– Day 11 –

Catacombs, Part 2

We begin working our way down the old mossy stairs, deep into the catacombs.

“Dark, dank and smells of death..”

“Well, it’s a Catacomb Risk–”

“You’re missing the point–”

“…You’re thinking a necromancer Risk?”

“Aye lass. A powerful one too”

I guess that makes sense… So I guess, if this was a game, we should expect Skeletons, Zombies and Spiders right?

“It’s getting rather dark–”

“Here, I bought these with me. Tie them to your armour; brighter than a torch.”

“Thanks, Risk–”

“Where’s mine?”

“I only have 2. You should have bought your own with that fancy space magic!”

…point taken.

We continue into the tomb, walking down the corridor after corridor, around twists and turns while following the arrows left in chalk by Sybil before finally coming to a broken wall. There’s some sort of cave system behind it. Sybil is crouched down there waiting for us. She spots us and gestures to us to do the same.

“Something wrong?”

“Enemies. 4. Arachnids”

She points just up ahead when I spot it move.

Name: Poison Cave Spider [lesser]

Class: Monster

Sub-Class: Poisoning

Race: Arachnid

Level: 12

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100%

Spiders…called it…*shiver* Why did it have to be spiders!

..AE, remove Class and Sub-Class from optical nerve interface hud thingy. It’s not very useful…

[**Affirmative **]

[** Optical nerve interface template updated **]

I spot another.

Name: Poison Cave Spider [lesser]

Race: Arachnid

Level: 17

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100%

“How should we handle this?”

Sybil asks with her usual plain face.

“Ever fought spiders before Risk?”

“No, humanoids are more my area of expertise…”

“Then I guess we go with this.. Be ready–”

[Void Lance]

HP: 330 / 330 MP: 570 / 670 ST: 560/560

*CRACKLE* *SCREEEE*

“Here they come. [Field of Winter]!”

The first spider that was hit with [Void Lance] comes flying out of the hole at a terrifying speed that only eight legs could achieve. Three more can be seen charging up behind it. Once it decides it’s in range, it hurtles itself through the air at me. I shield bash it vertically up above us and attempt to impale it with the spear; which only proves to piss it off.

It attempts to spew poison down on me, my spear completely misses its target, and the spider comes speeding down on top of me–

[Void Lance]

HP: 330 / 330 MP: 470 / 670 ST: 460/560

A hit. The spell costs a damn lot of mana but pieces through the spider like a hot knife through butter. One down.

I turn to Risk who parries the second spider into the perfect line. I shield bash it into the third oncoming spider, and Sybil appears out of nowhere to land repetitive [Hidden Slash] attacks on the floundering spiders who can do nothing but die in anguish. Three down.

The 4th spider has halted its charge and is instead moving backwards and up the left wall. I think it’s trying to escape–

“[Puncture]”

–Risk drops the conjured short sword suddenly and generates a long spear while charging towards the spider at an incredible pace before using a skill to obliterate it… No really, there’s not even a hair left..

“A-Amazing..–”

I turn back to see Katharine standing there with wide eyes and a lowered weapon? I guess I did have her on the rear guard and we didn’t really give her a chance to get into the fray.

“–You’re all in perfect sync! I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Really? I guess we did work well together, but this is hardly that impressive.. but. Going up seven levels in one fight? I’ll concede that is…

It seems Katharine went up eight levels, Risk three and Sybil only by two. I’m guessing Sybil’s increase is a lot lower because her EXP requirements are higher due to being a Demi-Human–

[** Correct **]

Rhetorical AE but thanks.

I also notice a difference in the way each of us levels up which seems based on race. For example, Humans clearly get two stat points every level; Demi-humans get three stat points per level, and I get five. I also notice a difference in skills points; Demi-humans and Humans get one skill points per 2 levels whereas I get 10 per level. The EXP requirements are different for me as well, and my EXP is accumulative not reset.

..I’m a broken character no matter how you look at it!

Hmm..wait. There does seem to be something I look to be weaker in though. Skill EXP. I think I understand why I get more points as when I use a skill or spell; I barely get EXP, these guys are the opposite. Which in turn means my skills will always be inferior to others unless I really, really spend the time to train it up. I’m a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none type–

“It did feel a bit easy didn’t it.”

No point thinking about this now. We are, after all, in a dangerous place!

