Chapter 9 – Slaughter is Just Laughter with a Bonus S

“You could help them out.” Leese said, showing me a live feed of the Soldiers and Rogues in the first room dealing with the Heroes that poured in.

It was a full raid group of four, which meant they were probably fairly low level, looking for some easy loot like I had when I was just starting out.

“I could, yeah, but then that would ruin the surprise of the boss fight, wouldn’t it?” I asked her, walking circles around the boss chamber.

“Not really. It would be a bigger surprise if the boss fight happened outside the boss chamber.” Leese replied, sitting on my shoulder.

“You think that would piss them off, though? My crew, I mean.” I tilted my head and watched one of the Heroes down a Rogue.

His body vanished as soon as it hit the floor, leaving behind a small leather-looking pouch. Loot from the fallen ‘Monster.’

A golden aura surrounded one of the Heroes as the Rogue died, showing that she had leveled up. Her eyes unfocused and, as soon as she had done so, another Rogue appeared and ran a pair of daggers through her spine, dropping her to the ground.

Her body pixelated then vanished with a horrible, digital scream. I got a notification in the corner of my vision that showed I had gained one-hundred and fifty EXP for the kill. Not much, considering how much I needed to level to eight.

A warning blared through my implants again, and I saw the images shift to the front entrance. Another Hero joined the party, and he looked much higher level.

“Leese, get me stats.” I demanded of her, and she shook her little head.

“I can’t, that’s another tier in Tactician.” She said, sighing.

“Damnit. Can I at least get a level estimate?” I strode to the Boss chamber door, pulling a dagger from my hilt and enchanting it with the usual poisons.

“He looked to be about level six, Lord Grimm.” She chirped before leaping off of my shoulder and floating in midair, her little wings fluttering to keep her afloat, even though she didn’t need them to fly.

“Okay, I can take him. I hope he doesn’t smash through Cinza, though.” I stepped through the Boss door and nodded to the knot of units that awaited outside.

“Hey Boss.” The Wizard said, popping his neck.

“Got a nasty dude coming down, probably level 6. I’m going to go stomp his ass so he doesn’t kill everyone.” I explained, heading down the hallway.

“Do you want backup?” The Cleric asked, taking a short step towards me.

“No, I’ve got this.” I pulled another orange vial from my belt and poured the entirety of the liquid into my mouth, nearly gagging at the taste.

Gods, but I hated that stupid Fae Blood potion.

“I wish you wouldn’t use those.” Leese complained, her voice accusatory.

“You’re not physical anymore. Once I’m out of them, I’m out of them.” I answered, heading toward the stairway that would lead to the first floor.

“Yo.” A Soldier said as I walked by.

“Stand guard, yeah? Don’t let anyone through.” I pointed at him and he gave me a hard, firm salute with his fist against his chest.

“Gotcha Boss.” He pulled his sword and shield and stood at the ready.

I took the stairs, two at a time, enjoying the ambiance I had created with the flickering torch light.

As I reached the top of the stairway, I heard the clashing sounds of metal, voices shouting, and Cinza’s unmistakable cackling as something, somewhere, exploded in flames.

“Well, at least she’s having fun.” I said, smirking a bit as I opened the door that blocked the hallway down to the stairwell.

The Fire Explosion trap didn’t go off, being that I had planted it, but to be sure it would be effective, I closed the door behind me.

Walking down the hallway of my Dungeon felt surreal. I had just planned it out, but already I was thinking of ways to improve the layout and make the Dungeon that much more deadly.

“Die, fucker.” Cinza shouted, followed by a gurgling sound that could only be caused by her sword punching through someone’s chest.

Another EXP gain popped up in my vision, showing two-hundred and seventy. Must have been a higher level.

I pushed my way through the door that led to the Tavern, where everyone was still fighting and, to my surprise, saw my fighters were doing fairly well.

