Chapter 22

Revenge

June flashed back into her chambers, shaken from the experience. Images lingering from what she’d just seen still clung to the edges of her awareness, like the last glimpses of a dream. But unlike the lost time that often came with that groggy waking period, June didn’t get the sense that hours or days had passed. June cast the thought from her mind, and returned her focus to the task she’d been working on, her Nexus.

 She tried to form the image of her core, visualizing it sitting in the room with her, and it quite entranced her. Instead of the spherical orb of bubbling fire, a much more complex shape appeared. The orb developed first, but quickly gaining multiple layers. Rings formed out of scattered pieces circled her core like a series of rubber bands, floating just off the surface of her magical center. The bands didn’t have the runic formations she’d seen in Mukkrag’s visualization; they also lacked the shifting plates of mana as well.

She dismissed the visual, cutting the mana flow to the imagery. With purpose, she hopped up from the floor and charged out of her chambers. She had to check in with Mukkrag and get his input, figuring he was the best source of information she had. That also had the added benefit of not directly telling Varren what was going on. June also wanted to find a way to keep better track of time, adding it to the list of tasks to get done.

Like a gust of wind, June blew through the forge, heading back to the library. At a near run, she moved through the corridors, dodging around several more zombie drones as they shuffled along. Near to the library, eagerness took her, urging her on. Stepping past yet another gathering of drones, she scarcely noticed the armfuls of books and scrolls they were ferrying into the space. When June looked for Mukkrag, she noticed that the giant skeletal bookworm was absent. But the library wasn’t empty, rather it was bursting with undead life.

The zombified drones carried in large numbers of tomes and written texts, piling them onto the tables. They had piled dozens of tomes onto the tables. Amid the myriad of forms, the noise was constant. The slam of multiple books dropped onto polished wood wasn’t the only noticeable noise in the chamber.

That infernal tapping was back. The tapping was more of a clacking sound, like hard footfalls clattering across polished stone. June focused her attention on it, but it seemed to retreat as she tried. The more she tried to follow it, the further away it apparently became. Almost like the source was running away. June tried to follow, deeper into the stacks, only to be greeted with the usual forest of old texts and meticulously maintained shelves. June followed the diminishing noise around a bend in the path, only to nearly slam right into the Tome Lord themselves—their arms chock-full of different leather-bound tomes. In a flurry of motion, Mukkrag was depositing books onto shelves and moving effortlessly through the aisles.

“Welcome, our young prodigy. What brings you back so soon?”

With eagerness overflowing in her tone, June spoke, “I think I succeeded, but I’m so confused,” she admitted.

“Delightful. Should I instruct you on how to showcase your newly reborn core so that I may inspect it?” Asked the giant skeleton.

June nodded eagerly, following his motions as he guided her to an empty table. Amid the mess of tomes still being dropped onto the surrounding tables, Mukkrag and June began their work. As Mukkrag instructed, June forced the image of her Nexus into the fore of her mind, then envisioned it on the table in front of them.

The orb of fire was now surrounded by a visible, pulsing skin. Black and red bands of energy slithered around the core, curling like a mass of serpents. To June, it also appeared as if it had grown slightly larger.

Mukkrag’s burning, crimson gaze bored into the projected image. Silently, his own core appeared beside it. Compared to the massive spiraling form beside her core, Mukkrag’s magical center looked like the Sun next to a tiny moon. Twisting plates of energy blazing with Runes surrounded a dense core made of a rainbow of magical colors.

“This is called a Shard. It’s the evolution of one’s Nexus, one day you too will reach this pinnacle of power.”

“Wow...” June whispered, as further words died on her breath.

“I take it Bullin hasn’t shown you this?” Mukkrag asked, with an irritated tone.

Still lost in taking in the Shard's splendor, June shook her head.

“What a sad teacher. Varren will be most disappointed,” Mukkrag muttered, a sinister tone edging into their voice.

Broken from her trance-like wonderment, June asked, “why?”

“I’m not sure how much I may reveal, but I will say this: his efforts to train new apprentices have gone poorly. He leans far too much on the kindness of others.”

“I mean, he’s been weird and cryptic, but so has everyone else since I showed up here,” June admitted. “It’s incredibly frustrating. I’d appreciate not having to parse what these weirdos are saying.” June regretted that last bit almost instantly, she had let anger get the better of her, making her words flow more freely. She froze, glancing over at the larger undead to gauge their reaction.

A silent glance between the two betrayed no anger or outrage, only disappointment.

“Like I said, I’d really appreciate having someone who would stop doing that and just give me straight answers to my questions.” June said, letting her tone turn gruff and annoyed.

