13 Spoils of War

My eyes snapped open, and I pulled myself upright. Bats swarmed in every direction, though they kept their distance. At this point, I barely received experience from killing them. I smiled at the thought. Oh how the times had changed.

I turned Oppression off. I’d be destroying them in mass but after they cleared out the bugs. With that handled, I sat up and glanced at my notifications. The first one already brought a childish grin to my lips.

Baldag-Ruhl slain! Critical dungeon has been cleared! Remember to take your dungeon core before leaving the premise.

You’ve done well.

I balled up my fists then laughed aloud, “I did it. I fucking did it. Hell yeah."

Peering down at the colosseum, a glowing orb of yellow hovered over the center of the dungeon. I hopped onto my feet before skipping down the broken steps. As I reached the bottom of the steps, the yellow sphere ebbed out a yellow mist. I reached it.

Dungeon Core | Tier: Rare - Adds an additional perk or attribute point. Once taken, allows passage from and to the dungeon through the gate.

Poking the core, the energy coursed from its surface and siphoned into my body. It was a gentle warmth that passed quickly. Once the core’s energy depleted, it collapsed to ash, turning to powder. I watched the gray fade away, and I couldn’t help but have a giddy grin on my face.

I was going to get the hell out of here, finally. I gripped my hand into a fist, putting it against my forehead. My eyes burned as a quick tear poured down my cheek. It had all been worth it. All the torture, all the lonliness, and even the dark gloom...I was finally free. I was going to get out of this hellhole, find Kelsey and Michael, and we’d laugh about this.

Baldag-Ruhl’s twisted face flashed in my eyes, and I winced. I shook off the feeling before opening my status. I had points to assign. I placed two more points into strength, two into endurance, and two more into willpower. I wanted the two perks given from strength and willpower, and I hoped fifty endurance would give me another tier of perks or something.

Even after investing all those points, I still had eleven attribute points left to my name. I rubbed my hands together, and I contemplated all my choices. I gained sixteen levels, giving me three perk points. I also got two more after that, one from the core and the other from the Agony refund.

That resulted in five perk unlocks, a hefty boon. Aiming to unlock as many perks as possible, I checked out my attribute screen. The values showed lots of even numbers, and that fact pleased me far more than it should’ve. After relishing that for a second, I weighed my options.

For starters, I was about to be out of this dungeon, so charisma may become useful. That wasn’t a guarantee, however. Besides that, there was no way I could afford armor better than my own.

With that in mind, I put six points into perception, unlocking the first tier perk. After that, I put the rest of my five points into dexterity. Wanting to feel the raw rush of attributes, I selected finalize. My arms and legs loosened, becoming more pliable. My nerves tightened their control of my body as well.

Taking a moment, I lifted a foot. Underneath the pointed, smooth greaves, I could flex each toe in opposite directions. It was odd. The perception carried a more familiar sensation. My vision cleared some, and my hearing sharpened. I made out the disparate bat howls around me with greater detail.

Underlying the obvious benefits of perception, a bizarre sensation crossed over me. I peered at some of the unmarred runes in the distance. I comprehended them more, like staring at a puzzle and knowing I was an inch away from seeing the solution. Other forms of awareness took hold of me as well.

I smelled the toxic aroma of the bat's nasty breath. I could see just how gross they were. I could hear their mouth's smacking like an old lady's gums. In a moment of lucid clarity, I willed Oppression back over the bats.

The points in strength and willpower glossed over without the same kind of notice. I already owned excellent totals in both, so that seemed understandable. With the attributes assigned, the perk menu came up. A laundry list of powerful upgrades appeared.

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

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

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

[Arbiter of Will(Willpower of 30 or more) - Your will can change fate. Another 1/10th of willpower to intelligence, 10+ mana regeneration. 0.2+ mana regen per level. Extra internal motivation and 0.2% mental resistance per level.]

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

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

[Cataclysmic(Strength of 30 or more) - Your strength can move mountains. Doubles maim chance, adds 1% physical power bonus per level, Strength adds 5 health per point, and gives 1% total increased total physical power for every 1% of health missing. Doubles stamina consumption.]

[Flexible(Dexterity of 10 or more) - Your dexterity is good. Doubles flexibility bonus.]

[Lithe(Dexterity of 15 or more) - Your dexterity is admirable. Doubles reflexive and reaction time bonus from dexterity.]

[Perceptive(Perception of 10 or more) - Your perception is good. Doubles sensory bonuses.]

