Chapter 3 – Venom

I pulled open my interface and scrolled through my quick spell list, looking for something that I could use to annihilate Venom from a distance.

Available Spells

Death Magic

Fire Magic

Water Magic

Dark Magic

Underneath Summon

Unlocked Hybrid Spells

Cantrip Tier

Impotence

Fire Bolt

Assize

Toxin

Goblin

Death Bolt

Fracture

Inflame

Hydros

Shear

Crush Armor

Collapse

FireWreathe

Drown

Impinge

Acidify

Tier I

Corpse Explosion

Fire Ball

Perforate

Dark Barrier

Ghoul

Blood Aura

Rupture

Scorch

Ensnare

Absorb

Decay

White Nihil

Super-heat

LiquidArmor

Drain

Death Fire

Melt

Rain

Ruin

Tier II

Liquify

Hellfire

Corrode

Spite

Soulless One

Soul Flare

Soul Rend

Flare Wall

Hydration

Implode

Broken One

Shatter

Flare Blast

LOCKED

Gahena Gate

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

LOCKED

Tier III --LOCKED UNTIL LEVEL 10--

Looking at my options, I decided to cast Soul Flare, followed by Gehena Gate, which should, hopefully, annihilate whatever HP this monstrous cube of gel had.

I brought to mind the necessary spell gestures, then began the process.

My hands shifted through the air, carving runes for the powerful Hybrid Spell I was about to trigger. The runes formed from Aether, their shapes taking form, interlocking with one another. Dark Magic, Death Magic, and Fire Magic all intertwining into a single, powerful spell, with runes of black, purple, and red, rotating and creating intricate patterns.

Finally, my incantation was complete, and I triggered the Verbal and Somatic portions of the spell by touching my forehead with both of my index fingers, and shouting “Soul Flare!”

>>>

Hybridized Spell: Soul Flare

An Abomination of Spellwork, Soul Flare combines Death, Dark, and Fire Magic into a single, sinister spell that scorches the body, soul, and will of the target, dealing massive damage to a target’s physical body, as well as their emotional and psychological wellbeing. This Spell is Unique, as are all Hybridized Spells, to their Spell Master.

Spell Category: Hybridized: Death, Dark, Fire

Spell Class: Tier II

Mana Cost: 275 MP

Casting Time: 18 Seconds

Range: 100 Feet

Effect: Deals 45 Fire Damage to the Target, plus 35 Fire Damage to each target within 15 feet of the initial impact

Effect 2: Deals 25 Death Damage to a Target’s Stamina and Mana

Effect 3: Deals 75 Dark Damage to a Target, plus 125 Dark Damage to the Target’s Stamina and Mana

Spell Master: Grimm Darkfyre

>>>

The runic rings, now made manifest, clicked, then exploded outward, launching an enormous blast of dark fire down the hallway.

It was so large, it took up as much room against the walls as Venom did.

It pushed down the path, leaving scorched bricks in its wake, and leaving me without breath. Rookie mistake while incanting: I had forgotten to breathe again.

Oftentimes, the focus required to cast Hybrid-Level spells required a blocking out of everything else. This typically, however, did not include breathing. I just kept forgetting to do it.

The blast of fire slammed into Venom, then erupted, spewing flame and disgusting, green gel out of the hallway opening like a volcano.

I got spattered with the ooze and was hit with a notification immediately after.

>>>

Debuff Added: Necrotizing Venom

Necrotizing Venom: You have been afflicted with a type of venom that is unique to the Halls of Horrors, causing 4 HP/sec damage over time, as well as causing minor hallucinations and sporadic episodes of Fear. Duration: 15 seconds, or until Cleansed.

>>>

The places where I had been splattered burned, and as I looked down at them, I thought I saw spiders crawling underneath my skin.

“No, fuck no.” I said, dancing back, slapping at the spiders that were digging into my flesh and burrowing into the holes the acidic spray had created.

I slapped and scratched and continued to step back, my mind reeling from the feeling of having spiders crawling under my skin.

I finally managed to smash one of the spiders, which burst into flames, its ichor quickly spreading over my skin, setting me on fire too.

“Shit!” I shouted, my mind in a panic.

“Grimm.” A familiar female voice echoed from the darkness of the tiny room I was suddenly in.

“Who, what?” I was no longer on fire, but now I was tied to a chair.

The room felt familiar, but alien. There were no lights. It was my Dark Wizard Initiation.

“Cast something.” Another voice called from behind the veil of total darkness.

“I can’t. I can’t move my fingers.” A younger version of my own voice called back.

“Hardly worth our time.” An older, gruff voice scoffed.

“You miserable piece of shit.” I said, my eye twitching.

“Oh, he’s got some fire after all.” The female voice called.

“I’ve got fire, I’ve got fire for days.” I said, going through a series of gestures I had memorized.

My brain made the gestures and the runes in rapid fire and a flash of fire erupted to life all around me, burning the chair and ropes to ash in a flash.

“Good, I will take him myself.” Cinza said, her voice finally connecting in my head.

“The Underneath you will, Cinza. You’re barely out of training yourself.” An old, old voice, like the dust of the earth blowing in the wind, said.

