Chapter 4
I took a deep breath and held a torch out for Solara to ignite, the flame flickered to life and cast long shadows on the walls of the tunnel. The light barely penetrated the darkness ahead, making the tunnel seem like an endless abyss.
Every scratch and scuffle in the dark set my nerves on edge. My imagination ran wild, conjuring images of beasts waiting to leap out at me from the shadows. The echo of my footsteps resounded around me, near deafening in the silence.
I moved cautiously, each step deliberate and measured. The torchlight flickered, creating an ever-shifting dance of shadows on the rough walls. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched, that something was lurking just out of sight. Every now and then, Solara would peek over my shoulder, forked tongue tasting the scent of things beyond my vision. My heart raced each time she did so, but I forced myself to stay calm and press on.
Suddenly, a series of scraping noises echoed through the tunnel like rocks scraped against rocks. I halted, holding the torch higher to try and see further into the darkness. There, just at the edge of the light, I caught a glimpse of movement. My breath caught in my throat as I saw them—small, hound-like creatures moving swiftly towards us. They walked on two legs, their bodies covered in rough, stony skin that glistened in the torchlight. They were short, squat, and had no visible eyes, they did however have protruding gaping mouths that even at this distance I could see were chock full of sharp and jagged teeth.
{Rock Gnasher
Level 6 Corrupted Earth Beast
HP: 60
Traits: Blindness, Vibration Sensitivity}
Vibration sense and blindness meant they were sound based hunters, they likely picked up on my footsteps through their connection with the earth. Which meant right now, with me unmoving, they had no clue where to go.
The Gnashers paused at the edge of the light, their heads twitching as they sought out the source of the vibrations. Summoning my focus, I decided to use Shape Stone to my advantage. I lowered the torch slightly and concentrated on the tunnel between me and the Gnashers. Slowly, I manipulated the earth in the wall, creating a series of pointed rocks that jutted out from the side. With a swift gesture, I willed the rocks to dislodge and fall, creating a cacophony of clattering sounds.
The Rock Gnashers reacted immediately, lunging towards the source of the noise with terrifying speed. Their jagged mouths snapped shut around the falling stones, smashing them to bits with their teeth gnashing against the hard surfaces.
With the Gnashers still occupied, I gathered my energy and prepared my newly created spell. Shardburst. Focusing on the creatures, I used my new ability for the first time. A solid stone projectile much like Rockshot's popped out of the ground and hovered in front of me, a sharp twist of mana had it shattering into dozens of needles that flew into the pack of earth beasts. Though the majority of them broke against their tough hide, several lodged themselves two of the Gnashers.
The creatures let out a shrill, ear-piercing screech, their bodies convulsing as the needles penetrated their tough exteriors. They turned their attention towards me, now aware of my presence and enraged by the attack.
I quickly cast Rockshot, aiming directly at the fastest Gnasher, who was yards ahead of its fellows. The stone projectile flew through the air and struck the creature with a resounding crack, shattering its brittle upper jaw and sending it sprawling to the ground. However, a glance with observe told me that it wasn't quite dead yet. There was something that looked like a large pearl in the back of its throat, I used observe on it.
{Elemental Core
Quality: Common}
A lesser elemental's core like this was essentially its heart and brain all in one.
That was the ideal target to take these small fry out with the least mana usage possible. Another rockshot smashed into it from above while it was downed, shattering the smooth round core; the Gnasher, held together by the magic of the core, fell apart into a loose pile of earth.
There was no time to dwell on my success as the next two Gnashers were nearly upon me. Solara's maw sparked with fire, hitting one of them ineffectually as the heat washed over their hardened but brittle forms. It did serve to distract the beast though, who gnashed his teeth in the air seemingly hearing the beating of Solara's wings. It gave me enough time to fire another shot into the side of the charging one, knocking him back into his distracted friend, and sending cracks shooting through their forms. With them dazed I drew the battleaxe slung across my back and broke through the back both of their heads to reach their cores and break them, leaving me with only one left.
Likely sensing the death of its companions the little elemental threw itself at me with teeth gnashing, trying to chomp at something it couldn't see.
A swift sidestep into a downwards chop of my axe bit into the top of its head, but trying to dislodge the blade only resulted in lifting the beast along with my axe. I smashed it a few times into the wall until it fell apart into a pile of dirt just like the others, the difference with this one being that I hadn't broken the core, just dealt enough damage to break its form completely.
+120 Earthcaller XP
No level up, I guess I'd finally reached the point with this class where I had to rely more on quest XP than what I got from using my abilities to beat enemies. I inspected the pearlescent orb laying atop the pile for a moment as a wisp of shadowy purple faded from it, leaving only a small white orb. I slipped it into my pouch. Maybe I could use it for something.
