Eric found himself standing outside the designated cave with the sun’s last light disappearing to his right over a small hill. He slowly stepped forward into the mouth of the cave. He was met by a murky silence and immediately hit a wall of stale air coming from the shadowy depths of the cavern stretching out below him. He immediately questioned his original willingness to investigate the foul place, especially with his general lack of details about the creatures within. He shook off the uncomfortable feeling, knowing he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. He needed to prove himself to Flynn so he could continue his apprenticeship training and escape the depressing grind of the training grounds. Not to mention, he felt responsible for the villagers that’s potential lives depended on him destroying the monsters that were threatening their way of life.

Eric hesitated for a few moments to give his nose time to adjust to the scent. He carefully drew an arrow and nocked it on the taunt bowstring, sending scattered sparks flickering along the ends of Shadowspark as a result of his nervousness. Eric slowly made his way deeper into the cave. He was thankful for the magical torches that lined the walls of the tunnel providing dim light in the otherwise pitch black dungeon. Tuerilia had a way of dangling a strand of convivence in front of a den of monsters ready to tear through any passerby.

Flynn’s instructions were simple, find threat and eliminate it at whatever cost. Eric knew he had to be successful if he hoped to move his apprenticeship forward. He let loose a steady breath and focused on the task ahead. The dungeons around the continent spawned creatures and hostile monsters which quickly spread unless they were killed. The task ahead would prove essential to keep the monsters from creating additional problems from Astral.

In Drail, the monster activity was higher than other parts of the continent because it shared a border with the western frontier. Flynn mentioned to Eric the monster activity had increased drastically since the arrival of all the adventurers. Eric considered Teurilia’s programming might be increasing the speed of monster infestations and evolutions to account for the massive influx of new players. It would make sense that new instances of mobs would need to be created to support the players flooding out of the cities in search of loot and experience.

According to Flynn, the kingdoms were being forced seek the help of the players or travelers as Flynn called them. Being blessed with resurrection magic allowed them to be hired for much cheaper rates and they were overly eager to get combat experience. Quests and missions were beginning to get issued to them in mass to help quell the widespread monster uprisings. Eric considered this another programmatic response to the number of new players and was logical to help spread the world’s resources.

Eric mentally focused clearing his head and continued into the narrow tunnel through several twists and turns before reaching a cavern and sighting the first enemies. Eric kneeled in the shadows and studied the creatures in the cavern. They were muddy brown in color and appeared to be humanoid with chunks of flesh and torn cloth covering their grotesque bodies. Eric quickly identified the one closest to him and discovered his enemies’ true nature.

Mud Zombie

Level 8

Hostile

The group was made up of over a dozen zombies all standing in a loose formation. They appeared wobbly on their feet at first glance, but Eric knew not to underestimate them.

Considering the number gathered Eric needed to be careful not to get surrounded and knew he would have to use the tunnel behind him to funnel them into a bottleneck. He went unnoticed as he pulled back his first arrow stretching the bow to its limits and lining up three enemies in a row for his first attack. He filled the arrow with Lightning enchantment and released it in one smooth motion surging it forward with the electric charge arching and sending sparks through the air as it reached the first target.

The arrow made contact in a split second, blowing through the face of the unaware target ending its existence instantly. The arrow’s piercing power tore through the sides of the two zombies in a line behind the first crippling their movement. In addition to the crippling movement from the punch of the arrow, a paralyzing effect triggered on the second enemy in the line causing a visible disruption. The paralysis struck out from the arrow head on impact causing the zombie to stutter.

The enemies weren’t nearly as affected by the Lightning enchantment as other living creatures, but it still had the visible effect of locking up their movements momentarily eventually causing one to stumble to the ground. Eric was surprised to see the graphic visuals accompanying the attacks. The zombie's flesh was torn, and although there was little blood, the torn muscle and skin left little to the imagination.

It only took a split second for the rest of the zombie mob to take notice of their attacker and meet Eric’s eyes with vacant stares while mobilizing an immediate counter-attack. Eric shot two quick arrows into the group, killing one with a critical hit to the head and immobilizing another by landing a shot to the leg and then made his retreat. He rushed off down the tunnel from where he entered. While making his escape down the tunnel he nocked another arrow and slid to a stop before firing it off into the line of zombies chasing after him, quickly infusing it with a few ticks of Lightning magic. Fortunately, the attack landed and staggered the front zombie which slowed down its comrades’ pursuit as they smashed into one another in their panicked frenzy to get their rotting claws on Eric.