“Can it old man!” Cinza yelled.

I lost control of the spell and it spread, setting the room itself on fire. Cinza stepped out from behind the barrier and flicked a ball of flame at me, lighting me on fire as well.

“No! Why!?” I writhed on the ground and the flames that were burning around the room went out.

“Sometimes you have to burn before you can control the flames, Grimm. Let’s go.” Cinza said, holding a hand out and offering to help me up.

When I took it, her hand turned to dried, dead skin, just as I had left her in the dungeon floor above.

Then I was floating and my skin was burning. I couldn’t breathe and everything was green.

My eyes stung as I watched a skull, then a ribcage and pelvis, then a series of long bones, float past me.

The damned cube had swallowed me.

I tried to move my hands to fire off the second spell, but the gel slowed my movements so much I couldn’t do it. I needed to cast something to get out of this mess.

I would have to set myself on fire again.

I had already been burned twice while I was in this stupid, miserable hole in the ground. What was a third time?

I went through the gestures in my head for Flame Wreathe, their symbols and connections burning in my mind like runes that were liquid fire.

>>>

Spell: Flame Wreathe

Wrap yourself in the heat and power of Fire Magic, igniting anyone who gets to close, and banishing colder temperatures around you.

Spell Category: Fire Magic

Spell Class: Cantrip

Mana Cost: 40 MP

Casting Time: 5 Seconds

Range: Self

Effect: Burn with the heat of the flame, causing 12 Fire Damage per Second to those who come into contact with you

Effect 2: Superheat the air around you, banishing cold, ice, and snow within a 5-foot radius.

You did what, now? You made a spell that sets yourself on fire? How incredibly useless! ~Vingeld, Water Wizard Martyr

>>>

An eruption of heat flashed around me and the gel immediately felt warmer. Then it began to liquify around me, turning my floating more into a slipping and sliding.

The same hissing that the slimes had made began to issue from the cube I was trapped in, large gouts of flame pouring from the sides and top of the creature as gases expanded and caught fire.

A gap in the side of the cube appeared, the goo it was made from pouring out and onto the ground.

I scrambled to escape, my body wreathed in flames, the cube now entirely on fire.

It jiggled, shedding flaming glops of ooze, its body bouncing up and down in the bigger space of the square room.

I focused on the gelatinous monster, checking its HP bar. It was more than two-thirds empty. I could finish this with the next spell!

I twisted my fingers in painful ways, giving over to the Darkness, letting it overcome me. It was the only way to truly and effectively cast Gehena Gate, a portal directly to the Underneath, that would blast anything within the area with unadulterated Darkness.

My head snapped back, my eyes rolling into the back of my head. My fingers and arms moved of their own accord as I whispered words in the language of the Underneth.

“Abtura Entres Vortifar.” I heard myself whisper, which was not the traditional words for the spell. Something was going wrong.

I tried to bring myself back into control, but I couldn’t. Something else had control of my body.

“Forteria Ables Ormarii.” Another series of whispers as the Darkness grew around me.

I could see the Gel beginning to shed all of the flames, its ooze spreading along the ground, still burning.

I could see the magic building, like some kind of crazy powerful Ritual. I wasn’t versed or skilled in Rituals, that was an Arcanist’s domain.

I felt sudden pain, bright and hot, on my right wrist. I had slashed it with my dagger, completely against my own will.

The blood flowed up, against gravity, and encircled my body, swirling around and dispersing into the air.

What in the Underneath!? I couldn’t shout, I couldn’t do anything. I was completely out of control.

“Into the depths of Gehena, we fall. Take us both – Dark Magic, Sacrificial Consumption.” My lips spoke, a dark voice that was not my own coming from my throat.

>>>

Blood Spell: Sacrificial Consumption

You have been granted a unique power through a Being of Gehena, providing you with an incredibly powerful spell that consumes the lifeforce of a living creature, adding a portion of their statistics to your own, at the cost of a large portion of your current HP.

Spell Category: Blood Magic

Spell Class: Unknown

Spell Cost: 75% of your remaining HP, up to 400 HP max, minimum of 125 HP.

Casting Time: 20 Seconds

Range: 50 Feet

Effect: Deals 245 Dark Damage to a single target.

Effect 2: Dark Absorption

Dark Absorption: If the Target should perish during the initial spell, absorb 10% of their stats, adding them to your own total.

Effect 3: Lingering Darkness

Lingering Darkness: Should the Target fail to perish during the initial spell, deal 10 Dark Damage per second for 45 seconds, or until the target dies.

Dark Absorption and Lingering Darkness cannot take effect at the same time.

I have granted you power, now take control of it, and rule the Above in My Name. ~Great Gehena

>>>

A series of runes appeared around Venom, black as midnight and horribly painful to look at. The runes writhed with a power that I had never seen, and hoped to never know again.

They shifted, interlocking with one another, before they completely blotted out the cube, inky darkness filling the space where the Runes interwove.

Dark particles, like dust, rushed from the darkness to my body, and whatever had control of me breathed them in. They filled my mouth, my nostrils, my lungs. I could taste the scorched ashes of a dead monster, but they tasted like power.