MP: 57/100
I continued deeper into the tunnels, the torchlight casting long shadows that danced across the rough, earthen walls. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and something else, something acrid and metallic. As I ventured further, the structures around me began to take on a more familiar pattern. The tunnels were not just natural formations but had clearly been shaped and used by generations of quilboar. Supports lined the walls at regular intervals, and occasionally, I would spot crude carvings and symbols etched into the stone—signs of a former quilboar presence.
The resemblance to the rest of Razorfen Kraul was unmistakable. These tunnels had once been an active part of the sprawling quilboar complex, now sealed off and abandoned due to the dangerous creature that had been foolishly summoned. The walls were lined with alcoves and niches that likely held supplies or relics at one time. Here and there, I saw broken pieces of pottery, rusted weapons, and the remnants of makeshift furniture scattered about, all indicative of a place that had been hurriedly evacuated.
Every now and then, I passed what looked like former living quarters—small, hollowed-out spaces with bedding made from dried grasses and animal hides. It was clear that these tunnels had once been bustling with life, a stark contrast to the eerie silence that now enveloped them. The deeper I went, the more signs of past habitation I encountered. There were remnants of cooking fires, the blackened stones still faintly smelling of burnt wood and food. The occasional gnawed bone or discarded item hinted at the daily lives of the quilboar who had once called this place home.
All of which of course raised a very pertinent question, what had been summoned that was so bad that an entire system of tunnels had been abandoned for fear of it?
Solara remained alert, her serpentine body coiling and uncoiling as she moved alongside me. Her forked tongue flicked out constantly, tasting the air for any signs of danger. The flight capable serpent seemed to become more and more morose the longer we spent underground but there wasn't much I could do to mitigate that. Eventually she gave up on flying beside me to perch on my shoulders.
The darkness seemed to press in on us from all sides, making the light from my torch feel like a small, fragile bubble of safety. Every now and then, I felt an unsettling tremor beneath my feet, the earth shivering as if in anticipation.
Suddenly, the ground beneath me began shaking violently. I froze for a split second, heart pounding, before instinct took over. I leaped to the side, just as the earth erupted where I had been standing. A massive creature burst forth, sending chunks of rock and dirt flying.
{Rockborer
Level 23 Beast
HP: 200}
It was a Rockborer, a massive serpentine beast with a rotating mouth and a back covered in armored plates. It towered over me, easily reaching the top of the tunnel.
The Rockborer reared up, its segmented body undulating as it adjusted to the surface. Its mouth, a nightmarish spiral of sharp, churning teeth, spun with a sickening whine, ready to grind anything in its path to dust.
There was a lull as I took in the monster's appearance. Toxic purple pools that glowed faintly and served as the beast's eyes. The creature's pale fleshy underside was bioluminescent, contrasting with the dark armored plates of its back that looked navy-blue by torchlight.
It let out a deep, rumbling grinding noise like an avalanche.
The Rockborer lunged towards me, its mouth spinning faster. I dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding its deadly maw as it drilled into the earth, parting the material in its path like it was simply diving into water.
The earth rumbled around me and I stood tense, axe clenched as I waited to see where the beast would emerge from next.
The ground directly beneath me shook again, and I leapt to the side at the last moment with a cry, dropping and extinguishing my torch in loose dirt as I did so, plunging me into darkness. "Fuck! Solara, fire!"
A brief spout of orange flame lit up the tunnel but to little avail as it didn't catch on anything.
The worm emerged from a side wall, and illuminated the tunnel with its glow.
I needed to act, I couldn't stay on the defensive forever, this thing would kill me.
I was hesitant to waste vital mana on Earthshell, when the shell of hardened earth likely wouldn't be much protection given this thing's capability to grind through stone.
I briefly considered Melding and fleeing from the thing that was clearly out of my weight class but I wasn't going to take the chance that it could sense me and come for me while I was submerged in the earth.
For the first time I cursed my choice in class and swore to gain some more versatile options as soon as I could.
Ok, ok. I could do this—rather I had to do this. I caught my breath, glaring at the thing as it crawled in the tunnel.
Its underbelly was the only vulnerability that I could target, but it was clearly aware of this and only reared back, exposing it, when it was about to strike.
An idea struck me, inspired by my battle with the plainstrider. I would use Shape Stone to create a series of spears and impale the beast as it lunged for me. It was a risky move, but it was the best shot I had.
The Rockborer lunged again, its mouth spinning faster, churning up the ground as it hurtled towards me. I dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding its deadly maw once more. This time, I didn't just dodge—I concentrated, focusing my mana into the earth beneath the tunnel. With a tightening fist, I began shaping stone, spear formations sharpening to a point beneath the ground directly in the Rockborer's path, I took it a step further, curling stone into brutal barbs that would catch and tear, I could feel the increased drain from the detailing. It cost nearly double the amount of mana, but if it worked and saved my ass it'd be worth it.
