Underworld - Sanctuary: A LitRPG Series, page 32
“I forged it with Fire Magic in mind since you use the element so often. It’ll also protect from high heat.”
Russ handed it to me. Switching my scepter to my off hand, I took the weapon. It immediately struck me as surprisingly light. The handle wasn’t wrapped but textured to stay in the hand during use and it wouldn’t melt off at high temperatures. Its long shaft joined together a three-pronged hammer face and a long spike with a thick point for punching holes in armor. Another spike, with a sharpened point, stuck out its top, finishing a savage looking Warhammer.
Checking its stats, I saw it had a normal base physical damage for the hammer and both spikes, but a whopping +700 Fire Damage. It was perfect. My scepter’s ability to increase my Light Magic’s ability had become far too valuable to risk as my primary weapon. I took a moment to choke up on my scepter, holding it near the middle of its shaft, and encased it in bone. I cast Skeleton Warrior’s Shield through it, turning my scepter into the handle of my shield.
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
He smacked me on the shoulder as if to say it was nothing.
They made way as I began to depart. As I passed, everyone seemed to line up and clap me on the back. Each one drummed into me the realization that these were living people. They were my friends. If anything went wrong, many of them might not be breathing tomorrow.
I hurried from there to take my place on the far side of the room on the second floor, where I overlooked the room and had a clear view of the entire battlefield. With Mana Sight turned up to full power, I suffered through the moments as they stretched out. I was determined that today I’d miss nothing.
The first sign of the minotaurs was a single snort. It flew into The Bridge from the Outer Perimeter like a ravenous vulture looking for prey.
“Here they come!” Richard declared.
An impact rang out as if a herd of cattle had stomped together with all their strength. Their march forward began. The monstrous minotaurs, walking two by two, filed into the room at a trot and began to line up. Firaestus held his ground until they made the first move.
The beasts had to stand at least ten feet tall, while some of them were a head taller than the rest. The fur on their arms and faces was a rich dark red. Some had specks of white. Their horns jutted out of the sides of their heads reaching wide before turning up into sharp points. As Russ had said, their armor ran thick with mana and covered their torsos, groins, and thighs. Almost all of them carried axes large enough for a man to wield with two hands, with spike meant for thrusting on the end. If it wasn’t for Firaestus towering over them, I’d have probably pulled our bashers back.
It only took them a minute to form up. They stood shield to shield in a giant semicircle. The largest minotaurs seemed to be sprinkled among them. They may have been squad leaders of some kind. To their rear stood a single minotaur at least 15 feet tall with his arms crossed. He was the only one of them without a shield. Waldemar, I suspect.
I was able to get a better read on their levels. It was as Richard had said, about a third of them were over level 1,000. Half of those hovered around level 1,200 and at least three of them were too high for me to observe. That meant three of them were over level 1,642.
An irritated moo trumpeted from their massive leader before he opened his mouth and let out a shrill roar that seemed to press against me like a physical attack. It was as if a weighted net had been thrown on my head. It passed quickly, but I saw it affect Aeris and everyone else. The most interesting bit was how mana seemed to blast off of the bull captain when he gave his battle cry. Like a bubble of energy, it now engulfed his entire troop.
I informed Richard of what I saw, and he relayed it to everyone else.
Aeris’s hand found mine. I squeezed it to hopefully help encourage her.
When nothing attacked, Waldemar stomped as if demanding something, then spoke with the minotaur that had approached him.
The minotaur was hard to see at the back of the enemy’s line, but soon the enemy troop started to part so that he could make his way to the front. When he appeared, he was only average in height compared to the others, but there was something about him that I couldn’t place.
Setting his eyes on Firaestus, he swung his arms out to the sides, showing off his thick physique before bringing his axe and shield together like a mighty drum. As the ringing came to a stop, he let out a final snort before charging the golem alone. They were making a blasted sport out of him.
Creature Observation told me one thing that I wasn’t happy to see. Unlike many of the other minotaurs, this one was at least a thousand levels higher than I was. I couldn’t get a reading on him.
Messaging Richard, I informed him to have everyone watch the fight to learn as much as they could. Unless we were attacked, or the fight moved into dangerous range, no one should attack.
Making sure my connection to Firaestus was strong, I prepared to act the puppet master and see what damage I could cause.
Chapter 28 – Holy Cow
As powerful as Quake had been, he had ended up being little more than a roadblock to the four minotaur scouting squads. I regretted not seeing the fight play out, but despite that, Firaestus was a creature of Fire and Wind. There was no reason this fight couldn’t go differently.
Firaestus had some impressive stats, with 2,000 to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. It was his special abilities that might really make him really dangerous though.
Essence of Wind and Fire – Firaestus possesses the very essence of the Prime Elements Wind and Fire. Don’t let his physical stats fool you. It’s not his fists alone that he fights with. His speed and power come from the wind and flames he wields.
In place of HP, Firaestus’s lifeforce is measured by his MP. His abilities also utilize this same stat. As he uses his abilities or takes damage, it will cost him MP, but his extreme Mana Regeneration will help to keep him alive.
Note: Mana Regeneration based on Constitution instead of Wisdom.
