Lurking Dangers (2/2)
The Võrska had returned! They seemed to be aware of me and yet unwilling to attack. I looked up at the sun and then back at the thick darkness cast by the cave. Were they afraid of the light? I stepped closer looking into the cave with my low light vision. There must have been at least 3 dozens of them. Small in stature but vicious, armed with talon-like fingernails and thin sharp teeth, like an angler fish's! And.. their they were..
On the floor behind them, I finally made out their mangled shapes. Their must have been more than 10 Vorska corpses littering the ground at the center of the cave. Amongst them however, were the destroyed bodies of my coyotes. Chewed on, dismembered, torn apart and defiled in every way I could have thought possible. Finally a larger shape emerged from the hoard, pushing all his lesser kin to the side. He stood almost as tall as an average human but was pale and monstrous in appearance. Bald, fanged, with taloned fingernails, eyes like tar pits and a elongated writhing tongue. An undead scion.. A corrupter.. a maker of undead.. A Ghoul... The creature grinned upon seeing me and held up the severed head of a once great beast. From his claws dangled the slack-jawed head of my Blood Wolf. Every single one of her elated and happy features, replaced with the coldness and stillness of death. "Have you come to surrender yourself to me? My lovely Core!" he asked in the creepiest voice.
My answer was a screaming cry of pure anger! I raised my hand and started blasting the hoard with lightning fast shots from my "Finger Gun". The brutish Ghoul ducked behind his minions and out of my sight. If he was afraid he certainly didn't show it, as he grinned and laughed maniacally while he retreated! I must have shot about ten times before I ran out of Mana.. Many Vorska were covered in burn marks, blisters and missing half of their HP! I drew my scimitar and simply lept forward with a crazed fury! The Vorska rushed me, hoping to drown me with their numbers alone. My scimitar sang as its blade vibrated, sailing through the air and slashing them apart! I kicked, punched and stomped like I mindless beast, cursing at them once they lay unmoving at my feet!
Slowly of course, the numerous foes managed to jump, flank and outmaneuver me, scoring many slashes and bites on my body! I grabbed one that had lodged itself on my back, by the head and smashed it against the cave wall. I was literally seeing red at one point when I finally realized it was an indication for my low Health Points! I kicked one of them so hard, I sent it flying towards the ceiling of the cave. Its body smashed against the cold stone and it dropped limply back down. I lept high in the air and spun, shaking a few more undead off of me! Slashing my way through the hoard I finally ran out of the cave while dragging one of them with me! The creature's skin boiled under the sun's light. It filled with blisters and after mere seconds it exploded into bits and pieces of itself. I wasn't that better off myself. The adrenaline kept the pain at bay at that moment but I knew that as soon as things calmed down I could pass out. My body was covered in gashes, bruises, bite marks and other kinds of wounds. Which were by the way smoking.. Actual smoke came out of them and I felt a burning sensation in my body fade away as I was bathed in sunlight.
[ Toxins detected in Avatar's blood stream. Toxins cleansed. Minor Regeneration has been activated. 13/170 HP remaining. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.5 defeated! 32xp gained, 15
Aether points and 21 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.5 defeated! 32xp gained, 15 Aether points and 21 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.5 defeated! 32xp gained, 15 Aether points and 21 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.5 defeated! 32xp gained, 15 Aether points and 21 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.3 defeated! 16xp gained, 10 Aether points and 13 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.5 defeated! 32xp gained, 15 Aether points and 21 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.4 defeated! 26xp gained, 12 Aether points and 16 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.3 defeated! 16xp gained, 10 Aether points and 13 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.5 defeated! 32xp gained, 15 Aether points and 21 Gold awarded!. ]
[ Vorska Bloodseeker Lv.6 defeated! 41xp gained, 19 Aether points and 28 Gold awarded!. ]
I only glanced over the dozens of messages rapidly collecting before my eyes. The undead creatures couldn't follow me in the sun.. A sun that was however slowly setting! The ghoul re-emerged from the mass of its brood. It seemed displeased when it observed the poisons being burnt by the sun's warm touch. It tossed me Fiona's severed head. Chunks of its flesh were missing, replaced by sizable bite marks. My blood boiled but I couldn't let myself be goaded a second time. I needed to run! The evil creature grinned before speaking once more. "Tis ok to be afraid my beautiful Core.. Death can be a frightening thing! But death is not what awaits you my love, no! Your little wall of stone was a clever scheme! My Vorska could not dig upwards and into your domain. But we found a way out.. yes.. now we are here.. and there is no stopping it. You will be mine.. You will mother my new army! You will help me shroud this land in a veil of corpses and blood!!" the mad thing screamed at me.
I had rage.. I had questions.. but I wasn't going to accomplish anything if I simply died here! I turned my back to the cave and darted in the opposite direction. I could hear the undead laughing manically, as if my doom was already decided by some higher power. An inescapable fate. My body carried me along the dune with exceptional speed despite its aches and pains. Whatever poison ran through my veins was quickly purified by the blessing of Trishda but it seemed that exposing myself to the sun would also have this effect. The Ghoul believed the sun was what had saved me.. this was good. I had a small advantage.