The beast's body undulated as it adjusted to attack from a new direction after its last miss. I kept my eyes on its movements, timing my actions carefully. When it reared back to strike, exposing its vulnerable underbelly, I gave a final push with my mana, willing the stone spears to shoot upwards.
"Now!" I shouted, driving my will into the earth.
All fifteen of the long spears that I'd painstakingly prepared, shot up from the ground in groups of three, side-by-side, piercing the Rockborer's exposed underside. The beast let out a deafening roar, its body convulsing violently as the stone spears impaled its soft flesh all the way through and stopped just beneath the backplates. It thrashed and writhed, and rolled to the side, snapping and breaking several of them but also further injuring itself by dragging barbed tips through its vulnerable flesh.
I took hold of Solara and retreated against the wall as the beast thrashed in anger and pain, only bringing itself closer to its dead. Dark blood poured from its numerous injuries by the gallon, and it was now a race between whether it would manage to strike at me in blind pain before it died or bled out.
I didn't need to worry, as though its movements were erratic and sudden it didn't do so with nearly the same speed as it had done before, and was easily avoided. It took a few minutes before it finally went slack in death, and I let myself relax slightly at the XP notification.
+200 Earthcaller XP
Earthcaller lvl. 11 to 12
It took several minutes to catch my breath as I came down from my sudden surge of adrenaline and I sat against the wall for a time to recoup some mana, as I was running low at this point with the two encounters being so close to one another.
It had been at least a few hours at this point, maybe it was time to settle in for the night?
As if triggered by my thoughts, there was a slight rumbling in the ground back from where I came. Another worm.
"I think the fuck not!" Eyes wide, I grabbed my pack, strapped it on, and hoofed it further into the next tunnel, away from the rumbling, Solara soaring alongside me, wings beating with haste to catch up.
I ran until I couldn't hear even a hint of the ground rumbling anymore. My breath came in ragged gasps, and my legs burned from the exertion.
A few points in Stamina wouldn't be amiss, something to consider for my next class.
Finally, I stumbled into a large chamber, the air here cooler and more stagnant. The entrance to a cavern was at the head of the room. Simply glancing in showed that everything in the cavern was coated in a purplish miasma that radiated with malice.
The area surrounding the cavern entrance was covered in totems and talismans, warding and holding back whatever that was. That was almost certainly where I had to go next to finish this stupid fucking trial.
Class Quest Updated!
{Trial of Earth}
Objective: Vanquish the source of the corruption in the depths and reclaim the lost tunnels for the Kraul.
That was what I'd already guessed but it was good to have confirmation to bat aside the part of me that said it wasn't needed for my trial. An uneasy feeling settled in my gut, but I knew I had to rest.
This was actually such bullshit. Other Earthcallers probably chilled in the first few tunnels only having to deal with those minor elementals occasionally for a few days, before being done with their trial, in contrast I had to go deeper in than any of them, deal with miniature-kaiju, and now fight some ominous evil spirit.
Setting up camp for the night in such a foreboding place was not my first choice, but exhaustion left me with little choice, if I had to face another of those Rockborers, I would be made into mincemeat.
I laid out my bedroll and placed the torch in a makeshift holder on the ground. The flickering light cast eerie shadows on the walls, making the chamber feel even more ominous. Every sound seemed amplified in the cavernous space, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. Despite the discomfort, I knew I needed to rest. I leaned back against the cool stone wall, my eyes drifting to the dark entrance of the cavern. The presence of dark magic was almost palpable, and I made a mental note to be cautious when exploring further. For now, though, sleep was the priority.
I was in the tunnels, but they were narrower, more twisted than before. The air was heavy with an unfamiliar, musky scent. I moved cautiously, I didn't have my touch but that was alright, I could see just fine.
The ground beneath me gave way suddenly, and I found myself falling into a void, a black pit into nowhere.
I heard a scream, a loud, desperate thing. It cut out suddenly. My throat was hoarse. Was that me?
I landed hard, the impact knocking the breath out of me. As I struggled to my feet, there was a sharp shooting pain in my arm. A snake had latched onto my shoulder, fangs digging into me, I smashed a fist into it with a cry of pain, killing the beast.
There were more of them. Dozens of them. All around me. Their scales glistened in the dim light, and their eyes shone with a cold, predatory intelligence. Suddenly the dozens multiplied into hundreds, then the hundreds became thousands.
The world was all snakes. There was nothing else to see but writhing bodies, dripping fangs, and glowing eyes of a toxic purple.
Had I been poisoned? Was this some venom fuelled delirium?
"Status!" I shouted, hoping to check for poison, but nothing appeared. Panic set in as the serpents began to close in, their hissing filling the air. I tried to use Observe, but it was as if the system was ignoring me. "Observe!" I yelled again, desperate for information, but still, nothing.
