[383] 5.7 The Atlantean Trials IV

After taking a couple of minutes to heal ourselves and give Chloe a chance to restore her [Ether], the two of us make our way back to the monolith.  We try to stay in the trees off the main path so as to avoid a confrontation I’m increasingly not confident in my ability to overcome.  However, we’re rebuffed by a force field strong enough that neither my passive abilities nor my knowledge of glyphs can break us free of.

Even worse, when we arrive back at the monolith, now nine of the twelve insignia are illuminated.  Three, four, and six were done before we got there.  We completed nine and now five.  Seven was completed while we fought the Lion, and eight shortly thereafter.  And now two and ten are completed, leaving only eleven, twelve, and one between us and the gateway to the underworld and presumably the final boss of the dungeon.

“Which way?” Chloe asks.

I point straight ahead.  “It’s the logical place to start, and yet, our friends didn’t see fit to go there.  Either the challenge was too great, causing them to flee, or they are deliberately saving the place for last.”

“I don’t disagree with your logic, but another possibility is simply waiting here and dealing with the other group whenever they get here.”

“I don’t like that plan.  We know the approximate strength of all the monsters in the dungeon, and that we are capable of defeating them.  We don’t know the strength of these adventurers.  If, goddesses forbid, they are post-third ascension, I’m not confident in our ability to defeat them.”

“Wait, are you suggesting that maybe we’ll open the way to whatever lies beneath the monolith, and try to sneak off without finishing the dungeon ourselves?”

“It’s merely a possibility.  While the idea of letting such treasure go disgusts me, the speed with which this other group has completed these trials has me worried.  They either have superior numbers, superior strength, or both.  I don’t plan to die here and now.  Not before we ever have the chance to live our lives as a married couple.”

Our mental conversation is cut short as eleven o’clock lights up, leaving only twelve and one remaining.  My hands start to shake.  I refuse to allow myself to think about the worst possibility any longer.  Far more than just Chloe’s and my life hinge on the outcomes that will transpire when our groups inevitably clash, and so I must keep my mind focused on how to maximize the probability of a favorable outcome.

I think about the possibilities as we make our way toward high noon and whatever labor is left undone.  Ceding a portion of our equipment as tribute might normally allow us to escape with our lives intact in other circumstances.  On the surface, it even makes sense.  We now know that items in a person’s [Inventory] are permanently lost, resabsorbed by the System with the contents scattered to various dungeons.

The problem is that the most valuable possession we have is our lives, and the Experience that they would acquire for defeating us.  My guess is upwards of a million for the two of us, maybe more, depending on other factors like their level and whatever else of the myriad ‘difficulty modifiers’, as I like to call them, the System sees fit to dispense on such a clash.

The more I think of it as we move through the clear skies, watching as the nearly-full moon reaches its zenith, the more I realize the sobering truth of war under the System.  The incentives of any clash between such high level fighters will inevitably lead to death, should either party desire to make it so.  Quarter and prisoners of war will be relics of the past, relegated to an age where both sides had mutual interest in preventing war from being absolute.

There are only two ways to avoid such an outcome that I can surmise.  Either the weaker side must be able to project enough strength that the other side deems a clash too pyrrhic to undertake.  Or there must be a third party waiting in the wings.  That third group need not be as strong as the two main belligerents.  Only strong enough to swoop in and defeat the now weakened side after the conflict concludes.

But, given how levels and personal strength now grows in the crucible of battle, I’m not even certain if the latter is sufficient deterrent.  Having heard about this challenge from Madison in my past life is one thing; experiencing the very same conundrum, especially while being in the unenviable position of being the weaker party, is quite another.

We arrive at the end of the path to find a large valley lined with a thick haze and many rocky crags on either side of the pass.  The land is barren of all signs of life, the stench of burning sulfur only marginally more pleasing to the nose than the Hydra’s fell miasma.  A dim incandescence striates the path, as though we are diving into a volcano.  Or, as I’m increasingly suspecting might be the case, into the depths of the underworld.

