6 Baldag-Ruhl, of Many

I awoke the next morning with dried snot all over my face. That, and in a thick, black bile from the bear's corpse melting. Agony disintegrated the corpse, and all the insides leaked out until I laid in them. Taking a breath, I lifted myself with a nice, quick snap up. Once upright, I steadied myself, the crusty black gunk being slippery.

I took a second to understand what the hell happened. As I did, a sinking sensation passed over me. I melted my only source of meals I’d found so far. I gasped before shaking that sinking feeling off. I’d just kill another bear, and I wouldn’t melt it next time.

I rinsed myself off in the pink pool beside the bear. The water warmed me, my clothes ragged from all my fighting. The bath stunned me with how tingly the water felt, and it was thicker than normal for some reason.

Without any real information on why, I moved on. Still soaking wet, I found the leftover skin of the bear. Instead of melting, it remained pristine despite Agony’s influence. After a few seconds of observing it, I figured out why.

BloodHolllow Bear Skin - A tough, resilient skin with damage reflective qualities due to the external spines. Common Rarity.

The material would make a nice set of gauntlets or a cloak if I could cut it. I sliced it before, but the tooth left a jagged slice. Actually crafting the material required more than just a dull canine. A knife, once again, would’ve been helpful. Either way, it would’ve been a shame to waste the material since the bear skin's reflective qualities would help me quite a bit. Especially considering my tanking build at the time.

I folded and carried the hide across my shoulders as I went onwards. There was no point in staying here any longer. Passing further into the cavern, bats continued fighting me as I traveled along these disparate pools. I smashed those creatures now, my new fighting style giving me an edge.

Before, I dodged without really fighting back outside of jabs. Once Agony incapacitated the creatures, I jumped in and finished them off. With Lumbering Brute, I landed blows that dealt some pretty ok-ish damage during the initial stages of fights. Not life-changing, but better than before.

I dodged and ducked before swinging in another heavy hit. I knocked a tooth out of a bat’s mouth. With further strength and constitution, my fists would start to dish out real damage soon. I ducked sideways, and a bat collapsed behind me. Yup, Agony still served as my primary dps source.

Handling those bats, I approach another pool. At that moment, a notification popped up.

Skill Unlocked! Travel | Level 1 - The world is vast, and there stands one method to traverse it. You know this now, and you’ve chosen to excel at it. +1% to self travel speed. Not effective during combat.

Extra skills always helped me out, whether in combat or not. Even if they leveled super-slow and didn’t do much, they helped in the background. Far off in the distance, I spotted the next source of lit pools. They leaked out like little stars in the distance before growing into whole rooms full of whatever light the pools radiated.

This pool's color sheened like crimson, a darker red than the pink of before. In the distance, a clittering of legs caught my attention. Hiding behind a boulder, a pile of insects writhed beside the pool. A bat swooped down for water, but the insects reached out, dozen's biting the bat before it even touched the pool.

These bugs swarmed over the bat as it howled out. The centipedes, cave crickets, and spiders crawled into the bats throat, swelling the creature from the inside. They crawled out seconds later, eggs hatching from within the bat.

Tiny creatures ran out of its skin before eating its hide. A dripping, bloody skeleton remained from their infestation. The writhing insects tossed the bones into the bloodied pool with a plop, right as I gulped.

To avoid an enemy, I had to understand it. I snuck closer, and the Schema identified it for me.

Baldag-Ruhl, of Many | Level ??? - Baldag Ruhl is a hivemind that gained sentience hundreds of years ago. Slowly it has gained intelligence, learning to control more and more insects. It’s intelligence and talent with runes is unmatched, as is its horde of flesh eating beetles, centipedes, and locusts.

Avoid at all costs.

I wanted nothing to do with this thing, so I began skulking away. From behind my neck, an ancient voice hissed,

"Cease your steps, little one, or I shall cease them for you."

My blood froze over in my chest as I locked in place. I couldn’t move, and its voice echoed,

“You speak with words. I’ve heard them, for this is my domain. You will be useful for more than just food because of your words."

I turned as the insects formed a vicious mouth, with centipedes for teeth. Its voice pierced through me,

"How did you wander into my den then, little one?"

