Chapter 39- More Skeletons In The Closet

The duo, plus a bulgur, entered the catacombs.

You have entered the dungeon ‘Catacombs of House Ragroth’

A shiver ran down his sphere as he looked at the message, pictures of the catacombs in Paris ran through his mind. He took his leather chest piece off, and his class bonus filled him with power.

Rose took a nice and long look at his body.

The tunnel was made from dirt and only one person thin, there were no lights in the tunnel and Rose pulled a light crystal out. Soon the tunnel stretched out into cracked stone walls, and sure enough, skulls began to appear in the walls. The trio spread out as they walked into the larger tunnel, Fuzz’s legs squelching with black goo.

“Honestly, why did you pick this job?” Morpheus asked.”

“I mean, catacombs are kinda cool. Some of these skeletons are thousands of years old.”

“Yeah, but you could just dig up a graveyard for that.” Morpheus said.

Rose didn’t reply, just carried on walking forward, holding the light crystal in front of her head.

A dense smell of miasma was almost suffocating them. Rose surrounded her face with rock, while Morpheus began to heal his body. Fuzz, being Fuzz, was not bothered in the slightest.

A few seconds later he had earned another resistance.

‘Congratulations’ you have earned Miasma Resistance Level (1). You have been engulfed in dense miasma. The more you level this resistance, the more resistant you become.

“So what exactly is miasma?” Morpheus asked while coughing gently.

“Miasma is specifically death related, it’s the by-product of creating undead. There must be a lot down here for this to be so dense.” Rose’s muffled voice said.

Morpheus began to cough his lungs up, the miasma was really causing him problems.

You have levelled up Miasma Resistance Level (2)

You have levelled up Miasma Resistance Level (3)

Fuzz transformed into a shadow and latched on his face.

“Fuzz what the fuck you doing.” Morpheus said, struggling and clutching his face.

“Stop, I think he’s helping you.” Rose said.

Morpheus calmed down eventually and looked down the tunnel.

He could breathe, whatever Fuzz did made him able to breathe.

Rose held his head up and brought out a mirror from her pouch,

His whole face was completely covered in shadow magic, Fuzz had somehow filtered out the miasma he was breathing in.

“Nice job Fuzz, thank you.”

He got a relay message back of happiness and safety which he was thankful for.

The group carried on walking through the winding tunnels of the catacombs. Skulls lined the walls and the occasional tomb outcropped on the side.

Further up ahead, the tunnel stretched out even wider and into a curved ceiling. It was a long hall and along both sides were coffins placed equally apart from each other.

Arcane Pulse picked up a slight vibration further up in the tunnel. A second later an undead shot out of the wall, then the lids of the coffins blew off and the room began to fill up with the undead.

(Hargon The ʿIfrīt’s Undead, Level 134)

(Hargon The ʿIfrīt’s Undead, Level 132)

(Hargon The ʿIfrīt’s Undead, Level 119)

(Hargon The ʿIfrīt’s Undead, Level 106)

“Fuzz hold on!”

Morpheus activated Spartans Ethos and dived into the incoming horde. Rose followed next to him, splitting skulls with her rock cladded fists.

The higher levels posed a challenge as Morpheus couldn’t cut them in two, their skin was harder and reflexes faster. He caught them off guard with Arcane Step and swung his battle axe across their legs.

More and more undead began to pile out of the walls, now surrounding them completely.

“Fuzz bulgur!”

Fuzz shot out from his face leaving him exposed to the miasma and began ripping heads off.

Rose kept pounding their heads in, infusing her attacks with wind magic.

Morpheus’s heart began to beat like an engine as he performed the Dance of Battle. The Valkyries passion flowed through his veins as he cut into the undead.

The fight progressed onwards and the trio began to tire, a few undead bit into Fuzz and he screeched, worrying Morpheus.

The young chimera teleported to him and covered his back, Rose soon joined them forming a triangle.

Morpheus glanced towards his status.

Status

Health:7853/8700

Stamina:4560/15340

Mana:1560/3760

“Rose, we need to kick it up a notch!”

“I already am.” She screamed back.

“Gurgle! Gurgle! Gurgle!.” Fuzz added in, as he tore out an undead's heart and swallowed it.

At times like this Morpheus wished he had another axe. He pushed the thought aside and kept beheading the undead, Dance of Battle flowed through him as he twisted and turned around them.

