Second Chance Swordsman 3 (A LitRPG Adventure), page 21
Sam was taken aback by the bravery and optimism of his two friends.
The two of them had died so long ago in his first timeline, he felt overwhelmed when he experienced new memories and moments with them. Now here they were in front of him, not just being rescued and saved by him, but propping him up, inspiring him to be better.
It was miraculous, beautiful, and filled Sam with hope.
He looked at his friends and smiled.
“You’re right,” said Sam. “The details of the second stage should be coming up any moment now. We need to prepare ourselves for the challenging battles ahead.”
The sadness in Sam’s heart had been lifted and, in its place, a small ember of rage began to burn in its place. A quiet and stoic anger for all those the Arcane Reavers had already harmed in this timeline and all those who they would harm if they were to succeed with their goals.
He couldn’t wait to rid such pieces of trash from this world.
Right then, a new prompt appeared in their retina.
Stage 2 of “Scenario: The Werewolf Assault on Eldoria” will commence in 30, 29, 28…
52
Damian Blackthorne grimaced at the sight of the burning forest in front of him.
Through the flames, he could see retreating werewolves, futilely running towards them only to arrive as charred bones at his feet.
“Some faction we’ve been assigned,” spat Brom at the werewolf corpses.
Damian was also disappointed by all the dead werewolves around them, but that was outside his control. He had to give this small victory to whoever they were fighting against, whoever had been crafty enough to delay their entrance into the gate. Whoever that was—their craftiness had earned them a head start.
Thankfully that’s all they had gained from their little trick, Damian mused.
But whoever this was, Damian recognized them as a worthy opponent. Similar to how the New Queen had provided him with knowledge of the Gray Gate, so too did their opponent seem to have some kind of foreknowledge that they would be there.
Such prescient thinking should not be shrugged off.
Their opponents were definitely a threat of some kind.
Damian had already forgotten about the dead werewolves at his feet and stared at the forest fire, trying to gain as much information on his opponent as he could.
He looked at the flames.
They weren’t quite orange, more a red crimson pink.
He turned to his companion, Kaelan Pyreforge.
If anyone knew anything about fire, it was him.
“What do you make of these flames?” asked Damian.
Kaelan narrowed his eyes as he took in the burning forest.
“This is not normal fire,” said Kaelan. “We’re definitely not dealing with another Wizard-class Traveler with fire affinity, that’s for sure. This looks to me more like, blood magic.”
Damian nodded.
There were multiple classes that utilized blood magic, too many to narrow it down just by the forest in front of them; but blood magic was a rare enough type of power to narrow down the abilities of such a Traveler to someone with a super-rare class or above.
A class with such rarity aligned with everything Damian had already gathered about the mysterious person they were up against: they were dealing with a worthy opponent.
They also should presume this person had allies in here with them.
Damian sighed and looked up at the dark sky above.
He took a little solace in the fact that it was night in this dungeon world.
At least, he had that going for him. His Night Stalker class was at full power.
Then, a message appeared in his retina.
Just by their straightened shoulders, Damian could tell his companions had received the same prompt as well.
Scenario: The Werewolf Assault on Eldorian
Faction: Werewolves
Stage 2: Protect and Defend the Source of the Werewolf Curse
(3 Hours Remaining)
Damian nodded and took in the instructions.
Before he even had a chance to think about the fact that he had just arrived in this world and absolutely had no idea where the source of the werewolf curse was, he suddenly just did.
The source was just a bit south from where they were.
“What a strange dungeon gate,” said Brom, looking in the direction where Damian knew the werewolf source lay. “What’s the plan, boss?”
Damian grinned.
It was the first time he felt a sense of true satisfaction since entering this irregular gate.
“Listen closely,” said Damian, as he began to tell his companions what they were going to do next.
Sam and his companions read the message of the new prompt in their retinas.
Scenario: The Werewolf Assault on Eldoria
Faction: Eldorians
Stage 2: Break Through the Defenses and Discover the Source of the Werewolf Curse
(3 Hours Remaining)
Sam grinned.
He was pleased with what the prompt said. It aligned with everything he had read about the Gray Gate Catastrophe he had read about in his previous timeline.
He was thankful that it hadn’t altered here.
On more than one occasion, Sam had to deal with the consequences of his actions altering the current timeline and therefore changing what he expected to happen next.
Not the case here.
Beyond the major frustration of the Arcane Reavers actually entering the irregular dungeon gate, everything else was going to plan. Now they just had to keep going and let all the pieces come together.
They had won the first stage, now putting the werewolves on the backfoot.
He knew from his research in his previous timeline that those on the werewolf faction would know the location of the werewolf curse, while those on the opposing faction would not. It was the irregular dungeon’s way of handicapping those victorious in the first stage of the scenario gate.