“Keep on guard Katharine. We’re still in the Catacombs. Sybil, continue to scout while we bring up the rear.”

For the next couple of hours, we continue to explore the Catacombs, killing the odd spider we come across, but there doesn’t seem to be any more groups on this floor. I say ‘this floor’ because we found a sub-section that leads deeper into the earth. I decided at the time we should continue to map out the 1st area and bring the others with us tomorrow before heading to a lower floor. Unfortunately, my decision has meant that only Katharine and I gained any more levels. I had secretly hoped for treasure chests and loot, but for all the elements that make this world seem game like, it’s entirely based in reality. I mean, in the first place, who would store some epic fantasy weapon in a rusted chest, in the middle of a monster-infested dungeon, that they themselves can’t ever retrieve? I lamented on this as we walked back towards the entrance.

Once sunlight struck our faces again, I warped us all to the other side of the barrier. Unfortunately, my mana is too low to warp us all straight home, so Sybil has gone to get a carriage ordered for us to ride back to the house. In the meantime, Katharine, Risk and I are sitting on some nearby rocks chatting about the spiders from earlier and how to better refine our teamwork in the future. Truthfully I think the corridors are too narrow for more party members to work effectively within so we may have to go with a rotation method of swapping in and out fatigued members from the rear team. I think this will work well as long as the rears team is still capable of handling ambushes from their position and no members are wholly fatigued or unable to fight.

“You’re quite the tactician Aburi.”

“He dabbles Katharine.”

She chuckles as I roll my eyes. I mean seriously, you say something once!

“I think Father would be hard matched in a war game.”

“Oh, you have those here? I might challenge him to one next time I see him.”

“Un, I’ll let him know. I’m certain he’ll look forward to it.”

I guess we have some time here before the carriage arrives…

“I have something odd to ask the both of you.”

They look wide-eyed at me waiting for me to continue.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course!” “Hell no! Who would?”

…uh huh. I probably deserve that.

“Thank you, Katharine. This might sound strange but I would you to close your eyes a second and relax.”

“Like this”

“Yep. One second”

Skill Points: 12

[>>>>]

One-handed Style Lv 8 / 10 [>]

[>>>>]

Sword Proficiency Lv 8 / 10 [>] Skill Points: 4

Good, she does trust me, and it’s working… Now then, stat points… AGI, VIT and… some WIS and STR I think would be best for her.

STAT points remaining 42 STR: 038 / 999

AGI: 043 / 999

STA: 038 / 999

VIT: 024 / 999

PER: 012 / 999

INT: 016 / 999

WIS: 015 / 999 STAT points remaining 0

Okay. Commit–

Suddenly an impossibly bright yellowy light engulfs Katharine and seems to be carrying her upwards towards the heavens. The air seems to be vibrating around her, humming strangely while continually getting louder and louder. Then just as suddenly as it appeared, nothing. It was gone, and Katharine falls to the floor with a collapsing thud.

“Katharine! W-what the hell just happened!? Aburi, what did you do?!”

Katharine lays on the ground, completely lifeless.

Oh shit…what…

“I–”

“W-what happened?”

Katharine asks as she sits up. I fall back to the rock I was sat on and sigh loudly in relief.

“A-Aburi…what did you do?”

With that spectacle…no point lying..

“…For lack of a better description, I guess I augmented her essence…? Basically, I made her stronger using the essence she absorbed today–”

“Y-you can do that!?”

“Well…Yes.. This was the first time I’ve done it on someone other than myself..Which is why that scared me half to death.”

Risk has a complex emotion on his face that I simply can’t read. I think I may have been mistaken in thinking he was ready to learn about this… To be honest, green-boxy theatrics just now certainly wouldn’t have helped..

“I’m sorry Katharine. I didn’t know that was going to happen. Are you okay?”

She nods meekly.

“I’m fine. I just feel like I’ve been running all day. I, I think I just need to sleep for a little bit..”

“Then rest. We’ll wake you when the carriage turns up.”

Risk takes his jacket off and uses it as a pillow, and I place my chain mail coat over her as a blanket, albeit a heavy one. Risk stands and looks at me strangely while pointing to a rock a little way away from where we are now. I think he wants to talk out of earshot of Katharine. I naturally follow him as there’s no escaping this conversation at this point without dire repercussions..

“What…What are you?”