A raspy laugh ripped from Mukkrag’s throat as they threw their head back. But before they could respond further, the skeleton’s skull snapped up, as if listening to some shout only they could hear.

“Ah, it appears we have a problem. There are some infernal interlopers treading upon the mouth of our fine home. And you may want to challenge them.”

“Why would I do that?” June said, wondering why she couldn’t just let the other denizens deal with the unknown attack.

“Because if you do as I ask, I will take you under my tutelage directly.”

The prospect of a new source of knowledge excited the hell out of June.

Before she could head to the surface, she needed to plan. `June pulled the map from within her Class Gem and planned her path. The upper levels of the map had changed noticeably. The first level of the dungeon was now flashing orange, rather than the tranquil blue shade she knew it as previously. Having surveyed the map, she found a stairwell leading up to where she wanted to go.

“What’s this area called?” June asked Mukkrag, pointing to the chamber directly beneath the distressed area.

 “The Crypt Maze,” said Mukkrag, peering at her map from behind her. “If you wish to respond to the attack, it’s best not to teleport right into the action, a sound plan.”

 

 

June dashed out of the library without a word, heading toward the teleporter room on this level. Within just seconds, she dashed through the doorway. June triggered the teleporter, heading for the second level.

 

---

 

June’s vision adjusted to the darkness of the surrounding zone, noting nothing more than simple black stone walls. June triggered her Mana Vision, focusing on trying to find a path to the upper level. Various flares of death mana around her revealed multiple hidden undead, as well as a more focused cluster of powerful mana to the north. June focused on the mana and followed it. Luckily, it revealed a staircase upward after a few minutes of trailing through a twisting mix of stone paths.

As June blitzed her way up the stairwell, slowing as she reached the top. A layer of dusty stone set into the wall blocked her progress, acting as both a door and a hidden passage. Tiny shafts of blue light bled through the cracks in the door. The sounds of battle also weakly eked through. June crouched as she reached it and pushed the stone plinth aside enough to slip by. She hoped that the din of combat would hide her entrance.

The blue light from the braziers cast crooked shadows across the chamber, bathing June in a mix of dark hues. Crouched in the dark, June sat and watched—and she was shocked. Those same three bastards from the last time she’d been up here were back again. And to her dismay, they looked a lot better prepared. June flashed her Mana Vision to check them out and found their stats and levels had increased to an even 20. It must have been at least a few hours for them since they’d last come here, giving them time to level up.

The rogue and fighter had already made their way into the chamber, and were battling a trio of brutish undead. June scanned the NPCs in the room, finding them all at level 22, confirming her previous assumptions about level scaling being a thing here.

June watched the battle unfold, waiting for a time to strike. Without Kotor to help her out, June had to consider her options.

The shield-bearing warrior was in the lead once again, with the ranged rogue backing them up. Both of their armor and weapon loadouts had changed. The warrior swung a massive axe with an ornate handle into the chest of a well-muscled Ghast, which howled and lashed out with its claws. At the same moment, an arrow loosed by the rogue peppered the chest of the huge undead beast.

Two other skeletal knight-like warriors bore down on their position, trying to back up their ally. But in that moment, a bright flash stymied their counter.

That blasted Caster came flying down the stairs, literally, as she flew off the surface of the stones. Her gear looked much more brooding this time, her staff being a more gnarled black affair. Instead of the plain dark gown she’d worn the last time June had seen her, her robe glittered with various runes stitched into the fabric; floating over to her companions, the caster began firing off lightning bolts into the assembled mass of undead.

The three undead battling them were caught off-guard and charged at the caster—though the warrior moved to block their path. He triggered his taunt again, and strangely, June didn’t feel the urge to attack him. Maybe she didn’t get impacted by battle abilities from a certain range? Could it have something to do with aggro? Whatever the reason, she was thankful that she could watch in peace and prepare. 

The same couldn’t be said for various zombies hidden in alcoves deeper into the chamber. The trio of players were pulling the mass away from the stairs they’d come down, creating a trail of various undead shuffling after the warrior. As they pulled back, the archer, caster and warrior fired off ranged attacks. Several zombies ignored arrows sticking out of their torsos to continue their pursuit of the warrior.

The subtle twang of a bowstring and the impact of weapons on wood and metal rang through the cavernous chamber. What was originally three undead had grown to eight enemies. And even as one fell, June checked the spirals of her quarry. June’s Mana Vision told her that their ragged spirals had shrank quite a bit, suggesting that they were running low on mana.

She moved slowly, keeping the grouping of NPCs between herself and the three players as she skirted around the edge of the chamber. June scooted up behind a broken statue and began channeling her mana and drawing runes in the air. Carefully, June fired off a fireball aimed directly behind the warrior. In the next second, a lightning bolt flew from the player caster, blasting chunks off of the statue June hid behind. Looks like it was time to move to new cover. 

