Dread Runners: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Dungeon Crawler, page 12
The darkling held the club in his hand, hefting the weight.
The rest of the team walked over. Blood streaked some of their clothes, but Simon’s gaze went to Bridget’s neck. The wound had sealed completely, almost like it was never there.
The flesh golem caught his concerned gaze, and gave him a small smile.
“Damage in the dungeon is strange, but you get used to it. Most mythics have quick regeneration, but it’s different from the hit system. I still took one damage from the kobold’s dagger, but my body has already healed. It makes the system fair for all kinds of mythics,” she explained.
Rita spoke up in Simon’s head, “She is correct. To heal from dungeon hit damage, you will need a short rest. It will return shortly, as long as you’re not walking, fighting, or performing an activity.”
Tara walked up to Simon, and put her hand on his shoulder.
“You did well, for your first time,” she said proudly. “We will rest, and regain our hit points. After that, we will travel deeper.”
“How did it feel to pop your cherry?” Val said with a sly smirk.
Simon hefted his club up and rested it against his shoulder.
“It felt great,” he said with a maddening smile.
Chapter 14
Whispers in the Dark
Simon watched with interested eyes as they made their way down the steps to the second floor. A counter appeared in his gaze, changing from zero, to one. He quickly summarized a player only gained a level once they reached the next one.
The darkling felt a little proud, reaching the second floor. The rest of the first floor was uneventful. After the team rested, they made their way along without any further encounters. The corridors had some twists and turns, but after twenty minutes, they found the stairs leading down.
The darkling noted, after their short ten-minute rest, his hits returned to their max. The same thing happened with the rest of the group. Tara was quick to get back on her feet, and continue deeper into the dungeon.
For Simon, there was an eerie quiet to the whole dungeon. He half-expected to hear Peter Dread narrating as they made their way deeper, but there wasn’t a single peep from the digital announcer. Peter may have been talking the viewer’s ears off on the surface, but down here, not a sound from him.
Tara peeked her head out from the level two entrance. She looked left, right, and forward, before motioning everyone to follow.
The players moved quietly into the second level, their supernatural senses sharp.
Val and Bridget walked side by side, while Tara took the lead. Simon and Roma were about ten feet behind, walking together. Simon kept his new club against his shoulder. It wasn’t much, but with ninety-eight levels to go, he wasn’t complaining.
“Simon, you don’t have to protect me,” Roma whispered as she walked with her staff.
The darkling blinked, and looked at the witch at his side.
“I know, because of the other night, you may feel you need to watch over me, but I’m okay. I know the risks with a dungeon run.”
Simon looked ahead, and nodded. “I know. I’m not protecting you because we shared a moment together. We are protecting each other to survive. And to be honest, I just like being close to you.”
Roma looked at him with endearing eyes.
“I’m new to this, but I’ve always wanted to be here. It’s a dream come true for me, and I want to make sure our entire team makes it through. Everyone here is important to me,” he whispered.
Roma continued to look at him with warm eyes. She walked closer to his side.
“That first night, did you mean it when you said you wanted to protect the world for the dark gods?”
Simon nodded. “I did.”
“Why?”
Simon remained silent as they walked. Deep down, he knew the moment he spoke his intentions to anyone, there was a slim chance it could be used against him in some way. Despite his growing feelings for Roma, he knew telling her the whole truth might work against him.
“We all have our reasons for the things we do,” Simon said cryptically. “I never asked what happened between you and the other witches of the Moon Glow Hamlet.”
Roma’s gaze fell to the stone floor before them.
A silence enveloped the pair as they walked side by side.
“If I tell you my secret, will you tell me yours?” the witch asked in a small voice.
“No,” Simon whispered.
Roma looked at him again with understanding eyes.
Simon continued, “Trust is never traded, but earned. Your secrets are your own, just as my secrets are mine. I will fight for you, and defend you, but I don’t have to tell you everything about me, just as I don’t expect it from you.”
The witch looked forward, a relief in her eyes.
“Thank you, Simon. I have always felt the same about such things.”
Another silence filled the space between them.
Roma broke the silence. “I’m very attracted to you right now,” she whispered.
Simon nodded. “If we weren’t in a dungeon, and had hundreds of viewers watching us right now, this place would become X-rated very quickly.”
Roma nodded. “I would suck your…”
***
On the surface, and glued to screens, Penumbra community members watched the budding relationship with joyful hearts.
“Things are getting hot and heavy in the dungeon,” Peter said with a wink and a grin.”
“I would suck your (Bleep!) for hours. I’d make you cry out as you (Bleep!) in my (Bleep!), and let it dribble onto my (Bleep!). After that, you can shove your (Bleep!) covered (Bleep!) into my (Bleep!), and (Bleep!) it until it’s (Bleeping!) raw,” Roma whispered.
Peter Dred blinked. “Sorry folks. If you have your censor filters on, you can toggle them off for the whole uncensored experience. Now, back to the show.
***
Simon cracked a smile, loving every dirty word from the beautiful witch.
“There are places in the dungeon where we can get longer rests, and privacy,” Roma whispered.
