Yggdrasil Fallen, LitRPG Series
Book 1, Part 1 Obsidian
Chapter 11: Boss
Andre Slid his blade out of the chest of one of the many “Two Headed Shale Stalkers” he’d encountered and subsequently slain in the last hour as he progressed through the singular hallway of the tunnel, he’d found himself trapped in. While he was moving at what he thought to be a decent pace, he’d long since run out of water, and had a pressing hunger the energy bars no longer satisfied. Most of the items he’d received through his looting skill were related to the beasts themselves: Hides, fangs and claws but he’d also received vials of various suspicious fluids and packages of what appeared to be beef jerky wrapped in butcher paper, tied up with twine. While his interface listed them as safe to ingest; he found himself extremely uneasy at the prospect; fully wondering not only what they were made of, but the contents of them. He pulled out one of the vials and a package of the wrapped, dried meat to examine again:
“Item: “Lesser Hydrating elixir”: a small vial of ingestible fluid that will slake your thirst better than a tall glass of iced tea in the hot summer sun. Upon consuming this fluid, you will find yourself no longer in need of additional fluids for the next hour. Rarity: Common, Value: Low, Effect: Immediate, lasts 1 hour.”
“Item: “Smoked Salted Stalker Meat”: a full serving of salted and smoked shale stalker meat that has been purified of toxins and prepared for human consumption. Colloquially called “Jerky”; This safe, ready to eat meat is guaranteed to satisfy hunger pangs for up to 2 hours when fully consumed. Rarity: Uncommon, Value: Low, Effect: Immediate, lasts up to 2 hours depending on amount consumed.”
Staring suspiciously at the food and drink in his hands, Andre carefully unwrapped the Stalker Jerky and took a cautious bite out of the shockingly black meat. His mouth was immediately flooded with satisfyingly rich, smokey/salty flavors mildly reminiscent of beef jerky he used to buy from a small hometown style butcher shop he frequented in his younger years. He immediately felt the hunger pangs subside as he swallowed and bit off another chunk of the shockingly tender meat. Despite having only 3 more packages of the succulent treat, Andre found himself quickly devouring the entire portion. Emboldened by the incredibly delicious snack, he popped the stopper on the bottle holding the elixir and quickly threw it back, like taking a shot of the tequila he was currently missing out on. It went down smooth, shockingly cold with a strong taste of root beer. His once dry mouth and lips seemed to plump as the fluid washed by and down his throat, fully revitalizing him. In the corner of his vision Andre noticed a small flashing dot. Upon opening his character interface, he saw that he’d gained two buffs, one for each of the items consumed:
“Well Hydrated: Consumption of a Hydrating elixir has left you without the need to consume any additional fluids for one hour.”
“Well Nourished: Consumption of an Aspect generated meal has eradicated your hunger and has left you without the need to consume food for 2 hours.”
“Very cool!” Andre laughed to himself as he stood up, brushing himself off. He Activated his looting ability on the most recent kill, only having just noticed it still laying in a pool of its own blood; right next to where he’d consumed his meal. Andre sighed as four items clattered to the ground at his feet: 2 fangs, a claw and a vial of something he hadn’t yet seen. He excitedly grabbed the swirling orange/white flask and examined it:
“Item: “Lesser Ingestible Biosynthesis Stimulant”: consumable manifested concentrated aspect energy that, when drunk, triggers a minor boost to the healing rate of the individual. This does not regenerate lost limbs or reduce/end the duration of afflictions. Rarity: Rare, Value: Moderate, Effect: 30% healing effect over 30 seconds.”
“Huh, this seems valuable.” Andre mumbled to himself as he tucked the vial into his backpack.
“More than you know, once we get out of here, we’ll have to track down an aethereal vendor to see about getting you a potion bandolier or quick access sash.” ALIAS spoke.
“That is… if we get out of here.” It finished.
