Part 1 - The Manticore Training Dungeon
Chapter 6
Character Aurea; Level 1; Class Rogue; Hit Points 20/20; Mana 11/11; Stamina 24/32; XP 80; Next Level 20 XP needed; Rank Unranked; Followers None; Lethality Trivial
“Not bad, thief,” Huck said appreciatively, “How did you know it wasn’t trapped?”
“Uh…” I responded, unsure of how I should answer that. “I didn’t?”
“Well, glad it wasn’t then,” He said easily, a smile tugging at his lips.
“I FOUND IT!” Colin cried happily. I turned to see him standing by the bookshelf, holding a dusty and worn scroll in his hands. It looked like it would disintegrate if he looked too hard at the frail parchment.
“UGH!” Colin said as he stared at the old parchment, frowning deeply, “It’s just a useless priest spell.” He dropped the scroll on the ground and turned back to the bookshelves, pulling off more books, scrolls, and parchments, angrily flinging them over his shoulder.
“You know, Colin,” Elise said, picking up the discarded scroll, “Some of us are priests and can cast the spell.”
“Ok,” was his only response as he continued his destruction of the bookshelf’s contents.
“Anything useful?” Huck asked, walking over to Elise and looking down at the scroll. I turned my back to the scene and looked at the door. It was a few inches ajar and I slowly stepped over to it, carefully pushing it open a few more inches so I could see into the next area.
“A remove poison spell with six mana stored in it,” Elise said, studying the scroll before carefully rolling it up and slipping it into a belt pouch.
Every scroll contained a spell that you could cast if it was your class or you had a special feat. The scroll contained a spell with a certain number of mana ‘invested’ into the scroll when it was created. When you cast the spell, it allowed you to use the stored mana, instead of using your own.
If you took the Scrollmaster feat, you could add your mana to the scroll as an extra boost. It allowed you to boost even low mana spell scrolls, effectively letting you have a larger pool of spells at your disposal in a dive from cheaper scrolls. Priests and mages only had so many spells they could memorize for a dive, so scrolls were quite valuable for them, even in higher Lethality dungeons. However, scrolls were expensive and could only be used once before they crumpled and were destroyed, but it was better than running out of mana.
Huck muttered something that I didn’t hear, I was too distracted by the next room. It looked like a large banquet hall filled with dozens of skeletons. There were long tables covered in black candles that oozed wax across the top and dripped down the tables. Platters, food, bones, overturned goblets, and more laid in disarrayed piles on the tables. At the far end of the hall was a single kobold who sat on a throne. While there were dozens of kobold skeletons, this one was scale and blood. It sat on a throne, licking something with its strange crocodile head out of an oversized goblet it held between its clawed hands. It was a lizard-like creature, with dark green scales and splotches of brown. Using its hands in a clumsy manner, it held the goblet the same way a dog might hold a bone down.
The other occupants in the room, the skeletons, weren’t currently doing anything except sitting at the tables, miming as if they were eating food. I watched them carefully, but it didn’t seem like they had noticed me yet. While studying the scene, I noticed movement on the far side of the banquet hall and realized there was a door over there. In fact, carefully looking around, five doors, including mine, led into the banquet hall. Three of the doors I could see appeared identical, I could only assume that my door looked the same as them, while the fifth door was in the back of the hall, behind the throne. The sole living kobold had stopped drinking from its goblet and was now scratching behind its ear with its back leg like a cartoon dog. I wondered briefly if dogs actually did that.
Focusing on the far door, the movement was slow and careful. Concentrating, I thought I could see a shape in the opposite doorway and it began to dawn on me.
“PSST! Huck!” I whispered loudly, “Hey!”
He came over quickly in mid-sentence with Elise, “What’s up? Another trap?”
“No - I think I found the other teams.”
“What?” He asked, looking over my head and staring into the room. “I just see skeletons… a lot of skeletons.”
“No, look on the far side, where the door is,” I said, pointing slightly. He followed my raised finger and I could hear him sharply intake a breath of air.
“I see,” he slowly said and I felt him moving around behind me, taking in the sight of the banquet hall. He continued speaking, “Alright, we need to come up with a plan and quickly. We can’t have them-“
Just as Huck was whispering, the door opposite us exploded outward and four people jumped out followed by fire and brilliant light. Bria’s team.
“Shit!” Huck said, “Guys - we have to go NOW!”
Huck then shoved the door open fully as he was pulling his sword out. I watched in stunned silence as the skeletons rose up from their tables and began charging towards the four adventurers and a few at Huck. The other party yelled something at us, but I didn’t hear it over the sudden clattering of bones, benches pushed along stone, and Huck’s own battle cry as he smashed his shield into a kobold skeleton, knocking it to the ground.
I scrambled into the room, Colin and Elise several feet behind me, slow to respond. I ripped my kukri from its sheath and surveyed the room more fully now. There was shouting and pointing, and I saw that the other team was focused on fighting the skeletal kobolds.