I frowned before saying, "I'm trying to get out of here. This place really doesn't want me to though, so now I'm lost."

"You wallow in darkness, and so, you've lost your way like a little lamb...I can help you, little lamb, but for a price paid in blood and flesh and bone."

I blinked, cold sweat dripping from my brow, "So, I'd rather keep all of that stuff with me, thank you."

"The flesh I wish for belongs to others. You, you are soft and delicate...and small. I require something more substantial to feed my growth. I can see you've met a bear here. Their skin is difficult for me to deal with. You see, the spines tear my children apart. You have slain them, and eaten them. A part of its flesh is still in you. I can smell it. It drenches your breath."

I shivered as it commanded, "Bring me the flesh of these bears. If you do so, I will consume them instead of you. What do you say to my deal, soft, little lamb?"

Feeding a Monster: Baldag-Ruhl has offered you to feed it BloodHollow Bear meat instead of fighting it. Do you accept? Yes? | No? (Quest time limit of 1 week)

Without even thinking about it, I clicked yes. I barely killed the bear, and this thing had an unknown level with a backstory to boot. It killed the bat in seconds, and from what I could tell, the bats had 700 hp or so. They also had a bit of resistance too. Despite that, Baldag-Ruhl chewed through that much hp in moments.

Fighting him was suicide, and I didn’t want the abomination laying eggs under my skin. Baldag-Ruhl writhed around me,

"You are a wise one for such a foreign creature. I will give you seven cycles to collect enough bears to make me full. Fail me, and I will find you wherever you hide. I will keep you living, and I will use your blood to create my children. All will be torment until you perish."

I nodded before turning around back where I came. Baldag-Ruhl shifted in front of me, "No. You walk towards the bats. Past me are far more of the bearkin. That is where you will go."

A tentacle of insect bodies pointed behind me. I held back the urge to vomit while hugging a wall opposite to the hivemind. I lowered Agony's range until it didn’t touch him, though he didn’t seem to mind the aura’s influence before.

He either didn’t notice it or it didn’t really damage him. I had a long way to go before fighting this monster. As I started towards the bears, the hivemind cackled,

"I feel that fear oozing from your pores and skin. It makes your movements slow and your mind dull. Put the fear behind you, little one, and use it for power...Or it shall consume you."

I nodded as I gained a skill.

Skill Unlocked! Fear | Level 1 - Fear may freeze you in place or spur you to action. In your life, you will decide whether fear holds you down or pulls you up. Augments strength and dexterity, but dramatically increases stamina consumption while afraid.

This skill weighed me down ever so slightly, the stamina drain notable. Normally, the skill would’ve been awful, but my stamina exceeded my consumption of it. This meant Fear was a nice bonus instead of a blah headache.

I wouldn't be using Fear for long though. Agony's area of effect would wreck all his little bugs in time, giving me a massive edge versus the hivemind. That was the plan, and considering Agony liquified a body at a basic, primal level, I gained confidence. I could do this, and I doubted the monster could resist the damage.

I'd strengthen myself versus the bears before killing this thing. Or escape this place. Whichever came first, honestly. As I set out for the pools, no bats came out to stop me. Baldag-Ruhl's aura kept them at bay.

Once I passed a few minutes from him, the bats returned, but with a slight difference in build. The black skin on their wings extended towards their belly. This dark coloration crawled out like black veins towards their chest.

While I fought them, a bat’s maw opened. What was once a red pit turned into an inky abyss. This hid them when they dove down, and the only way to sense them was via hearing or the flash of teeth. It renewed the challenge of fighting against them.

Camouflaged or not, Agony still beat them down in a few minutes. When I killed one, I inspected one of the bodies.

BloodHollow Bat | Level 45 - Their umbral blood now constitutes more of their body, giving them far greater guises in the gloom of BloodHollow. Still fodder, these bats can catch unsuspecting adventurers by surprise.

As one dove for me, I ducked below the teeth before pushing off the ground. My torso rotated, my hand building force before slamming into the bat's stomach. Like hitting a pillow of organs, the bat belched blood.

Agony softened it already. The monster collapsed onto the ground beside me, and it squirmed around. I didn’t bother finishing it off. Agony handled that nasty business for me. Another swooped down, then another.