[Blood Magic | Convert health into mana - Note: Refunds Discipline and Willful perks, canceling their effects and perk point consumption - You have willed flesh into energy, and so now, you may convert mana into health and mana regen into health regen. You may use health in place of mana. You may use health regen in place of mana regen.]

The list amounted to over ten choices. I gained some interesting perks in the bunch. I went ahead and picked up Uncompromising, Arbiter, Cataclysmic, and Strong. Those would add permanent, stacking bonuses that would make me overwhelmingly powerful at later levels. Parsing through my options, the most interesting perk left was Blood Magic.

It just so happened that I had much, much more health than magic. I also owned a ton of pain tolerance and a ton of health regen. I picked that final perk and selected finalize. Like the clashing of planets, the perks took effect.

I surged with a sudden, explosive strength. The armor and limbs lightened until I hardly noticed their weight. My understanding of my surroundings solidified. My memory cleared. I clasped my hands, my fingers clamping down like a lion's jaws. My armor stretched as the metal thinned over expanding musculature.

I quit shaking as the coursing energy passed. I took a breath before checking out my attribute screen.

Level 82 Attribute Menu

Strength [30] | Constitution [36.3] | Endurance [51] | Dexterity [15] | Willpower [30.3] | Intelligence [10] | Charisma [4] | Luck [3] | Perception [10]

My attributes increased to exceptional levels. Despite the raw values, most of the recent surge in my strength came via the per level perks. By now, they made the largest difference. I imagined that was how most higher leveled people would handle the early system upgrades.

They probably hunted down every level thirty perk for the per level bonuses of every attribute. After that, they grinded out levels while focusing on a few primary attributes. The first perk, Body of Iron in my case, decided those primary attributes.

Those factors culminated until every level would extend far beyond a single attribute point. Thinking that through, I figured I’d do the same. With that handled, I checked out my player screen. A message appeared.

You have reached an effective damage resistance cap of 95%

I leaned back, gawking at how high that number was. 95%? Psh, that sounded absurd. If someone hit me with twenty points of damage, I’d only take one point in turn. Why wouldn’t everyone just bulk up beyond belief and be invincible?

I narrowed my eyes, thinking of how quickly Baldag-Ruhl damaged me with his insects. If I lacked my 90% damage resistance then, I would’ve been eaten alive in seconds. Schema could be making everyone bulk lords, sure, but that seemed unlikely. If anything, it seemed like higher level enemies might just put out absurd levels of damage.

The kind of damage that required 95% damage resistance to be the standard.

A chill ran up my spine at the prospect, but I kept looking through my notifications. Another one caught my eye.

The Harbinger of Cataclysm | Body Type, Legendary - Armor mirroring eldritch skin and an unknown substance. This extension of your body can absorb rift energy, also known as ambient mana, for evolutions. These evolutions may add other special effects.

Note: Cannot be removed, only altered. Armor is regenerated with health.

0/2,000,000 Mana left till next evolution.

Effects:

A Harbinger's Might - Increases your damage reduction cap by 1% | Current Max: 96%

The Walking Calamity - Gives unique ability Oppression | Current Damage: (5000 + 15% of your health/min) within a 100ft radius.

- From a different plane, I rise. I usher forth creation through ruin.

I liked how the system laid out the effects, making it easy for me to understand. Oppression acted as a replacement for Agony, kind of like the skill fused with the armor. At the same time, the damage resistance seemed absurd as well, but like I mentioned earlier, I might need it in the future.

A few other points that caught my eye was the name itself. It was, uh...A bit much if you asked me. I mean, I was a fighter, sure, but The Harbinger of Cataclysm? It almost made me laugh out loud at how overkill it was.

Either way, I opened my character screen.

Daniel Hillside, The Harbinger of Cataclysm | Character Screen

Health - 1,490/1,490 | Health Regen - 323.6/min | Stamina - 1,004/1,004 | Stamina Regeneration - 27.7/sec | Damage Resistance - 96% | Mental Resistance - 93.6% | Physical Power - (+)327% | Damage Increase - 5%

Aura - Oppression | Current Damage: (5000 + 15% of your health)/minute within a 100ft radius.

I was a tough cookie, let me tell you. My physical power bonus went through the roof, my health regen doubled with Blood Magic, and the extra hp from Cataclysmic gave me extra oomph. With Agony evolving into Oppression, I could afford to take more damage during my fights as well.