“I release you, become worthy.” The voice spoke, before I was in control of my body again.

I collapsed to my knees, heaving for breath. My body hurt, the bloodflow from my wrist had stopped, and a scar had already formed where I had slashed myself.

My head felt like it was going to explode from pressure, but the ashes from the gel that were still floating around the room tasted like Euphoria.

“This could be a problem, I could easily get used to this kind of magic.” I said, feeling the power coursing through my veins. “Absorbing my foes’ stats sounds like an incredible power. Abusing it would be easy.”

I thought back to the guilt I was feeling about permanently killing Cinza, and thought about how I could have consumed her instead of Siphoning her.

What monstrous stats would she have brought to my character sheet, I wondered.

There was nothing for it now, though. I wasn’t going back upstairs, and I didn’t feel like backtracking. I wanted to get to the end of this dungeon, and kick the Dungeon Lord’s ass.

After catching my breath, and resting for a few moments, allowing my Health and Mana to regenerate naturally, I dug through the gelatinous puddles and the pile of ash that remained on the ground from the battle.

“Just a few lousy coins.” I said, scooping them out of the various fluids and ash.

“Oh, hello.” I spied a small, glittering item in the ashes of Venom.

Kneeling down overtop of it, I dusted the ash away and picked up a beautifully engraved piece of shoulder armor. It was a piece of thick leather that was polished to a smooth, almost metallic finish, then covered on the inside with a layer of Chainmail. Runes on the outside of the leather hem danced in the torch light of the poorly lit room.

Its time inside Venom hadn’t done it any harm, and the stats on it were much better than the garbage, vendor leather I currently wore.

>>>

Chain Spaulder of Antivenom

Armor Type: Medium

Armor Slot: Shoulder

Armor Class: Rare

Physical Armor Rating: 8

Magical Resistance Rating: 12

Effect: 75% resistance to Poison, Toxins, or other Venoms

Effect 2: Incorruptible

Incorruptible: Durability on this piece of armor does not decrease from wear, tear, or other outside sources. It never needs repair and will never age or moulder.

I made this because I was tired of repairing my gear after dungeon dives. No, it is expensive when you’ve died as many times as I have, you twit. ~Garald, Ex-Hero

>>>

I almost threw the armor away, once I realized it had previously belonged to a Hero. But then, why shouldn’t I keep it? It was my loot, after all. I had slain a monstrous cube of gel for it.

I thought about it for a minute, then unbuckled and removed my old, right spaulder, and replaced it with the new one.

The old leather one went into my ruck.

I moved around, feeling the weight of the new armor. It wasn’t something I was used to wearing. Studded Leather was the highest category that I was aware of that was classified as Light Armor, and I was used to wearing a tier below that, with my armor underneath my robe being simply Leather.

The new piece of armor wasn’t a burden though, and if anything, I felt more secure.

I put all twenty-eight pieces of Silver into my bag, then noticed an icon in the corner of my vision. It was a plus sign with a green number one on it.

I focused on it, pulling up a new skill notification.

>>>

Skill Unlocked: Medium Armor

The Medium Armor Skill allows for more effective and efficient wearing and use of medium-weight armors, such as Chainmail, Banded Leather, and Brigandines. Every level in Medium Armor increases the effectiveness of each piece of armor that is equipped by 2.5%.

Skill Category: Passive

Skill Type: Armor

Skill Level: 1

Skill Proficiency: 0/500

Skill Effect: Each piece of Medium Armor is increased in effectiveness by 2.5%. Current 2.5%

It’s not plate, but it sure keeps me alive. ~Garret Skullbreaker, Warmonger

>>>

Now we were getting somewhere. A new skill, a new spell, and a new piece of armor. Things were looking up.

Which brought me to my next question: Why hadn’t I been raiding dungeons before now?

Oh, that’s right, Heroes raided dungeons, not Wizards. Wizards killed Heroes. That was our job. From Chaotic to Lawful, Evil was our specialty.

You’ve yet another floor. Come, dine with me, and we will discuss your future, young Wizard. The grating voice swept across my brain again, reverberating inside my brain like broken, beaten wind chimes.

“And if I say no?” I asked, gritting my teeth as the tendrils pushed deeper into my brain.

Oh, I don’t think you will. The voice cackled as it left the inside of my thoughts, leaving me with an echoing laugh that lasted several minutes.

There was little doubt I would never get used to that sensation, ever.

Clearing my mind, shaking my head, and reaffirming my drive to take this Dungeon, I pressed on into the darkness of the hallway that Venom had come down.

The walls were coated in thick, sticky ooze. It clung to the bricks in chunks.

As I walked the hallway, torches flared to life, igniting my path.

If I were ever unwelcome in this Dungeon, the Dungeon Lord sure made an effort to ensure I didn’t feel it.

The hallway ended at a steep, narrow staircase with a switchback, leading into further darkness.

Trepidation crawled over my skin as I stared at the stairs. This was it, one last floor. I wondered how many other Wizards had made it down this far. I still needed to slay two more, after all, if I wanted the bonus.

Steeling my will, I took a deep breath, and descended into the darkness.