I evaded the second bat, its body smashing stone. When the third one dove down, I got a handle on its descent. Timing a punch, I charged towards its teeth. Tucking my fist against my side, I turned my body. My feet pressed against the ground hard when my fist smashed into the bat's open mouth.

The bat's teeth sliced into my arm, but my whole forearm was lodged in its throat. I gripped its insides before smashing it into the ground. With it unable to bite, I lifted it above my head and growled. I smashed it into the ground until its blood drenched my arm. Wielding the corpse, I lobbed it into the second bat's second dive.

It flopped to the ground, and I swarmed it. I heel-stomped it until the beast resembled a black puddle beneath my foot. They gave me some experience, though nowhere near the value of a crimson bear. Either way, I appreciated the boost in exp.

To gain a level, fifty lesser bats needed to die. I only needed to kill twenty now. After two more hours beating bats to death, I leveled up to forty one. After placing my attribute point into constitution, I reached another pool of pink water. A bear much like the one I faced before was there, slumbering next to the water.

BloodHollow Bear | Level 74 - An enormous, terrifying creature. Fight with caution as it's red aura and monstrous strength are very effective tools for dismembering adventurers.

I hit my forehead with my knuckles a few times to psyche myself up. A part of me still feared the bear, even though I already killed one. I got slightly stronger since then, but this bear would still be a challenge.

Not letting myself get lost in my thoughts, I heaved out a breath like a madman before sprinting towards the sleeping bear. Agony's range hit the bear before I did, causing it to stir. It rubbed its eyes with its paw, the razor sharp, black claws glistening in the pool’s light.

I collided my fist into its nose. My fist crushed but so did the beast’s face. My hand held up better than last time, the bear's nose being softer now. Not letting myself get cornered and getting the first attack helped me too.

The bear reeled back, more out of pain than actual damage. I ran up and wailed on its sides. My hits did minimal damage, but they added up over time. The bear got its bearings and smashed the earth with its front paws, pushing me back with the force of his stomp. Powdered stone ebbed out as it roared.

I flipped backwards, rolling on the ground. I lifted my head, and the spined bear growled as it charged me. I shoved myself back up, taking a deep breath. The bear slung its weight into its right paw, but I leaned towards the attack in a lunge. My fist followed behind me, building in force. As the paw skimmed by the top of my head, my knuckles clashed into the beast’s cheek.

The bones in my arms shook and creaked under the strain, but they held up this time. My shoulders and arms screamed at the incoming force, but they did not relent. They obeyed my iron will, withstanding the force of the hit.

The counter-impact off my hit slid me backwards a foot. The bear opened its jaws and came at me once more. I ducked back before torquing another hook into the bear's face. The bear’s face barely budged, and it gave me a hideous grin.

I returned the gesture. I rained my strikes and they landed often. Each time, my hands hurt as if hitting a sandbag full of lead. But I kept hitting. The bear retaliated in kind. It gnawed and slashed and cut and bit and clawed and roared. It sliced me open a few times, but I managed my health and stayed patient.

After regenerating, I attacked the monster again. The bear couldn’t dodge at all, but it’s strikes whirled and hissed in the air. This made for a deadly dance where I walked on the edge of life and death. It reminded me of fighting, and unlike the previous bear, I almost found myself smiling.

The last bear fought me when I wanted to run. Now I battled on my own terms, and that mental prep made all the difference. I got after the bear, hounding it like a bulldog with something to prove.

However, over an hour passed, my mental endurance waning. The bear slipped in several gashing swipes. A set of four deep claw marks dripped from my chest. It ruined what remained of my shirt. Several of my knuckles lacked skin by then, becoming scarred masses. Blood dripped from my mouth from when the bear tackled me into the wall.

It almost killed me, but I kept myself together enough to recuperate. The bear fared worse, its regeneration paling by comparison. No nose, eyes, or ears, the beast lashed out with wild, desperate attacks. Making sure it kept exhausting itself, I circled it, slipping in free hooks when I could.

Welts had formed in its sides from the continuous bruising. I kept my distance for a while, keeping Agony low enough that I regenerated my wounds. The aura gave the bear no idea where I was, so I just sat by the pool, cooling off as it died.

