Felix opened the VBV and Roy led the goblins through. He returned shortly after, smiling broadly, “This new plan of yours is going to work way better than mine was.”
Melanie giggled with excitement, “I know!”
Felix allowed the VBV to close, and the four left the now abandoned armory and continued towards the citadel. The air started to grow stagnant; stale water and decay striking their noses. Felix pulled his hood’s mask up which helped with the scent a bit, but Tinuriel was struggling the most, resorting to pinching her nose shut as the fumes affected her heightened senses more. “What is causing that?” Felix asked.
“The Swamp of Cessation,” Roy said. “It used to be a lake. But when I was assaulted, Magic ruined the land. It surrounds my citadel, and there is only one entrance. Across an enormous bridge that spans miles.” He pointed, and despite the haze in the air from the nature of this Tier, Felix could barely make out an enormous castle on a jut of rock in the middle of the enormous, miles-wide swamp. The bridge was on the far side. “If we had a boat,” Roy continued, “We could get across much quicker and use the docks.”
“We can quickly buy one,” Lucifer mentioned.
Melanie shook her head, “I don’t want to go over that swamp.”
Tinuriel, with her nasal voice from pinching her nose, added, “I agree completely. I’m not going near it.”
Roy shrugged, “Then it’s the long way around. A day’s journey. Keep an eye on the waters. I used to have allied merfolk who responded to my call across the Tiers. Who knows what has happened to them since I fell.”
Tinuriel pulled out her sword and rested it on her shoulder. Felix pulled his bow as well, and Roy pulled his sword out. They traveled in tense silence, Felix’s eyes glued to the swamp as his eyes dashed to every ripple in the water, every small disturbance that could be something coming to attack them.
His caution was well-warranted. He spotted several oblong shapes emerge from the murky mire. Pulling back his hand as if he was drawing the string, the hardlight arrow manifested and he tracked the targets. They did not seem to have hostile intent, simply watching.
Roy noticed them as well and called out to them, “Hail, friends! The Dark Lord has returned. Come, let us talk as we once did.” The heads vanished back under the muck. “Worth a try,” Roy muttered as they continued.
They used the VBV to make their camp again that evening, and Felix was pleasantly surprised when he walked in. First, the mountains seemed to have moved slightly closer, and there was a clearly defined, clear mountain pass. In the distance, he could see milling figures of the goblins in their new medieval-styled town.
Lucifer unmerged with him, “You have an endlessly expanding styled town now. Welcome to your new realm, King Felix.” He mockingly bowed.
“I am not a fan of that,” Felix replied as Tinuriel laughed.
“Well, I’m going to make sure that those goblins know all about their free will…provided they follow the rules.” He patted Felix on the back, “I know you don’t want to rule a realm. Leave that to me. I can manage it from inside of you. Big decisions are still yours to make.”
“Thanks, Lucifer. Tinuriel was right, also. We need to have some means for them to provide for themselves. Let’s use a Room to create farming and husbandry areas.” As the words left Felix’s mouth, one of the mountains sank, and in its place was an enormous, seemingly endless fertile prairie, already segmented out with fences and heaps of bags of seeds piled high. Irrigation trenches appeared as well, filling with water from some unseen source.
Tinuriel whistled, “Impressive.”
Roy shook his head, “Why even bother with Heficyre anymore? We should just take everyone from the Tiers and move them here.”
“No,” Melanie said. “They have to choose this.”
Felix nodded, “Plus, Lucifer is all about free will. If you forced people here, then he would be pissed off.”
“A fair point,” Roy stated. “I need to ensure the safety of the VBV portal soon to be made in my citadel.” He chuckled, “But I’ll be making use of the facilities here rather frequently.”
“I’m happy to have you here,” Felix said.
The four retired for the evening.
Felix woke abruptly in the middle of the night. Something felt off. He felt a tingling at the back of his mind as if the hair on the back of his neck was sticking up, but inside of him.
Get the hell up!
What is it? Felix firmly nudged Tinuriel, “Get ready, Lucifer needs us.”
The two threw on their armor and grabbed their gear. We’ve got one of those Cosmic Horrors! Somehow one found its way here!
Felix ran outside and looked to where the portals normally opened. He saw a series of tentacles like an octopus that were pushing their way into the space, but they were an odd Jello-green color that oozed outward. “Oh, hell no.” Felix ran over and put the palms of his hands together. “Lucifer, Affinity Empowerment!”
Hellfire Beam!