“Hey, there’s another one!” Shouted a heavily-armored Paladin wielding a pair of great axes.

He hefted his axes and nearly split a Soldier in two, dropping him to the ground.

The Soldier’s body flashed, then faded from view, leaving behind another loot bag.

“Forget the loot, kill the big dude.” The new Hero, the one who was likely level 6, shouted to the other two who were still alive. Her voice reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t connect the two at the moment.

“Don’t forget about me.” Cinza smiled wickedly before firing off an enormous ball of flame that exploded, taking out half of the chairs and tables on the other side of the room.

It threw flames everywhere, setting one of the remaining Heroes, a Cleric from the looks of his gear, on fire.

He threw himself on the ground, trying to put it out, but I charged over to him and ran my dagger through his side, stabbing him repeatedly.

His body blinked, then vanished in the same pixelated fashion the first and second Heroes had done.

“Oh, yeah, he needs to die.” Said the newcomer, her overly large mace hanging over her shoulder like a baseball bat.

“Come get me.” I said, beckoning the two Heroes with a taunt.

“Two on two, seems like a fair enough fight. You’re, what, level five?” The mace-wielding woman asked, laughing to herself.

“Think that if you want.” I snapped back, holding out both hands and using my Firebolt Cantrip to launch a volley of machinegun-style bolts of flame at both of the Heroes.

The darts of flame tore up the distance, slamming into their bodies, dealing small, but noticeable damage.

Cinza backed me up with a bigger set of volleys, launching Fireballs instead.

They zinged off at the same speed as my Firebolts, but with a much bigger impact, exploding everywhere they landed, filling the entire room with flames.

She cackled maniacally. She was clearly the better Fire Wizard, but I wouldn’t be outmatched by one of my creatures.

I ran my fingers through a series of gestures for a low-level Water spell. Something that would do damage over time, instead of immediate damage. I loved watching my enemies suffer.

My fingers finished the casting and, using both hands, I was able to target both of the Heroes at once, hitting them both with Drown.

>>>

Spell: Drown

By augmenting the amount of water in the atmosphere around a target, you’re able to fill their lungs with a small amount of fluid, causing them to sustain continuous suffocation damage for the duration of the spell.

Spell Category: Water Magic

Spell Class: Cantrip

Spell Cost: 75 MP

Casting Time: 5 Seconds

Range: 70 Feet

Effect: 5 Water Damage per second for 15 Seconds

Water, though everywhere, can prove to be the most fatal poison of all. Breathe it in, and you will die. Drink too much, and you will also die. Overheat it and become immersed, and you will die. Basically, water will kill you. ~Hydromancer Georgie

>>>

The lower-level hero dropped his weapons and grabbed at his throat, coughing and choking, but a large [RESIST] appeared over the woman-warrior’s head, showing she had resisted my spell. Well, shit.

“Try harder!” She lunged at me and tried to smash me in the side of the face with her mace, but I back-peddaled just in time to avoid getting the full brunt of it.

One of the flanges, however, caught me in the face, causing me to spin around from the force of the blow.

I managed to maintain my balance, but a second swing caught me in the gut, knocking me backward.

I doubled over, watching my HP go from full to seventy-five percent instantly. It was a hard strike, for certain, and one that I hadn’t been entirely prepared for.

“That can’t be all you’ve got.” She said, bringing her mace up and over her head.

I put my hand out and snapped my fingers, watching a sick, purple haze collect over her entire body.

>>>

Spell: Toxin

By pulling the Miasma of Death through a door to Gehena, you create a haze of powerful poison that cloys at the body, lungs, and internal organs of any target caught inside, leaving them with a powerful poisoning debuff, and reducing their attack power by a small amount.

Spell Category: Death Magic

Spell Class: Cantrip

Spell Cost: 45 MP

Casting Time: Instant

Range: 10 Feet

Effect: 10 Death Damage per Second. Duration: 10 seconds.