The snakes moved with eerie precision, coiling around my legs and slithering up my body. I tried to brush them off, but more kept coming. Their bodies felt cold and slick against my skin, and their fangs gleamed in the torchlight. I felt a sharp pain as one of them bit into my ankle, and I kicked it away, but it was quickly replaced by another.
"Status!" I screamed, but the silence from the system was deafening. The snakes were everywhere now, wrapping around my arms, my neck, their scales scraping against my skin. I could feel their weight, their cold bodies pressing against me, constricting me.
I tried to use my abilities to summon Earthshell or Shape Stone, but nothing happened. My mana felt distant, unreachable. "Observe!" I pleaded, but there was no response. The serpents' eyes bore into me, their hissing louder, almost mocking.
One particularly large snake coiled around my chest, its grip tightening. I struggled to breathe, feeling the life being squeezed out of me. My vision started to blur, the edges darkening. I clawed at the snakes, trying to free myself, but it was useless. They were everywhere, an unending mass of scales and fangs.
I snapped awake, gasping for air.
I got to my feet as fast as I could, sending something that had been on me flying a ways across the room.
It was a small shadowy snake covered in the miasma of the cavern.
I didn't even bother observing it before slamming an axe blade into it, splitting it in two, both halves dissipated into shadow and faded away.
"What the hell was that?" I muttered, my heart still racing. "Status."
My status appeared as was normal and I sighed. It had just been a nightmare, probably brought on by that shadowy serpent.
I quickly gathered up all my gear, strapping my pack on and securing my weapons. I glanced around the chamber, but something felt off. Solara was missing. Panic began to set in as I called out for her. "Solara! Solara, where are you?" My voice echoed through the cavern, but there was no response.
I moved around the chamber, searching frantically. "Solara!" I yelled again, but there was still no answer. I searched behind rocks and in my bag for if she'd managed to sneak in. As I reached the entrance to the cavern in my search, something caught my eye—a feather. Solara's feather, unmistakable with its unique sheen. It lay on the ground, partially covered in dirt. Several of the totems that had been arrayed around the entrance last night had fallen over, their bases snapped.
I growled in frustration, shaking a fist at the dark expanse of the cavern. "There was no need to kidnap my pet, you bastards! I was coming down there anyway, and if she's harmed in any way, I'll slaughter you all!" My final words echoed menacingly for a few returns but the darkness gave no reply beyond it.
The air grew colder and the darkness thicker as I descended further into the cavern. I had no torch but the miasma that coated the walls was bright enough that it wasn't needed. Every few steps, I spotted shapes in the shadows—dark figures of serpents that seemed to move and shift just beyond the edge of the light. I was apprehensive at first, fearing the danger, but the more they avoided me the more enraged I became. Several times I charged over, ready to fight, only to find nothing but empty space.
The sensation of being watched grew stronger with each passing moment. I gripped my axe tightly, my knuckles white with the strain. "Show yourselves, cowards!" I shouted into the void, my voice bouncing off the walls and returning to me in a mocking echo.
My breaths came in ragged gasps as I forced myself to calm down. Charging blindly at things in the shadows wasn't going to help me find Solara nor whatever the objective of my trial was. I needed to keep my wits about me, no matter how unsettling the shadows were. I pressed on, deeper into the cavern, following along a wall with every sense on high alert.
The path twisted and turned, the narrow walls closed around me at times, something had done this, made this cavern. It was new, and therefore not made by quilboar. The shapes in the shadows seemed to grow bolder, more distinct. I saw fleeting glimpses of slit eyes—glowing, malevolent purple eyes that disappeared the moment I tried to focus on them. My frustration mounted, my patience wearing thin.
Until finally I came across a tunnel within the enormous cavern, the miasma leading into it became brighter to the point it was almost blinding, whatever was here, whatever I had been sent on this harebrained suicide mission for, it was in there.
As I approached the tunnel, the brightness of the miasma grew overwhelming. I slowed my pace, on high alert for any hostiles lurking within.
I decided it was time to use Meld. No sense in whatever was inside seeing me coming. I focused my will and fell into the ground, moving through the earth like a fish in water. A slow fish.
When the tunnel ended in a rather short time it was in a large underground cave that I found myself.
A sudden, powerful wave of something slammed into me, forcing me out of the ground. I tumbled onto the floor, disoriented and gasping for breath.
What was that?!
"Welcome, intruder. I have seen you through my children. I expected your arrival," a voice hissed.
I looked up to see a towering serpent figure, its scales shimmering in the dim light. Its eyes glowed with a menacing purple hue, and a sinister smile curled across its face.
{Avatar of Dambala
Loa of Treachery
Level 50 Avatar
HP: 2000
MP: 10000
Traits: Master of Serpents}
A loa…a fucking LOA?! When I got out of here, if I somehow found a way out of this, I was going to massacre the elders. It'd be easy after all of this bullshit.