“Really funny man. Really funny.” Andre retorted, as he raised his blade to the sounds of more guttural growls. For the next hour Andre progressed through a sea of blood, viscera and severed stalker heads. As he slew another Shale stalker, this one with three heads, Andre collapsed to his knees gasping for breath.
“Is there an end to these fucking things?” He growled as yet another “Three Headed Shale Stalker prowled closer to him, its belly barely above the ground. Climbing back to his feet Andre let loose a guttural warcry as he sprinted towards the beast, his weapon swinging right at the neck of the beast’s right head. His weapon connected, cleaving through all three necks like a hot knife through butter. Accepting the loot prompt Andre fell to one knee gasping for breath as black mist swirled around him, eventually depositing several claws, a package of jerky and another healing vial at his feet.
“ALIAS… Why are these things not dropping any Aspect tokens?” Andre questioned aloud as he reached down to tuck the items into his almost overflowing pack.
“I can’t be certain, if I were to guess, you’ll be granted them in bulk after the boss of this chamber has been defeated.”
“The Prime beast?”
“Yes, its best you stop asking such questions and please move forwards.” ALIAS answered.
It was another hour of brutal fighting against the Two and Three Headed Shale Stalkers before he finally encountered a new enemy. While fighting through the stalkers Andre followed ALIAS’s advice and conservatively assigned his stat points he gained as he leveled in a very balanced manner, always keeping 5-6 in reserve. Having hit level 6 he found, when pressured, he could take them on 2 at a time now. After the last fight Andre noticed his Aqua aspect had hit level 4, further boosting his skills. He relished the fact that in just a short time in the dungeon his skills handling the machete had sharpened from hacking away trail overgrowth to now being a bloodied weapon of feline destruction. Though the longer he survived, the more beasts he slew; Andre felt a growing sense of concern:
“Just how much longer are you going to hold out for me?” He pondered as he gazed down at the weapon in his hand. He couldn’t bring himself to activate his identification ability; mostly out of fear of what it would tell him. While the weapon looked as it did the day he purchased it from the outdoors goods retailer: its edge still honed to a fine point with no sign of warping, no knicks or dents; he knew there was no way this weapon, designed to demolish plants not beasts, could continue to hold up at this current pace.
He remembered back to when he’d purchased the tool, it had been a small Mom and Pop shop just down the road from where he lived; a place he loved to visit just to drool over their wares. They were nothing like the mass-produced garbage he’d find at larger retailers; the items they sold were pristine works of art; crafted goods they claimed to make in a workshop above their retail space. It was expensive, but as Andre now realized; certainly worth every penny.
“Especially with what I’m putting it through today.” He mused looking around the tunnel.
“I’ve got to be getting close to the main chamber, I’ve been slaughtering on for a while now!”
“You have been in this ritual chambers’ access maze for approximately 8.5 hours, as I mentioned at its entry there is no way to determine exactly how far away the chambers are from the entry.” ALIAS buzzed, annoyed. Andre sighed as he drank down another “Lesser Hydrating Elixir”; tossing the bottle aside he replied:
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“Alrighty then, Mr. Know-it-all, ill just have to keep working through this.” Flicking his weapon slightly; sending blood and stalker remnants splattering across the floor, Andre continued forwards, much more confident in his ability to handle whatever might be next. He rounded the sharp corner in the tunnel, so full of confidence he didn’t notice the huge wall; exactly like the one back in the cabin, until he walked face first into it. Staggering backwards he stood agape, taking in the familiar wooden waves; a surprisingly comforting change from the black shale walls. A box popped up center in his field of view:
“Congratulations, you have reached “Ritual Chamber #4, Primary Arena”. Inside you will find the Prime Alpha Beast, which when slain will purge excess Aspect Energy from the area returning it to a normalized state. Upon entry you will be sealed in with the beast until either of you are slain; so be sure you are fully prepared to enter.”
“To enter the Primary Arena, place your palm against the door and accept the prompt that appears; it would appear to me that you have prepared about as well as you can. Live or die, this trial needs to be engaged.” ALIAS spoke quietly.