Effect 2: Lingering Death

Lingering Death: Reduces the target’s Physical and Magical Attack output by 10%

The Line between life and death is often seen as a mere haze, a veil so thinly stretched that any amount of pressure in either direction can punch through it, causing one to simply slip through. ~Archomancer Duranden, Deceased

>>>

She choked in the gas and stepped back, shaking her head and struggling to breathe.

Her HP bar started to decrease quickly and steadily. I knew I had just a moment to act, so I pulled myself together and started to cast another quick Cantrip: Death Bolt.

My fingers flew through the motions, because ten seconds was just enough time to get the spell itself off, and that was the duration of Toxin.

Finally, the spell triggered, and I clapped my hands together, the physical contribution to the spell.

>>>

Hybrid Spell: Death Bolt

Combining the powers of Death and Fire, in an unholy marriage of magic, you summon a bolt of purified Death Magic and fire it at a target of your choice, causing direct Blunt Damage, as well as Death Damage, and leaving a Lingering Curse on the target, reducing their total Armor and Resistances.

Spell Category: Hybrid Spell, Death/Fire

Spell Class: Hybrid Cantrip

Spell Cost: 145 MP

Casting Time: 10 Seconds

Range: 30 Feet

Effect: Deals 40 Blunt Damage and 40 Death Damage to a single target

Effect 2: Lingering Curse

Lingering Curse: Reduces the target’s maximum Armor and Resistances to all sources of damage by 10%. Duration: 30 seconds

Unholy, you say? I’m a man of Gehena, of course I’m unholy you dolt. ~Necromancer Vanada, Reincarnated

>>>

The spell slammed into the female warrior, knocking her back and searing her armor with the Lingering Curse debuff.

I leapt at the opportunity, seeing that her HP was critical, and straddled her. I stuck my palm over her eye and triggered Firebolt, punching the dart of flame through her skull.

Her body stopped moving immediately and it pixelated, then vanished, a digital scream on the wind.

The other hero, who hadn’t fully died from my Drown spell, was impaled on Cinza’s rapier, his mouth hanging open in horror as Cinza’s dessicated face stared directly into his.

Cinza kicked him off of her sword and his body disappeared.

Two EXP gain notices popped up in the corner of my vision, one for seven-hundred and ninety-two EXP, the other for just over one-hundred fifty.

A fanfare blared through my implants, causing me to grab the sides of my head due to the sheer volume of the noise.

>>>

RAID COMPLETE

Congratulations, Dungeon Lord! You have survived your First Raid!

Achievement Unlocked: Raid Survivor

Reward: 1,500 EXP, 1,500 Glimmer, 1 Ability Point.

You currently have (1) Unspent Ability Point!

Raid Loot:

1 Unidentified piece of Platemail

1 Unidentified Dagger

1 Scroll of Resurrection

476 Gold Pieces

290 Glimmer

1 Scroll of Identification

14 Iron Ore

7 Coal Coke

12 Scrap Metal

Battle Losses:

2 Rogue Monsters

2 Soldier Monsters

>>>

The loot was great, but I had no idea how long my Monsters would be out of commission, and if there was no raid cooldown, we could be hurting for monster coverage.

“Leese.” I called to the empty air around me.

“Yes, Lord Grimm?” Her figure appeared in front of me, blue and translucent.

“How long for the monsters to respawn, and how long do we have before the next raid?” I looked around the absolutely annihilated Tavern room, hoping we would have enough time to fix up everything that the Heroes, and like Cinza, had destroyed.

“Depending on the tier of monster, anywhere from eight hours to twenty-four hours. Your typical monsters, such as the Rogue and Soldier we lost during the raid, are low tier, and only require eight hours.” Leese explained.

“Excellent, so we won’t be without coverage for long.” I sighed.

“Correct. However, the raid cooldown window is only eight hours as well.” Leese said, which caused me to grumble a bit.

