogre, unlike normal Ogres this one was black and rather than carrying the traditional club it had sharpened its nails into foot long talons. It hadn't noticed the two uninvited guests yet and just sat there scratching at the floor with one talon, it gestured to a Goblin servant and grunted at it unintelligibly. The goblin turned and went into a antechamber on the left side of the great hall, a moment later it returned with a chunk of some unidentifiable meat and presented it to the Ogre. The monster ate the food presented then reached down and grabbed the goblin, which shrieked and screamed, then proceeded to eat it slowly. Starting with the feet and working its way up to the head; finally when only the head was left it threw the remnants away, where they turned gray and vanished after hitting a wall, then it stood and belched loudly. As it stood it turned around and then spotted the two intrepid adventurers who were trying not to retch after witnessing the Ogre's horrifying meal.
"Snort, grumble, mmmmm Bogrip will eat well today. not have to eat stinky goblins but get soft tasty man flesh, mmmmm". After saying this the Ogre, apparently called Bogrip, dribbled all over the floor and began to stomp its way towards Arthe and Cadfael.
"I am not letting that thing eat me, it's just not on the agenda for today." Arthe said to himself, having horrible visions of sliding down an Ogre gullet whilst still alive.
Having said all he wanted to say he readied himself and began to move forward and engage the creature. Cadfael began casting slow spells at the Ogre at the same time, however Bogrip seemed to be too strong for the spells to have any real effect. Arthe closed on the beast and it swung at him with its talons, he barely raised his shield in time as the Ogre was much faster than he was anticipating.
Screech, the claws scraped along the surface of the shield making a horrendous noise that sent shivers down Arthe's spine. In retaliation he swung his sword hard at the inside of the Ogre's thigh, it connected but the skin of the beast was too thick and gnarly so the strike did little damage.
"Puny man thing try to hurt Bogrip but Bogrip too tough for it. Now Bogrip squish little man thing and eat him", laughed the horrible beast.
As it said this it kicked at Arthe with a foot the size of a dining table, thankfully Arthe was able to dodge most of the kick but the edge of the heel caught his shoulder and he was spun around and sent flying.
-200 hp
The blow was immensely powerful and if that was only a glancing hit Arthe dreaded to imagine what a full body hit would be like. He instructed Cadfael to spend at least half his Mana casting slow spells on the Ogre, if he could not outdo the beast with strength then speed was his only hope to stay alive. If things got really hairy then Cadfael would jump in to help but Arthe was determined to clear the dungeon with only minimal help form his companion.
The numerous slows began to take their toll on the Ogre, its movement speed had decreased by about 50% and now Arthe was able to dodge its blows with ease. He waited until the creature struck at him and then ducked inside its reach and thrust his sword deep into the soft tissue of its armpit before retreating and approaching the beast again. This time he struck at it from behind but was unprepared when it lashed out with its leg, the hit struck Arthe full on the shield which gained a huge dent and a minor crack on the rim. A large amount of its durability had been lost just from that one hit and to top it all off Arthe's health had dropped by about a third, he pulled back holding his ribs in pain as he did so Cadfael began to cast his healing spells. A moment later and his health began to recover as Arthe was bombarded by numerous Healing Hand spells, when he felt better he decided to discard his shield for the time being and concentrate on moving faster and hitting harder.
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Arthe knew this was risky as without the extra defense provided by the shield he could probably take about two full body hits before he died, however he knew that when carrying his shield he couldn't react fast enough to dodge the Ogre's fast kicks. Gripping the hilt of his sword in both hands Arthe re-engaged with the Ogre, this time instead of trying to block the talons he used his blade to redirect them, thereby knocking the Ogre off balance and giving Arthe time to strike with his weapon.
His hits were only doing minor damage to the beast but he was making sure that he struck at its joints so that it couldn't move as quickly. His next hit was deep into the elbow of the Ogre and it was thrust so deep that when he withdrew his sword the lower arm hung limp and useless.
"Aaargh! Puny little man hurt Bogrips arm, now Bogrip only have one to catch and eat you with."
Whilst the Ogre was holding his damaged arm and inspecting the damage, Arthe took the opportunity to strike at the back of the creatures kneecap.
Swinging his sword with all his strength he cut right through the ligaments and tendons and even managed to strike bone, he quickly withdrew his weapon because the leg began to buckle and if Arthe's sword got stuck then he would be dead before he knew it.
With one arm useless and being unable to stand, the Ogre was no longer angry. Now it was afraid, it had dominated the creatures of this floor with its strength and speed but now it was facing imminent death and so its true nature surfaced. It began to beg and plead with Arthe not to end it and if Arthe had not seen it chow down on a goblin with his own eyes he might have complied. As it was however Arthe was sickened and disgusted by the beast and so showed absolutely no mercy as he resolutely strode toward the disabled Ogre.