The short respite in pursuit gave Eric time to let loose a few more arrows into the huddled mass of zombies. He watched several more collapse before shifting Shadowspark into his hands to engage the battered zombies in close combat. He plunged the sharp edge into the throat of the first zombie in the charge ending it with a critical hit instantly. The remaining enemies were partially crippled from his previous attacks and fell easily to the power of his strikes. Eric felt a wave of adrenaline and excitement wash over him as he tore apart each enemy and easily countered their swipes with practiced movements.

After extracting Shadowspark from the last zombie, he sorted through the pitiful loot dropped by the group, only collecting a few silvers. The remaining items were mostly torn cloth or rotten flesh that he discarded unceremoniously. Fortunately, most of his arrows were recoverable and were nestled back in his quiver before Eric proceeded deeper into the dungeon. He knew the rest of the dungeon would only get more challenging, and he couldn’t be complacent on his supplies, particularly arrows.

Eric nocked another arrow as he proceeded through the initial cavern housing the first group of zombies preparing to meet the next set of enemies. The next mob appeared faster than he expected, surprising him in a tight tunnel as he passed through a constricting corner. The new zombies were covered in thicker skin and missing less flesh. They attacked Eric within the confines of the narrow tunnel limiting his previous strategy of taking down a few of them in the open cavern. He shifted to using Shadow magic to attempt to slow and confuse the enemies with the thick mist that billowed from the end of his arrows.

Eric considered himself lucky the dungeon tunnels weren’t much wider which prevented him from getting surrounded, but as he engaged the zombies close quarter fighting started to take its toll and his stamina drained quickly. The final enemies fell after he got off a lucky Lightning infused shot finishing off two of the enemies in one shot. Eric decided to take a short break to catch his breath and didn’t rush to gather the loot from the defeated zombies. After replenishing his stamina to fifty percent, he began inspecting their gear and dropped items. It proved a little better quality, but only a few silver coins and a handful of copper coins were worth taking from the dirty cloth piles.

Eric took a quick inventory of his remaining arrows and walked past the corpses littering the tunnel. He continued deeper into the cave, not wanting to stay in the dungeon any longer than absolutely necessary. He only traveled a short distance before the scenery changed into a much larger cavern, stretching nearly fifteen meters tall and just as wide with a thick fog covering the distance to the far side. Eric felt confident was where the nest and spawning location was for the zombie horde. He also had a bad feeling crawl over him and could sense a much higher tier creature was lurking in the thick fog.

He kept his back against the wall and had an arrow drawn in case an enemy presented itself. He carefully shuffled around the edge of the room straining his eyes to see what might be lying in wait. He completed a full lap around the cavern and was left on edge not finding any enemies or clues to what might be lurking in the mist.

Eric began to doubt his gut and took a couple steps forward away from the wall and towards the center of the room where the fog hung the heaviest. As he planted his second foot forward, the ground quivered for a moment and he was tossed to the ground by a massive form that emerged from underneath the loose soil.

Eric got the breath knocked out of me when he hit the ground. He landed squarely on his back and looked up to find a disgusting monster with pale white skin and long thick yellow fingernails staring down on him. The creature had clawed its way out of the earth and was preparing to strike him from above. The monster appeared to be the zombie form of a large ogre. Eric identified the creature as it began to lift a massive spiked club above its head.

Ogre Zombie

Level 16

Hostile

Eric rolled back towards the wall just in time to avoid the impact of the massive club. The club left a body sized imprint on the ground where he had just been. Eric jumped to his feet feeling his adrenaline running. He luckily still had Shadowspark gripped tightly in his hands and sprinted to the other corner of the room while grabbing an arrow from the quiver slung over his shoulder.

He nocked the arrow as he made it to the opposite wall. Turning quickly to face his roaring enemy, he shot the arrow, aiming directly for the undead ogre’s oversized head. The arrow covered the distance in an instance and dug deep into the side of the creature’s face, but the ogre continued its charge as unimpeded as if the attack went unnoticed. The monster took another swing with its club using a side strike. Eric dove to the ground, barely dodging the heavy attack.