I took a step back. Its sheer presence radiated danger. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my composure. Diplomacy seemed like the best approach.
"I don't want any trouble," I said, attempting to keep my voice steady. "Let's talk this through, I've been sent to–" I froze staring at the giant snake staring at me amusedly, "–negotiate. These are quilboar lands and we w-would like for you to leave."
Dambala laughed, a sound that echoed eerily through the cavern. "I am here to stay, mortal. But I have seen your prowess, your potential, submit to me, become my herald and servant and I will make you the strongest quilboar in the world."
I narrowed my eyes, trying to keep the trembling out of my voice. "And what's the catch? No one offers power for free."
Dambala's smile widened, his fangs glinting in the dim light. "Ah, a shrewd one, I see. The catch is simple: I will require daily sacrifices to boost my power. Bring me the lives of those who cross your path, and I will grant you strength beyond your wildest dreams."
My stomach churned at the thought. The idea of sacrificing others for power was abhorrent. I couldn't let this monster continue to prey on my people or anyone else. "I refuse," I said firmly. "I am going to be the strongest being in this world, and I don't need to serve anyone to achieve that."
Especially not a guy literally called the 'Loa of Treachery.'
Dambala's eyes narrowed, his smile fading. "Ah, I see your ambition clearly now. Very well. If you won't serve me, I will venture into the greater tunnels and feast upon all within. I'll start with you."
"Wait," I said, trying to buy time and hoping to see a way to turn this situation around. "What about my wind serpent, Solara? Where is she?"
Dambala's smile returned, more sinister than before. He nodded at the shadows, and a cage formed of miasma materialized. Inside, Solara was trapped, her wings skewered with shadow and her eyes glowing with defiance. "This one is quite feisty. So loyal to her master that this avatar was insufficient to break her mind. Submit to me, and I will return her to you."
Seeing Solara in such a state filled me with rage. "Let her go!" I demanded, stepping forward, my axe at the ready.
Dambala's laugh echoed again. "Such anger. Such potential. But you will submit, or she will suffer."
My grip tightened on my axe. The sight of Solara trapped and suffering made my blood boil. "You hurt my snake," I growled in refusal, "I'll kill you for it."
Dambala's eyes gleamed with malicious delight. "Then prepare to meet your end, mortal." He lunged at me, his enormous fangs aiming to take me through the chest. I managed to get my axe up just in time, blocking his bite, but the force sent me flying, tumbling end over end across the ground. I skidded across the ground, groaning in pain as I struggled to my feet. My hand went to the pouch I'd filled with Soothing Loam and I upended it over myself feeling the restorative energy course through me as the magic was consumed.
I quickly activated Earthshell, feeling the protective layer envelop me as Dambala split into multiple forms, each one identical to the original.
In response I practically threw my mana at the ground by the bucketload, willing it to shape itself to my will. Shit not enough, I had to stall, buy some time, anything.
The cadre of Dambalas surrounded me, their hissing laughter filling the air. Mirror Images!
I observed each image to figure out which one was real.
A powerful tail whipped out answering my question, as it struck me and sent me skidding again. The blow was mitigated, but it still hurt.
"Submit!" Dambala demanded.
I spat on the ground, glaring at him. "I submit to no one, especially not a cut-rate, soul-grasping, downright stupid, unheard-of loa like you."
Skill Acquired!
{Taunt}
Your provocations have an increased chance to make their intended target angry, clouding their minds and having them focus their efforts on you.
Dambala hissed in rage and lunged at me. I was ready. As he struck, I triggered my spell, "Stoneclamp!"
Large rocky fingers, each nearly the size of me, emerged from the ground, heralding the arrival of the enormous stone fist that closed around the snake loa's midsection, holding him in place.
"What is this?!" The loa hissed out.
"Nobody fucks with my snake." I sent a burst of mana to the construct, the fingers tightened crushing him slowly. I did so several more times, watching as the stone fist crushed the loa under my power.
{MP:4/100}
I waited for my mana to tick back up so I could squeeze again, I was going to savor this. I would crush the life out of this fucker.
Dambala thrashed in pain and anger, before a wave of toxic purple exploded out from him, shattering the fist.
The noxious fumes burned my eyes and lungs, forcing me to cough and stagger backward.
In mere seconds, my advantage was gone.
"The impudence!" His eyes blazed with fury. "Enough of this!" he roared. "I am done toying with you!" His massive tail whipped out, catching me off guard and slamming into my side. The impact sent me flying across the tunnel, crashing into the wall with bone-jarring force.
I barely had time to register the pain before Dambala was upon me again. His tail struck me from the other side, sending me skidding across the rough ground. My Earthshell cracked and broke under the repeated blows.