In a last ditch effort to save its miserable life the creature called out for help from its Goblin slaves, however there was no response due to Cadfael and Arthe's systematic slaughter of all the mobs on this floor. Realizing that it was about to die the Ogre began to thrash and attack wildly, using it's own disabled arm as a club it began to attack everything in the room. This included the support columns and the sarcophagi, the roof began to shake and shards of coffin began to spray about the room. Knowing that he had to finish this quickly or be buried under a mountain of rubble Arthe charged toward the Ogre, dodging and weaving around its flailing limbs.
He ducked under the swing of the Ogre's arm and using a knife from his pack to hold him up, he climbed up the back of the beast. Once he got to the shoulders of the fiend he had to act fast or get squished by the huge fist hurtling towards him, he put the point of his sword against the creatures skull and punched the pommel with his fist as hard as he could. There was a horrible crunch and then the blade slid straight into the Ogres brain, instantly all movement of its body ceased and its body fell to the ground in a cloud of dust.
Arthe clambered off the dead body and went to check that the beast was definitely dead, he swung his blade at the jugular of the Ogre just to be sure and then walked off to find his shield. When he came back the creature's body had already vanished and there was a small pile of loot where it had lain, the loot consisted of some ores and some leather mainly. The one exception was an old silver key.
You have Leveled up!
You have Leveled up!
You have Leveled up!
Fourth Floor Cleared
Access to Fifth Floor Granted
Ancient Silver Key.
Durability: 3/10
Use to open the treasure room of ancient kings the Fifth Floor of the Mausoleum. Disappears when you leave the dungeon, this key has enough durability for one more use.
"Wicked a treasure room, bet there is some good stuff in there. Might find a new sword and shield as well." Arthe said after showing the key to Cadfael.
"True and we will most definitely find other valuables such as gold and jewelry, as i recall it was the custom to bury the kings of old with all their worldly goods so that they could have them by their side in the afterlife." Cadfael replied with a distinct look of greed in his eyes.
As they walked over to where the doorway to the steps had appeared Arthe allocated his new stat points into agility and vitality, he was determined not to get hit as often and if he did it wouldn't hurt quite so much.
Just before they reached the steps Arthe spotted something on a small platform at the end of the hall, he wandered over to take a look. It was a gold book set atop a small plinth, he reached over to take it and when he picked it up it glowed briefly in response.
"Identify!"
"Ding"
You have discovered a secret sword skill book.
Sword skills of Ancient Numenor
This Skill book allows you to learn the secret techniques of an ancient civilization.
Do you wish to learn this skill yes/no?
"Yes!" Arthe shouted in response, he knew that he needed a set of sword skills to help him deal damage to his opponents. It wasn't enough just to swing his sword at them anymore, he had to have some way to increase the damage each attack did and sword skills were the way to go.
Sword Skill of Ancient Numenor:
Used by Knights of the Ancient kingdom of Numenor this skill was created for use against the invasion of the dragons and giants. Damage against Giant type and Draconian type monsters increases 10% per level in Sword mastery. Endurance to Ice magic increased by 2% per level in Shield mastery.
This sword skill is composed of 4 movements, One foot work technique and one breathing technique.
You have learned 5 Courageous Steps of Asgarde
You have learned Targeted Thrust of Bifrost
You have learned Blade Dance of Nimue
You have learned Fateful Strikes of the Norn
You have learned The Splintering of Yggdrasil
You have learned Breath of Ymir
Targeted Thrust:
Ignores 20% of opponents armor. Ignores 50% of armor value when used against Giants. Increases by 3% per level in sword mastery.
Cost: 200 Mana
Blade Dance:
A series of quick whip-like slashes that baffles the enemy and wounds them. Creates wounds that continuously damage the enemy. Has 25% chance to stun enemy. Increases stun chances by 5% per level in shield mastery. Increases Stun chance by 50% when used against Giants.
Cost: 500 Mana
Fateful Strikes:
Four heavy blows that break through blocks and cleave through armor. When used on Dragon type enemies it ignores the armor value of their scales.
Cost: 750 Mana
Splintering of Yggdrasil:
A final sundering blow that contains all the Fury of Nature. This damage of this blow is multiplied by: 2 at Intermediate Sword Mastery, 5 at Advanced Sword Mastery and 10 at Master Sword Mastery. When used against Giant or Dragon type enemies the users total strength is added to the damage.
cost: 1200 Mana, should there not be enough Mana health will be used instead. For every Mana point required 2 Health points will be used.
5 Courageous steps of Asgarde:
This foot work allows you to continuously evade your opponents blows whilst getting closer to him, the final footstep delivers you right to where your enemy is unguarded allowing you to deliver a critical hit. Against Giant and Dragon type enemies the footwork temporarily increases agility and strength by 25%. For every level in Sword Mastery AND Shield Mastery the increase is boosted by an extra 5%
Cost: 250 Mana
Breath of Ymir:
This Breathing technique allows the user to conserve more stamina and Mana points when performing any of the related skills. It also increases Fire and Ice resistances when in use. If used against Giant or dragon type monsters it increases the battle related stats of the user.
Decreases Stamina and Mana use by 20%. Increases 2% per level in Sword Mastery.