10 The Lord of Worms

After killing a few more nearby bats, we all traveled forward. Both Stacy and David zombied it out in the morning, each of them exhausted still. It gave me time to access my status and check it out. I needed thirty seven more points to complete the Determinator tree. Any more willpower and endurance was appreciated since both attributes were vital for my build.

So much so, I’d be investing in some willpower perks after the strength ones. With that in mind, I shadow boxed while we walked. At first, Stacy and David kept their distance and treated me like a complete weirdo. Right as they were, talking about my trees changed their tune. Despite my advice, they didn't start training as we walked. The endless walking wore their morale down enough already.

But we weren't walking without a purpose. Talking with them, I learned that Schema generated a map based on what you perceived. Knowledge was power, letting me check out my own map. I hadn’t perceived much, but the thin strip I had for a map gave us a telling revelation.

BloodHollow was an enormous circle this entire time. The edges of the circle twisted and turned some, making it difficult to tell. Using glow bags for light wasn’t exactly a plus either. It was about an hour before we reached another pool, this one crimson. Confused by it, I told David and Stacy to stay back while I scouted it out.

This time, the mana soaked the surroundings like a thick coat of sand. Well, as thick as what sand used to feel like. Squeezing sand probably felt like squeezing tiny balls of plastic by then instead of quartz. Regardless, I’d still suffocate in the mana cover. From within the mana, something morbid emerged.

A large, grotesque human hobbled in pain. Giant warts, misshapen lumps, and deformed features covered its moist skin. A pair of intelligent, malicious eyes gleamed over its sagging eyebags. A torn robe covered it, runic markings stitched into the cloth’s surface. Long ago, that robe would’ve beamed out a noble, majestic aura.

Now, only dilapidated rags lingered. It found me even as I hid behind a stalagmite. I peered from behind my cover, and its missing teeth and gums appeared with a haunting smile. A deep yet raspy voice reverberated,

"Good. So you've come after taking my poor little experiments. They acted as the last line in an era, my era. A defense against tormentors unbounded. Your treachery, the cores, I'll teach you to be a proper vessel. Your flesh is sacred, pure. I will rip that purity from you, and in that corruption-”

He slapped the side of his head, “I hate the scratching of wood on metal. It is disgusting to my ears." He scratched his ears with ragged fingernails. They left bloody gnashes on the side of his face as he howled out, “Make the voices, this...this hunger stop.”

My brow furrowed. This guy sounded insane. Schema agreed.

Lord of Worms | Level ??? - A corrupted wizard. After allowing too many pools of mana to co-inhabit his mind, he was overwhelmed by their presence. His psyche’s shattered pieces linger, and this creature experiments on hapless adventurers. It uses their souls to act as anchors for mana and golems. Should it overwhelm you, the same fate will befall you.

He is a summoner who can spawn a variety of enemies from his bountiful mana pool. He is extremely dangerous.

Cold sweat dripped down my back as thoughts raced in my head. I never imagined a wild hive mind would be the lesser of two evils, but this guy seemed even worse than Baldag-Ruhl. The more humane of the two was the hivemind of flesh-eating insects. What a strange thought.

Regardless, the mystery markings of its level meant it was over level one hundred. I cranked Agony to full as Stacy and David shot their arrows at it. The weapons caught in the mana, sticking six or so inches deep in it. Agony, on the other hand, caused the wizard to scream.

And scream he did. I waved my hands at David and Stacy, trying to get them to run, but they couldn’t hear me over the Lord of Worms. Before I got out of there, the necromancer summoned skeletons, zombies, mice, beetles, bats, and ghouls. They charged toward the others before I charged at the incoming wave.

I tackled a skeleton, and it toppled over. I followed its fall, crushing bone to powder on the ground. Another skeleton lifted a rusty sword over its head, slashing down at me. I swung my arm hard while kicking at its leg. The blade snapped and so did its shin bones. As I stood up, I popped its skull beneath my foot.

A pack of mice caught up to me. They felt no pain, so Agony didn’t incapacitate them. It still damaged their bodies, so they reached me in a half-molten state. I picked up a wooden shield from the skeleton, battering them away from me before a beetle reached up to me. It tried goring me with a horn, but I blocked its charge with the shield.