Chloe’s left hand again slips in my right, her right hand holding [Lumen], which glows softly to dispel the unnatural darkness seeping in.  I recognize Ether signatures that I’ve come to associate with the [Infernal] element.  A low and distant rumble echoes from further within.  I can practically taste the hunger and the rotting carcasses and half-gnawed bones which lay scattered as a warning to all those who dare challenge the creature who lairs at the end of the path.

“Are we both ready?” Chloe asks.

“As ready as we’re going to be.”  I give her hand a gentle squeeze.  After checking over my [Status] one more time to confirm that all buffs remain applied and my [Health] and [Ether] remain topped off, we head past the final turn and into the cave in the distance.  It does not take long to reach the next labor.

Two yellow eyes lock onto my own.  We each blink in unison.  Those two eyes become six, joined soon after by dozens of ivory triangles as the three-headed hound stands up from its previous torpor.  The rumble of its growls reverberates through my body.  The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.  [Defiant Spirit] activates; blocking an attempt to impose a fear effect upon me.  Chloe is shaken, though recovers just in time for the fight to begin.

Both of us take to the air to avoid a trio of hungry mouths attempting a bite of human flesh.  The ceiling of the cave is not particularly high, maybe fifty feet at most.  It’s enough to avoid the maws hungering for our flesh as long as this overgrown canine remains groundbound, but not enough to stop it from leaping into the air and attempting to squash me against the ceiling.

I use [Subspace Manipulation] to blink out of the way, reappearing a few feet to the left.  I have only long enough to deliver a superficial wound along the side of the right head before gravity reasserts dominion over the beast.  It lands with a thud that shakes the entire cave.

Worse still, our adversary has a strong healing factor.  By the time it has landed, the fresh blood has already scabbed over.  It growls up at us.  The wound heals and the scab falls off a few seconds later.  Then it is back upon us, this time spitting up the characteristic ebon jets of [Infernal] flame at both of us simultaneously while the third and final head tracks our movement with eyes that unfocus seemingly at will.

I use [Subspace Manipulation] again to phase out of the way of the attack.  Chloe counters the boulder-sized orb with an equal burst of [Celestial Fire].  The two attacks collide into a flash of pure white as both annihilate each other.  For a brief moment, I think I catch a glimpse of something, though I have no time to investigate further.

More bursts of [Infernal] flame follow.  The two of us bob and weave and avoid suffering more than superficial grazes from either this fire or the occasional spikes of some sort of osseo-igneous substances being launched out of its throat.

We’re at an impasse.  We’re not taking damage, but the pittance we are dealing in return is healed well before it gets a chance to accumulate.  Chloe and I converse in the midst of battle about battle strategy, and after my [Saintess’s Cloister] is refreshed, I dive directly into the fray, ready to try my newest Skill.

[Pyretic Simulacrum] is a spell that seems simple on the surface.  It uses my [Ether] to conjure a fiery duplicate of myself that can act with a limited degree of autonomy.  It obeys general commands I mentally issue, though it dissipates after no more than three and a half minutes.  But the Skill can be pushed forward.  And, risky though it may be, I think I know how to do so.

My furry friend’s left head shoots out an [Infernal] sphere directly at it.  I raise [Pyretic Simulacrum] to block.  As expected, even with two thousand points of [Ether] behind it, it lasts for less than a second before dissipating and forcing me to teleport out of the way of the strike.  I narrowly avoid horizontal bisection courtesy of the central head before the right head is preparing another orb of obsidian flame, this time from point-blank range.

I raise [Pyretic Simulacrum] to intercept.  It begins to fall apart almost immediately.  I focus what I must on maintaining the half-living shield.  At the same time, I tap into my [[Infernal] Element Manipulation] and begin channeling my dual element directly into the simulacrum.  But nothing happens, and I’m forced to retreat before I’m cooked by the heat.

Chloe taps me with her healing magic and takes the point for a brief moment while I lock-in and prepare myself, using the crucible of battle and stress to propel my Skill’s evolution.  [Ether] flows from my core out to my extremities as I continue to push even more of my remaining energy into a bigger, sharper flame.  Then, with [Pyretic Simulacrum] as my guide and channeling the full benefits of [Advanced Ether Manipulation], I start to shape [Infernal] fire into the shape of a person.