Even if the whole Harbinger title was a bit excessive, the armor could evolve from ambient mana, so I might be able to make the armor worthy of its name one day. Getting the energy would be the problem, however. Peering around, most of the creatures and pools of mana would fall into the mana category. That meant the more monsters I killed, the stronger my armor would grow.

I would build it up, brick by brick.

With my status squared away I stood up and started my walk out of the middle chamber. There were too many bugs for me to stay here, and Baldag-Ruhl lacked any physical possessions to loot anyways. Peering around, the bats changed their shapes, turning the bugs into mass. A few of the flying creatures even gained a few levels. I’d wait for them to really charge up for the extra exp.

Peering around, I found the main thing I wanted to keep - the runes Baldag-Ruhl carved. It didn’t take a genius to recognize one; these markings were special. I resolved to one day come back once I knew something about them.

Thinking of which, I reached for my mana. I found none waiting for me. I tried summoning the little blue mana stream from before. An almost non existent burn spread from my hand as a red fog appeared. I placed my hand over the reddish cloud, and the same cool air sensation crossed over it.

A notification appeared.

New Skill! Blood Magic Manipulation | Level 1 - Some wield their bodies as weapons. Others use their minds. You meld the two, becoming greater than either possibility. +1% to fluidity and usage of Blood Magic.

Skill deleted - Mana manipulation | Level 1 - Half of the skill's ungained points convert into gained skill points.

I grinned at the easy forty nine skill points. I put them into Obliterator before I ran down the tunnel leading here from BloodHollow’s outer ring. Wondering where my party was, two red marks popped up in my status. It felt like Schema was looking out for me, and using that direction, I picked up my pace.

Running fast, my feet pounded against the stone and wind passed by my face. I picked up ever greater speed, running faster than I ever have. I kept running, finally free from the chains of my high constitution. My strength, dexterity, and other attributes came together at that point, giving me the mobility I so desired.

I couldn’t believe how much fun just running was with the body I had. The rush of speed. The sensation of my body flowing as one unit. The rush of speed. Alright, I said it twice. Sue me.

I sprinted down the hallway, my feet cracking stone with each pounding stomp. Within an hour, I rushed out of the tunnel and crashed into a boulder hiding it. A thunderous explosion echoed throughout the cavern. I sunk into the rock, dust floating around me. Gaping fissures lined the boulder before I pulled myself out.

I smiled at it before bending down and leaping up. I jumped too high before losing my balance. Falling flat on my face, I thanked my armor for the helmet keeping me from breaking my neck. This was more dangerous than a thought.

I took a moment before trying again. This time, I got over it without taking myself out. Landing on the other side, bits of boulder flung off my shoulder from smashing into it earlier. I brushed some powdered rock off my arms, grinning like a kid during his first sugar rush. I won’t deny it. The rush of power was intoxicating.

It was a good day to be alive.

But that was enough of that. It was time to find David and Stacy. They wouldn't be able to get out without my help. I didn't care too much about them, but I wouldn't leave them here stranded.

I sprinted towards our previous encampment, shutting Oppression down. I might have killed them in a few seconds with it on at this point. I couldn’t say, but either way, I wouldn’t take my chances. I didn’t want to murder someone if I could help it.

Falling into the rhythm of running, my feet pounded against the stone as I ran. The pitter patter ended when I got a sight of a glowing, fiery gemstone in the distance. Having sprinted in darkness, I fell a few times. Just sight alone bolstered my already high spirits.

Stacy and David sat around the campfire, Stacy drying off from something. Between them both, a chest laid open while they read a book between them. Worn, ragged, and thin, the booklet looked more like a used napkin than a proper publication. Despite the book's appearance, it enraptured both Stacy and David alike.

Hah. I shouldn’t have judged a book by its cover. As I got within earshot of them both, they peered around and pulled out their bows. David shouted at Stacy, "I told you we should have never come to this god forsaken cave."

Stacy shouted, "You're the one that mentioned it before we left. I would never have thought of this if it wasn't for you."

They shot right at me, their aim steady and true. Hitting a thickened chestplate, the arrows broke on the metal like throwing sticks at a tank. I slowed down as I reached them. I glanced up, slow and foreboding as I said in a deep voice,

"I have come. Come to steal your souls and devour your bones."

David and Stacy screamed before I burst into laughter. They glanced at each other, confused before David mused, "Wait a second. That voice is familiar."

I nodded, "Of course it is.” I pointed at myself, “I got this sweet new set of armor."