The beetle crushed the wood, but its momentum stalled. Grabbing it by its horn, I swung it in a circle and crushed a zombie trying to shuffle past me. Being a useful club, I swung the beetle at three more zombies before the beetle crushed against a fourth. It splattered into a green spray, and I growled as more summons ran at me.

It would be a long fight. I pressed on, tearing limb from limb. I couldn’t progress towards the summoner because his minions and I fought to a standstill. I couldn’t tell my party to run because anything I said drowned in the necromancer’s screams.

But I chose a build based on longevity. I never tired, my position both steady and firm. The skeletons broke under my fists. The mice were torn asunder. I pulped the zombies to mush. The beetles acted as clubs while the small bats collapsed before reaching me. I thanked Agony for that.

My motivation stayed as high as a kite the entire time. You’d think killing a wave of monsters would put me in a foul mood, but quite the opposite. The reason was simple - each summon gave me full experience. Notifications appeared, raining down as I killed the endless waves of beasts while the wizard's flesh melted in the distance. As if by some miracle, he kept fighting even when his nails fell off and his cheeks corroded to exposed teeth.

I couldn't even bear to look at him, yet it kept fighting. Whatever it spawned from, the will the Lord of Worms held was amazing. It felt every ounce of pain, every melted tooth, and each bleeding blister. It held the intelligence to surrender, but it refused to do so. It couldn’t stop us...And despite the odds, it continued in spite of everything.

The Lord of Worms used healing spell after healing spell. It tried different formations of its monsters. It even tried collapsing the cavern. None of its defensive measures made a difference, and its behemothic mana pool waned over time. In normal circumstances, I’d have been smothered by its summons, unable to fight past its shield of mana. I couldn’t even breathe in the aura, let alone fight in it.

But Agony gave me a leg up. It allowed me to fight it outside of its shielding, and my regeneration gave me enormous longevity. A losing battle turned into an experience buffet. It gave Stacy and David a good chance to level too. Having to look after them 24/7 wasn’t practical, and this would put them in a level range where bats wouldn’t kill them anymore.

They lacked my longevity, however. The hours stretched on until Stacy and David were dooms-daying in the back. By now, the Lord’s screams stunted some, but there wasn’t any reason to retreat. Stacy howled out,

"It's immortal. We can't kill it."

I rolled my eyes as I smashed a rat underfoot. I shouted, "Come on. It's only been a few hours. Calm down."

David shot an arrow through a skeleton, "I don't think I can make it."

A miasma of energy condensed within the mana beside the Lord of Worms. Bones materialized then flesh then skin. A goblin came screeching from within the mana along with several others. I growled, "Of course you can. Quite being weak."

An arrow shot into the eye of a goblin as it stepped out of the mana. David sighed before I snapped, “See that? You can continue.”

A coy grin popped on David’s face, "You know what? I may have a bit more in me than I thought."

I crushed two goblin skulls together in my hands, “Let's not get ahead of ourselves, eh?"

Stacy laughed before the Lord of Worms gurgled, "I hate you. I will feast on your hatred and devour your soul, just like the others. There is no other option. It is the only remaining way."

I frowned, "Obviously not. You’re just going to sit in that thick cloud till you die."

"You will not outlast my mana. None have. None will."

I put my hands on my hips, "Alright, You won’t surrender then?”

Desperation spread over its face, “I cannot.”

I winced, “Then keep fighting until you’re a pile of black sludge."

His ear fell off as he sputtered, "I don't understand how you can possibly contain...Agh...The way I scrape against-"

"Back to the gibberish, eh?"

The Lord of worms thundered out, "You are an abomination."

I pointed at him, "And you’re about as appealing as a broken glass smoothie. How about we fight then, one monster with another?"

He ran towards me, like fire in his anger. I retaliated in kind. The moment he reached out of the mana pit, I swung towards his face. He fell, and I crushed him into the ground. I pounded his face into a red soup with bits of bone in it. He wailed the whole time.

Lord of Worms? More like Lord of Tears.

Levels gained! Six level ups!

During my last punch, I broke my thumb knuckle on something hard under its robe. I cringed before snapping the bone back. I pulled out something from under the scrap of clothing.

Corundum of Souls | Tier: Legendary Unique - A mythical gem foretold to hold endless mana. The gem will gain life at 1,000,000 creating a living soul, trapped in the container.