He gradually increased his speed and a smile crept on his face, the young chimera began to enjoy himself. It was such a strange but innate emotion that he always felt at times like these. The closeness to death brought him more strength and determination, a sense of euphoria filled him as he cut into the last undead. But he did not stop, he carried on dancing with his axe.

Fuzz and Rose collapsed on the ground in exhaustion, piles of corpse surrounding them.

“Elf-boy.” She said but had to catch a breath. “The fuck are you doing.”

Fuzz let out a weak gurgle.

Morpheus stopped. “Sorry got a little carried away.”

“Fuck. Why was there so much.” She asked herself.

Morpheus sat down next to her and Fuzz disappeared in his cloak.

“I think Fuzz is done.” Morpheus said.

“I am too.”

Morpheus didn’t realise it since he was so focused on killing, that the miasma did not affect him so much anymore. He quickly brought his notifications up.

You have levelled up Miasma Resistance Level (4)

You have levelled up Miasma Resistance Level (5)

...

You have levelled up Miasma Resistance Level (9)

You have levelled up Miasma Resistance Level (10)

You have levelled up Absolute Heal Level (E) (2)

You have levelled up Absolute Heal Level (E) (3)

You have levelled up Arcane Hardening Level (19)

You have levelled up Battle Axe Arts Level (20) (Evolve Possible)

You have levelled up Spartan’s Ethos Level (E) (2)

You have levelled up Spartan’s Ethos Level (E) (3)

Blood Axe 154/10000

You have levelled up Dance of Battle Level (E) (2)

You have levelled up Dance of Battle Level (E) (3)

‘Congratulations’ you have levelled up Level (96) (2 stat points available)

“Only one level!” He exclaimed.

“Undead don’t give a lot of experience” Rose said while getting up.

“Fuck that sucks, I wanna kill the Jinn now.”

“Good luck.” She said.

“Do you not want to scare him off?” He asked.

Rose groaned. “I’m not a chimera, I can’t regenerate my stamina as fast you.”

“I’m gonna go and find the fucker, do you want Fuzz?”

Morpheus didn’t even ask and the shadow shot out and into her lap.

“Alright Fuzz, I see how it is.”

Rose let off a weak smile. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” He said while he broke into a jog. The young chimera desperately wanted to find this Jinn and give him a piece of his mind. As he was running, Morpheus put his two available points into endurance.

—————————————————

“Hey Fuzz, I need something soft.”

Fuzz transformed into a mountain lion and Rose cuddled up to him, the last fight had exhausted her.

“That was crazy huh, good job by the way.” Rose said while patting his belly.

Fuzz let out a deep grunt.

“I hope Morpheus realises he can’t kill a jinn.”

Fuzz transformed into a shadow and hoped in her arms.

“Hey I’m being serious, Celene would be pissed if he died.”

Rose heard multiple footsteps coming down from the hallway, which was strange since they didn’t sound like the undead’s.

The footsteps began to get closer and there were about ten people that ran into the room and dived straight for her.

They all began to beat her with clubs until she was unconscious and dumped her in a bag.

Fuzz turned into a mountain lion, he tore one of their arms off and bit into another’s face. The rest dropped her and began to attack Fuzz. Swords, spears and daggers cut into the poor shadow and blood began to pour out of the cuts.

As Fuzz collapsed in mountain lion form he dispersed into shadows around the bag that Rose was his in.

One of the men dipped his fingers in the pool of blood and began writing on the wall.

—————————————————

Morpheus had been running for about ten minutes until he got sudden panic feelings from Fuzz.

‘Pain! Pain! Scared!’ The messages said.

He stopped dead and sprinted back as fast as he could.

He arrived to the worst scene he had ever saw.

Morpheus felt to his knees and began crying as he saw the message written in blood on the wall. A large puddle of blood beneath it.

‘You dare raise your voice to The Beast of Seaford. I’ve taken your woman and slaughtered your weak shadow. I don't even want the thing anymore. Come to my place of stay and retrieve her.’

His heart sank.

“I’m so sorry Fuzz.”

Morpheus began to cry, the pain he felt that he had just lost his familiar. Fuzz had a special place in his heart and it had just been ripped out.

He hurriedly checked his status but it said there was no familiar section. It was true, Fuzz was gone, he died.

Morpheus rolled over and began to cry even more, the pain in his stomach hurt him so much. He laid on the dusty floor thinking about what he had just lost.