Once I healed, I went forward again with a renewed charge. The bear stumbled and fell like a giant sack of heaving flour. I dove on top of the beast and beat it further. My hands slowly but surely turned him to a thick soup of blood. A notification appeared as it died.

Level up! Two levels gained!

It was a hard-fought two levels, but not like the four of before. It took time, effort, and focus to kill this bear. Last time required enough effort that I almost gave in. The benefits from my Determinator trees were paying off.

Thinking of which, I wondered how many tree points I had at this point. I checked it out, finding over twenty already built up in my various skills. I even had new ones.

Countering | Level 4 - To use your own power confines you to your own strength. When you use your enemy's power against them, you exceed your limits. +4% damage to counter attacks.

Challenger | Level 4 - To challenge requires much, but remember, the most important component is resolve. A challenge is chosen. A trial is endured. Your strength rises against stronger foes.

Savagery | Level 3 - You crush your enemy's body before crushing their spirit. Additional damage inflicted while evoking savagery.

I couldn't help but frown at the last skill. I'd imagine every beast I'd fought so far had the skill too. I just smashed them because it was that or die. And I wasn't the biggest fan of death.

I put all the points into the Determinator tree, leaving it at about two thirds finished. I had quite a few points left to go before completing it. What also interested me, however, was the new trees I unlocked.

| II Vicious(Beat an enemy 40 levels higher than you in combat lasting over an hour, Death's Dance, Scorn, and Desperation over level 25)(0/50) | III Fighter(Kill an enemy 40 levels over you) |

Both trees looked solid, though I'd probably go with the Fighter tree first. The extra damage resistance and physical power would be huge at this point, especially with the constitution I stacked up since the first tree.

With that in mind, I put both my attribute points into constitution before scratching my head at the bear’s corpse. If I tried dragging the body, Agony would melt it. If I tried dragging it without agony, the bats would eat the corpse and me. Even then, this was a huge bear. Carrying it was well beyond my abilities.

It gave me time for a meal at least. I cut off a portion of the bear’s thighs with its own teeth. I chewed and gnawed the raw meat, desperate for the sustenance. I waited another hour, and I ate another meal.

Once finished, I stuffed my lungs with a deep breath before shouting,

"Hey. Baldag-Ruhl. I need your help."

I cut off Agony as I waited. Ten minutes later, a pile of ten bugs reaches me and spoke in its voice,

"Have I misplaced my faith, little lamb? I spoke of you feeding me. It seems you are...Ah."

I pointed at the bear's corpse, "I've already killed one. The thing is, I can't carry them. They are really heavy, and I’m not all that strong. Can you, I don't know...drag it or something?"

The insect's crawled over towards the bear's corpse. They opened the bear's mouth before crawling down its throat. The bear's skin swelled, bulbous and deformed before deflating in seconds. Over twice as many insects poured out of the corpse's mouth. I almost threw up at the sight.

Baldag-Ruhl cackled, "Hah, excellent, little lamb. You've given me more children so soon. You're more capable than I imagined. How did you kill it?"

I pulled up my bloody fists, "I beat it to death."

“Its meat proved tender and delicate. Your gift will not go unrewarded. Give me the bear skin on your back."

I grimaced as I handed it over. Baldag-Ruhl took the other skin and after a few minutes of disgusting writhing, the insects reached out towards me. At the tip of the squirming limb, a pair of gauntlets matched the size of my hands. The Schema recognized them.

BloodHollow Gauntlets of Baldag-Ruhl | Tier: Unique - Gauntlets crafted from BloodHollow Bear skin by the hive mind, Baldag-Ruhl, of Many. The gauntlets add hardness to your hands, allow guarding with your forearms, and count as unarmed for skill gain. Additional corrosive damage dealt with punches, and blocking reflects some damage dealt to you.

I grabbed them from the filthy, disgusting tentacle as I said, "Thank you. I’m pretty sure this will help tremendously with killing the bears."

"I will reward you more once I'm sated.”

Wanting to continue talking, I waved a hand, “Could I, like, ask for something.”

“No. Go and face more of them. I'm still ravenous."