677,340/1,000,000 Mana Charged

Glowing forth, the gem contained strange, moving runic symbols. They shifted over its iridescent surface, many layers of those runic formations hidden in its depths. I lost myself for a moment, marveling at the overwhelming complexity within the gemstone. It made the runes over the lord’s robe appear simple by comparison.

Not that I could make the robe’s runes out anymore with all the black blood splattered over everything. I pocketed the fist sized gem, taking the spoils of war. I’d share the rest with my party, but it wasn’t as if I didn’t manage the majority of the fight anyway.

Before I could even stop the gem in my pocket, it siphoned the thick, sandy mana into its depths. It continued draining mana, even drawing from the golem cores in my pockets.

Corundum of Souls | Tier: Legendary Unique - A mythical gem foretold to hold endless mana. The gem will gain life at 1,000,000 creating a living soul, trapped in the container.

921,455/1,000,000 Mana Charged

It came close now to being completed. It could store more energy, and having a full mana gem when I need it may be helpful. For the first time since entering Schema, I reached for my mana. No response ushered forth. I blinked, taking a moment to think.

Instead of trying to summon mana, I put a hand in my pocket, clasping the corundum in my hand. Trying again, I pulled at the unseen force. Like a different blood in my body, I found a small pocket of energy pooling in my body. It flowed through me like a heavy liquid. I raised my hand, releasing the energy.

From my fingers leaked an aura of blue.

Skill Unlocked! Mana Manipulation | Level 1 - Many choose to fight with the will of their bodies. You’ve decided to wield the will of your mind. +1% to fluidity of mana manipulation.

I leaned back from my hand as Stacy and David came closer. I couldn’t believe using mana was that easy the whole time. I put my other hand over the blue aura. It wrapped around my hand like a cool wave of air. In its current state, it mirrored an air conditioner more than a force of destruction.

I stopped the blue breeze and deactivated Agony as Stacy put her hands on her hips, "What was that out of your hand?”

I stood up, slinging blood off my hands, “Mana, apparently.”

David frowned, “You’re a magician and you never told us?”

I scoffed, “Apparently so...Though this isn’t anything special. It’s a tiny, cool wind at most."

Before continuing the conversation, I siphoned my mana into the gem until my mana pool depleted. A wave of palpable exhaustion rushed over me like I ran a marathon. No, it was like taking a six hour test.

A throbbing headache formed in my head, rising in intensity with each passing second. My nose began bleeding, my regeneration unable to stop it. I fell down, and they ran towards me. Stacy gasped, “What’s going on, are you ok?”

I blinked, my surroundings muddled, “I...I need a minute. Back off.”

They pulled away, and I spent ten minutes recovering my mental capacity. I checked my status screen, and I found a debuff called mana depletion. If that was this engulfing sense of mental exhaustion, I’d avoid it at all cost. Without all my resistances and pain tolerance, it would’ve flattened me for the rest of the day.

Once I waved them back over, they made sure I was ok. Knowing I was fine, they drooled over their statuses. Stacy lifted her hands, shaking them,

"I gained fourteen levels from that one fight. I can’t believe it."

David shook his head while grinning, "I know right? I got thirteen of them.”

I nodded, standing up. I shook off the jitters from bottoming out my mana before saying, “Let’s handle our statuses before checking this place out. We’ll search the area after.”

They nodded. We dug our faces into our statuses like a group of teenagers crouching over our phones. I put all six attribute points into strength before checking out my tree menu. Filling out my trees would serve me better than handling perks first. Trees could grant special perks after all, and I gained plenty of points since the battle started.

Seventy two to be precise. That gave me more than enough points to finish off the Determinator tree, and a notification greeted me when I finished it off.

Your will is your agent of change. You are the determinator, turning the ethereal into the definite. Internal motivation scaling doubled, mental fortitude doubled, and immunity to external corruption. +10hp regen, +100 stamina regen, +10 mana regen.

While I gained no attributes, the intangibles seemed incredible. I selected finalize on my status to feel out the tree, and my focus sharpened along with my thoughts. Rolling my shoulders, I relished a sensation of dominion over myself. Every part of my being came under my control. Outside of that, the only regen I noticed was the mana one.