As the minotaur charged, Firaestus had a perfect view of not just the minotaur, but the entire enemy troop. With 2,130,000 MP at his disposal, there was no reason to not start off with a big bang.
Flames shot up from my twenty-foot golem as he gathered tens of thousands of MP. The bashers at our front line had to duck below their shields to fend off the heat and they were three times as far away from it as the enemy. With the minotaurs’ champion closing in, Firaestus drew the flames into himself, pushed his arms toward his attacker, then unleashed hellfire.
The minotaur was completely engulfed in flames, but it didn’t stop there. Like an oncoming train, fire pushed past him and billowed into the enemy line. The torrent carved a deep cavern into their troop, reaching as far back as Waldemar himself.
Even with Mana Sight at full strength, it was difficult to track so many minotaurs’ dwindling HP. I grimaced when I saw that even the lowest level minotaurs that had been in the direct line of the flames had only lost 40% of their HP. Still, it caught a third of them in its path.
My attention turned back to the minotaur champion. He didn’t slow or try to evade. I found it hard to breathe as I watched him lower his head as if to shade his eyes from the sun. He plowed through the fervent heat.
Reaching out to Firaestus, I tried warning him of an incoming attack, but was too late.
The minotaur’s axe swung in a wide arch and bit into my golem’s knee. The strength and momentum behind the blow caused him to buckle. Without slowing, the minotaur launched his head into Firaestus’s gut and battered the giant golem off his feet, sending him crashing to his back.
It was hard not to cringe. It sounded like someone had thrown a truck across the room to smack into the wall.
“Holy cow!” Richard said.
As if in response, Waldemar bellowed with a deep baritone like a war-horn. The same neutral mana that had engulfed his army sent a shockwave through his force. At once those minotaurs that had been injured during Firaestus’s flames were bolstered.
They weren’t healed in the way my Light Magic worked, but those that were burnt had their uninjured flesh strengthened and their HP began to rise. It came to rest at 90%. It was then that I saw the HP of the minotaurs that had not been caught in the flames. Their HP had gone down a couple percent as their comrades were restored to fighting shape.
I had to swallow back a knot in my throat. They were not going to be easy to kill. Rambling off what I learned to Richard, I’d rely on him to communicate to the others in more succinct fashion.
The minotaur champion wasn’t giving Firaestus time to recover. He marched forward with his shield outstretched and his axe at the ready.
As big as my golem was, he was no lumbering brute. With 2,000 Dexterity, he jumped to his feet and lunged forward. His right hand became a paw of fire claws that swept low across the floor as it surged toward the enemy’s chest.
Squatting low, the minotaur braced for the incoming blow, catching it square on the shield. He shrugged it off and charged in the same breath. His head smacked into the golem’s gut once again, pushing him back, but as the minotaur swung his axe, the golem’s left arm blasted into him like a wall of air and sent him surfing across the ground.
The minotaur slowed to a stop almost forty feet away and had been able to keep his footing. He snorted as if laughing before bursting into another charge.
Firaestus seemed ready. His windy left hand slashed across the ground where the enemy should have been, but somehow the minotaur’s speed skyrocketed.
Instead of ramming into my golem’s gut, the minotaur leaped, driving his horns deep into Firaestus’s chest.
The impact drove the golem off his feet and knocked off over 100,000 MP from his remaining life. Since he used his MP as his health and power source, his utility was becoming bleak, but it wasn’t over. He still had more than 1,500,000 MP left.
After he’d been pushed back multiple times, there was a problem. I was considering turning him into a firebomb, but our bashers were far too close to come out unsinged unless he got closer. If I commanded them to move back, their numbers and position would become known. There was no perfect solution, but one idea presented itself.
I had no idea if he would be capable of what I asked of him, but I sent the command and received no rejection in response.
Coming to his feet, Firaestus lowered himself like a basketball player readying to leap for a rebound.
The minotaur champion wasn’t waiting for whatever he was about to try. At ungodly speed, he charged the golem once again.
Exploding from his stance, Firaestus shot up into the air.
Clipping his foot, the golem’s three biggest toes on his left foot were torn clean off. It was too late.
Hovering for a moment twenty meters in the air, Firaestus’s upper body cleared the second floor. His mana turned to flame, which sent our casters lining the ledges to run for cover. There had been no time to warn them. At least they wouldn’t be visible to the enemy as they fled.
My golem turned into a meteor of fire. Though some of the minotaurs could have possibly moved for cover, with help from his wind magic Firaestus shot toward the minotaur troop like a small caliber bullet.
Impacting the ground, his remaining mana exploded into an inferno of fire.
Three-quarters of the minotaurs were caught in the blast. Those near the middle suffered the worst. At least a dozen were brought to their knees. A handful were no longer standing.
Waldemar shouted out a moaning moo. It was long and drawn out, almost like a monk’s extended chant. The same magic, if it could be called magic, bolstered his minotaurs and let those with less damage share their HP with the injured. In less than a minute, except for those that had never gotten back on their feet, not one of his men had less than 80% HP.
I knew at least a few of them had died, for I had gained 4 levels. I automatically put my new stat points into Wisdom.