He quickly scanned his profile and could see that his stats were all improving.
Perfect.
“Okay, the prompt seems simple enough,” said Klara.
“What’s the strategy here?” asked Toby, turning to Sam.
Sam looked at the prompt one last time, watching as the timer went down.
They didn’t have any time to waste.
But a few important conversations and key details needed to be discussed.
Prior to the emergence of the Gray Gate, Sam had informed Olivia about who they would be fighting and whatever details he could provide that would make that fight easier.
The group was quite well aware of the rogue Travelers already so Sam didn’t have to share that many details.
Toby and Klara, on the other hand, would be less familiar with the Arcane Reavers.
Sam walked them through the deadly trio of Travelers they were going to have to face in the coming hours.
He watched as his friends’ faces went pale with dread and fear.
“You mean,” gasped Toby. “Not only do we have to fight three of the deadliest Travelers we’ve ever faced off against, we have to do that and find the bloody source of the werewolf curse all in under three hours.”
“You’re mostly correct,” grinned Sam. “The only place where you’re wrong, Tobes, is that I know exactly the location of the source of the werewolf curse.”
As Sam took in Toby’s dumbfounded face, he was reminded about how much he could enjoy being from the future.
53
Damian Blackthorne hurried south from the raging forest fire.
His two companions sprinted right behind him.
They moved together as a unit. A team.
The Arcane Reavers knew how to fight, work, and travel together as a squad. They had originally met in a Traveler’s guild in southern Volsungar where they were training to become Travelers.
They were the only three people in their group of students who had survived the tutorial dungeon.
It was because the three them had slaughtered their fellow classmates.
With no one to counter their story about what happened in the White Gate, the trio were able to stay under the radar for at least a little while; but, eventually, the guild caught on.
These three Travelers were not working with regards to the betterment of their society and country.
They were working purely for the destruction of others and for the benefit of themselves.
All tell-tale signs of Travelers who will eventually go rogue.
Inside the Gray Gate, the group eventually arrived at a river.
The river rushed along, protecting a patch of woodland on the other side that was protected from the raging forest fire behind them.
Just nearby was a small bridge that allowed them to cross.
Once on the other side, Brom cut the bridge down so that it collapsed into the water.
From there, they hurried forward towards their destination.
Eventually, they arrived in front of a large stone cave.
The shadowy black entrance was both beckoning for them to explore further while also intimidating them with its mysterious foreboding presence of the unknown that lurked inside.
Damian stared at the cave’s jagged mouth covered in moss and ivy.
He grinned.
This should be easy.
There was only one entrance.
No one would be able to get past them.
“This feels wrong,” said Toby, shooting out a massive tsunami blast to hose down the burning forest around them.
“I’m surprised you’re the one on the side of pyromania,” said Klara.
“I’m not,” said Toby. “It just feels wrong to be dousing down the forest fire that led to our victory in stage 1. Aren’t we concerned more werewolves will start attacking once the flames are gone?”
Sam shook his head.
“Nope,” he said. “Most of the werewolf army is gone now. It really comes down to Damian Blackthorne and the Arcane Reavers fighting on behalf of the werewolf faction. If we defeat them, we pretty much have this scenario gate in the bag.”
As Toby hosed more of the formerly fiery forest down to its scorched remains, he sighed and said, “No more werewolves, just astonishingly powerful rogue Travelers to face off against. Great. I know that somewhere in the kernel of what you just said there is something to be relieved about, but I’m struggling to really feel any sense of comfort.”
“No one asked you to be comfortable,” said Klara. “Just to clear the flames so we could go fight the bad guys.”
Toby frowned as the forest began to clear of flames and wondered what terrors they would face down the path he had just opened up for all of them.
Shortly thereafter, they were rushing through the woods in the direction of Damian Blackthorne and his squad of rogue Travelers.
As they moved closer to their destination, Sam walked them through the battle plan.
“Are you sure about this?” asked Toby, nervously.
“I feel similar to Tobes,” said Klara. “This plan feels slightly unhinged.”
“Trust me,” Sam said.
He knew it would work.
Damian smiled as he watched the timer in his retina tick ever downward.
Every second brought them closer to victory.
The three of them were spread out in front of the cave’s entrance.
The cave was surrounded by a small clearing which was encircled by a large forest of trees.
The smoke from the forest fire began to clear, revealing the stars and moonlight of the night sky above.
Damian’s Night Stalker class increased his natural senses.
He sniffed the air, picking up the smallest hints of water vapor carrying the smell of singed leaves and charred wood.
Looks like they quickly doused out the forest fire, Damian mused.
“It’s safe to say they have a water manipulator in their ranks,” said the leader of the Arcane Reavers to his companions. “It’s possible this world’s inhabitants have incredible technology, but to wash away a forest fire of that magnitude that quickly could only be explained with the use of water magic.”