The largest blast of Hellfire that he had ever conjured exploded out of his hands in a torrential rush of crimson and black that engulfed all of reality in front of him. The tentacle creature shrieked and flailed its burning appendages towards him, but Tinuriel was right beside him and chopped at them, severing the quivering masses as they sloshed onto the ground, fading into the ether as they were removed from whatever they originated from.
Felix’s Magic/Power ended, and he was huffing from the exertion. More tentacles came through the opening. “How do we stop it?”
Just deal more damage to it. You have to make it think that whatever is in here isn’t worth the hassle.
Roy had run out of the guest house, armored up and with his blade. He charged at the creature and began hacking away at the tentacles that continued to pour through. “What is this foul monster?”
“Just hurt it!” Felix shouted as he pulled out the Photon-Blade, socketing a charge into it as the blade thrummed to life. He dashed forward, ducking under the tentacles and getting alongside the portal. Bringing the blade down, he severed all the appendages at the source. An enormous shriek ripped through his brain, and he staggered as blood poured from his ears, nose, and mouth. His vision went fuzzy and he felt intense vertigo.
More tentacles shot through the gap, and he popped another charge in as he dodged another tentacle. He brought the blade down once more, carving through the jelly substance. Tinuriel used the openings he had bought to get to the other side, and she began chopping down as soon as the tentacles came through. Roy joined her, and soon they were holding the front as the creature tried to get in, giving Felix a chance to back off.
Why aren’t they hurt by its sound?
These things hunt Versewalkers and other Multidimensional travelers. They’ve evolved to kill things like you. Do you need an Elixir?
Felix backed away and, to his relief, his allies must have cut off enough appendages that the creature pulled back and the portal snapped shut. No, we’re good. All three were sucking air down and shared a laugh of relief.
[Experience Awarded = 20]
[Congratulations! You have reached the Experience threshold to level up! Speak with your Versewalker Core when you are ready to Choose your next Class.]
[Achievement Unlocked: Survived an encounter with a Multiversal Hunter / Horror]
“Good…job…” Felix sat on the grass, lying back.
Tinuriel walked over along with Roy as Lucifer flew down from above. “What was that?” Roy asked.
“A Multiversal Hunter. Also sometimes called a Horror instead. They are drawn to Versewalkers like a wolf to a rabbit. If Felix isn’t in here then the odds of them coming to attack are extremely unlikely.”
That seemed to provide some relief to Roy, but Tinuriel looked to the fallen angel, “What about if we are in another Universe? Can they attack us there?”
“Possible but highly unlikely.”
Felix sat up, “What about the System Administrator? Do they have any control over those things?”
Lucifer shook his head, “No. They’re just a part of the Multiverse.”
Tinuriel grabbed Felix and hefted her over his shoulder, “Come on, let’s get cleaned up.”
Morning came and Tinuriel surprised Felix with breakfast in bed, bringing him a simple plate of scrambled eggs and toast. He smirked at her, “Is this going to be a normal thing?”
She shook her head, “No,” and laughed gently before standing up. “Eat fast. We’re getting ready to go.”
Felix scarfed down the food and quickly stopped by the Shop to buy another two Photon-Blade Charges for a total of 600 VC to keep himself topped off with his trump card.
Melanie approached the group as they were at the exit to the VBV. “I think it’s smarter if I stay here.”
Felix nodded, “Makes sense. You’re not a combatant, and it is safe in here.”
“Plus,” Lucifer added, “There’s no risk of you dying in here.”
Roy looked at her with solemn eyes and nodded tersely, “It is a wise decision.” He looked back to Felix, “Ready?”
The group exited the VBV and went back to Heficyre. They resumed their journey and Felix kept his eyes on the murky waters of the swamp. Thankfully, the travel was calm and quiet, and before long they saw the bridge that spanned from the shore to the citadel. It was mostly intact with some missing chunks here and there. The remains of siege equipment from centuries before were scattered along the expanse alongside skeletons of those who attacked the Dark Lord’s place of power.
The bridge entrance on the shore was guarded by a walled rampart with several defunct ballistae and catapults on top. But there was movement up on the walls as well. And in the murky water near the bridge. The merfolk were moving about, and Felix got a decent look at one as it crested above the water before fading from view. They had long ears that ended in hooks, pallid, grey skin that looked rough like a shark, fins on the backs of their legs and arms, and were dressed in bits of cloth held together with straps and cords.
Roy dismounted and walked towards the walls with his sword raised aloft, his grey-silver power emanating from the blade. “I am the Dark Lord, returned. Open the gates!”
The top of the wall was filled with merfolk heads, their bulbous eyes staring at Roy. Without a sound, they each lifted slings and began swirling them.
