Shadowcroft Academy For Dungeons: Year Two, page 44
For the first time he got a look at the thing that Logan called Steve.
A pool of cancerous black power as dark and endless as the universe itself. Logan had said Steve was more powerful than Chadrigoth. The abyss lord hadn’t believed that was possible. He did now. Steve was far more than a stupid floor boss gone rogue. There was a force behind him, a malignant essence of corruption that would eat and eat and eat until it consumed everything. Chadrigoth’s resolve hardened. He’d just had a breakthrough. A revelation that may well help him advance to a Jade Leaf cultivator. More important still, he knew that if he wasn’t such a murderous bully, he’d have a new friend, a real friend, a best friend. A best bro.
He’d be damned if anyone would rip that away from him.
Chapter Forty-Four
Logan couldn’t talk. Connecting to Chadrigoth wasn’t like connecting to Inga or even Tet. The abyss lord wasn’t just more powerful than him, he was worlds more powerful, and it wasn’t just his ranking, but the four knots he’d tied to optimize his core. Suddenly, Logan had access to Chadrigoth’s vast pool of Ignis and Umbra Apothos, and he had to fight to keep from being swept away by the sheer current of it all. Being linked up with Chadrigoth was like being attached to a nuclear power plant. And handcuffed to a dysfunctional family.
Snippets of the abyss lord’s sad life hit Logan like a tidal wave.
The first was an image of a stern-faced man with gaunt cheeks and salt-and-pepper hair. Norman the Unholy, Chadrigoth’s father. He was a cruel-looking man who’d rarely had time for Chadrigoth, and when he did, there was never a word of kindness or affection. Just correction and instruction. Life was one of duty and obligation—there was no place for joy or love or fun. Norman had undergone the Evocation of Transfiguration when Chadrigoth was only eight, shedding his human flesh in favor of the cold indifference of a Dungeon Core. Watching the only person who semi-cared for him die at such a young age left a mental scar that would forever affect poor little Chadrigoth’s psyche.
Norman’s face flickered and faded, replaced by a rotating carousel of Chadrigoth’s siblings, which in turn bled into images of a beautiful woman, her skin pale white, her hair black and shiny as an oil slick. Chadrigoth’s mother.
Despite the fact that Norman the Unholy had never much cared for Chadrigoth, he was still far kinder than Chadrigoth’s mother. Norman had been more or less indifferent to Chadrigoth’s existence—other than as an audience for Norman’s boasting. Yet his mother had seemed to actively despise him, sometimes going as far as to call him the worst of her children. Chadrigoth had been the middle child, the lost child, and he’d grown up so lonely. He’d had to become a dungeon core so his father and older brothers would talk to him. His mother just saw him as one more of her sons who’d abandoned her.
There was hate and gossip and resentment overflowing in that family. They might be the Eritreus Elite, but they had enough drama for a reality show. Keeping up the Nobleblades. This fall on E!
The onslaught of images morphed, and the focus shifted.
After years of study and a grueling training regimen, Chadrigoth passed his own Evocation of Transfiguration and won his way into the Shadowcroft Academy for Dungeons, the most prestigious school in the universe. Except no one was impressed. No one that mattered. His father seemed annoyed that he needed schooling at all—after all, Toddrick had secured a powerful dungeon on the ice world of Gloogig without any help. A self-made dungeon, just like Norman. Naturally, Greta, princess of Haven Home, had chosen stupid, perfect Toddrick—another insult on top of all the others.
Then Logan Murray showed up with his team of misfits. Most of them had never wanted to be a dungeon core in the first place. Talk about a slap in the face. And when the fungaloid started ranking up at a pace no one had ever seen before? All of a sudden, the teachers cared less about Chadrigoth—all anyone could talk about was the fungaloid. Logan didn’t deserve to be famous at the school. Logan was the worst!
For the first time ever, Chadrigoth felt outclassed by someone who wasn’t in his family, and it drove him insane with fury.
Wading through the rush of memories and thought, Logan caught a glimpse of the stone chest, filled to the brim with Psuche Powder. That would even the score. The Psuche Powder would give Chadrigoth the edge so even Mother and Father would be proud of him. And Logan Murray wouldn’t matter to anyone anymore.
