Approaching the trailing guard, I summoned my hammers into my hands. With a leap into the air I brought them down on its shoulder with a satisfying crunch. With the effect of my nearly depleted Life Essence my avatar was sluggish and slow to move. The skeleton collapsed into a pile of unmoving bones and I cursed as I saw the other two skeletons turning in my direction. My Stealth power pinged a notification of the monster’s attention and I rushed behind one of the beds to take cover.
The sound of the door I had entered through creaking open sent a spark down my spine. There in the doorway I saw the silhouette of Theodora. The eyes of the two guards burst into brilliant ruby fire when they saw her. I could feel her defiant smirk and I suppressed a curse before charging out and hooking my hammer onto the leg of the spear and shield carrying guard. It tumbled onto its back and promptly hammered its shield into my face.
Turning, I threw one of my hammers at the fast approaching second skeleton. It clattered into its chest and sent the monster stumbling back. Raising my second hammer I brought it down on the head of the spear wielder, breaking a hole in its face. The damage didn’t seem to impede it in the least.
A second shield bash sent me tumbling back and the skeletal guard staggered to its feet turning its empty face toward me and raising its spear. As I rolled aside I immediately regretted it as the second skelton staggered forward and brought its hammer down into my shoulder.
Looking behind me I saw my other foe raising its spear. As the hammer came down once again I attempted to disarm it. When it's hammer fell from its hand I grabbed it out of the air and charged in hammering my two weapons into its ribs and taking cuts on my shoulders and neck from its empty claws.
With a final stroke I crushed its knee and destroyed it. Staggering to one knee I hissed out, “I’m operating on nearly zero Essence. I don’t suppose you can use your vast vampire power to help me?”
She cooed, “Why would I ever take away your gaming experience, Mal? You signed up for this after all.”
I cursed. Thump would come in super handy right now, but with zero Essence I would only be able to use basic attacks.
“Simple strikes it is,” I muttered.
Waiting for the guard to strike I dodged, my starving avatar stumbling. I kicked it fully in the shield and threw it off its feet again and to the stone floor. Struggling my way over to the downed monster I batted aside the raised shield, falling to my knees and bringing my hammer to bear on its neck, snapping off its head and killing it.
I fell onto my back and cursed. Pulling out one of my rat corpses I hoped against hope as I sank my teeth into the creature’s dead flesh, only for them to be dashed. Pulling the horrible thing away from my teeth, my avatar gagged. I tossed the useless rat corpse into one of the walls where it exploded with a splat.
Laying there on my back, Theodora’s gray pallor peered down at me with a raised eyebrow, “Do I need to be the one to say you aren’t headed toward the exit?”
Ignoring her, I checked my statistics. My health was at forty eight out of one hundred eighty.
I grumbled, “Do undead rats have Life Essence?”
Her face twisted with disgust and she sighed, “I have saddled myself with a bottom feeder.”
I glared up at her until she finally hissed with obvious disgust, “Almost everything has Life Essence. The amount,” she glared at me, “and the quality vary.”
Since she seemed to be in a talkative mood I asked, “Even skeletons?”
“No. Obviously not skeletons, you idiot.”
I asked softly, “What other kind of monsters have no Essence?”
“Constructed creatures, like golems are the most obvious examples, but the Spiral is full of strange things. Just do me one favor if you are going to be eating rats?”
When I gave her a suspicious look, she finished with, “Warn me before I have to watch a vampire I created slurp a rotting rodent?”
My lip curled and I purposefully avoided her gaze as I growled, “I’ll try.”
She finished by snapping her clawed fingers to get my rapt attention, her terrible black and crimson eyes glaring down at me as she said, “Don’t consume the Essence of a creature that has been completely dead for more than a minute. You will purge more of it than you tried to consume.”
“Noted,” I chose not to remind her that she could have told me that before I tried to consume a rotten dead rat. My avatar struggled to stand but I managed it and moved over to my latest victims, pulling the creatures’ loot into my inventory.
There were two more guards hammers, three more amulets, and five more pinches of bone dust from the bodies. In addition I added the spear and the shield to my inventory.
“Guard’s Spear
Type: Polearm
Slot: 2 Hands
Requirement: Strength 9
Rarity: Common
Tier: F”
“Kite Shield
Type: Shield
Slot: Main Hand
Armor Value: 4
Requirement: Strength 7
Rarity: Common
Tier: F”
Perhaps the greatest prize, I found a single Feaster Rat in an old crate. The thing squealed and snapped at me as I managed to grab it after several bumbling attempts. Glancing over my shoulder at Theodora out of respect for her request I held up the screeching and hissing creature and waved it at her. The Vampiress rolled her eyes and turned away.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
I grimaced with disgust at the snapping and hissing undead rat. With a sigh I turned the menacing little rodent to the side like a cob of corn and tried to repress a gag in the real world as I sank my fangs into it. Life Essence poured into my avatar. I felt the game’s strange temperature control system spread all over my cheeks under the helmet and then to other parts of my avatar’s body through the divesuit. Draining it until it was a withered husk, I tossed the remnants to the floor.
I checked my statistics again.
Health 66 / 180
Essence 22 / 100
That would have to do.
I glanced at the surly vampire glaring at me from the center of the room. She was looking anywhere but at me. Turning, I surveyed the rest of the room with a long analytical eye. Raising an eyebrow at her, I asked, “Are you just going to stand there in the middle of the room and give me a disapproving look?”