The insects clittered and crawled away before I reached up a hand, “Wait a minute.”

They pooled together, and they spoke in a menacing undertone, “Do you wish to anger me with your chattering?”

I waved my hands, “Do you know a way out of here?”

The monster snapped, “Would I be in this cavern still if I could escape it? No. I would relish the light over an open sky. I would cherish that sun and live in abundance...I would bathe in it, drench myself fully.”

It grew sad, “I would drink from cold, flowing waters, not from these stagnant, shining pools. I would enjoy more than the meat of mere bats. The world, your world...It would be my feast. A feast for my teeth and tongue, yes, but for my eyes and ears as well.”

It whispered, “What I would give to hear music or read books again...I would be free.”

A silence loomed over us. The mass trembled, “But...I will settle for the bears. Kill them, or I shall kill you.”

There was a sense of loss in his voice that I hadn’t expected. Being trapped here for hundreds of years...I couldn’t even imagine what that must’ve been like. As Baldag skulked away, I equipped the gauntlets, the material warm over my hands. The spines of the skin lined up with my knuckles and fingers nicely, fitting like, well, a glove.

Terrible analogies aside, I banged my gauntleted hands against the rock floor. They clinked back with a robust thud. With a quick couple hooks, I already adjusted to the added weight and heft of them. Almost like a second skin, they didn't chafe or jiggle around as I punched. They hugged my hands like a lover would, both firm and gentle at the same time.

It was a strange analogy, and I needed to talk with or I’d go insane soon. Either way, with the gift received, I trekked out further into the cave. The new high leveled bats swooped down more frequently than before, but a few gloved punches dispatched them with Agony's help. After another hour of killing them, I found another pool.

This one was like the pool I started at, a bright cyan. Unlike the other pink pools, there were no bears or monsters guarding the water. I connected disparate dots, the information clicking together at that moment.

The pink pools meant monsters, and the cyan pools meant no monsters. Baldag-Ruhl's crimson pool meant that he was the boss monster of the BloodHollow dungeon. Maybe, just maybe, if I killed him, I could escape.

The thought gave me some extra resolve, so I filled up more water bags while passing the blue pool. All the while, I fought stupid bats for another hour or so. Between fights, I practiced my school subjects. Every skillpoint counted after all.

Falling into that pattern, I eventually reached a place unlike the others of this cavern. I reached a ravine where cliff sides surrounded a depression. I paced up to it, peering down. I found an enormous figure guarding a trapdoor beside the entity. An aura of violet radiated from the eleven foot tall giant. That energy infused a blue miasma thicker than water. That visible atmosphere shifted around its hulking frame.

The thick, interlocking plates over its body showed no face mask, only six dots lining where eyes and a mouth should be. Dense shoulder pauldrons connected to its head, leaving no neck nor weakness. In its right hand, it held a spear edged with a blade of violet energy. That instrument glowed, crackling and humming with violent, volatile energies.

This being exuded strength, nobility, and purpose. There was no doubt in how this being stood; it acted as an unwavering guardian. The Schema recognized it for me.

Nameless Sentinel | Lvl ?,??? - A sentinel sent by Schema to guard a volatile rift for a planet newly assimilated by Schema. [Fighting one is death]

Already I got a bit of knowledge from the thing. Baldag-Ruhl's level indicator had three question marks while this one had four. By my educated guesstimations, that meant this guy was at least level one thousand.

In other words, a literal god to me.

Aiming to avoid it, I turned away. As I pushed with my back foot, the little outcrop I stood over crumbled beneath me. My vision circled, and panic raced up my chest. I tumbled like a ragdoll, rolling and rolling as I hit rocks. After a few seconds of being bruised and battered, I landed near the guardian.

The aura around the guard turned from blue to violet as it turned to me. Sparks of energy rippled near it as the air around me grew heavy, almost choking me from being near it. Arcs of violet lightning shot from its metal plates as it gripped both sides of its spear. They boomed out with the violence of thunder.

It whirled the blade with mastery, and I pushed myself against the edge of the cliffside. It pointed the blade at me, speaking in a metallic voice,

"Preparing for combat. Protective protocol initiated."

I hadn’t shut down Agony.