Logan pressed his eyes shut and pushed away the surging influx of memories. So much raw life. So much suffering and loneliness. The abyss lord had been holding oceans of pain inside himself for a very long time. Logan had always disliked the abyssal lord, but after seeing all that he’d endured as a kid, it was hard to hate him. He was a product of a world that viewed life the same way this academy did: a disposal commodity, only worthy of protecting the Tree of Souls and only doing that so you could brag about it.
Maybe now, though, Logan and the abyss lord could move past all that.
Chadrigoth blinked and set Logan’s guardian form onto the ground. Chadrigoth then reverently put Logan’s core on the pedestal; their gems, one light and the other dark, began to circle one another.
Logan felt his consciousness expand out to fill the dungeon. He sensed every crack, every cranny, every room. Most of it was dull with crumbly statues, but Chadrigoth’s minions were nothing to laugh at. Despite his lack of imagination, the abyss lord was amazingly powerful.
You wouldn’t know it right then, because the abyss lord fell to his knees. Fiery tears streamed down his cheeks.
The abyss lord’s shadowy flame crown flickered off, and the demon started to sob uncontrollably, bent double, face buried in his hands. He messaged Logan while he ugly cried.
Logan stood there, awkwardly.
Logan patted the big demon’s shoulder reassuringly.
The abyss lord leapt to his feet and swiped the back of his hand across his runny nose.
“Oh boy,” Logan muttered.
Chadrigoth fought the tears long enough to reply.
Logan wasn’t getting anywhere.
Logan physically suppressed a groan. Now was the worst possible timing for Chadrigoth’s spiritual awakening. Logan shifted focus to the entrance and saw that the Dungeonaut was indeed dead, though thankfully it had managed to pull Chadrigoth’s statue down on top of the stairs. That would buy them a few minutes. Though maybe not as many as Logan was hoping for. Already, strange spidery automatons, with featureless plaster faces, were digging through the wreckage, trying to uncover the way forward.
Logan tried to bring the abyss lord back to the moment.
Logan wanted to ask about the chest of Psuche Powder, but they didn’t have time.
And suddenly, he was given the very lengthy guardian core matrix of an extremely powerful dungeon core.
<<< >>>
Chadrigoth Nobleblade
Guardian Core Matrix
Base Race: Abyss Lord
Current Evolution: Dread Cambion
Cultivator Class: Azure Branch Cultivator; B-Class, Rank 1
Primary Elemental Affinities: Ignis/Umbra
Racial Abilities:
Hellsight, Fiendish Resistance, Infernal Mastery
Racial Skill:
- Abyssal Bloodrage
- Unrelenting Endurance
- Soul Barrier
- Summon: Soul Cutter
Circle of Inferno:
- Dark Covenant: Unleashed Pit Spawn
- Summon: Hellblaze Whip
- Flame Halo
- Brainfire
- Molten Chains
- Inferno Blast
Circle of Wrath:
- Dark Covenant: Dungeonaut
- Hellfury
- Scourge Lance
- Necro Shield
Circle of Torment:
- Dark Covenant: Hellion Imp
- Diabolis Puzzeleris Boxi
- Shame Maze
- Mind Slave
Circle of Pestilence:
- Dark Covenant: Defyler
- Seeping Corruption
- Blight Aura
- Putrid Wound
<<< >>>
Logan quickly glanced through the laundry list of available options, skills, minions, and spells. It looked like Chadrigoth’s class was broken down into various circles of hellish punishment, each one with its own theme. Circle of Inferno dealt with flame-related attacks and skills, while Circle of Wrath specialized in powerful physical abilities. Circle of Pestilence caught his eye—he’d rarely seen Chadrigoth use the disease-related spells—but he simply didn’t have time to go through so many options. What he needed was something to slow Steve and company down. The Circle of Torment had some unique-looking options—options he was sure he’d never see Chadrigoth utilize before. And there was also a minion under of the Circle of Pestilence that was new.
The abyss lord shrugged.
Logan wanted to say something but held his tongue. Not the time, not the place. Instead, he simply did what he always did—he rolled up his metaphorical sleeves and got to work. They had only a few minutes to add some traps and other tasty tidbits to Chadrigoth’s dungeon before Steve’s main forces arrived at the entrance.