Our mages retook their places overlooking the carnage below. I found our bashers in just as good health. No one had taken damage.
I could feel the nerves of the entire room as the people of Sanctuary realized it was over. Next, it would be our turn to fight.
The minotaur champion strutted over to the middle of the front line where Waldemar met him and the remaining minotaurs stomped out the remaining fire. After they nodded to one another, Waldemar slammed his hoof into the stone floor, grabbing the attention of the entire room. The rest of his men followed as one. A multitude of snorts sounded. Whether it was because they considered their champion victorious, or it was to honor their fallen comrades, I didn’t know.
The most unexpected thing happened next. Waldemar inclined his massive head and called out in our language, “Humans! I will speak with your leader! Come forward!”
I looked to Aeris with an open mouth.
“Should we attack?” she asked.
“No. I don’t think so. Even after we killed a few of them, he still seems to have kept his cool. I don’t think he’ll just attack me if I go.”
“What can we possibly get from talking to them?”
“I don’t know. If they know we’re here, why don’t they just attack? Do they want us to reveal our position? I think I’ll try to downplay our hand.”
“Fine. I’m going to get closer if you are going down there, though.”
“Just stay out of sight.”
She nodded that she would.
Waldemar didn’t move from where he stood, nor did he say another word. The scariest part was that he had probably done this so many times in similar situations that he could have probably guessed how long it would take me to make up my mind.
I decided against jumping down from the second floor. As impressive as it might have been, it would also direct their attention to the second floor. If I could help it, I’d keep them guessing as long as I could.
I spoke to general chat for all to hear as I started down the stairs. “I’m going to speak to him. Continue to be as still and quiet as you can. Bashers. Slowly make a path for me while trying to stay invisible and making as little sound as possible. Do not attack unless I say.”
Making it near the bottom of the stairs, I stopped. Thankfully, Clarissa had come up with the idea to put a wall here, so it would be impossible for them to see if I had come from the second floor or the Inner Perimeter. Releasing my own Invisibility, I walked the remaining steps until I was no longer behind the protection of the wall.
Turning to face our enemy, I stopped and took a deep breath. Skeletal Armor was insufficient for such a meeting, so I let Bone Titan’s Defense magically equip before their eyes. With my shield in one hand and the Greater Fira Warhammer in the other, I started forward.
4x In The Buff was active. If they knew about me from Mistress Nava, then it was my Light Magic they would have heard about. My stats at this level were near the same level as 1x Fire Incubus Form, except my bone armor was nowhere near as tough as the Incubus’s skin. At least in this state, my buffs were just barely dipping into my maximum mana while giving me the stats I needed to react quickly if the need arose.
I quickly checked my total stats with buffs for a last look to make sure all my calculations were sound.
Level: 646
Health Points: 342,516
Mana Points: 545,799
Mana Per Minute: 10,396 (173.26 Per Second)
Attributes
Strength: 3,114
Dexterity: 3,193
Constitution: 3,155
Intelligence: 2,981
Wisdom: 5,073
4x In The Buff cost 9,600 Mana Per Minute plus the near 1,000 Mana Per Minute I was using to keep everyone invisible and my armor and shield active. Needless to say, with my mana I could remain in this state without running out of mana for more than a day.
As I passed Sanctuary’s bashers, I didn’t dare look in their direction for fear that I’d give them away. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know if they would be of much help against what we had seen of the minotaurs, but it still felt good to have them at my back.
Nearing Waldemar, even with my buffs and Ascension, I stood only seven feet tall. He was a monster that was literally twice my height. His eyes seemed small in comparison to his head, but there was no doubting the intelligence that examined me as I approached.
He began walking toward me as I reached their side of the bridge.
The tension in my shoulders and neck betrayed my nerves. It wasn’t just his size. The mana flowing through him was comparable to the Dark Elf we had faced when battling Lady Contessa. Why would an obvious basher have so much?
We stopped in the open space between both of our peoples, whether he knew my men were there or not.
“You are Elorion,” he grumbled.
“I am,” I replied. “You are Waldemar.”
He snorted. “You are well informed. You have prisoners?”
“No prisoners.”
Raising his shoulders, his beady eyes widened as he took in a deep sniff.
Was he a dog trying to smell me?
He snorted out a kind of laugh. Just as quickly his tone changed to deadly serious. “Where is Lady Contessa?”
Should I lie? It would have been impossible for us to take her prisoner. Instead, should I make a show of strength? There wasn’t much to lose. I doubted this would end without a fight anyways.
“I killed her,” I said bluntly.
He sniffed again, but this time with not nearly as much air. He was quiet for a long moment. “A shame. She was Mistress Nava’s favorite. Where are the others? There were twenty of you.”
“They died in the fight with Lady Contessa.”
He lowered his head like an angry bull. With the slightest sniff, he replied, “You lie.”
With a shrug, I amended my fib. “Two others survived, but they aren’t really fighters. You will be fighting me.”
He shook his head slowly while staring into my eyes. Cocking his head to the side, he took in a mighty breath while turning his nose about to test the air. When he had finished, he glared into me. “They’re here. Aren’t they?”