He coiled around me, lifting me into the air. His grip tightened, and I felt my ribs creak under the pressure. "You are nothing," he hissed. "A mere insect beneath my might." He flung me into a stalagmite, the sharp rock slicing into my back as I fell to the ground.
I struggled to my feet, spitting blood. "I won't…" I panted, my vision swimming.
Dambala's laughter echoed through the cavern. "I care little for your submission anymore, others will come in time. No, the time for such mercies has passed, I'm going to devour you and claim your soul's energy for myself." He lunged again, his maw open wide to swallow me whole. I rolled to the side at the last moment screaming in pain at the jostling of my ribs, but avoiding his maw by mere inches.
I wasn't ready for this. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I had no cards left to play, my mana was depleted, my axe was knocked away from me, I was moments from death.
At least this time I wasn't running.
But as his fangs neared me, I saw Solara out of the corner of my eye, bound and in pain. An animal, just an animal, but also one I'd come to care for. One I had fed, healed, fought beside. I had brought her down here to this hellish place, and she would die for it; she'd die for her loyalty to me.
I wish I could discover some power to turn this around, something to turn this to my favor, to save us both!
But I didn't. So instead, I spit blood and saliva in the loa's eye as he lunged.
…then I died…
…
…
…
…and all I saw was white.
{YOU HAVE DIED}
{CALCULATING ACCUMULATED EXPERIENCES…}
{YOU HAVE EARNED 20 LP}
{You may choose to return to minutes before your death for 75% of your LP or continue to the next life and utilize all your points.}
What?
I was back in the white room again. I had…another chance!
20 LP was a modest amount, I could make myself way stronger than I was here in my next life. But what guarantee did I have on world choice? There were narrative universes out there that had unspeakable horrors occurring every moment, at least the equivalent horror in WoW was usually beaten back or killed. I had no desire to end up in 40K or something well and truly fucked up like the nightmare that was Highschool DxD. And all that besides, I wasn't a quitter, sometimes to my detriment, but it was who I was.
I chose to return.
{5 LP must be spent}
With only 5 LP to spend there wasn't much to choose from that could completely turn the tables, so I had to gamble on the other half of the coin of spell creation, one called:
{Spell Upgrader}
You can improve spells with one of three upgrade choices. The spell intended to be upgraded must correspond with the class' magic type. A spell may be upgraded a total of two times. One upgrade is granted on selection of this perk and an additional one upgrade per 10 class levels. (-5 LP)
I had seen it when making my build last time, but had elected to take the creation perk instead to streamline spell gains. Now it was my only hope to survive.
{2 Upgrades Available in Earth Magics}
I tapped on my spell list, trying to decide which spells would benefit the most from an upgrade.
{Earthshell}
{Meld}
{Rockshot}
{Shape Stone}
{Shardburst}
{Soothing Loam}
{Stoneclamp}
I had two upgrades available, and I needed to make them count, because I really doubted I was getting to come back here on my next death when I didn't have anymore LP.
Meld was out, he'd already shown he could knock me out of it.
Soothing Loam was not useful in a fight.
Of the remaining ones only Stoneclamp had really made anything of a difference at all in the fight.
I tapped on the ability and three options appeared:
{Mimicry: Rather than tighten, when additional mana is spent on the construct a glove of earth connects your own hand to it, allowing you to manipulate it as an extension of yourself.}
{Efficiency: The mana cost of the construct is reduced by a quarter, allowing you to create and maintain more clamps without depleting your resources as quickly.}
{Rapidity: The construct is created with increased speed and precision, allowing for quicker and more reactive deployment in combat situations.}
I thought about my options carefully. Efficiency caught my eye first. If I could reduce the mana cost of Stoneclamp, I could use it more frequently and maintain multiple constructs without running dry. A shame that I couldn't take Mimicry too.
Spell Upgrade Selected: Efficiency
Actually, there's not anything stopping me from just choosing to upgrade the same spell again.
I read the details of my new perk more closely, I could upgrade a spell twice and then that was it. I surged with glee, oh this was going to be so fucking therapeutic.
Spell Upgrade Selected: Mimicry
If I had had that kind of control when I first caught Dambala, I could have crushed him in moments. The precise control offered by Mimicry would be invaluable, and it meant that if I really wanted to, I could smack him around the same way he'd been doing to me.
{Returning to the moments before death…}
Color bled back into the white, darkening and filling in until a familiar scene was before me. The light faded away, replaced by a glowing purple miasma. The sensation was disorienting, like being submerged in ink, the cold seeping into my bones as the cavern reformed around me.
The sound of dripping water echoed faintly, a stark contrast to the oppressive silence that had filled the white void. My breath came in ragged gasps, the pain in my ribs sharp and real again. The harsh, uneven floor of the cavern materialized beneath me, and I could smell the damp earth and the acrid scent of Dambala's toxic magic.
