"So….”

“So….”

“Well that was gross…really gross.” Tor said.

“Maggots, that was definitely a surprise and the teleporting.”

“I can still feel them trying to wiggle their way into me. Uck, maggot juice.” We washed our clothes after that in the stream outside.

“They weren’t that strong surprisingly.” Tor just stared at me.

“How do I put this? Did you train in VR sims before starting FEAR?”

“Yeah of course.”

“There you go. Most of the people aren’t as hardcore as you. They probably thought they could be super mages or easily just swing their sword around. This takes actual skill. Also there is a lot of fear while spelunking.”

“So you mean I am awesome.”

“What I mean is we got incredibly lucky. Your flame sword killed those black clouds.”

“Easy enough, black things hate fire.”

“Then there were those wall grabbers and how they hated water, which makes no sense.”

“Things that absorb things tend to be weak to one form of matter or another.”

“Finally the maggot skeletons. They could freaking teleport, any ordinary group would be overwhelmed and eaten alive.”

“Fair enough. Let’s rest up a bit and then go for round three.”

“Those noises at the end. There is something big and crawly in there. What do we do if it corners us?”

“That is a good point.” There was a minute of silence as we mulled it over.

“What about the last barrel of beer? Can we drop it down the hole?”

“Alcohol content isn’t high enough to catch fire. We may just have to risk it.”

“Honestly is this worth it?”

“Loads of high level monsters we can kill easily enough. As long as we are careful we should be able to retreat. I don’t think we will be going to more than one level though. If whatever is down that hole attacks us while we are climbing it would be over.”

“God, I hate maggots.” We went back into the mine. There was another black smoke present. We killed it and continued on our way. “Stop, look at the wall color.”

“I thought we killed of them.”

“So did I, but there is only one.” Tor killed it off and we continued to the second chamber. There was no sign of the maggots and very few bones. We had only been gone for an hour maybe two at the max. We continued to retrace our steps. We reached the side doors and they were all closed.

Tor grabbed the handle and I gave her a nod. With a single yank she opened the door. A maggot skeleton turned towards me. I drove my flaming sword straight through its skull. It died and collapsed. I was careful to stay out of the way as the maggots rained down. I looked around the room and noticed two piles of bones and maggots off to the side slowly mixing together.

“They are respawning.” Tor whispered.

“Yeah, that means one of three things. First monsters can respawn, which is doubtful since no one has mentioned it and some players are trying to figure out their lifecycles. Second, there is a spell or item boosting them. Finally there could be a super boss or dungeon heart managing them all and using some sort of natural ability to pull these things into existence.”

“None of that sounds very good.”

“I agree. Push on?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t sound sure. We cleared the small side chambers of maggot skeletons. I also stabbed the piles but didn’t get any experience and they just dispersed. We passed the side rooms and kept going slowly, checking everything for a possible ambush. We finally came to two doors that were across from each other in the tunnel.

I tapped my flaming sword against the door handle, but nothing reacted. I tapped my sword on the door a couple of times but nothing happened. Tor stepped in and on my nod she yanked it open. There was a large chamber with a pedestal in the back and a book on it. I checked my flanks and the ceiling and that was when I saw it. A large suit of armor tucked into one corner.

I gestured and Tor looked at the suit of armor as well. “If that comes to life, I have no idea what to do.”

“I might be able to pierce it, maybe not.”

“The maybe not part is worrying me, also the noise of metal hitting metal. Monsters could easily come down the hall and block off this doorway.”

“Yeah.” I closed the door. “Check the other one, push on, or retreat?”

“How about we grind on the mobs that are regenerating until they are about five levels above us?”

“Good idea.” Based on the experience gains over the next two days the three monster types we fought were around level eighty six. I was up to level eighty and Tor said she was in the mid-seventies. We decided to face the suit of armor. The idea was simple. I would throw rocks at it to lure it outside the room. Tor would keep an eye out for other attackers while I finished it off.

If things got bad we would retreat. I opened up the door and began throwing pebbles at the suit of armor. Its eye sockets flashed white and it began to advance towards me. It had a single long sword and was surprisingly swift for a suit of armor. I moved back into the hallway. The suit of armor came out after me. It swung and the attack was easy enough to dodge.

“Power slash!” I slammed my flaming blade into its side. There was a loud clang and a shower of sparks but Nus’ Awakening did not penetrate. The suit of armor swung again and I was forced to block. The Strength behind the attack was higher than I thought so I stumbled.

“Second armor, other doorway.” Tor said. I was barely avoiding the attacks from one.

