Chasing the Dusk (3/4)

The swirling flames, pouring out of my mouth, met the torrent of acid, stopping its advance a few feet in front of me. My spell's extreme heat turned the bile into steam on contact, protecting me from the brunt of the Queen's attack. The steam itself however sizzled my skin on contact and burned my lungs as I inhaled it accidentally.

With a pained cough, my Breath spell came to an abrupt end, giving me just enough time to roll away from what was left of the Queen's acid stream. Luckily my roll brought me back to my feet and I leaped forward into a dash towards the monstrous Undead, determined to end her miserable unlife, for her sake as well as our own. With a few Mana points fueling my Bound Skill, I jumped higher than I had ever before, landing on her right shoulder as she was still crouched on the floor. The ancient queen tried shaking me off and when that didn't work, she even tried hitting me with her swiveling, bloated head! I grabbed hold of her crown to steady myself before unloading a string of punches directly to her face! Strike after strike, my fist collided with rotting mushy flesh that produced a disturbing wet thump after every hit. The large creature writhed in anger and pain as it was soon blinded from its right eye. Blood and gore spurted as my punches started cracking her skull after a bit.

Grabbing hold of a piece of skull under her torn skin, I pulled with everything I had left, dislodging it and exposing her rotten brain.. or at least what was left of it. By consuming 16 Mana, I Overchanneled my Fire-Breath which also meant the spell needed twice the time to charge, time the Queen didn't seem very willing to lend me. Desperate to throw me off of her, the Brood-Matron slammed her body against the tower's wall! My body was crushed against hers and the tower's hard onyx stones! I barely held on to her crown, unwilling to lose my chance at winning this. The Mana infused fire in my lungs swirled furiously, asking to be unleashed. The large Undead tensed up, readying itself for another charge at the wall. I couldn't take in a breath fast enough in order to use my spell and I could imagine myself tumbling with the Queen through a broken tower wall, falling to our deaths at the bottom of it.

A high pitched battle-cry brought me back from my panicking, as Eve ran across the Brood-Matron's lower half, carving a deep slash in her skin with her scimitar as she went! At the same time a large piece of rubble fell from the ceiling, crashing onto the Queen's back, forcing her to the ground with a bone shattering impact! I stared up at the ceiling, having barely avoided being hit myself and saw Adam clinging from it! The small Vorsàni had used his Earth Manipulation Magic to dislodge the piece of rubble and crush the Queen. He held up a thumb to me with a nervous smile, this probably translated to something like "Sorry for almost crushing you, go get them.". The Brood-Matron, despite her grievous wounds was still trying to get up. The debris had shattered to smaller pieces after hitting her and wasn't pinning her to the floor. I grabbed hold of the side of her opened skull and her crown, took in a deep breath and screamed at the top of my lungs at her exposed brain!

My raging cry carried the fury of a firestorm as it swirled inside her skull before bursting out her eye sockets, mouth, nostrils and ears! Even I wasn't safe from it's fury as I received damage from the flames pouring back towards me and burning my face. I kept up my scream for nearly 7 seconds before I gasped for air and the spell ended. The ancient queen collapsed, a charred husk of rotten flesh. Raped, used, corrupted and now killed like a monster. "May you find in death, the peace that was robbed from you in life.. Queen of the damned.." I said mournfully to her slowly crumbling body. I light draft blew away her ashes as her Mana burst forth, unleashing a magnitude of stored essence.

[ Fire-Breath hit Võrska Brood-Matron. Critical Hit! Vital Area Hit! Base damage 35 (Due to Overchannel), +50% from Critical = 53, +100% from Vital Area = 106 Fire damage dealt! ]

[ Uncommon Achievement unlocked! "Pyromancer", deal over 100 Fire damage to a target with one attack or spell. 300xp awarded! Fire Manipulation Magic +1! ]

[ Võrska Bloodseeker Lv.1 x16 defeated. 256xp gained. 126 Aether points awarded. 18 Gold coins awarded. ]

[ Võrska Brood-Matron Lv.13 defeated! 2600xp gained! 400 Aether points awarded! 1200 Gold coins awarded! Experience points will be divided between you and your pack-members. ]

[ *PING* Level Up! You have reached Level 11. 1 Attribute Point awarded for allocation. ]

[ Võrska Brood-Matron had dropped: 1) Brood-Matron Monster Core (Fine), 2) Vile of Tainted Blood (Rare, Alchemical component), 3) Copper Võrska Crown (Rare, Antiquity). ]

A wave of satisfaction and relief washed over us as we saw our prizes burst forward from the Aether and our foe vanquished. I felt pride for my small companions as they hugged in celebration... until Eve blushed and punched Adam in the gut. Yet the poor guy smiled looking back at her while the female warrior tried to hide her fondness for him. Eve seemed proudest of Adam when the little scholar showed some backbone! This made me laugh and hug my little creations, lifting them up from the ground despite their very audible protests.

