Letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding the stale air escaping from his lungs Duncan looked around the entrance to the dark corridor. There were two amputated arms with claws on the ground and a massive head.
“Does anyone want this?” Duncan asked Fenris and Petris and they both shook their heads.
Duncan thought about it and stashed the whole body up in his inventory.
“What will you do with this thing? I hope you don’t plan on eating it,” Fenris said with a disgusted expression.
“I thought I could bring it to Elland. Maybe he can make some antidotes from it,” Duncan replied while shaking his head.
Fenris had a moment of enlightenment, before he replied, “Yeah, that would be helpful.”
“I leveled,” Petris announced with joy in his voice.
Duncan quickly checked his LOG.
He also gained a level and also a skill level in Swordsmanship.
[
You have Learned Swordsmanship Level 4.
Strength +0.4
Dexterity +0.4
Agility +0.4
]
He checked his stats and was conflicted for a while. Agility, Endurance, and especially Charisma were all low. Duncan decided that Agility was the top priority.
“Be quick or be dead,” he thought as he added the point from the level up to it.
“Everyone ready?” Fenris suddenly exclaimed just as Duncan closed his stats window.
Petris nodded and Duncan replied, “Ready.”
“Petris do your stuff. If you are not back in 5 minutes we go after you,” Fenris said.
“Wait,” Duncan exclaimed.
Both Fenris and Petris looked at him and Duncan said, “You can go now,” just as he activated his Observe skill on him.
Petris slowly nodded before he dissipated right in front of Duncan just as if someone lowered his opaqueness.
After a while, a skill gain prompt showed up.
[
You have Learned Stealth Level 1.
Agility +0.1
Perception +0.1
]
Duncan breathed out just as Fenris shook him and asked worriedly, “Are you alright? Was the fight before too much for you?”
Duncan shook his head and replied, “I am fine.”
“Alright! Get your head straight or we are going back!” Fenris commanded in a voice filled with determination.
Petris suddenly appeared before them.
“The corridor is about 100 meters long and splits into three directions from there. There are no traps up there,” he stated in his report.
“Let’s go, we will make a stand at the fork,” Fenris replied and led the way forward.
Duncan’s preconceived notions on dungeon exploration had been shattered. He only had some knowledge from games where his teammates have been nowhere near as careful. He could only defer to Fenris' leadership and acknowledge he was nowhere near as experienced.
“Did you see what level that Ghoul was?” Duncan asked.
Fenris nodded and replied, “It was level 32. Luckily it came alone, otherwise, we would have to retreat.”
As they came to the fork, Duncan could see the middle corridor continue straight and two branched off at 45 degrees in either direction.
“Put your torches in the crevices. Petris, take the left one and we will wait for you to come back like before,” Fenris commanded.
After Petris left he continued, “Duncan, take the front if a Shade comes.”
Duncan did as he was told and before long, they heard running. It was Petris who ran past Duncan shouting, “It’s a Wraith with high enough perception that he could nullify my stealth. IT'S COMING IN FAST.”
Fenris looked nervously at Duncan before he stated, “Keep calm! Your Lightning magic should work on it.”
Soon the torches illuminated the Wraith which was almost the same as a Shade but its features were more prominent. It looked like a ghost of an ancient warrior turned into a creature of shadows with thin transparent blue outlines similar to neon signs instead of just a dark featureless mass.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Its eyes glowed in fluorescent green color and its sword was a lot more prominent as it rushed Duncan.
Duncan started cursing right after Petris ran past him and his bleepery was already in full effect as a diagonal sword slash was met with him blocking it. Fenris used the opportunity to jump from behind Duncan to slash at the Wraith's neck but was met with disappointment. The sword passed through it and left Fenris unbalanced from the unexpected result.
Their saving grace was that Duncan’s sword was turned into a lightning rod which transmitted the Lightning magic into the Wraith effectively stopping its movements. It was kept in place as lightning was wriggling all across its transparent body.
Duncan gritted his teeth and continued cursing, “-BLEEP- mother-BLEEP-ing -BLEEP-HOLE!”
Petris got a great idea by taking one of the torches and shoving it at the incapacitated Wraith's face which did show some effect. The fire sometimes jumped from the torch and burned the Wraith.
Fenris soon recovered and did the same as Petris while Duncan kept the Wraith at bay with his cursing. The duo kept poking into the Wraith with burning torches and looking at Duncan worriedly.
“Keep doing what you are doing!” Fenris yelled as Duncan grimaced.
“Just a bit longer!” Fenris encouraged.
Duncan’s LOG kept blinking in its minimized form and he gritted his teeth as the pain got significantly worse with each curse. He was worried they bit off more than they could chew as the Wraith finally looked towards the ceiling and with a last mournful wail started to burn.
It soon turned to dust and fell before them. As it did so, suddenly some items spewed out of thin air and fell clanking on the floor beside it.