“Retreat.” We retreated back down the rock tunnels and the knights pursued us. I noticed that the sound of their pursuit was somehow muffled compared to when we were fighting. Thankfully nothing had respawned as we made our way back. Tor ducked through the wood wall and I followed behind her.

The two knights stopped just outside and I let out the breath I had been holding. They ducked through and continued their advance. I mentally cursed. “Outside.” I said and Tor and I continued our retreat. There was a slight drizzle and the sky was overcast. When the suits of armor emerged, they were incredibly dark with small silver etching on the edge of various pieces.

I moved forward and jabbed my blade at one of their helmets. “Power slash!” I yelled out. The tip of the blade struck the helmet and there was a groan of metal before the helmet caved in. The entire suit of armor crumpled to the ground with a clatter. I turned and used the last of my SP for one more power slash.

“Thank god that is over.” Tor said. I nodded. I passed her the flaming sword and we went back inside the dungeon. We returned to the two larger rooms the knights had been in. Checking carefully there was nothing out of the ordinary We went in and towards the pedestal. Both of us took our time looking for sections of the floor that might depress or other booby traps.

There were none and we came to the pedestal where a book rested. Tor wrapped one of our ruined pieces of clothing around it and then took it. Nothing happened and we went to the other room. There was a chest. We carefully checked around it before picking it up and carrying it out with us. We reached our base camp without incident.

“Armor is gone.” Tor pointed.

“No, look it is rusting really fast. I bet it reappears in the dungeon.”

“I hope the loot doesn’t do that.” Tor got to work on the chest lock with the flame sword while I took a look through the book, which had no title.

We finally reached the mine out here in the wilderness. Thankfully the journey wasn’t too far or hard. We had ten soldiers, two paladins, and three clerics plus a number of servants. We managed to purge all of the first floor except for the vault, which is sealed beyond anything we know how to undo. There are noises underground and the men grow weary as the monsters come again and again.

After that the book talked about the history and back story of each of the people on the expedition. The only other thing it mentioned were the final two words. The legs. That did not sound promising. Tor finished melting the lock off. We both stood to the side when she flipped the chest open.

“AHHHH!” Tor let out a shout as maggots and bugs swarmed out of the chest. Tor began waving my flaming sword through them in an attempt to lessen their numbers. As the bugs dispersed into the surrounding tree line I looked into the chest. There was a ring at the bottom. “Identification.”

Ring of WisdomRequirements: 20 Wisdom

I picked up the ring and handed it to Tor. “So you can identify things?”

“Of course, you don’t think I named that blade Nus’ Awakening because I wanted to.”

“Well you are eccentric.”

“That is a ring of wisdom, requires twenty wisdom. Not enough for me to use at the moment.”

Tor took the ring from me and put it on. “Status. Looks like a five percent boost to Wisdom. You don’t mind if I keep it?”

“Nope, I call the ring of Dexterity when we find one.”

“Awsome, thanks.”

“See I can treat a woman right. Take her to interesting places, get her jewelry….”

“Kill things, fight insane monsters. Just a regular old date.”

“Want to try the central tunnel from chamber one tomorrow?”

“Sure, what could possibly go wrong.” I just shook my head at that comment. It was the surest way to die.

The next day with our SP recharged we made our way back to the first chamber with the pit. We hadn’t heard the shuffling sound below since the first day. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or grateful. We started down the central corridor and after about twenty feet came to a large open room. It was big enough that the light from my blade wouldn’t reach the far side and just barely touched the ceiling.

We saw a couple of alcoves lining the wall, which would be perfect for an ambush. “Right wall up to the first alcove.”

“Got it.” Tor replied. We advanced forwards slowly, constantly looking in every direction. “Ceiling, I thought I saw something. She pulled out her bow and nocked an arrow.

“We are almost there, if you see it again we will move back.” She nodded and we kept going. We reached the first alcove and there was nothing in there. I looked out into the room and there were some large pillars dominating at the edge of our light source.

“I definitely saw something.”

“Alright, let’s back up.” I kept my eyes on the ceiling as we retreated. For a moment I thought I saw something, before it disappeared back into the darkness. “Whatever it is, is a lot smarter than the other monsters.”

We made it back to the first chamber with the pit and caught our breath. “Left tunnel?” I asked.

“Yeah.” We began making our way down the left tunnel. It wasn’t long before we came to a large half melted door that seemed to fuse with the rock. It was impossible to tell where the door began and the walls ended.