The fate of Arborea hung in the balance. The only thing stopping Steve was a desperate mushroom man and an emotionally fragile demon. Just another day at Shadowcroft Academy.
Chapter Forty-Five
Logan worked quickly. Steve’s minions were working to get past the downed statue of Chadrigoth in the entry room, and they were making serious headway. Chadrigoth’s current dungeon layout was far too linear, which simply wouldn’t do. Using the raging surplus of Apothos he suddenly had access to, Logan added false corridors, twisting passageways, covered digestive pits, and bone-scythe pendulums. He quickly spawned and deployed a host of his own minions: Waddlers, basic Spore Wargs, more advanced Blistering Death Wargs, and a platoon of adorable, puffball Kurrybooboos to heal the other minions.
Forests of mushrooms—brought forth with his Rapid Growth Ability—dotted the corridors, rooms, and passageways. Tangles of Ghoul’s Snare would slow enemies, while carefully placed clusters of Crimson Coral Fungi would herd the invaders down the correct passageways. Swaying Opal Truffles concealed his smaller minions as well as deadly Gem-studded Puffballs. Using his symbiotic bond with Chadrigoth, he also seeded the abyss lord’s minions with Braincaps, enhancing their already formidable abilities. Blister Wart sprouted from Pit Spawn and Dungeonaut—anything that had the misfortune to brush against them would be in excruciating pain.
With that down, Logan turned to the more challenging task: getting his head around Chadrigoth’s Circle of Torment abilities. The demon prince wasn’t wrong—those skills were powerful, but they were also complicated. Mind Slave was a single target spell that allowed Chadrigoth to enslave any dungeoneer who failed an Ego Check. If they failed, he could temporarily supplant their Ego with his own, turning them into cult-like worshipers. Logan had a feeling that wouldn’t work on Steve; his mind and Ego were off the charts.
Diabolis Puzzeleris Boxi and the Shame Maze, however, were magical traps designed to both slow invaders and inflict brutal physical, mental, and spiritual agony. They were perfect. Logan added the Diabolis Puzzeleris Boxi room on the west side of the lava river ravine, then positioned the Shame Maze to the east. From there, it was a short walk from the Shame Maze to the inner sanctum, where Logan had most of his fungal resources located—including a final digestion pit.
Logan had to move fast, but he’d had lots of practice working under pressure—it was second nature to him at this point. The design wasn’t perfect, but it was a hundred times better than what had been there before. Only time would tell how effective it would actually be against Steve. Speaking of which, Steve’s dummy-faced lightning spiders had finally dug out the staircase. That allowed the invading horde to come flooding down the steps and into the first grand gallery.
Chadrigoth wasn’t much help, though he did add two secret passageways. One was a hidden corridor that connected the inner sanctum to the lava river ravine. The other contained a series of ladders that would take Logan back to the entrance. From there, they had easy access to the Null Arena. Once Steve pushed deep enough into their dungeon, Logan would slip around the back and take a run at the Winterdark Halls, where he would hopefully be able to capture the inner sanctum and destroy Steve’s proto-core.
Logan found it ironic—this fight really was like their final. He’d never expected to be fighting with the abyss lord instead of against him, but the basic principles were the same. And, just like their final, Logan and Chadrigoth were on their own. Professor Zantho would be proctoring other exams, Rockheart was busy overseeing the Winnowing for the first-years, and Headmaster Shadowcroft was away with the third-years for the Inter-Academy Tournament. As for the Threshing Turtle, Steve had said something about keeping Professor Ikgix out of the action, and Logan believed him.
Logan put the professors from his mind—no cavalry would be coming.
Steve’s mannequin body led his troops directly, though the proto-gem wasn’t in the dummy’s belly. Treacle must’ve given Steve some chainmail, because the plaster dummy was decked out for war. Much to Logan’s chagrin, Steve gripped a Crimson Coral sword, along with a silver buckler, which sparked with arcs of golden lightning. That was a well-crafted Treacle object, without a doubt. Roy Boy was at Steve’s side, his second-in-command. The X-Man Centipede Spartan had his Crimson Coral wolverine claws out, and his golden armor glittered in the firelight.