“What’s this?” Duncan asked, still grimacing as he picked up a bottle. The effects of punishment were slowly starting to subside as the fight was over.
Fenris was also out of breath from all the prodding and poking when he replied, “The warrior’s soul must not have dissipated as he died. Strong resentment can do so. While the soul is intact the inventory holds the items that were in it.”
Duncan nodded, “Does this happen often? Items spewing out of defeated foes.”
“As long as their inventory has something. Theoretically, even strong beasts learn how to use their inventory,” Petris replied.
“What else did you see down there?” Fenris asked Petris.
“There was a stone casket before a stairwell entrance that leads up and down. The Wraith surprised me as it passed through the stone and I came running back,” Petris explained.
“We should be underneath the village. I wonder where the stairwell leads to,” Fenris said with a worried expression on his face.
Duncan checked his LOG then.
[
[ Developed Mental resistance Level 12 ]
[ Developed Lightning resistance Level 13. ]
[ Developed Pain Tolerance Level 13. ]
[ Developed Lightning affinity Level 10. ]
[Killed Wraith - Level 32 ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ You have leveled up ]
]
Duncan put the 4 stat points directly to use. Two into Agility and two into Endurance.
“Did you level up?” Fenris asked a question he knew the answer to.
“Yeah. I am level 22 now,” Duncan replied.
“I got a level too, I got to level 29 now,” Fenris replied in kind and Petris shook his head at that.
“You will level again with the next one,” Fenris said and waved his hand.
Duncan looked at him before asking with a worried expression, “Isn’t it too risky to continue? We can hardly handle the ones now.”
“Don’t worry. If I can cut it I am sure I can handle it up to level 40 and the ones I can’t you are the perfect counter for,” Fenris replied with a confident smile. Petris just nodded at that.
“Let’s check out the loot,” Fenris said as he pointed at the floor.
They found 16 silver coins and 30 bronze ones. A potion bottle and a book. As far as Duncan could tell the book was written in the same language as the ones he gave to Elland.
They divided the coins. Everyone got 10 bronze and Duncan got 6 silver coins while the other two took 5. The potion and book also went to Duncan with the promise he would share the knowledge if Elland could translate it.
“Do you want the Wraith’s remains?” Duncan asked before Petris set off into another reconnaissance run.
“Keep them. I have no use for them and neither does Petris,” Fenris replied.
Petris soon came back.
“All clear to the casket. No new monsters about,” he exclaimed with a smile.
They made their way to the casket and looked at the stairwell before Fenris had an idea, “Let’s open up the casket.”
“Are you sure that’s a wise idea?” Duncan asked worried they might unleash something they can’t handle.
Fenris looked at him and smiled before he said, “I doubt there is another Wraith in there who was keeping company with the one we killed.”
Duncan rolled his eyes before he nodded.
Fenris tried to pry the cover open with his sword but it was too heavy and the sword was already starting to bend when he gave up. Duncan then remembered he had a pickaxe and tried with that. He stuck it in the opening at the edge and pulled. It shifted a bit before he was pulled back.
Fenris saw what happened and joined him helping him pull it back. They lifted it a few centimeters up when Fenris commanded, “Petris, push it from the side.”
Petris did as he was told and the casket cover was unhinged and rotated to the side until it fell off on the other end.
Inside they found a big skeleton wearing full combat gear. A sword, helmet, and chain armor were still on the skeleton.
“Now that’s what I am talking about,” Fenris said as he shined the torch light on the remains.
He gently removed the helmet from the head and lifted it closer for inspection.
“Its level is too high. I can’t identify it. It’s light. Too light for steel,” he stated with a smile on his face.
“I hope it’s not cursed,” Petris said.
Duncan looked at him after that statement and asked, “Are curses real?”
“Of course, they are real. Why else would I be worried?” Petris replied.
“Alright, you can each take an item but we won’t use it until we are somewhere safe and they are tested. Duncan as per the agreement. You go first,” Fenris responded at their chatter.
Duncan loathed the idea of taking off the chain mail cuirass from the dead warrior’s ribs and also using a helmet where a skull resided a few days before. That is why he chose the sword.
He picked it up and it was surprisingly light. It had some runes inscribed which glowed in the torch light.
“I will take the sword,” Duncan said as he admired the artful rune lines.
“Petris, you are next. I suggest the helmet. The cuirass will ruin your stealth ability,” Fenris stated.
Petris obeyed and looked at the helmet up close before he stuck it in his inventory.
Fenris unceremoniously undressed the skeleton, displacing some bones as he did so. He smiled as he checked the weight of the armor.
“Must be some higher-class alloy I don’t know about,” he said as he stashed it.
“Let’s take a break,” Duncan said and the other two nodded.
Duncan brought out a roasted rat leg dish and started to eat looking at the stairwell and wondering what kind of monsters still await them.