It helped my headache from my mana stunt earlier. Taking a breath, I put my mana into the gem once more. This time, I only gave it as much mana as I regenerated. This left me strained, but it didn’t slice through my skull like a psychic halberd as before. The crystal gobbled up the energy with a hungry abandon while I opened my trees.

| [ 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), Obliterator(Kill a boss over 50 levels above you, before level 100, while alone, and without previous assistance)[0/1000] |

I gawked at the Obliterator tree and its gigantic 1,000 points. Surprisingly, David and Stacy weren’t even considered assistance during the fight. I mean, I dished out all of the damage onto the actual summoner, but them getting no credit still seemed harsh. Schema sure as hell didn’t give participation trophies, that was for sure.

Their lack of credit was my gain. Obliterator doubled the Determinator's limit, and it seemed like a rare tree to get. It would require several weeks to complete bare minimum. Over the course of these past months, I only gained 844 tree points with intense training. Getting another thousand? It would take forever.

So, I figured I might as well get started. The journey of a thousand miles started with a single step and whatnot. I put my nine remaining points into Obliterator. With that handled, I checked out my perks. They didn't disappoint.

[Willful(Willpower of at least 10) - Your willpower is good. Doubles mana regeneration.]

[Disciplined(Willpower of at least 20) - Your willpower is excellent. Willpower adds an extra 1% mana regen for every 1% missing max mana. Your mana can form a shield around you, blocking 1 damage for every 2 points of mana.]

[Uncompromising(Willpower of at least 25) - Your willpower is incredible. Doubles mental resistance from willpower. Half of mental resistance from willpower added to elemental, plasma, and radiation resistances. 1/10th of willpower is added to intelligence.]

[Strong(Strength of 10 or more) - You are strong. Doubles bonus physical damage bonus.]

[Powerful(Strength of 15 or more) - Your strength is admirable. Doubles carrying weight.]

[Devastating(Strength of 20 or more) - Your strength is excellent. Double's your body's ability to withstand self-created physical forces. Doubles precision of strength. Adds 1/10th of strength to dexterity.]

[Overwhelming(Strength of 25 or more) - Your strength is incredible. Increases physical power by a flat 30%, adds another 1/10th of strength to dexterity, and physical attacks have a chance to maim targets.]

[Fledgling(Reach level 5) - You've just started learning. +10% to experience.]

[Beginner(Reach level 10) - Now you know a little. You can step out of the tutorial zone now.]

I was hoping I could take the Disciplined and use the Corundum of Souls as a free half a million point shield. Unfortunately, the perk required the mana to be my own. I tsked before moving on. Since that wasn't an option, I analyzed my attributes. I had just over twenty seven strength, which meant I’d gain three dexterity for either Overwhelming or Devastating.

Six dexterity would go a long way to fixing my clunkiness in combat. That didn’t even include the strength bonuses themselves, and I just so happened to gain two perk points from the fight. My mind made up, I picked Devastating and Overwhelming before finalizing my choice.

The flood of mana coursed in like concentrated ecstasy and pure power, unlocking my latent potential. My muscles condensed into cords of steel, my ligaments becoming unbreakable. I evolved into something worthy of my newfound frame. I shifted in place, feeling out the raw physical might. I noticed something else, however.

My large body seemed less clunky and awkward. Moving my hands, I confirmed that sensation. The rush of dexterity gave me a litheness and grace I lacked. It gave even more, however. I moved my hand in front of my face, and I followed it with a strange precision. Dexterity rewired my brain.

It was like the electric signals shot out faster and more efficiently than before. I went to grab my toes, and my palms hit the floor with only a slight resistance. If I focused, I could move my eyes towards opposite directions. One could face up and the other down. The effect disoriented me, but that was the change. Hopefully, the differences in reflexes would show themselves with time as well.

Walking around, I banged my hands together, and they bounced back from each other like banging blocks of granite. I cracked my neck and punched myself in the face. Smart, I know. Sarcasm aside, my strike didn't hurt. All the constitution and strength gave my body the tools of a devastating weapon; a weapon I would wield in my favor.

I checked out my Attributes and character screen, awed at the glory of it all.

Level 52 Attribute Menu

Strength [27.8] | Constitution [36.3] | Endurance [48] | Dexterity [9.6] | Willpower [26.4] | Intelligence [4] | Charisma [4] | Luck [3] | Perception [4]

Daniel Hillside | Character Screen

Health - 1,152/1,152 | Health Regen - 151.2/min | Mana - 40/40 | Mana Regeneration - 25.3/min | Stamina - 970/970 | Stamina Regeneration - 25.2/sec | Damage Resistance - 91.05% | Physical Power - (+)66.5% | Damage Increase - 5%

Debuffs - Agony(35.6 HP/sec lost)

Agony gained so much strength it literally changed its damage unit from per minute to per second. It moved up to five times higher than the last time I checked. I took a second glance at Agony's formula.