Val turned around and looked at the darkling and witch with a narrow gaze.
“You know, we all have better than normal hearing. We heard every word,” the vamp said with an amused smile.
Roma looked at the vampire with a wicked smirk. “I don’t care.”
“Val, stop being nosy,” Bridget whispered. “You’ve done worse.”
“Bridget, you know I only like dirty talk when I’m part of it. If I can hear them talk to each other like that, I insist on sitting close by to judge them on performance, style, and inspiration.”
“You can watch,” Roma said with a wicked smile at Val.
The vamp gave the witch a knowing smirk.
“Do I have a say in it?” Simon asked.
“Yes,” the witch said as she looked at him with seductive eyes.
The darkling touched her chin gently, and looked into her eyes with his own growing heat as he said, “Val, you can watch.”
“This is a scandal I can see myself a part of,” Val said and licked her teeth.
Bridget giggled.
Tara rolled her red eyes and turned around to the group.
“All of you will alert every monster in the dungeon if you keep talking,” the wight as she stopped. She made a partial turn and took a small step back. Her boot-heel pressed on a sinking stone.
A stone wall slid from the wall. It happened so fast, Tara managed to launch herself backwards, the wall sliding shut between her and the rest of the group.
The group moved instantly as another door was sliding closed behind them. Simon didn’t think as he pushed Roma so hard, she went flying backwards, past the sliding wall before it slammed shut.
Simon, Val, and Bridget, were trapped between the closed ends of the corridor.
“Bridget, the wall!” Val shouted.
The flesh golem charged the end of the corridor where Tara escaped. She reared back a metal gauntlet, electricity curling along it. She slammed it into the wall, cracks webbing out.
Bridget reared back again, and threw her whole body into the punch. On impact, lightning exploded, and so did the wall.
She stepped through and turned slightly.
Val and Simon darted for the opening. When the floor gave out, Val made an impossible leap forward. Simon hesitated because if he made the same leap, he knew he would have crashed into the vamp.
Bridget held out her hand, Val’s hand clasping onto hers as the floor fell away.
Simon simply watched them as he fell into an abyssal darkness.
The darkling fell for a moment, before he hit a sliding slope. In perfect darkness, he slid further down. Hands reached out to grab onto the sides, but missed as he slid further down. The darkling scrambled to grab anything as he slipped into the darkness, and fell again.
Simon floated free in the abyss, and for a moment, it felt like he was home again.
The feeling went away when he splashed into water.
Hands and knees touched the bottom of the pool, and he pushed himself forward. The darkling was on all fours in not-so-deep water.
A light glowed above him as he looked around.
A medium chamber surrounded him, but it was covered in moss, vines, an odd tree trunk, and a small pool of water. The glow of the floating light grew brighter as it hovered high above the darkling’s head.
Simon turned his head to the slide he came down. For a moment, it sat in a dark shadow. His club slid down, and landed in the pool with a splash. After that, the walls closed around it, and it was gone.
Simon grabbed the club, and stood up in the knee-deep pool. He looked around, not seeing a way out.
The darkling stepped out of the water, walked to a mossy wall, and touched it. It was solid to the touch.
“It must be a puzzle room,” he whispered.
Simon ran his hand along the mossy wall, a memory crawling along his thoughts.
A moment appeared in his mind’s eye, seeing a lake, with mossy, ancient trees. He smiled as he remembered how calm he felt, sitting by the lake edge, and taking it all in. A peace flowed over him. The troubles of his lonely existence faded to the background as he stared calmly at nothing. It reminded him of camp, when he was younger. He escaped the camp counselors to find a place away from all the other kids. He found a mossy spot by a lake, the night and stars calling to him.
“I think the dungeon is trying to tap into my memories, but why?” he said as he turned slightly and looked at the small pools, and moss-covered ground.
“The chip must be reading me in some way. It recreated it from my memory.”
No sense of trapped-terror filled him. Instead, he sat down, his legs akimbo. He stared at the small pond, and the glowing light illuminated everything.
“I doubt the dungeon created this to simply trap me here. There must be a way to open this chamber, and continue with the dungeon run.”
Simon kept his gaze on the pond, a calm filling his dark soul.
It would be very boring for the viewers to watch me sit here, and do nothing. But if I want to succeed, for a time, I must play the game.
Time slowed as Simon stared at the tiny pond. The moss around it seemed to breathe and move like a living thing.
Simon’s eyes grew heavy as Roma’s words whispered to him, asking why he was here in Penumbra Springs, and the Dread Dungeon.
The darkling smiled to himself.
She asked, but didn’t expect a truthful answer. She’s very intelligent, and filled with wisdom. I crave her more. It’s not unusual to have feelings for another, especially among darklings. We love humans, and mythics alike. She’s gifted in the ways of magic, elevating her beyond a normal human. She feels very special to me.
The strange room continued to undulate like a living thing.
It’s clear my feelings for her, or our secrets, are not the answer. Maybe it does have to do with what I’m looking for, or my end goals? I know the dungeon can grant a wish, if we make it to the bottom, but I also know, it grants other prizes to the most dedicated, strong, and resolute. I have dreamed of being here for so long, and now that I am here, the dungeon must be testing me.