I look at him confused as he shakes his head.

“That power, it borders on the Divine! Nay, it is Divine! What the hell are you!?”

“…”

Do I make something up? It’ll be safer to.. but it would have to be a complex and believable lie… Too difficult.. Plus, I’d never be able to tell him the truth later without destroying any friendship I might naively think we have here…

The truth then?

..Be honest, would you believe the truth?

Well, screw it..

[Vacuum Barrier]

“Okay. All cards on the table. I want you to know that I trust you Risk and I hope by the end of this, you’ll trust me as much as I’m trusting you.”

I proceed from the very very beginning, and I try to leave out no detail, even the fact that I need to absorb blood to live and that I don’t think I’m a vampire, but something called an ‘Awakened One’. Risk just stands there through the whole tale with a straight face, not once stopping me to ask a question. Then we just stand in eerie silence for awhile before he finally speaks.

“No one else knows about this?”

“Well, Emily know bits and the girls, excluding Bella, know I need blood; but your the only one that knows everything–”

“Katharine doesn’t know anything?”

I hesitate before slowly nodding. I think he just judged me…

We stand in silence again..

“It’s probably for the best the lass doesn’t know…”

He scratches his chin for a moment before turning and kicking a loose stone on the ground.

“Gods be damned Aburi, just what have you got us involved in!”

“I’m not really sure myself. I’ve told you all I know. I can only see so far ahead of me and plan for that; I’m only human..was human? Argh, I don’t know Risk okay, I just don’t. If you want nothing more to do with me, I completely understand, and I’ll head to Edward right now and get you, and Bella reassigned–”

I guess I can understand why he’s angry. It’s not the first time he’s been involved with the ‘gods’ after all. He seems to ponder my words for a bit while pacing before facing me again.

“This Analysis thing you mentioned, I take it you know I’m cursed?”

“…I found that out this morning–”

“Ah, so that’s why you’ve been an airhead all day?”

“I guess. I only gained the ability to look at peoples statuses last night. I used Emily’s snoring as an accuse to come to check yours…That’s when I saw it”

Silence again.. Risk grimaces suddenly for a second.

“As we’re playing all our cards… Some years back, I stole my, an artefact, that gives me my Compositional magic from a temple. The moment I exited the place, I was cursed. A creeper voice rang in my head saying that one day, without warning, I will just drop dead..”

He doesn’t know he has six years!? Living every day thinking it might be your last? How has he not completely shut down as a person? Should I tell him..

“..You have six years.”

“..What?”

“You have six years until the curse kills you.”

“Wait, you can see the day I’ll die?”

“To the nanosecond actually…but I digress. I’ve been ‘airheaded’ all day as you put it because I believe I can cure you. Well, rather, it’s possible for me to cure you but I don’t have the ability just yet.”

“H-how?”

“It’s hard to explain but the divinity, I can access it. That’s how I know I can”

He shakes his head… I understand why. To be honest, the only way anyone could live knowing that tomorrow might be the last is by resigning your will to live.. It might be the very reason Risk is the fighter he is…I guess it’s a hell of a lot to take in all at once. Gods, Life after Death, Revival, Divinity, levels, essence and then to top it off, a cure to something you were sure was going to kill you–

“You were planning to cure me without saying anything about all this weren’t you?”

“Truthfully? Had green…Had that yellow light not appeared and the winds gone mad, I wouldn’t have said anything just yet; and yes, it’s likely I would have kept this secret and tried to cure you without letting it be known. But then again, I may have just as easily woke up one morning down the line and just straight up told everyone…I’m a little fickle like that..”

He chuckles with a smile. Good, I think I’ve made the right call here.

“Fine, I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine. No one knows I’m cursed and I’d rather keep it that way.”

“I can understand that… Do you want me to augment your essence now too?”

“Hell no…Well, maybe. Will it really make that much of a difference?”

“Spar with Katharine later, I think the results will scare you.”

I dissolve the barrier and feel a little refreshed. That’s one less person I’m lying to now… I still need to find a chance to speak with Emily... Ah. She’s not going to be happy that she wasn’t told first. I can already hear her ‘Master!’ squeals–

Oh, the carriage is coming. Sybil can be seen sitting beside the carriage driver. Guess we better…Nah, too cute. I’ll princess carry Katharine onto the carriage.