Agony - Drains all nearby unit’s health, including the caster. The more health the caster drains from themselves a second, the larger the effective range of the aura. Damage to self is reduced by constitution. Willpower increases damage of Agony. Current conversion: 1.264(Willpower bonus)/.0895(Constitution bonus) = 14.12

It converted my health regen fourteen times over...That number floored me. Here I thought the strength was why I killed things faster. Instead, my constitution and health regen gave me all the benefits I’d misunderstood. I still needed the strength so that I could move with all this constitution, but the recheck was a wake-up call.

Still, other benefits came up too. My mana regen was five times higher than before. With two points in strength, I'd get thirty along with ten in dexterity, giving me two perks from only two attribute points. I could put the next three level ups into willpower and unlock the level 30 tier perk as well. Even my stamina converted to seconds instead of minutes.

Things were looking good.

Rubbing my hands together, I smiled at my status screen. Stacy frowned at me, "What’s with the creepy smile?”

I raised a hand, "You know that aura skill I have? The one that causes pain?"

"Yeah."

"It does thirty six health a second now."

Both of their jaws dropped. David shook his head, “Can you imagine what that would do to us? We’d die in seconds.”

They winced at me. I spread out my hands, "Why would I do that? Besides, what's so scary about it anyways?”

Stacy raised her brow as she said, "I've got one hundred health. David has one hundred and fifty."

I frowned, "Just stay way back when I’m fighting. Simple."

Stacy peered off, and a pressing silence passed over the ground, "It’s just a lot of pressure and all the time. We’d have a couple seconds before you outright killed us.”

I pointed at them both, "There's people who carry around guns who could’ve done the same thing. Hell, anyone driving can kill dozens of people in seconds too, and from a way farther distance than my aura. It can close the gaps in seconds.”

I pointed at my hand, “Even then, I could have just killed you both by beating you to death. The aura doesn't change that. It also doesn't change the fact that I'm not going to do that. I’m not a crazy murderer."

Stacy pursed her lips, "The way you fight gives a pretty damn effective case for the opposite."

I narrowed my eyes, "That's out of necessity."

David put his hands on his hips, "I don't know man. You get this crazed look in your eye sometimes. You grin while you fight too."

I tilted my head, "What the hell? No I don't."

Stacy nodded, "It's eerie."

David raised his brow, “Terrifying, even. Perhaps some might even say horrific.”

I pointed at them both, “You guys are the ones who’ve put multiple arrows in my back, and I still trust you.”

David busted out laughing before he gave me a pat on the back, “Dude, relax. We’re just joking.”

I blinked. Oh yeah, people could do that. I flushed, “Ah...My bad. I’m just on edge.”

Stacy pointed at the wreckage left behind after our fight, “Come on. Let’s find some loot.”

We searched the premises, and we found nothing. The only part remaining was a pool of thickened mana sludge. Around it, a confusing, runic language enchanted the area. What for, we didn’t really know. Finding nothing else, I turned to the others,

"Alright then. Let's go teach good old Baldag-Ruhl a lesson in manners...Manners meaning death, of course."

We went forward with confidence, each of us feeling great after the battle. It put us ahead of the game, putting us that much closer to escaping this hell hole. Considering Agony's generic power, we’d be able to chew right through the hivemind’s little insects. Just like with the Lord of Worms afterward, we’d smash the bug with ease.

Feeling fine, we headed towards him, following the circle of caves. My minimap led the way as we traveled for about two more days like that. I killed a couple more golems and bears. I also culled hundreds of bats, and I even slept some while Stacy and David guarded me. I gained a level during the process, and I put a point into strength. We were half a day from Baldag-Ruhl's pool when we set up camp early for extra rest.

I wasn't sleeping that night, instead opting for skill gaining away from the camp. I was within striking range if need be, but David and Stacy weren’t weaklings anymore. A stray bat wouldn't kill them out of the blue any longer.

While imagining the outside world, a pile of bugs came crawling out of the cavern's ceiling. It echoed out,

"Shut off your aura, little one. I have an offer for you before you try killing me.”