Stacy glanced at David before turning back to me. The oddest look popped up on their faces. I put my hands on my hips, expecting them to snap out of it. They didn’t.

I spread out my hands, “Guys, it’s me. Daniel.”

They gawked, and Stacy mouthed "Daniel? That’s you?"

I leaned back, "Uh, yeah. The one and only."

She frowned, "What...What happened to you?"

At this point, I got worried. I pointed a thumb at myself, "I killed the boss. I got some armor. We can leave now."

David took a step back, "Uh...uhm.”

Fed up, I snapped at them, “What the hell is wrong with you guys? This is good news, isn’t it?”

They peered at each other, worry spread over their faces. David grimaced, “I don't know how to break this too you man...But, uh, you're the boss now."

My eyes widened as my stomach sank, “Wait a minute...I’m the boss now? There’s no way. Naw. That’s impossible." A surge of panic raced up my chest, and I began trying to find plates where I could remove the armor. I found none.

Stacy raised up her palms to me, “Uhm, you ok?”

My voice rose, “Ok? You think I’m ok? The last boss was trapped here for centuries. Centuries. I am not going to be stuck here like that. Do you hear me? It’s not going to happen.”

David waved his hands, “Hey man, nobody said it would.”

I peered at them before realizing I was panicking. Stacy took a step closer, “It’s going to be alright. We’re here to help.”

I put my fingertips against my temples, “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. I just lost it there for a second.” I took a deep breath, “So...What does it say exactly?”

The two of them gave each other a look, measuring if I could handle the situation. I raised a fist, “Guys, I’m alright now. I can take it.”

Stacy spoke in a light, easy voice, "So, like, Schema is outlining your status in black like a boss. Your name is actually purple though, so I don’t really know what that means.”

I waved my hands, “Can I see it?”

She walked back up, "Here, let me show you.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Wait a minute...You can look at someone else’s status? Really?”

Stacy nodded, "Yeah, you just have to give them permission to view with your thoughts. Schema does the rest. It was in-"

I crossed my arms, "The tutorial. Yeah, I figured. Go ahead and open it up."

She frowned at me, “Someone’s in a bad mood, huh?”

I pursed my lips, “Uh, yeah. Apparently, I lost my ticket out of here.”

She paced up, and her status came with her. I viewed myself from her eyes.

Harbinger of Cataclysm | Level 82 | Status: Unknown - A powerful warrior possessed by an armor crafted from limitless eldritch energy and untold volumes of interdimensional energy. This being is an abomination, an incarnation of endless amounts of eldritch. With an aura that will kill most enemies in seconds and incredible durability, it is nigh immune to most damage. It carries a measure of strength as well. Most worthy of note, this creature’s tenacity is far above average.

This creature is extremely dangerous to you, so avoid it at all costs.

I spread my arms, "Why in the hell am I the boss? A boss with a purple name and everything."

David scratched the side of his head. Stacy cupped her chin, saying, "You've definitely seemed less human since we met back up."

I pointed at Stacy while looking at David, “But that’s the thing. She actually looks like a monster. Why isn't she the boss?"

David burst into laughter. Stacy rolled her eyes, "Real witty, boss man. Anyways, quit being a jerk for a second. We’re trying to help you out."

I shifted my weight from one leg to the other, “Alright, alright.”

David pinched the bridge of his nose, "I’m thinking back, and I remember Schema mentioning an ‘unknown status’ for certain creatures. It’s a punishment or something.”

I blinked, “Punishment? For what exactly? Trying to get out of this place?”

David shrugged, “Hell if I know man. I’m just glad we’re finally able to leave.”

Stacy scrolled through her status, and she sighed, “So, I reread everything...I think the Unknown status means you’re not considered protected by Schema. It’s like you’re a monster that can still level up or something. For example, we could kill you, and we wouldn’t get in trouble. You’d actually give us doubled experience.”

My eyes sharpened, “Kill me? For experience?”

Stacy threw her hand at me, "It’s an example, ok? Anyways, mister demon lord, how about you explain what happened while we were asleep. We waited a day for you."

I explained Baldag-Ruhl's ritual and him trying to steal my soul. They ooh-ed and ah-ed at some of my descriptions before David pointed at the rustic booklet, "Yeah...That matches up perfectly with this journal."

I frowned, "Journal?"

"Yeah. When we woke up, you weren't around. We went looking for you, and we shouted for hours. You were gone for over a day. We thought you just got tired of us and decided to leave."