I’m forced to dodge another nasty attack that singes my left arm through the last bit of [Saintess’s Cloister].  Training and adrenaline together are blocking out the pain as I continue my work.  So close I can…  Almost.  Just about…

“I think I’ve got it!” I shout.

“Hurry up!  I’m starting to run too low on [Ether] to keep this up for much longer!”

I take one final breath before diving back in the fray.  Chloe is being tailed by another one of those bullets; the giant canine seems to have an endless supply and so far hasn’t been winded in the slightest even by this level of exertion.  Not that I expect it to survive this next attack.

I use [[Infernal] Element Manipulation] once more, this time applying it to [Pyretic Simulacrum] using the method I felt earlier.  It doesn’t take at first.  Jet flames give way to crimson.  I try again and fail again, but I can tell I’m almost there.  Damnit, Seraphina!  Get it to-fucking-gether!

All three heads roar, their combined gaze fixed solely upon me.  Do or die.  And I’m not fucking dying before I have a chance to make Chloe my wife.  Three bursts of [Infernal] energy merge together into one even larger blast that threatens to turn my flesh to vapor and my bones to dust.  I respond in kind, forcing every scrap of [Ether] I can summon, all 8,000 points stored in the [Ring of the Infernium], and what little Chloe can donate to me through our bond.

For a split second, only vermillion emerges.  Then, a speck of black forms at the center of my simulacrum.  More and more, the form takes on a shadowy replica of myself until the entirety of the figure is as dark as the endless void.

[Your [Pyretic Simulacrum (Rank VI)] has evolved into [Infernal Doppelgänger (Rank I)]].

[[Infernal Doppelgänger]: Conjures a duplicate of the self made of [Infernal] flame.  The user may issue simple directives to the doppelganger, or allow it to act on its own initiative.  (Even when acting on its own, the duplicate shares the goals and knowledge of its caster and will never harm the caster or their interests.)  The doppelganger may also use the Skills available to the caster, although the clone’s stats are treated as being 60% of the caster’s and its available [Ether] is equal to the amount spent to use [Infernal Doppelgänger], less 3,000.  Cost: 6,000+ [Ether].  Duration: (20 + [Skill Rank] x 10) Seconds.]

I don’t need to issue a command; the new clone already knows what to do.  It raises its hand toward the sphere of black fire and launches an inverted [Repulsion] glyph, drawing every scrap of the giant dog’s attack into itself, reinforcing itself with the captured [Infernal] flame and growing stronger by virtue of being made of the stuff.

It— her, for she is me— then proceeds forward, charging directly at the enemy who for the first time finally shows panic.  It tries to champ at her form, but she moves too fast.  She then disappears.  Nothing happens for a second.  Then two, then three.

After five seconds, as Chloe and I turn to each other, the beast drops to the ground.  It seems my double can also teleport, and teleport directly into the creature’s innards, cooking it from the inside.  Truly a vicious ability; if the ability to create and command bomb-carrying drones is part and parcel of third-ascension fighters, then…

There’s no sense pontificating over it now.  We should get going, and fast.

[You have slain Kerberos, Hound of Hell (Level 93).  You have gained a boosted 972,575 Experience.]

[You have gained enough Experience to reach Level 94.  [Strength] +1, [Vitality] +1.  Please assign free stat points. (Remaining: 11)]

[Maximum Health increases by [Vitality] x 2 + Current Level + Rand[1,3] = 586]

[Maximum Ether increases by [Mind] + Current Level + Rand[0,2] = 378]

[Level: 94; Experience: 19,072,100;  To Next: 159,650]

[Current Stats: [Health]: 19,520 / 25,958; [Ether]: 1,146 / 18,322]

[Current Stats: [Strength]: 582 (Base: 205); [Speed]: 568 (Base: 200); [Vitality]: 696 (Base: 245); [Mind]: 804 (Base: 283)]