Mentally bracing himself, Andre reached his hand out and firmly placed his palm against the hidden door.
“Preliminary trials of Ritual Chamber #4 have been successfully completed. The Prime Arena trial lies ahead. Do you wish to proceed?” Andre mentally assented and the walls began to slowly split apart compressing like an accordion to the left and right of where he stood, just as it had back in the cabin; revealing a short tunnel that opened into a dark cavernous room. Walking into the room he noted the walls changed from sleek shale, to char blackened wood, the floor innately patterned stone mosaic much like the walls back at the entry.
Upon stepping onto the tiled floor a series of torches ignited on either side of the short tunnel; their blaze leaping from one torch to the next, rimming the entire chamber; illuminating everything in a dim flickering light.
“Well, isn’t that just fucking cliché. Just like every damned boss room from those old JRPGs” He muttered to himself, as he slowly crept slowly forwards. In the flickering light he could see that at the center of the room stood a waist high pedestal, draped with a crimson cloth, or was it leather… runner. As Andre slowly approached the pedestal, he noticed that sitting atop the runner was what appeared to be a charred yet shockingly glossy object that resembled a twig, or perhaps a root that was about a foot and a half long. It was about an inch round at one end yet tapered down to a thin point. The thickest end had what appeared to be a rich cherry wood grip that stood out in stark contrast to the ashen black. He noticed that a pale translucent dot hovered just above the cherrywood grip.
“This just has to be a trap, leaving obvious wizard wand lookin “treasure” out in the open like this.” Andre mocked as he cautiously stepped closer to the pedestal. It happened in an instant: at first, he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his forehead as his vision went fuzzy, crackling and buzzing just as it had when ALIAS “Adjusted” his character screen; he fell to his knees gripping his head against the agony as a text box appeared over the distortion:
“ERROR: Interface corruption detected. Cause: Unknown. Calculating.”
“It may have been a mistake for us to have ever entered this area, the highly concentrated and unstable Aspect Energy is interfering with…. Bzzzt.” ALIAS crackled and buzzed then fell silent as Andre read the next box:
“Unable to compensate, attempting alternative options.” This box appeared to flicker in and out of view, fading into the distortion.
“Oh. Fuck.” Andre groaned, as he felt the floor rumble. Looking up he found himself shaking with fear as he barely made out a large shadow looming threateningly over him.
“Compensation successful, reinitializing.” Stated yet another box that appeared, this time fully clear. He reached to recover his lost weapon and upon finding it, staggered to his feet. As His vision began to slowly clear; the stabbing pain fading, ALIAS screamed:
“MOVE YOUR ASS IDIOT!” Partially in surprise to the sudden return, partially on instinct Andre rolled hard as a massive double-headed axe swung over him, right where his neck had been moments before. He finished his roll with a small leap onto his feet facing the monstrosity that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The beast was an overly large humanoid figure; rotting flesh hanging loosely from yellowing bones. It had a long reptilian tail languidly hanging behind it and the massive battle axe held back, ready for another strike. The beast quivered as it shifted forms; its grip tightening on the weapons handle, causing several chunks of rotting flesh to drop to the ground near its feet and others to gently swing from exposed ligaments.
“A..aa….ALIAS, what in the actual fuck is this thing! I thought Alpha Aspected Beasts were supposed be iterations of the other beasts in the dungeon?!” Andre screeched in terror as the beast reared back to charge.
“I never said that… Analyzing”
“Analyzing my ass! That things coming and I have no idea what to do about it!”
The Alpha beast flickered, appearing right in front of Andre as it brought its weapon down in a quick vertical swing. The chamber trembled, shaking dust from the high ceiling as the axe crashed deep into the stonework; barely missing as Andre leapt out of the way, landing into several staggering steps.
“ALIAS!! I need an answer now!”