Stacy crossed her arms, "I figured you just went off to kill the boss. David's the one who thought you left us."

David gave Stacy an exasperated look before turning a hand to me,

"Point is, we explored the cave, looking for the boss or some way out. The journal was back where you fought the Lord of Worms. He had hidden it at the bottom of the runic pool. It kept the bugs out, making everything in the pool invisible to Baldag-Ruhl’s minions.

Stacy raised her arm, “That’s why I’m soaked.”

David raised his brow, “She lost rock paper scissors, but yeah, this was written by Alfred Worm. He was the Lord of Worms. It was kind of hard to read because he started writing it after the whole corrupted soul thing."

I paced over towards the book, picking it up with care. This guy saved my life. I clasped my hand. Technically, Alfred gave me my armor too. I tried putting pieces of the torn cover together before giving up on that. I opened it, exposing the yellowed pages. In a neat cursive, I read what it held inside.

Hello there. If you're reading this, you've no doubt killed me and taken my diary from the pool near a corpse. My corpse, hopefully. If so, then a thank you is in order.

You see, I've been a part of a plan. A plan from well before either of us were born. It starts with a fascination of mine. That fascination rests over magic. To my undoing, I have a penchant for all things unknown, for the whimsical and bizzare. Those inclinations brought me here, to the BloodHollow Caves.

Those inclinations are also why my remains haunt this abyssal place.

Perhaps some context may guide your further understanding. Firstly, my father was a necromancer. He was known as Torix Worm, of Darkhill. He gave me a dark legacy, one riddled with things better left unspoken of and moreover, unlearned. I despised him. He killed many out of spite, and now he twists their remains for his own devices. His magic and might, they left me in his shadow. And there is only one way out of a shadow.

To the light.

I reasoned that my father spent his existence stealing life, so I would spend my life giving it. The most reliable source for this exploration was from an unlikely source - ambient mana. This is because of the energies' unique properties and the innate properties of mana itself.

Mana, it is a representation of will and intellect. My father described is as the physical manifestation of one’s will and intelligence. Intelligence is the force one can output. One’s will is the duration one may extend said intelligence.

Those are the attributes that guide ambient mana’s creation as mana is one’s consciousness given a form physical in nature. With this understanding, I searched out for better ways of understanding the mana lingering around us.

When I did so, I found a world newly touched by Schema’s presence. Few sought after the depths of dungeons, and I was one of those few. With a satchel full of tomes and a goal centered in my mind, I entered this dungeon.

I had one purpose - create life from the mana that Schema found so destitute.

It was the will of minds left untempered. In my arrogance, I believed I was able to control those processes. To enact my will, I strengthened my magic over time, and like my father, I showed quite the talent for necromancy. However, I never killed for my materials. Most often, I used animals. Rarely, I would find the family members and ask for their permission.

A timely process, but that was how I slept at night doing such dark things. When I reached inside the caves, I found the bats to be easy for my skeletons to handle. They released no mana I could hold, however. No matter how many I slew, I found none from them. Even more concerning, there was no ruler of this dungeon.

No matter how many times I passed through this dungeon's halls, the creature was nowhere to be found. That is, until I discovered how to produce the ambient mana I so dearly sought. With the correct alignment of runes, I could create a sort of pipeline from our dimension and the, for a lack of a better word, ‘darker’ one.

This was no true tear in dimensions, but a seeping of sorts. This process would create pools of glowing water, each shining pink. The bears of the cave enjoyed this light, basking in it's glow. They were the only enemies I had found here, along with the umbral bats. Once the water of the cave filled, I discovered a set of beetles collecting on the edges of my pools.

They would sit there with remarkable patience, almost as if they were watching me. As if they were waiting for something. Over time, they walked closer and closer. One day, I turned to them and shouted,

"You are a rather peculiar pack of beetles, aren't you?"

In all my days, I have never come closer to a heart attack then when it replied with a powerful, ancient voice,

"I am so much more."

I learned that this was the ruler of this dungeon. A hivemind of insects that called itself Baldag-Ruhl, of Many. We stayed on good terms for years after that. He was well spoken. At times, even more well spoken than I. We told tall tales of more than just this cave. We discussed a wide, open world with so much to see and feel.

During those tales, I could sense an almost palpable hunger from him. I could not blame him. I had all I needed here for my research, and I’d always been a hermit of sorts. I owned plenty of stimulus from a steady supply of bear meat and my mana pools. He wished for quite a bit more than I. He wanted freedom.