The ogre proved faster than Eric anticipated and sent another downward strike toward him before he was able to get back to his feet. The strike made contact with Eric’s left leg sending a shockwave of pain through his body. Eric screamed in pain and looked down to find a likely shattered bone in his leg below the knee. He panicked at the sight and felt horror thinking about the next attack crushing his skull.

Eric knew he had to end the battle quickly and made a desperate move. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and rolled toward the ogre, quickly closing the gap between them. He reeled back with all his remaining strength and stabbed the arrow through the monster’s repulsive foot, hoping to limit its mobility. The ogre reacted harshly and slammed its other foot into Eric’s side, sending him skittering and rolling away toward the wall.

Eric felt his ribs crack from the impact and knew he had to find a way to take the ogre down , or he would die in the filthy cave. He planted Shadowspark in the ground in front of him, digging into the soft soil and lifted himself onto one knee. He drew an arrow and nocked it as the ogre began racing towards him, after successfully tearing the arrow from its injured foot.

Eric focused every ounce of strength he could muster into the shot and aimed for the zombie’s exposed knee since he didn’t have the angle to aim any higher. Eric infused the arrow with a weak Lightning enchantment in the fleeting moments he had before the ogre reached him and let it loose right when the ogre began the backswing of its club.

The arrow flew true and struck the ogre’s right knee, hammering deep into the muscle and bone partially separating it from the rest of its leg. The ogre’s eyes enlarged at the moment of the impact, and it let out a coarse grunt before falling to the ground directly in front of Eric. The creature tried to use its free hand to break its fall, but Eric heard the splitting of bones from the heavy weight crushing its own hand in the process.

The ogre’s head landed face down within a breath’s distance from Eric. He pulled Shadowspark from the ground with his remaining energy and heaved it into a downward strike directly into the back of the ogre’s skull. Eric drove the sharp point deep into the foul creature’s head and sent Shadow and Lightning magic into the spiked point to ensure the creature was defeated.

Ting!

Level up.

Level up.

Achievement unlocked: Against All Odds

Eric saw text appear in front of him and smiled feebly realizing the ogre was conquered. He slowly removed Shadowspark from the enemy’s skull and settled back against the cave wall completely exhausted.

He checked the achievement information and saw he was now granted fiver percent additional damage to enemies ten or more levels higher than him. It appeared beating the zombie ogre was quite a feat since it was a level sixteen monster. The achievement was given to him for solo defeating an enemy that shared his competence and was ten or more levels higher than him.

Eric wasn’t in a rush now that the boss was defeated and decided to allocated his newly gained attributes. After careful consideration, he decided to drop all then points into Dexterity realizing his stamina was severely lacking after the previous fight. The majority of the points he earned from his previous levels all got dropped into Strength and Vitality so it was time to diversify a bit. He finished looking over his character menus and cleared them away to take stock of his situation.

Eric’s left leg was still in plenty of pain, and it was tough to breathe with his cracked ribs. He suspected a couple might even be completely broken. Unfortunately, he had to find a way to the priests in the city to get them mended or find some healing potion. Crippling injuries were unable to be healed through health regeneration and required magic to fix them.

Eric carefully used Shadowspark and his good leg to support his weight as he got to his feed, but quickly realized he needed to try and make a splint for his other leg, or else he would be unable to walk far. He lowered himself back to the ground and crawled toward the dead zombie ogre and looted its body, surprised to find a gold coin among its treasure as well as a rare helmet he would have to get examined once returning to the city so he could determine its value.

Unidentified Helmet - Defense: Unknown; Durability: Unknown; Grade: Unique; Requirements: Unknown; Effect: Unknown

Fortunately, among the pile of loot Eric found a thick piece of bone from the ogre’s crushed hand or from part of its knee, he had no way to tell since it had broken off and landed nearby, but it was the perfect size to make a suitable splint for his injured leg. Eric used some torn cloth from the ogre’s loose fitting pants to tie the bone tightly around his thigh and gently looped it across the battered ankle to hold it in place.

Eric was in bad shape, but he felt accomplished from clearing his first monster dungeon and living through it. He stumbled out of the cave after an excruciating amount of time navigating back to the entrance on his gimp leg. He headed toward the village to report his success and hoped to find a ride back to the city with one of the villagers or else it would be a long road ahead.