“This is definitely a dead end.” We turned back. After a brief discussion we entered the middle tunnel and then the large chamber. This time we went around the left wall. There were more alcoves tucked into the wall, but whatever monster was on the ceiling would drift into sight for just a moment before retreating.

I saw the pillars and we crossed the room to the other side. It was at last forty feet wide. We then continued up along the right side. We carefully checked around the alcove. I barely pulled my head back in time as a scythe cut through the air.

From out of the alcove stepped a seven foot tall figure that looked exactly like the Grim Reaper. Dark rope, scythe, and a belt of baby sized skulls. We began to back away and it advanced like a force of nature it just slowly moved towards us like our fate was inevitable. I glanced back and said, “Observe.”

Reaper of SkullsLvL: 173Strongest Stat: FateHP: 100MP: 50000SP: 100

More than the name, or the level, or even the strongest stat, what really scared me were its HP and SP being so low while the MP was insane. I mean it had to have some over powered abilities if they were so low, yet the level and MP were so high. I did not want to be on the testing end of that magic.

We retreated towards the exit. Despite the monster disappearing into the darkness as we moved out of range, I knew it was following us. There was a pressure, maybe even some sort of fear aura. We reached the exit but Tor had stopped. I stopped as well and heard voices.”

“…telling you.” Girl one said.

“We paid for information on a dungeon and people are already here. Complete bullshit if you ask me.” Guy one said.

“Meh, we had to travel all the way from Vlat, and this is off a road no matter how pathetic.” Guy two said.

“We will be taking this dungeon for ourselves and these supplies.” Girl two said.

“Follow my lead.” I whispered to Tor as I felt a presence closing in behind us. I stepped out to the first part of the entrance from behind the wood wall. I saw seven people all standing around talking. They all looked at me and my flaming sword and then back at me.

“I need a breath of fresh air. Killing things always gets me a bit sweaty you know. Let’s check if the rest of our group is rested. Come on Tor.” She followed behind me and we began to walk right past all the players as if they didn’t concern us. One tried to stand in our way but I stepped around her and kept on going. As we exited they were slowly following behind us.

“Hey wait up. What do you think you are doing?” Girl two said. The rest of her group spread out around her with the entrance to their backs. I heard a crash, probably the Reaper of Skulls cutting down the wood wall.

“Just getting some fresh air before the rest of my team comes out. He is dying to meet you.” Some of them spun around while the rest looked confused. There was a tense fifteen seconds and then the Reaper came out of the entrance.

I had thought it would be less intimidating out in the sunlight. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The belt of skulls looked like they were screaming despite being skulls. The scythe had an black obsidian shaft and the blade dripped with black ichor. The robe was dark as midnight and a cloud of dark mist hovered under the monster’s robe concealing its feet.

The scariest part was what was under the hood. There was nothing resembling a face. Just a mass of pointy spiked teeth that converged into the blackness of the hood it wore. “He is having a bad day, sorry about that. All of you say hi to the Reaper of Skulls.” One of the boys pissed himself.

The Reaper moved forward and swung its scythe. It wasn’t fast, but nothing slowed it down. Not the shield the girl brought up or her torso. The scythe cut her in half and she toppled over, entrails going everywhere and blood pouring out. The flesh where the blade had struck turned black and began to bubble and melt away.

“COME ON, EVERYONE!” One of the guys yelled. I had to give him credit for his balls. He rushed in and stabbed the Reaper. Tor shot an arrow into its hood and the other players moved in. The sword struck the robe and curved away. The guy was in the middle of a charge and then slammed into the robe.

The Reaper didn’t even move. Flesh, clothing, organs, and everything that was that man went every direction but the Reaper. Invincibility field, no wonder why it had almost no stats. The arrow Tor had shot curved around in mid-air and continued as if nothing had happened. The skeletal hands seemed to tighten on the scythe and it struck out again.

This time the Reaper drove the point right on top of the guy’s skull, despite him rolling to the side. Possible precognition. The tip of the blade penetrated and the guy’s head exploded like a water balloon. His body collapsed onto the ground twitching. I began to slowly back away. Two of the players began to run. Suddenly the Reaper disappeared in a swirl of darkness and appeared in front of one the players.

He ran into the robe and his body literally exploded all over the place. The Reaper swung and cut off a girl’s legs who was nearby. The black corruption consumed her cut off appendages and began to work its way up her legs. She screamed and screamed. It had freaking teleportation also. It picked up the girl and brought her up to its hood. “Observe.”