“Until you get yourself killed, and then I will extricate myself from this place and find a worthy creature to raise in your place.”
Grumbling a disgruntled “Of course,” I started developing a plan. How far did this AI’s ability go to interpret my actions? Perhaps a more unconventional approach would confuse her?
Moving through the room I searched the still intact foot lockers and beds for items of interest. To my great relief I found a few things to aid my efforts.
In addition to two more guard hammers, another kite shield, twenty strange silver coins which were thankfully in a pouch and a simple robe I found several interesting items.
“50 ft. of Rope with Grappling Hook
A rope and hook for second story work.
Rarity: Common
Tier: F”
“Hooded Brass Lantern
A sturdy lantern for dispelling the darkness of the Spiral.
Rarity: Common
Tier: F
Fuel Quantity: 3/12”
“Flint and Tinder
Summon flame, like your ancestors.
Rarity: Common
Tier: F”
Gathering the items together, I looked up to see that Theodora was still standing at the center of the room glaring at me. She was like a strangely beautiful statue of pale marble. Walking to one of the bed frames I pushed it up against the wall, hooking the grappling hook on the frame and trailing the rope across the room to the far corner.
Her eyes narrowed, “What are you doing?”
I pulled out the flint and tinder and my moldy, nearly broken torch. Taking one of the ancient tattered remnants of the bedsheets, I wrapped it around the head. When I struck it alight I… hissed. I leaned away from the fire and fucking hissed. The game engine forced me to recoil from the fire? This RIG interface was out of control.
Taking a deep breath, I took the lantern to the floor right in front of the ominous door leading further into the barracks. Turning it upside down, I opened its valve to pour all of its remaining fuel onto the ground.
Her next question caused me to slow as it carried significant power behind it as she enunciated each word with weight, “What. Are. You. Doing?”
I didn’t look at her as I reached out and grabbed the handle to the next room’s door, “You don’t like not being in control do you?”
Her glare did not relent and I answered as my protection slipped, “Using you as bait,” before throwing the door open to the next room.
Her eyebrow rose as something roared in rage from within the chamber. Running to the corner with my torch in one hand I reached down to pull up the slack of the rope. The source of the roar charged at Theodora with a bellow and she giggled, not showing the slightest surprise or concern as she said, “Daring choice.”
When the massive form crossed the threshold I yanked the rope taught and tossed the torch at the same moment. Its leg got caught in the rope and it tumbled face first into the oil patch which was just igniting into a small fire.
This creature, quickly getting engulfed by fire, was some kind of zombified guard wearing heavy armor. It was carrying a brutal morningstar in its hands. I analyzed the creature and almost wished I hadn’t as Lydia described it in her typical chipper southern drawl:
“Sworn Flame Guard Captain
Level 8, Elite
Weakness: Slashing Damage
HP: Unknown
MP: Unknown
Special Ability:
Spike Throw - A Sworn Flame Guard Captain will bury its spiked morningstar into a target and then use its considerable strength to throw that target.”
Ignoring the prompt the best I could, I charged the beast, summoning the spear into my hands. My skill was non-existent but all I needed to do…
The spear point sunk through the massive zombie and pinned him to the ground in the flames. Reaching up, I yanked my dagger out of the door and tried to force down my natural aversion to fire. Kneeling, I drove the blade full force into the giant guard’s neck, once again pinning its face in the flames.
Staggering away I covered my face as my feeble Essence reserves tanked once again. I tried to control my avatar’s panic but it was sluggish and erratic. My RIG resisted me and I could feel the chest of my haptic suit tighten from the growing tension in the avatar’s form.
Looking over, I saw that Theodora was gone. Sighing, I walked over and hefted the morningstar, which had tumbled from the struggling zombie’s clutches. Lining my shot, I decided to practice my drive with the monster’s head. There was a satisfying splorch as the morningstar hit, and I found that it was firmly lodged in the beast's head, and that his struggles had ended.
“Sworn Flame Guard Captain Level 8, Elite Defeated!
440 xp gained!”
I quickly leaned down and looted the zombie before the gear could completely burn. Thankfully burn damage didn’t seem to translate out of the inventory.
“Black Iron Morningstar
Type: Bludgeon
Slot: Main Hand
Requirement: Strength 12
Rarity: Uncommon
Tier: F”
“Armor of the Eternal Guard
Type: Heavy
Slot: Chest
Armor Value: 25
Requirement: Strength 15
Rarity: Rare
Tier: F
Strength +5, Vitality +3
While wearing this armor you lose 15% less stamina for fighting in heavy armor.”
A seductive voice replaced Lydia’s, startling me, “You know, you only needed to ask if you wished to use me as a distraction.”
Looking to the far entrance I noted the dark form of Theodora leaning there with her arms crossed regarding me with her single blazing black and red eye.
Rolling my shoulders, I sighed and fixed her with an unamused flat look.
She smirked and giggled, “Fear of betrayal mixed with so much passion and love. That’s what I feel from you. The woman you loved, it must have been a true love story,” after a brief pause she said, “for some reason no matter how deeply I look I can’t see her face.”
My jaw worked as I ground my teeth back in the real world. Taking a long breath I closed my eyes as I tried to ignore the comment.
“Whoever is doing this, they are just trying to bait me,” I thought with a studying breath.