Time floated on with no change.
Simon nodded to himself.
“I seek the book,” he whispered.
Nothing changed.
Simon bowed his head forward, shadows covering his eyes.
“I’m trapped.”
There was only silence.
“This will be my prison,” he said gently.
Nothing.
Simon lifted his head to the light, and closed his eyes. A mad smile stabbed into his cheeks.
“There is nothing I can do, and must remain here, forever,” he accepted.
Whispers filled his head. They were jumbled, but he could hear them.
Simon kept his smile, knowing in his darkest, quiet moments, he simply accepted the times he had no power. Madness whispered across his soul at times, and he embraced it, for it was who he was, who he is now, and who he would be until his last moment of existence.
Rita’s voice filled Simon’s thoughts, “Congratulations. You discovered a power from within.”
Words filled the darkness of his closed eyes.
Whisper of the Abyss
Description: The wielder can hear faint whispers from the void, gaining fragments of forbidden knowledge or insight into hidden secrets.
Effect: Provides minor, cryptic clues, or glimpses into the future.
“Look behind you. Use the key.”
The whisper emerged from the chaotic whispers filling his inner mind. Just as quickly as it came, every whisper silenced at once.
Simon opened his eyes, stood up and turned around.
Where once there was a wall, now stood a large metal door. There was a keyhole in the middle, much too large for a normal key.
“Too easy,” he grinned as he lifted a hand.
Black blood poured from his hand and shaped into a simple tentacle. He stepped closer to the large lock, and inserted the black tentacle into it. With a thought, he allowed his blood to search along the mechanism. When he touched several points, he hardened the tentacle into a large key, and turned it.
The lock clicked open, and the door swung an inch toward him.
Black Blood has improved from Feeble to Moderate
“This gets better and better,” the darkling grinned as his blood slid back into his hand.
He pulled open the door, and saw stairs leading up.
***
Roma let out a long exhale. She was now separated from the rest of the group. A soft spot filled her spirit, thinking about how Simon pushed her away from the trap to save her. He didn’t think about himself at all, and she smiled.
“I hope Simon is okay, but I must get to the exit, and meet with the group. Maybe he will be there, waiting for a kiss.”
The witch smiled as she turned and backtracked.
She didn’t get far before she reached the intersection with the stairs. She looked down each corridor, before she let out a tired sigh.
“If there are any monsters down here, I shouldn’t make it easy for them to find me.”
The witch whispered an arcane word.
An anointed book in her inventory glowed. Roma’s body began to shrink as fur sprouted along her changing form. Her staff, satchel, and clothes melted with her into her feline form.
After a short moment, the witch was now an orange cat.
Not wasting any time, she darted off. Her furry form bounded quickly along the corridor, her paws silent. Her senses enhanced. Pointed ears swiveled in search of any sounds of danger as she darted along the corridor edge.
Time grinded on as she ran down corridors, and turned into other corridors. The witch felt free as she kept up a steady pace.
When she heard movement in a nearby chamber, she slowed, and listened. The sounds of kobolds snoring, or hissing at each other, caused her feline eyes to widen. She listened intently as they sounded distracted, and darted past the open door.
Roma turned her ears as she kept running. She didn’t hear any other activity, or the sound of hurried clawed feet.
After a time, she caught a familiar scent. She poked her head around a corner, seeing a wight, flesh golem, and vampire, standing by a stairway archway.
Relief filled her eyes as her body began to change.
“We can’t wait here forever. They may need our assistance,” Val said with annoyed red eyes.
“We wait here,” Tara growled.
Bridget crossed her arms across her stomach. “You know why we must wait here. Besides, when did you care about anyone beyond yourself?”
“You wound me, my dungeon sister,” Val said, pressing a gloved hand to her chest. “As for an answer to your question, this right here doesn’t sit well with me. I know Tara here wants to win this dreadful dungeon, but Simon wants to win it as well.
“I’m beginning to feel outnumbered, and perhaps, think we may have a chance.”
“I never knew you to grasp hope,” Roma said as she approached the three women.
Tara smiled, and nodded at the witch.
“You made it!” Bridget said with happy eyes.
“Oh. I thought you were the hunky one,” Val said with a wicked smirk.
Roma reached the three women with staff in hand.
“No Simon?” she asked, ignoring Val.
Tara shook her head.
“It’s only been an hour,” Val said. “He may show up.”
“And here I am,” Simon stepped out of a dark corridor.
The whole team rushed to the darkling, and surrounded him. Roma was the only one to throw an arm around him, and kissed him on the lips.
“Get a room, for all of us,” Val said with a haughty laugh.
Roma pulled back, looking into his eyes.
“How long have you all been waiting here?” Simon asked, his arm around the witch’s waist.
“Almost an hour,” Tara said.
“What happened to you?” Roma asked.
Simon looked into her eyes in deep relief. “It felt like several hours. It was hard to tell. I think the dungeon helped me with something, and I feel a little stronger. I’ll tell you all about it on the way down.”