[ Minor Regeneration has reached Rank 2, you gain 2 HP every 10 minutes even when you are not resting. ]
[ New achievement unlocked! "Valiant Defeat", you engaged a losing battle against a superior force, inflicting more casualties that you suffered before retreating. 150xp awarded. 1 Free Attribute Point awarded. ]
After seeing the advancement of my skill, I immediately sank my remaining skill point into it as well, raising it to Rank 3. Now my Health recovered 4 points every ten minutes and my recovery during cultivation would be even greater. Good.. I would need this advantage tonight.. With that, I also allocated my new free Attribute Point into Physical and took a look at my stats as I felt my speed picking up slightly.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Race: Superior Dungeon Core Lv.8
Avatar: Arsani (Hermaphrodite)
Age: 29
HP: 18/170
MP: 03/66
XP: 718/950
Aether: 332
Gold: 800
Physical - 12 (Beyond Peak Condition)
Mental - 3 (Average)
Social - 5 (Above Average)
Magic - 8 (Well Above Average)
Skills
1) Monster Summoning (Rank 2)
2) Dungeon Manipulation (Rank 2)
3) Aether Cultivation (Rank 3)
4) Bound (Rank 1)
Passive Skills
1) Fire Resistance (Rank 2)
2) Natural Allure (Rank 1)
3) Minor Regeneration (Rank 3)
4) Fire Manipulation Magic (Rank 3)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
As the sand hills rushed past me I could see a cloud of sand, rise in the distance, from the direction from where I'd just fled. The Sun had almost completely vanished and the undead were in hot pursuit. My Dungeon was in danger! When I finally reached the Plateau I could see my Wyvern flying over me, signalling my arrival to my allies. I rushed to the entrance to find Fatná waiting for me there. "My Lady!! Are you alright? Oh.. oh gods!! Your hurt! Did they infect you?!" cried Fatná desperately when she saw the condition I was in. "No, no don't worry about me.. I cannot be infected, neither can my monsters. You and Sumiré are the ones I need to protect. Quickly, to the Altar Room!" I commanded and Fatná followed. "The girl is already waiting for us down! Did.. the wolves.." Fatná tried to ask gently, seeing my pained expression. "My wolves will be returned to us soon.." I replied. Fiona and her pack had Monster Cores. As long as I had the Aether to spare, I could bring them back.
We entered the Altar Room to find a distressed Sumiré, anxiously awaiting our arrival. She ran up and hugged me, relieved to see me alive. There were tears in her eyes but a smile on her face. "We have trouble.. The undead are coming.." I said in a dire but calm tone. They needed to feel that everything was under control. Both of them nodded but I could see the fear creep into their thoughts. "The Dungeon can deal with them for now.. Our defences will hold. But I need to recuperate.. They will probably send many waves during the night and recover their forces at day. We must assume that this Ghoul has the power to create more of itself.. and it wont stop.. at least thats how it seemed to me..".
"It appeared obsessed with finding you my Lady.. we tried to warn you..." Sumiré said and held my hand tightly.
"Hey.. we can make it through this I promise. This is my fault and I will fix it! I gave you my word, that you would be given a better life here and I intend to keep it.."
"We didn't expect to live a fairytale life when we signed up Lady Minõa.. We will help.. we will fight.. this is our home now too!" Fatná said with a reassuring smile.
I nodded to them more confidently. Their faith in me was all the reassurance I needed right now. I could feel my summons at the back of my head, supporting me as well. I stepped close to my Core and placed a hand on it. I could feel the severed connection between my lost summons and knew how much Aether was required to re-establish those connections. This was the result of syncing my core with theirs. The ability to bring back lost monsters, with all their experience and memories. As if they were never lost in the first place. Fiona and her pack would be a costly re-summon at my level, putting me at about 360 Aether points for all four wolves. This power was obviously ment for stronger Dungeon Cores than me but I was developing at an accelerated degree, thanks to Trishda.
For the night and as long as we were being attacked, I wouldn't be able to summon and develop new monsters, this would have to wait until the following day. So, I had no reason to hold onto the Aether I had collected. I spent 280 Aether points to bring back Fiona and only two of her pack-members. If I could drive the undead back during the night, then I could cultivate during the day and join the fight on the next raid with renewed forces. But for now.. My Dungeon would have to endure without me against the hoard. I bit my lip in frustration and doubt, cursing myself for this predicament. Suddenly, a red furry head, adorned with blade-like horns came into view. Fiona came next to me, poking me with her nose.
"I'm sorry we failed Master.. We fought our best, with no fear.. Because we knew, Master would bring us back. Master Minõa would bring us home again.." the wolf spoke through our bond and I hugged her, passing my arms around her neck. Aerial images were passed around psychically from our Wyvern. The hoard of undead was closing in. Fisher and my Amber Ooze had assumed waiting positions in their respective caves, ready to welcome our intruders with death. They had numbers but we had the home advantage. It was time to give that Ghoul exactly what it was asking for. A Dungeon Core in all its glory!