“Makes sense to me,” said Brom.
“A little concerning,” said Kaelan. “Given that water is my elemental affinity’s natural weakness.”
“I’m sure you’ll manage,” said Damian. “I’ve seen you survive in situations far worse than being up against a water-based spellcaster.”
Damian was not worried in the slightest. Their plan was foolproof. It demanded that their enemies fight them head on. In such a battle, Damian was confident he could win.
He did wish his Nightmare Reality ability was usable, but it still had fifteen minutes or so until it recharged.
Kaelan grinned. “What can I say? I am pretty amazi—”
A twig snapped in the woods.
The damp air suddenly smelled a lot less damp and a lot more smoky.
“They can’t be serious,” said Brom. “They’re using the exact same strategy again?”
The trio watched as the trees around them began to go on fire.
“Except this time,” grinned Damian to Kaelan Pyreforge. “They’re up against a foe who can manipulate fire themselves.”
Two Travelers rushed out of the fiery woods.
One was a hazel-haired girl with freckles, wielding a spear.
The other was a slightly portly brown-haired boy wielding an impressive-looking magical staff.
They rushed directly at them.
Damian quickly assessed the situation.
The freckled girl must be the one wielding blood magic.
She’s the more powerful of the two.
The group rushed to meet their new enemies head on, when a message appeared in Damian’s retina.
Scenario: The Werewolf Assault on Eldoria
Faction: Werewolves
Stage 2 Failed.
Stage 3 has commenced.
Stage 3: Defeat Intruders before they destroy the source of the curse.
Damian’s eyes widened.
What the—
54
Sam sprinted down through the darkness of the cave with a huge grin on his face.
Explosions and the screams of battle echoed behind him as he hurried further towards the source of the werewolf curse.
Just as I expected, Sam thought to himself.
Damian Blackthorne and the Arcane Reavers were not unintelligent rogue Travelers, but they did hold their powerful skills, abilities, and journeyman-tier status in high regard. Considering how versatile and destructive Damian’s Night Stalker class was, their strategy wasn’t that foolish.
They were just foolish to expect their opponents to take them head on.
But then that was exactly why Sam had Toby use his water magic to clear the flames in the forest. He knew Damian would catch a whiff of the damp air and put everything together. Sam knew this would cause Damian to perceive his enemies as having reason to be overconfident, which in his mind would lower the threat of an indirect strategy versus a direct one.
Using the second forest fire and Klara and Toby’s full frontal assault as a distraction, Sam was able to slip right past the Arcane Reavers and head straight towards the real goal of their mission.
The source of the werewolf curse.
The only downside to the plan was that it left Klara and Toby in a three-on-two fight; but Sam figured it wouldn’t stay that way for long. Plus, if he could destroy the werewolf curse, it would end the scenario anyway. So, really, Klara and Toby just needed to survive more than anything else.
As Sam descended through the darkness, he could see the hint of a luminescent light in the distance.
When he reached the bottom of the tunnel, he found himself at the center of an ancient ruin with an altar in the middle of the room.
At the altar glowed a magnificently blue light.
Damian scowled at the message in his prompt.
He furiously looked over his shoulder and he could faintly make out a figure rushing down into the depth of the cave below.
That must be the blood magic user then, he thought to himself.
He quickly surmised that it was the blood magic user who had been outsmarting and besting them consistently throughout this challenge. He could be wrong, but based on his own personal experience, it was normally cunning and crafty individuals who unlocked super-rare classes and above from the White Gate.
Not only was he the smartest and most powerful of their three opponents, the blood magic user was also the biggest threat to the success of their mission.
If he ended up destroying the source of the werewolf curse, they failed the scenario gate, and the mission.
It was all done then.
He felt a pain in the back of his neck just thinking that thought.
No, he thought quickly. I can’t let the New Queen down.
“You two handle the spear-girl and the water-boy,” shouted Damian as he hurried off after the blood magic user.
I want to be the one who kills the intruder.
Klara gripped her spear tightly, rushing towards the burly warrior in front of her.
The warrior was an ogre of a man and was spinning a massive flail above his head.
The flail was extra terrifying as it was the skull of some monstrous beast the man must have defeated in the past.
“You fool!” shouted a voice to her side.
In her peripheral vision, she saw a huge blast of fire come flying towards her.
Her eyes widened at the sheer magnificent sight of the blast coming her way, only for it splash out of existence from a huge gushing force of water.
“Thanks Tobes,” shouted Klara as she moved closer to her target.
The warrior threw the chains of his flail where Klara was heading, the monster skull smashing into the ground leaving a small crater in its wake.
Klara managed to sidestep the attack once more, putting her right in vicinity with the man.
She put herself into position and then triggered her apprentice-tier ability: Starfire Spear.