Glancing to the throne, where the lone living kobold was, I stopped in place as wisps of black smoke was forming into a large ball over the kobold’s head. I didn’t know what it was going to do, but I knew that I didn’t want it to happen.
“We gotta stop the kobold!” I yelled over to Huck, who was currently being surrounded by three kobold skeletons. He wasn’t going to be any help, I looked over my shoulder, Colin and Elise were finally stepping out our door when another door, one of the ones that look identical to the others, blasted open and another dive party flooded into the room.
This is the final part of the test. We weren’t allowed to attack each other, but we were all fighting over the same prize. Whatever that treasure was. I still didn’t know and I doubted anyone else did. My best bet, however, was going to be dealing with the sole living kobold before it could unleash that black orb. And maybe get into that back door.
I took off for the kobold and the swirling black orb. The orb had now grown to the same size of the kobold and it was only growing bigger as more shadows were drawn into it. My heart was racing as two skeletons tried jumping in front of me, their crocodile skulls clacking their jaws hungrily in my direction. I leaped on top of the table and dodged as their short arms uselessly clawed at the air. The table’s surface was covered in loose goblets, wax from thousands of black candles, and molding food that oozed when my black boots squashed into them. I found it difficult to keep my balance, but I spent stamina, burning four points to quickly close the distance between me and the boss.
While it took only a second to cover the distance, I was too late as the kobold launched the orb over my head and shot over me to the center of the room. It detonated in a swirl of black shadows and gray hues, briefly plunging the room into near-darkness before the light was restored.
Not every effect or attack deals straight hit point damage. Many spells allow you to sacrifice mana or stamina to reduce damage, or the spell or effect may only target stamina or mana. When you get knocked down to zero in stamina or mana, it isn’t as bad as being reduced to zero hit points, but it’ll still take the wind out of you, leaving you momentarily muddled. Zero mana means you can’t cast spells and the system overwhelms your mind with a piercing headache and mental fuzziness for a while. Zero stamina results in not being able to activate special abilities and the system causes you to become clumsy as your body feels three times heavier than normal. There are also many types of conditions that the system can impose on a diver, the most common being poisoned or befuddled.
When the black orb exploded in shadows, I braced myself for a wave of energy to knock me off my feet, but instead, it passed through me like a gentle wind.
Save Failed // You have failed to save against the effects of paralyzing sphere. Your Stamina maximum is reduced by 1d6. Your Stamina maximum will continue to reduce by 1d6 every 3 seconds until you make a successful save.
A prompt appeared before me, small and near the top of my vision.
Stamina 17/29 (32); next save in 3 seconds
I gritted my teeth. It had reduced my current stamina and maximum. I hated saves. They technically used your stats, but you had no control over whether or not you made the save. There were a few spells that a priest or mage could cast to help, but it was all done in the background. You were just helpless to the effects unless the system ‘decided’ you saved against the effect. I knew a lot of divers were openly critical of saves, but it remained under the sole discretion of the system.
I resumed my fast approach to the kobold who was cackling as it grabbed a bone within reach, and began casting another spell. I reached the kobold, jumping from table to table, just as it finished the spell, hissing out some unintelligible dribble as the bone began floating in front of the creature. I didn’t waste a thought on what the bone was about to do, focused solely on bringing down the kobold. I swung my kurki.
Save Failed // Stamina 12/24 (32); next save in 3 seconds
I felt what I could only describe as my vitality whooshing out of me as I repeated the save mid-swing, my muscles immediately losing strength. It slowed my attack, and the floating bone suddenly flew in the way of my blow, knocking my weapon aside and keeping the kobold safe. Before I had fully recovered from my failed attack, the bone shot forward again. This time it wasn’t to deflect my sword, but to strike me in the chest with a mighty crack.
A green bar along the bottom of my vision appeared and the green line slowly slid from the right to the left, revealing a tenth of it in red. Text appeared directly above the line, but I only gave it a passing notice.
Damage Taken // Hit Points 18/20; 2 damage dealt by the warding bone spell
My chest throbbed, I was definitely sure I was going to have a bruise there, but it seemed like my armor protected me from most of the damage. I sucked in a breath and shot my kukri out like a snake, this time I was able to strike fast enough the bone couldn’t deflect my attack completely out of the way, and I struck the kobold. I would’ve gotten the kobold caster in the chest, but the warding bone had nudged my attack to the side, only giving the kobold’s arm a glancing blow.
The system scored my hit, but I only dealt two damage to the kobold, it’s health bar only ticking down by an inch, matching a splash of purple-red blood on its scales. I was not a warrior, I wasn’t going to be able to outmatch the kobold unless I could somehow get a Backstab strike against the kobold. It’d require hitting the creature when it was distracted, and me knowing when the creature was distracted. I could always spend Stamina on every strike, but unless the creature was distracted, the only thing that would happen was I’d waste Stamina and I was quickly running out as it was.