The opening of the fire washing over the Thief and Warrior distracted them long enough to allow various melee attacks to land against them. The crippling blow came when a halberd wielded by one of the remaining skeletal knights gouged deep into the chest of the Thief. His shouts came fast, urging the Mage to heal him. In a flash, she had unfurled a scroll to fire off a healing spell. Her voice also thundered out, casting Lion’s Resolve onto both the Warrior and Rogue. These three worked like a well-practiced group, keeping their cool under fire, June figured.

Almost gleeful to disrupt their wonderful teamwork, June fired off another fireball as she ran across the crypt to the other side to duck behind another crumbling mess of stones. As she slammed into the stone floor and stayed prone, the fireball exploded. Unfortunately, having fired this one on the run meant her aim was off a fair bit. The undead that got caught in the blast burned to ash. The caster responded with a series of lightning bolts fired into the darkness. Sadly for June, one found their mark, leaving a burning hole and searing pain in her ribcage. June fought to focus through the pain, realizing she had enough mana for one more fireball.

June took off and ran from her cover, hoping to head deeper into the crypt for some privacy. She ducked behind a sarcophagus in the main chamber and listened to the sounds of battle. Shouts and death rattles filled the darkness, mixing amid the dust and smells of rot to create a noxious brew. June sat in the darkness amid the din, pulling down her pack.

The sounds of rotted flesh being cut, smashed and electrocuted slowed down in frequency, telling a sad story about the success of the defenders. A moment of sick satisfaction came to June as she heard a call from the caster, saying they had run out of healing options. Now was the time to strike, and June did just that. Reaching into her pack, she pulled out a Mana Distillation and one of her Potions of Invisibility. Quickly, she poured both over her bones, and waited for them to take effect. A strange mix of relaxation and a sense of floating took over.

As she rounded the corner at a flat run, she watched the last of the undead fall to the ground amid a storm of blades and magic from the players. Recklessly, June traced and fired two fireballs into the group, expending most of the mana she had left. Flames bathed the trio, cooking their flesh and boiling their gear.

June watched with a sinister satisfaction as the caster fell to their knees amid the inferno, turning to naught but ash and dusty bones. Cinders and smoke filled the chamber, obscuring June’s position further. She looked down, glad to see her invisibility remained intact for the moment.

The two remaining players stood silently amid the piles of corpses and ash. Since it seemed they were waiting for another attack, June took the opportunity to retreat back towards the stairwell, ready to escape if needed.

Her instinct proved correct, as the roguish character triggered a Combat Flare, with the blinding light landing within the entrance of the chamber, just out of range to reveal her. Counting seconds, June moved closer before tracing and firing another fireball as her invisibility dropped.

The solemn faces of the two players watched in silence as the leather-clad skeleton slowly materialized before them, before unleashing another torrent of fire. A concussive boom filled the chamber as it enveloped the Thief in the fiery bath, and amid a sea of cinders, his life was extinguished.

June checked the mana spiral of her remaining foe, finding his magic haggard and on the verge of collapse. Trying her best to let out a shrill scream, she whipped out her Vampiric Edge dagger and charged, having no other options.

The fighter’s large wooden shield parried her first attack, before his great axe came winding around in a cyclonic blow. Almost moving on its own, her body ducked the blow and lunged forward with another slash. Sadly, her attempt to leech mana came up mostly empty as the Warrior’s armor prevented most of the damage.

Their battle heated up as June used what little mana she could spare to Hex the man now charging at her. His reckless charge didn’t slow in the slightest. A serpent of purple energy lashed out at her foe, latching its dripping fangs into his thigh. As June felt the rush of filling energy, she prepped another fireball, letting her anger build. She wouldn’t lose, not this time.

But as her foe closed the distance, her resolve faltered slightly. As the two fighters danced around each other, landing and dodging blows, June had to rely more on feints and weaker spells than she would have liked to. As they fought, June took the opportunity to carefully examine her opponent. His skin and armor alike glowed with a sinister red hue, telling June he was in his Rage cooldown period, and would be vulnerable if she could land a decisive blow.

But she couldn’t get the chance, his attacks came in too fast for her to do more than dodge and occasionally land minor hits. One especially bone-crunching impact sent her sprawling before she could trace the runes for more fireball casts. Her foe stood over her supine form, ready to bring his axe down and finish this. His face was another visage of eerie calm. Not a single hint of anger or fear was etched across his features. Their hulking, muscular frame heaved from exertion, raising their glinting metallic axe high above.