So he helped me with my research. With a fervor rivalling my own, he toiled day and night, learning the incantations, formulas, and runes. I would wake with him still working on new algorithms of the arcane. His sheer frenzy amazed me. In my eyes, Schema had been wrong all along. These monsters were no such thing. They had souls. Baldag-Ruhl was their shining example of such.

It wasn't until I began growing old that he changed. Less a student and more an equal, he and I spoke of magical theory for long stretches of time. He was my closest friend and the champion of my cause. Over the years, we crafted many of these pools. In the richer spots, a wondrous cyan color was created. No animal here could handle such strong light, so they wandered away from these basins. I enjoyed bathing and swimming in these during idle days.

I had come so close to discovering some means for holding this ambient mana. That was when I had my breakthrough; I could tie the ambient mana to cores crafted from condensed balls of my own mana. This gave them purpose, a goal. Not quite life, but something akin to it.

With the revolution in our process, Baldag-Ruhl began creating his magnum opus. An incantation of such complexity, length, and precision, it would open a portal into his dimension and let him escape here. I helped as much as I could. Hours we would toil on it, pouring sweat like oxen under a summer sun.

It was during that work that I understood the extent of Baldag-Ruhl’s genius. He taught me that I merely dabbled in a watered down version of the runes. Years passed, and I learned of the true runes he taught. They defied convention, able to break the laws of nature.

Using those runes, we broached on the finalization of his ritual. I remember completing the center of the expanse. That was when Baldag-Ruhl betrayed me. He cast his spell, trapping me within the center of the spell. He exclaimed the sheer madness of using my soul for escape. However, there was but one flaw in his plan.

I had brought the cores with me that day, along with the ambient mana. I assimilated it into my own mana, corrupting me. This resulted in the guardian Sentinel attacking me on sight. I also gained an uncanny amount of mana during that time.

Mana I then put to good use. With a violent spell of my own, Baldag-Ruhl’s spell shattered, sending his grotesque form flying into a nearby wall. Using the chance, I escaped from his grasp and used the thickest pool of mana for my defense. The gray pools would leak mana thick enough for sustaining these cores, strengthening them over time. They would act as guardians of the mana locked there. Though my mind may fall apart, my will did not. I continued experimenting until I uncovered a magnum opus of my own.

The Corundum of Souls.

This gemstone accomplished my goals of using mana to generate life. I’ve fed mana into the construct since its creation, but the voices, they shout against me even now. As I write, my hands shake and tremble. They are not my own. They become someone else's, a monster beyond reason.

I will warp, in time. To any I kill that arrive here, I wish to offer my sincerest apologies. I beg you...Please, forgive me for my sins. The mana seeped into my own, warping it, corrupting it utterly. My mind fades further as I write this. The ambient mana carries the fragments of madness within them like the minds of madmen. I am becoming...insane.

I fear by the time of your reading this, I will have fallen into depravity. The necromancy I so desperately wished to reform is now my only defence. I find myself murdering any adventurer's who enter this cave, terrified of Baldag-Ruhl using them.

One day, an adventurer will come who can kill me. By then, this...Corundum of Souls will hopefully be complete. Baldag-Ruhl will attempt to use you for his own twisted goals. Please, I beg you, stop him. Do not let him ruin the world as he has ruined me. I give up the last vestiges of my fading soul for a chance at redemption.

These will be my final few words. Let my father know...I understand him now. This world is not corrupted by people. People are corrupted by it in turn.

I blinked, and the rest of the page was torn out. Peering closer, I found more notes, but they fall into the madness Alfred described.

I hate this scratching...I want to eat. I will rule the dirt....Ruler of Worms. No. Lord...of Worms...'

I glanced back up, "Well...I’m glad we helped him find redemption after death." I shook the book, “This would’ve been helpful to have before the final fight. There would’ve been fewer surprises.”

Stacy and David shifted in place. We stood in silence for a moment. It was a respectful sort of quiet, the kind found at a funeral or graveyard. It passed as quickly as it came when I put the book on top of their packs, "Well, any ideas on what to do now?"

David said, "You took the dungeon core, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then we reach the Sentinel and leave."

I tapped the edge of my helmet. A sharp, metallic sound echoed in the cave, "Any plans on what to do as far as I’m concerned? I’m pretty damn sure the Sentinel will attack me on sight."

David narrowed his eyes, "You still have the golem cores right?"

"I do, but what about them?"

A wicked smile traced his lips as he said, "Then I have a plan."