Save Failed // Stamina 9/21 (32); next save in 3 seconds
I groaned as the chip in the back of my head burned hot from handling the dive. I could feel the depletion of Stamina as a physical symptom, my limbs felt sluggish and I was pretty sure my bones were sore. I didn’t have Stamina to waste. If I hit zero, I’d be out of the fight, maybe permanently if the kobold wasn’t stopped by the system.
I didn’t strike out for a long second as I studied the kobold who was also looking at me warily, a strange purple-red blood oozing from its arm where I had nicked it. It didn’t seem to be paying attention to the wound, instead it’s claw-fingers were curled and its crocodile maw was partially opened making a strange hissing sound. It sounded almost like a cat, but the sound reverberated more throughout the little creature’s body.
I was taken aback with surprise as the kobold jumped forward, mouth lunging for my throat. I took several steps back that was more like stumbling and trying not to fall over. My feet skittered across plates, discarded food, and loose bones but I kept my feet under me as the kobold fell to all fours, failing to chomp on me. I took the kobold’s momentarily disadvantage and tried to strike with my kukri, hoping this was the chance for my Backstab. I burned the precious three points and just as my sword was about to hit the kobold’s spine, a whirling bone smashed into the side of the blade, exploding on impact and causing my blade to sink several inches into the wood without even touching the kobold.
“Shit shit shit,” I repeated as a I tried to pull out my kukri, but it was no use. It was completely stuck.
Damage Taken // Hit Points 14/20; 4 damage dealt by kobold’s bite
I screamed in pain as the kobold took advantage of my distraction and bit me hard on my right arm. I tried wrenching my arm free, leaving behind my kukri, but it was no use. It had locked its jaws on my arm and I could feel it’s little body was way stronger that I had thought. They were only a few feet tall, but they had a wiry strength to them that you wouldn’t have guessed.
Save Failed // Stamina 4/19 (32); next save in 3 seconds
Damage Taken // Hit Points 13/20; 1 damage dealt by kobold’s locked jaws
I started blindly punching the kobold’s head, but my attacks were more flailing than useful. I did get a lucky punch in, dealing only a single point of damage to the creature, before I stumbled and fell on the table, collapsing heavily to the ground. Unfortunately, the kobold was still attached to my arm like a tick and its teeth were grinding deeper through the armor and into my flesh. Blood flowed around its mouth, and I continued to desperately jerk my arm free but it was no use. Every second that passed, I continued to take a point of damage. It was starting to add up.
KNIFE! I thought to myself as my left hand grabbed wildly around me at anything I could reach. My fingers grabbed the object and started stabbing the kobold, over and over. The knife, or whatever the object was, wasn’t dealing a lot of damage as small ‘1’s appeared in a continuous line next to the kobold’s health bar, but the kobold’s health was ticking down with every strike. Almost as fast as mine was.
Giving one mighty scream, I slammed the object into the kobold’s eye, feeling an odd sensation in my hand as the weapon pierced it, and watching the kobold spasm and then collapse on top of me, no longer moving. It’s jaw only released by an inch, but that was enough for me to drag my arm out. It was sore and painful, and I held it close to my chest while I laid on the ground. I was sucking in air and trying to take everything into account.
Hit Points 7/20; Stamina 4/19 (32)
It barely occurred to me that I had made my save against the necromancer’s spell. I pry would’ve been dead if I hadn’t.
I slowly sat up and looked behind me, feeling woozy from either the spell, the blood loss, or being almost eaten by a kobold. During my fight with the kobold, the fourth diver team had arrived in the hall. All the skeletons were destroyed and I saw Huck wiping a bloody arm across his head, leaving a smear of blood that looked quite serious. I also saw that Bria, the leader of a rival diving team, was running towards me, yelling something to her team about blocking the others.
Oh shit. The treasure!
I sprang to my feet, tripping over the kobold’s body as I moved, barely noticing the heat burning from my wetware as it struggled to keep up with the system. The door behind the kobold’s throne was only twenty feet. I groaned in preparation for what I had to do, but I did it.
I burned the last four of my stamina points and burst forward to the door, crossing the distance in a second as the system augmented my speed.
Stamina Burn // You are suffering from Stamina Burn. You are out of Stamina. You will not regenerate Stamina for 10 minutes. While you have 0 Stamina, you are Clumsy and Slowed.
I felt a wave of lethargy wash over me like mud as I opened the door and saw the treasure. It was pretty obvious what we were supposed to get. It was a black scepter with the head of a skull and a black jewel clutched in it’s mouth. It was 10 feet from the door and I slowly made my way in, my physical body felt like it was fighting some unseen force. It felt like being dropped in a large pool of gelatin and trying to wade through.
But I did it. I reached the scepter and my arm stretched out to grab it when I felt a sudden pain lance through my arm.
Bria had grabbed my badly damaged right arm and was squeezing it.
I screamed in pain and dropped to my knees as I failed to grab the scepter, Bria was holding my arm in place. I looked up into her face, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was looking at the scepter as her other arm reached out and grasped it in her hand.