“Aspect Environment unreadable due to high concentrations of unstable energy. Unable to determine risk factors, Aspect elements indeterminate. This zone is impossible to gauge. So… uh… good luck?” ALIAS spouted out in broken fragmented statements; the disjointed nature of its’ speak shaking Andre to the core. Andre gagged as he found himself awash in a thick acrid stink, akin to thousands of carcasses rotting along a hot, humid highway. The beast turned its grotesque almost completely fleshless face, with one empty eye socket to face him, and breathed out a heavy, sickly green cloud, somehow worsening the stench already hanging in the air.
“Alert: You’ve been afflicted by toxic spore cloud.” The box flashed and was quickly dismissed by Andre as he felt his strength begin to diminish. He staggered back several steps, overwhelmed by the putrid odor, he fell to his knees and retched. Turning his eyes back to the beasts’ rotten, skeletal grinning face; Andre wiped bile from his mouth and leapt to attack, swinging his weapon hard at the elbow joint of the arm holding the axe, still buried in the ground. His machete struck true, cleaving right through the spongy flesh and clean through to the other side. As its arm flopped over it swatted its other across, catching Andre midair and sending him crashing into the wall. Andre hit the ground hard, the air forced painfully from his lungs, though luckily, he still clung to his weapon. Fighting to regain his breath he stared on in horror as the creature reached down and almost casually grabbed the severed forearm. A rasping gurgle fille the chamber as it fitted the appendage back to the severed joint. A thick, black sludge oozed from the wound, seeming to reform the joint.
“The bastards laughing at me.” Andre fumed,
“I cut its damned arm off, and it just puts it back on, mocking me in return.” Sweat dripped down his brow, as his breathing normalized despite the overwhelming scent of the chamber and throbbing pain in his chest.
“This bastard’s gotta be death itself…” he said, climbing back to his feet. As though the stench itself wasn’t bad enough, the torches were causing the temperature of the chamber to rapidly rise, thickening the putrid aromas.
“I’ve got to do something, and quickly, or this stench alone will kill me.” He thought, as the beast pulled its weapon from the ground, its arm seemingly having lost none of its former strength. The Alpha beast turned its entire monstrous body in his direction and had lumbering towards him. Sweat dripping down his forearm, his heart pounding in his chest and his adrenaline surging, Andre sprinted towards the beast. It swung its weapon again downward at him. At the last second Andre leapt with all the strength he could muster, launching himself several feet over the weapon as the axe head came crashing down. He landed on the handle bringing his machete down on its shoulder, severing the arm and in a flash of steel he swung his weapon in a swift arch back across its neck. Andre kicked off the axes handle, landing with a slight skid several feet back. Turning to see what damage he’d inflicted; Andre froze again as a purple mist spilled from the gaping neck wound he left behind.
“What fresh hell is this now?!” The mist pouring from neck quickly began to quickly fill the room bringing with it a dense aroma of old fermented, curdled blood. He felt burning sensation spread through him: first clinging to his skin, then infiltrating his eyes, nose and lungs. Falling to his knees Andre started coughing, spitting up blood.
“Warning, affliction: “Toxic Spore cloud” has upgraded to “Necrotizing Blood Plague”. ALERT: You currently have no abilities or gifts to purge this affliction. This is a stacking affliction, additional stacks will accelerate the progression of the affliction.”
“So that’s the fresh hell. Literal hell.”
“Warning, you have been afflicted with a second stack of “Necrotizing Blood Plague”, you currently have no abilities or gifts to purge this affliction.”
Andre seized with a deep wracking cough; thick, black blood splattering across the mosaic stonework.
“I get it now, when Phione was talking about “If they survive” and the “Desolate path”. I should have known I just wasn’t good enough to survive.”
“Warning, you have been afflicted with a third stack of “Necrotizing Blood Plague”, You currently have no abilities or gifts to purge this affliction. You have reached a critical state, death is imminent." ALIASs' voice range loud and clear as the edges of Andre's vision began to close in.