Reaper of SkullsLvL: 173Strongest Stat: FateHP: 100MP: 12***SP: 100

For the five seconds the info appeared the MP was spiraling upwards. He was draining the girl. I watched as her flesh shriveled and dried up. The last two players had run away and that left me and Tor against an invulnerable, teleporting, scythe wielding monster that sucked magic from people’s flesh.

“Tor, start using the strongest spell you can. I will hold it off.” I didn’t wait for her reply. I turned off the flames and sheathed my blade and drew two throwing knives. I began to run and throw. I had noted that its MP had dropped quite a bit during that fight. Whatever abilities it had, they cost a lot, and if I could get it down to zero MP I might stand a chance.

It dropped the drained, legless girl who had been pierced all over her face. That must have been a kiss from hell. I aimed for its hands, not its body as I strafed the Reaper. The first knife glanced off and the hood began to follow me.

A swirl of darkness enveloped the Reaper and I dove forward. I felt the air push down above my back as the scythe missed me by inches. I suddenly felt a glow around me and everything seemed to slow down slightly. Tor had probably buffed my Dexterity even more, thank god. I kept throwing daggers until I was out and then drew both my swords. “Observe.”

Reaper of SkullsLvL: 173Strongest Stat: FateHP: 98MP: 1412SP: 100

Only two freaking HP, from that first dagger it. At least it could be wounded. It still had some MP left, probably good for one more attack. A glow surrounded the Reaper and I moved in. Tor had shouted something but I couldn’t focus on her at the moment.

The scythe swung down and I darted to the side. The Reaper turned the downwards attack into a sideways sweep, while pivoting. Blocking a scythe was near impossible due to its hooked nature. I would have to block it perfectly head on or the point would slide off and pierce me. I was tempted to rush in, but I am sure that was want the monster wanted.

I let myself fall to the ground while the scythe cut the air above me. I cut out with my regular blade at the monster’s feet. The blade went through the mist and struck the robes. I was already rolling away without looking the damage I had done. The scythe hit the ground next to me and sent of a shower of dirt that melted away and left the dirt in the newly formed crater a black color.

An arrow flew and struck the Reaper in its chest causing it to pause for a moment. This gave me the chance I needed to get back on my feet. “Flame on.” I then broke every rule of sword fighting and threw my blade like a spear at the monster’s hood, praying that this would work. The blade seemed to hesitate for a second before piercing through.

The entire head went up in flames and the monster collapsed on the ground. The massive scythe skidded away. I looked over at Tor.

***

I was so going to kill Kenji after this. This was exactly the reason I didn’t want to keep exploring. But nooooooooooo. He just had to go and poke the proverbial dragon. I watched as player after player were cut down effortlessly. I had tried an arrow, but that didn’t do anything.

“Tor, start using the strongest spell you can. I will hold it off.” What an idiot, but I had to do something. First buff Kenji. I knew he had dumped most of his stat points into Dexterity and began a chant to increase that. I focused and the spell latched onto him. That had taken a hundred MP. I had two hundred and change left to give.

I decided to take a risk. “Oh Dowism, strike down this foul monster and remove your blessing from its being so that it may flounder in the darkness that is the unknown.” My MP plummeted to just above zero but the spell took. A failed casting would still use MP, which was why using anything too powerful was risky. You could waste all your MP and accomplish nothing. “I got his Wisdom, go, go!”

Kenji drew his swords and set one alight. I was backing away-

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***

Author’s Note: Thank you everyone, this story is now ranked 241, only 240 more to slay. RR ranks stories based on views, ratings, follows, and favorites while being weighted for activity. Since I have been posting every day, my story has a lot lower metrics than similarly ranked stories. This is why I need as many reviews as I can get. I was bumped up over a hundred ranks, mainly from all the reviews and ratings I received over the last day. It also helps that a number of your reviews got put on the front page. Thank you everyone for your support.

Ranking is to authors what size is to men (and women only in another area). No one admits it, but it is true. Also unlike personal features, I can never have a high enough ranking. It is also a validation of my writing abilities, so thank you for your support. The bonus chapter will be going out right after this. Don’t worry it will go up in a couple of days for everyone who didn’t bother to review…shame, for shame. All I have to say about it is, Plantapus and epic battle.

So you know, I will probably be evil again in the future. So leave a review now so you don’t have to worry about getting a bonus chapter later on. Changing topics, I might slow down my writing pace just a bit. It is exhausting keeping up the current pace and it is causing my quality to drop slightly, which I don’t like. So more like one chapter a day instead of two for a bit. (Still insane ;p)

The big question is how long can I go with posting a chapter every single day. If I can make it to the end of December I will give myself a gold star.