“Cinza, we’re going to need to make repairs and get everything sorted. Maybe have some additional monsters up here.” I picked up a scorched table that had been knocked over and tried to right it, but it fell to ash in my grasp.

“Oh, right.” Cinza rolled her eyes. “Everything’s my fault, I presume?”

I looked at her, then back to the table that had just disintegrated, and made a hard motion to the pile of ash now decorating the Tavern floor.

“Okay, okay, that one was my fault.” She admitted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“We need to get this place sorted, and I need to spend my Ability Point. Leese, can we do all of this within the time frame?” I really needed to know.

“I don’t see why not. Why don’t you just reset the room?” She looked at me quizzically.

“What? How?” I pulled up the Dungeon Interface and, in the Dungeon Room options, found a button that specifically said ‘Reset Room.’

“You’re kidding me.” I practically slapped myself in the forehead after pushing the button.

The scorch marks, the blood spills, the tables and chairs, all disappeared. The furniture then slowly regrew from the floor, taking their proper places within the Dungeon Room. No muss, no fuss.

“Well, shit, that was easy.” I said, wrinkling my eyebrows. “But what did it cost?”

“Nothing. This is a free service for Dungeon Lords. However, your stock of Glimmer is starting to get rather large, and that can be pillaged by other Dungeon Lords if they send their own troops.” Leese explained.

“Wait, hold on. Other Dungeons can pillage one another?” Things were starting to get interested.

If I could pillage other Dungeons, could I extend my own network of power?

“Yes, and if they are successful enough, the Dungeon Lords can challenge one another to a duel. The winner takes both Dungeons, and the loser is cast into Gahena.” Leese continued.

“What’s the nearest Dungeon?” I asked Leese, a grin crossing my face unexpectedly.

“The nearest Dungeon is the Tower of Broken Souls, it’s about a day’s journey on foot.” Leese answered.

“Oh, that’s quite a distance.” Cinza said, pulling a disappointed face.

“But the good news is, we’ll have a day’s notice when someone tries to attack us.” Leese floated above my head and perched herself on my shoulder.

“What about attacking them?” I asked.

“Well, you’ll have to send monsters out as a contingency, and those count against your defensive units. So, if you think you’re capable of defending your dungeon on your own…” Leese looked unsure about my abilities, and to be fair, I felt a bit unsure as well.

If the Heroes raided again, with a group of level six units, I would be vastly outnumbered, and incapable of defending myself without distraction units.

“What about me?” Cinza asked, looking offended.

“What about you?” I raised an eyebrow.

“I could go alone. I’m more powerful than all of your little underlings combine, if you level me with your Glimmer.” She smiled.

“Oh, I bet you’d just love that. Rise above my level, challenge my authority.” I snapped at her.

“She can’t, she’s bound to the Dungeon.” Leese explained, bringing my anger back down to a tolerable level.

“See, asshole? I can’t challenge your authority.” Cinza sneered.

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it once I get everything else set up. Leese, what’s the danger of having too much Glimmer?” I felt like there had to be a negative repurcusion to having too much.

“You’re more easily detectable by other Dungeons, and you’re a better target. When Dungeons raid other Dungeons, the spoils are loot and Glimmer, instead of money or EXP.” Leese answered.

It was like amassing tons of Gold in the cities. You were a higher risk target for assassinations, thieves, and the like. Or worse, people like me.

“Alright Cinza, we’ll get you sorted and leveled, then we’ll see what kind of chaos we can start. Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” I asked, legitimately concerned.

If I were going to invest all of this Glimmer into her, I wanted to make sure I would be getting a worthwhile investment back.

“If she dies, it’s back to level 1.” Leese said, spinning in the air.

“If I die, I’ll let you kill me for all of the trouble.” Cinza said with a smile.

“Fine, let’s talk levels.” I smiled back at her, but something about her smile worried me.

Underneath, I could almost tell there was something horrible hidden, waiting.