We had no way of carrying back all the Gold coins to our Dungeon which stung badly. Such a waste. I could hide it in order to retrieve it at a later time but who knew what could happen until then. The Antiquity was a nice find. Either as a trophy or something to just be sold for money, the ancient crown would serve its purpose. The true prize however was the "Fine" Monster Core the Brood-Matron had dropped. I was more than ecstatic to absorb it immediately for the power boost, forgetting completely about the urgency of the situation. I even asked Eve and Adam to dig out a safe spot for all the Gold we had earned from the Queen and her Zombies. After completing it, they would stash the coins there until I was done.

Crushing the Core in my hands I inhaled sharply as all the excess experience, information and energy pushed its way inside me, expanding my own to new limits!

[ Võrska Brood-Matron Lv.13 Core absorbed! Assimilating power. You gain: 1) 750 XP, 2) +3 Ranks in Monster Summoning Skill. ]

[ *PING* Level Up! Level 12 reached! 1 Attribute Point awarded for allocation! ]

My smile grew wide enough to touch my ears and only the presence of my followers made me modest enough to not start jumping up and down with glee. A Level up and three whole ranks in a Core skill? Although it couldn't help me right away, it would surely prove invaluable for the future!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race: Superior Dungeon Core Lv.12

Avatar: Arsàni, Fire-Breather (Hermaphrodite)

Age: 29

HP: 78/280

MP: 3/155

LvL.13: 3%

Aether: 719

Gold: 31

Physical - 14 (Well Beyond Peak Condition)

Mental - 5 [+1] (Above Average)

Social - 6 (Above Average)

Magic - 12 [+1] (Beyond Peak Condition)

Skills

1) Monster Summoning (Rank 5) [+3 Ranks]

2) Dungeon Manipulation (Rank 2)

3) Aether Cultivation (Rank 4)

4) Bound (Rank 3) [+1]

Passive Skills

1) Fire Resistance (Rank 3)

2) Natural Allure (Rank 2)

3) Minor Regeneration (Rank 4)

4) Fire Manipulation Magic (Rank 6) [+1]

Spells

1) Finger Gun (2 Mana/13 Dmg, Average)

2) Flame Arrow (13 Mana/50 Dmg, Average)

3) Fire-Breath (6 Mana/15 Dmg, Average, 20ft Fan)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

* * *

* Great Elgolar Dungeon *

Fatná, hidden inside the small tunnel, gauged her shot well before letting loose. The iron pellet shot forth from her sling, catching the Porter in their temple. The man let out an loud yelp as he staggered back from the hit. The pickaxe he wielded as both a tool and an improvised weapon, slipped from his hands once he fell flat on his ass. A Deep Cave Fisher jumped at the exposed enemy, clawing at him viciously. A well placed pincer snap against the man's throat caused him to bleed out as he gurgled on his own crimson.

"Gods damn it Juno! We lost both the Porters! Why don't these guys ever listen?!" said a hulking human male in heavy chainmail armor. He had a brown stubble, matching his eyes in colour. His hair had receded a bit and had a visible balding spot at the back of his head, even though he seemed to be barely 30. His nose was a bit flattened and misshapen from multiple breaks and despite his not so attractive features, had a very caring look in his eyes that gave him a certain charm. He stood 1,98 meters tall (6,5 ft) and had a broad well-muscled chest with arms to match. He interposed a door-like wooden shield between him and Fisher, holding back the arachnid's assault on his remaining teammates. In his other hand he held a mighty warhammer.

"They lack our experience and haven't practiced working in a party!" shouted a petite woman over the chaos. She wore robes with a leather vest for added protection. She wore her smooth blonde hair at neck length and their golden glow was only surpassed by the shine of her bright blue eyes. She twirled a metal rod in her hand that ended in a sun shaped symbol, before pointing it at a cluster of webs. The rod produced a beam of light that pierced through the silk and made it ball up and wither away. The 1,6m tall woman smirked with satisfaction before signalling to her team to follow through and avoid the swarming mass of oversized cave fishers.

"Nice work Cassie! Eustace, hold that thing back long enough for me to help Cassie and Mejã get through safely! Then I'll come back for you!" ordered Juno and the team mobilized with practiced precision. Unlike Cassandra and Eustace, Juno was not human although he did resemble one for the most part. The 1,75m, attractive young male was a Fidiciõ, Snake Kin in Acamar's common tongue. His pale, smooth complexion faded slowly into brownish rough scales at the sides of his face. He hid them mostly by growing out his sideburns which also gave him that "dashing rogue" look. His irises were yellow and his pupils dilated into thin black lines when his heart was pumping. His hair was black and slicked back most of the time. When he fought they would usually become a mess and yet he refused to have them cut. Besides ruining his look, it would also expose the viper-like diamond shapes on the back of his neck. People feared Fidiciõ and Juno was all about being loved by the crowd. If he weren't such a good friend and effective leader, his allies would have surely never put up with his vanity driven antics.