I was back in the cavern, Dambala lunging at me. His maw was wide open, fangs glistening with venom, ready to end my life once more.
But this time, I was ready.
I felt the surge of power from my new upgrades. I had mere seconds to act. With a whispered word, I unleashed Stoneclamp, feeling the mana expenditure far less taxing than before. Earth erupted around Dambala's midsection, catching him by surprise. His coils strained against the sudden constriction, but it held firm.
I channeled additional mana into the construct. A glove of earth formed around my hand, connecting me directly to the Stoneclamp. I could feel the raw strength of the construct, an extension of my own arm. I clenched my fist, and the clamp tightened, crushing Dambala's coils with newfound strength.
He hissed in rage and pain, thrashing wildly, just as before, but unlike last time I could feel him struggling in my own hand.
The power was intoxicating. Here he was, this loa, a veritable wild god, a great spirit worshiped by many, he wriggled in my hand like a worm. It was a heady feeling, but I tamped down on it, I'd seen this before, I'd DONE this before.
He'd break away soon, doing the same thing he'd done last time, I wouldn't give him the chance
With the reduced mana cost, I summoned another Stoneclamp with my free hand. The construct formed in moments, sprouting from the ground with a longer 'wrist' than the other and latching onto the upper half of Dambala's body. I could feel the snake loa in my two hands as if he weren't large enough to devour two of me whole. I put my fists together dragging his ends together, then I gripped tight, feeling the stone fingers mirror me, I squeezed as tight as I could, then wrenched my hands apart. "No unheard of, worthless fuck like you is going to kill me, not this time!"
{Avatar of Dambala
HP: 1856/2000}
My shoulders wrenched at the sudden resistance when I couldn't literally pull him in half, but the pain was temporary, the panic displayed by the loa's sudden renewed thrashing was so rewarding. I held tight and pulled again.
"Wait! Mortal, it seems I have underestimated you! Let us make a de–AAGHH!"
{HP: 1619/2000}
I ignored his words and yanked on both ends again. And again. And again. And again. Continuing until the pain in my shoulders was only topped by the rage in my mind.
{HP: 312/2000}
All the while Dambala screamed out in fury and pain. "Damn you! Damn your line! And your whole misbegotten race too!"
Finally, with one final massive effort, I felt something give in my left shoulder, a sharp, excruciating pain signaling that I had pushed it beyond its limit. With a roar of fury and determination, I literally tore the serpent in half. The force of the act sent a shockwave through my body, a visceral snap echoing in my ears as Dambala's body split apart.
There was an outward explosion of shadow and purple light, a cataclysmic release of dark energy that blasted me off my feet. The sheer force of it hurled me across the cavern, slamming me into the rough, unforgiving cave wall with bone-rattling intensity. My ribs, already battered and bruised from the earlier confrontation, screamed in agony at the impact. My vision blurred for a moment, the edges tinged with the remnants of the loa's dark power. I slumped against the wall, every part of my body protesting the brutal treatment it had just endured. The cave was filled with the acrid scent of burnt stone. Eventually, I caught my breath and got back to my feet painfully.
As I approached the fallen loa, his body shattered and broken, torso hanging limply off the rubble of the construct that had torn him apart, his eyes still glimmered with a cold, malevolent light. His voice, though weak, carried the short distance to me.
"...hear me, quilboar," he rasped, barely more than a whisper.
I suppressed a shiver, and checked my mana.
{MP: 24/100}
Enough at least to comfortably approach the quickly fading avatar. If need be I could manage another Stoneclamp.
"You may have bested me today, but know this—my wrath does not end with this avatar's passing. My curse will linger long after this shadow fades."
He struggled to gather the last of his strength. "From this day forth, may your every step be in fear of my children for they will hunt you down, dog your every step on land, hunt your scent no matter where you lay your head. I will have…vengeance."
He hissed his last words and the light faded from his eyes.
You are now afflicted with:
{Dambala's Ire} - Minor Curse
Serpents and serpent-like creatures with low intelligence are incredibly likely to attack you on sight. Their instincts are twisted by the curse making them actively seek you out to harm you.
I hummed in annoyance, that was going to get really fucking irritating. "Petty ass bitch of a loa," I grumbled before turning to see my faithful companion.
Solara's wings were no longer skewered on shadowy spikes, but they would need healing once I had the mana for it. She looked up at me with clouded eyes and for a moment I thought she might attack me under the influence of the curse, but her eyes cleared and she nudged her head into my hand.
Oh thank everything. I picked her up gently, careful not to touch her wounds. "My sweet stubborn girl, not even that giant ass loa could sway you, huh?"
A weak hiss was my only answer. I laughed, clutching painfully at my ribs and exited the cave, the miasma in the cavern was fading by the moment, and the darkness just seemed like regular run-of-the-mill darkness now. Whatever Dambala had done to this place, it was fading rapidly with his death.