In a move of desperation, June managed to connect with one final blow. Her dagger lashed out, cutting a deep gash into the ankles of the warrior. Thrown off balance from the loss of footing and such a heavy weapon, they tumbled over. Physics could be helpful, indeed. June launched herself up and away with all her might, hoping to catch him by surprise. For a single moment, the two hung in the air, staring at one another.

Thrusting her hand out, she traced the runes for a fireball at point blank range. She just hoped she had enough power left in the tank. June poured every bit of magic she could into the spell, and with an internal ‘please,’ let the spell fly.

If she could smile, she would have been grinning ear to ear in that moment, as her desperate gambit was met with success. The beam of flame shot out and exploded between the two adventurers, coating her opponent in a ball of flame.

A sea of orange and yellow light filled her vision as she too was caught in the blast and thrown backwards. Slamming against the stones a few feet away, June hoped that was enough. Before she passed out, all she heard was a faint tapping sound.

 

---

 

With a cool rush like jumping into a swimming pool, June woke with a start. Above her stood the gilded robes of Mukkrag, holding an upturned glass vial.

“You performed excellently, our young wonder,” he said, his tone flat and betraying no emotion.

“Really? Because I feel like I got hit by a truck,” June whispered as she sat up and looked around. “Seriously, this is getting pretty old,” finished a frustrated-sounding June.

“You did a fine job, and felled three foes, with only a smidgeon of help, of course.” Said Mukkrag, a comedic tone to their voice.

June glanced around as she struggled to her feet and surveyed the carnage. The surrounding stones were bathed in ash and burn marks, adding to a violent scene. The dust and cobwebs hung high, and even those caught pieces of ash and blasted stone.

June checked herself over, finding her leather garments mired in cuts and burns, looking utterly ruined and patchy. She would need some replacements. At the very least, her weapons were still intact.

“You stood like a valiant warrior, and you fought well, be proud,” Mukkrag said, placing a gigantic skeletal hand on June’s shoulder. Stood on uneasy feet, June didn’t feel like a resurgent conqueror having beaten her enemies. Waving off the congratulations of Mukkrag, she shuffled over to the remaining corpses of her foes—one of which had already rotted away to nothing. Like a jackal, June ruffled through the armor and attached pouches of the two remaining players, finding a few good items.

 

 

“Are you not going to take their essence,” Mukkrag whispered over her shoulder, a darkly gleeful and encouraging tone to his voice.

Distracted, June complied with the prompt, lazily stealing the wisps of mana the remained from the two corpses. Small tendrils of blue and green mana clung to the ashen bones and paper-like flesh, before being sucked into June’s voracious Nexus.

June turned to face Mukkrag, and spoke softly, “can we talk tomorrow, I kind of need a break from all this,” June breathed, indicating the mess around them with a flourish. Mukkrag simply nodded and let her walk away.

 

---

 

With heavy feet, June slithered through the dusty hall heading to her private room. Reaching her door, she collapsed against the wall. She simply slapped the jewel in the wall to open her door.

Immediately, something seemed off—and a glance at her pile of books revealed what. A folded piece of parchment was perched on her desk, neatly rolled and sealed with a spot of wax. And of course, there was a stylized ‘S’ pressed into the wax. June nonchalantly pulled out her dagger and popped the seal.

The sheet contained a somewhat sloppy message, scrawled in blocky letters. At first the letters were completely alien to her, but as June focused, the script began to make sense. Figuring it was some trick of her magic, she read through the short missive.

 

June, I’ve prepared for your mission, and will return in a few days. Be ready to leave immediately. I hope you’ve been able to gain a few levels, as you’re going to need them. Please make sure to assign some points into Smithing.

—Bullin

 

June realized with a start that she hadn’t assigned a big bundle of points. Propelled from her bed by excitement, she rummaged around until she found the skills book, and read hurriedly. Past the sections positing potential explanations for the division of skills and abilities, she picked out a few new skills to invest in.

Eager to move past her now-defeated foes, June pulled up her character sheet, and thought through assigning her points. She took into account Bullin’s message, and spent enough points to get a level in Smithing. She had plenty of points left over for a few more skill levels and was unsure what to pick.

The descriptions of crafting skills—for everything from specialized building to clothes-making—didn’t interest her. Maybe a new magical discipline?

Spell Crafting seemed intriguing; she resolved the put points into it, then to ask Mukkrag for more details on it. Her remaining points went into a few new skills, June hoped they would confer some advantage in either combat or crafting. The descriptions she’d read suggested as much.

She also remembered that Fireball had been added to her repertoire, and she’d yet to memorize it for later use. The summoner worked with glee as she found the spell within her collection of tomes, and began working on doing just that. June took the time to record the runes permanently within her spell book, then placed the tome back into her pack.