“Shit.” Roy had nowhere to hide, and he planted his blade into the ground as a barrier of the grey-white energy shot up, cascading high into the sky, and forming a sheet that obscured view.
Cool. A new Magic/Power. Netherlight Wall.
Tinuriel and Felix hopped from their mount and Felix activated Ghostwalk.
The two horses ran off as stones began to pelt the area around them. The stones coming through the barrier did not find their mark, the obscuring power working perfectly as intended.
“You two keep their attention. I’ll get the gate open,” Felix said as he dashed along the barrier before poking his head through. “Shadestep.”
He teleported from the shadows cast by the wall of Netherlight and appeared at the base of the wall. He was out of line of sight of the slingers up top, and by extent, his Ghostwalk made him effectively unnoticeable. Reaching the gate, he saw that it was not hanging by the hinges like he was expecting. Instead, it was securely fastened. There was a crack that he could peer through and that was enough to let him see the shadows on the other side. “Shadestep.”
He appeared on the other side of the wall. The merfolk had some sort of beachhead with small huts. Two sets of stairs were on the far end of either side. Felix turned to the gate and hefted the large wooden bar out of the way, tossing it behind him as he threw open the doors. The merfolk above turned and looked down at him. “Crap.” He ran to the side as they slung rocks at him, several impacting and bruising him – his armor thankfully absorbing most of the damage.
He ran to the stairs and a few of the merfolk switched to spears and began moving towards him. Three with spears, and then ten slingers on the wall. Oh, this is perfect. Use all my Vigor Elixirs.
Done. What are you thinking?
Felix pulled his other knife out and held both points down. Detect Weakness to see the weak spots on one of them. They are all the same creature type.
The golden circles appeared as he used the Magic/Power, highlighting the temple, the base of the neck, and several other arteries. “Dragon Dance.”
Time seemed to slow from his perspective as he sprinted right around the spear tip of the three on the stairs, sinking his knives into their temples. As they started to fall limp, he was already moving on to the slingers on the wall. Faster than they could trace him, he sliced, stabbed, and severed each and every one of them. Only the first target took extra damage from Detect Weakness, but each strike was lethal.
With each kill, his (P) Chain Kill ramped up...
...and from one to the next, the strikes were more vicious, inflicting more damage and ripping larger wounds. He ended his sprinting, slashing spree on the far side of the wall. Time sped up once more, and all the creatures collapsed, their vital fluids spilling out; a dark purple that flowed down the walls.
“All clear!” he shouted over the edge as he wiped off the blades and sheathed them.
[Experience Awarded = 60]
[Congratulations! You have reached the Experience threshold to level up! Speak with your Versewalker Core when you are ready to Choose your next Class.]
I’ve got four levels saved up. That’s enough to get Fallen Angel maxed out, right?
Yes. Are you sure you don’t want to save one in reserve?
I’ve got a Multiversal Charge if I need to get out quickly. Let’s dump all 4 levels into Fallen Angel and cap it out.
Roger. This is going to be very, very warm.
[Selection Made: Fallen Angel]
[This is your 10th level in this Class. You gain access to a new Class Skill]
The same message appeared another three times. Finalize. Felix felt his chest burn hotter than it had ever before. Sweat poured off him before immediately turning into steam. He ran down the stairs and dove into the murky waters of the swamp, a huge cloud rising around him as his body temperature cooled. You weren’t kidding. Note to self – don’t save that many levels at once.
It will never be lethal. Just really uncomfortable.
Tinuriel and Roy came through the gate, ready to attack – but paused as they took in the carnage. “You did all this?” Roy asked as he looked back at the top of the wall above him.
Felix got out of the water and tried his best to shake the gunk from the swamp off, “Yes. Also, eww. This muck is foul.” The stench made him almost retch, and he tried to scrape it off his armor.
Tinuriel looked him up and down, “You got slightly more muscular.”
“Yeah, I used a bunch of saved levels. Finally maxed out my first Class.”
“And now, he gives anyone flight.”
Tinuriel’s eyes widened, and she grinned, “I can’t wait to try it.”
Felix nodded and went about Looting, activating For the Hoard!
[Loot Obtained]
· Local Currency: Converted to 150 VC
[Loot Bonus from For the Hoard!]
· 400 VC
Roy went out of the gates and a few moments later came back the horses, “Good job slaughtering them.”
Felix frowned, looking around once more at the gory mess of severed flesh and purple blood. “Well, they did attack us first.” He looked to Tinuriel, “No remorse for those that fight us first.”
Roy mounted his horse. Felix and Tinuriel mounted theirs and began the approach to the Dark Lord’s citadel.
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