{Objective Complete: Vanquish the source of the corruption in the depths}
+2000 Earthcaller XP
You know, through it all, I'd somehow managed to forget about how much I was getting from this. I wonder how many levels that wo–
Earthcaller lvl. 12 to 20 (MAXED)
+2 Spirit
I felt my awareness expand. Before if I focused hard enough I could sense the earth that I could manipulate around me, now it was lingering there constantly on the edge of my senses. Like something you could see but only out of the corner of your eye. The sensation was akin to having an extra limb or an additional sense, like an ever-present connection to the ground that I could take hold of at any moment.
New class options have appeared in the Path of Earth
Would you like to continue in the Path of Earth or choose an alternate path?
Path of Earth (Continue)
Path of Fists
Path of Stealth
Path of Thorns
Honestly, some martial capability beyond 'cut 'em with the sharp part' or 'poke em with the pointy end,' wouldn't be amiss. I'd managed to get by so far but I hadn't fought against anything humanoid that was likely to be skilled with weapons. In fact if Mankrik was the measuring stick, then I would be pretty boned if someone pulled up to me in melee.
But I had new class options available in my current path, ones that were probably a good deal more powerful than Earthcaller, and look how far I'd come with just that.
I selected Path of Earth, doubling down on it.
Classes:
Geomancer
Animate the earth around you to your will, creating golems and devastating terrain. Initial spell: {Earth Spike}
One of the initial classes I'd been offered. Golems would be nice to have, and this class seemed to lean more towards the spells of mass destruction that Earthcaller hadn't let me create.
The only other option in this section was:
Terrashaper
Delve deeper into the intricate manipulation of earth and stone, while expanding your control to include other earth-based substances. In lieu of an initial spell {Shape Stone} will be changed to {Mold Earth}.
Which was obviously the immediate follow up to Earthcaller, but then there were some greyed out classes that I couldn't access yet in the next section.
Prestige Classes:
Seismic Knight (Dependency: Warrior)
Drape yourself in stone armor and enhance your strength and weapon strikes to devastate all who challenge you. Initial spell: {Rockbiter}
So I can't pick this until I've maxed out the Warrior class, that's too bad because it sounded decently powerful.
Stoneweaver (Dependency: Thornweaver)
Make stone bloom like plants, and imbue a semblance of life into your creations, allowing them to grow. Initial spell: {Waken Stone}
Stoneweaver sounded fascinating. The idea of making stone bloom like plants was intriguing. Would they be capable of photosynthesis or would they grow through some other means? A long time ago I read a story about a guy planting a massive tree right beside a government building because he had been wronged. The tree's enormous roots had quickly begun demolishing the building out of sight, enacting the man's revenge. Could I do something similar? Seeing these prestige classes and not being able to pick them yet was were like tantalizing glimpses of power just out of reach.
Instead I had to decide between the other two non-prestige classes.
I debated with myself, torn between Terrashaper and Geomancer. The ability to craft golems to fight and labor for me was incredibly appealing. Having loyal stone servants to handle the grunt work and protect me in battle sounded like a dream. But the allure of furthering my ability to mold the earth to my whims was equally strong. I imagined raising a city from stone with ease, shaping intricate structures and defenses with a mere thought.
But that was a daydream, one impossible until I had significantly more mana and power than I did currently. In the end, practicality won out. Golems would make combat less dangerous for me, providing both offensive power and defensive support. I couldn't deny the appeal of having them fight on my behalf while I directed from a safer distance.
{Geomancer Selected}
I made my decision and selected Geomancer, opting for the choice that would make combat less dangerous for me. This particular path of destruction and creation through the manipulation of the earth just seemed right, besides nothing said I couldn't pick the other on my next go, it had taken me a few weeks in total to max my first class, if I continued at that speed, I would have several more classes complete before a year was up.
{Spell Learned: Earth Spike}
{Earth Spike: Launch a sharp conical projectile of earth capable of piercing moderately armored targets. Costs 20 MP.}
Huh, that would've been handy to have against that shadowy snake fucker. I grumbled to myself in irritation because this also would have been perfect against the Rockborer, no way those organic plates on its back counted as heavy armor. Still, I couldn't be too annoyed, this spell would be perfect against those kinds of targets in the future.
Speaking of spells, I had another four spell creation options having reached Earthcaller Level 15 and then maxing it out at 20. I also had another spell upgrade available for the Earthcaller spells, but it was probably better to make the new spells before deciding on what to upgrade.
At least it gave me something other than my slowly healing pet to focus on during my trek back up through miles and miles of tunnel.
AN: Planning to do away with class XP in future chapters and just have quests directly reward class levels, while training and using abilities from the class in combat will occasionally grant a level, this is mostly because I don't want to keep throwing large numbers into the story as well as tracking XP on my end. Enjoy and review, seeya in the next one!
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