Enigmatic Crusade

The stone path underfoot was damp like the rest of the rocks around him. Only about six feet across he could feel a low wind come from the dark expanse below. With a gulp, his fear was pushed back as Hank continued fighting the beast. This time the spider boss used two arms to pincer him in. 

Hank sliced at one spiky arm but was struck in the head by the other. He was no longer cursing by that point. Just trying to catch his breath as he fought on. His movements slower, he pulled a bright green potion out of nowhere and downed it. Yelling loudly his stamina appeared to be replenished. 

“I’ll rip you limb from limb!” He roared, his voice echoing in the chamber. 

Valen moved closer still. He wasn’t fool enough to think any potion would heal his wounds and stamina. His feet sliding on the smooth stone, Valen took step after step doing his best to not look down. Sweat pouring down his face he could feel the strength of the foes ahead of him. As if the expansive cavern was filled with power, it pulsed with each movement they made. Unsure what he was sensing, Valen guessed it was Essence. 

In the past his exposure to essence was limited to the Training Yard. Watching the adventurers use their skills on target dummies when he had the chance to see them. Back then the skills had been loud, showy, and destructive. He really hadn't had too many chances to see that sort of showing of power since then. Yes there was the occasional healing spell during his rounds, but this was a whole new level. 

Spider and man appeared to almost glow at times. Limbs and weapons striking one another impossibly fast, it caused ripples in the air with each movement. Valen didn’t have the experience to understand the gap between himself and them, but he knew it was vast. Yet, he continued closer until he received a notification. 

Valen knew this of course. It was impossible for high leveled people to speed run levels for lowbies in dungeons or other bosses. Someone only leveled up through effort. Granted there were plenty of consumables to help people along, but one couldn’t trick the system to get more than they were owed. 

The warning itself was a surprise though. He had never heard that the System warned someone of danger. Then again he was at an extremely low level. What mostly shocked him was the fact that the boss was only 50 levels higher. He didn’t know what a normal level was, but he had always thought to be as strong as Hank you had to be in the 100s. Since he could go toe to toe with a boss monster, and due to his class, Valen assumed they were around one another’s level as it was. 

“Fuck-” A voice echoed ahead. Hank was hit by one of the limbs and thrown off the platform. He crashed into the stone cavern with a boom. Valen stared wide eyed at the boss, worried he would be targeted next, but the plume of dust where Hank hit was blown away as he jumped back. “Die! Die! Die!” He roared louder than ever as he glowed a deep almost purple now. 

He closed in on the beast and the energy from his sword extended out, slicing through the left side of the Light Guard. Two limbs of twelve were cut off and fell. Hanging from the strand of webs they had stood on as the spider hissed louder. Valen thought for a moment that he wouldn’t need to help, but then the spider began to glow. 

A green aura emitted from the spider. Hank landed on the platform, hesitating as an attack was prepared. The green glow began to pulse rhythmically, slowly at first then speeding up. 

“Shit!” Hank barked. He put his hand into his spacial bag and pulled out a massive shield. As tall as him the tower shield covered his whole body as it was rooted in the ground between him and the spider. Valen gulped, unsure if some blast would blow him away. 

Hank stood behind the shield for a long time as the spider pulsed with power. Then as abruptly as it started, the glow disappeared. At least Valen thought it did. Out in the open he had a full view of the fight as the green glow moved away from the spider’s torso then to it’s legs. They were as bright as any light Valen had seen as they thrummed with power. 

“Yeah! That’s it. Fucking hit me!” Hank yelled, and a leg shot from the suspended strand to hit him. It was so powerful that it punched a hole in the shield in front of him. Hank cursed as he pulled another shield out. Dropping his sword he stacked them one on top of the other to get more defense. The next strike went through the first shield, and the second, stabbing into him. 

Valen felt it then. A sense he had slowly begun to understand from his time in the Healing House. Hank’s pain was calling to him. His class had a stat called Empathy. It attuned him to the pain and other unseen aspects of people and environment around him. For some reason he felt that pain leaking off of Hank. Either part of Hank’s own stats that expressed those pains, or a mechanic that only happened during a boss fight, Valen knew that Hank was finally getting damaged. 

At a crossroads a part of him considered turning back. But he knew he wouldn’t. He had only made it this far because Hank had cleared the way. Besides, he was a Healer. This was his job. Heal people, help them, allow them to go on longer than they would normally be able to. 

The Light Guard spider continued to attack, some limbs missing Hank as the man tried to move out of the way, but more than a few pierced through his defense. Valen took a calming breath and continued down the small path to the platform. When he was about 15 feet away from the tank the pressure from the fight became too much for him. The essence in the air was thick, and even though he wasn’t close to the line of attack, he was still feeling pain. 

Hoping that he was near enough for his Heal to work, Valen risked it. He focused on Hank, and thought the word, “Heal,” as Julian had taught him. As if he had done it all his life, power swelled out from Valen. A white light escaped his palm and struck the back of Hank. The white light spread across him and Valen continued to push almost naturally. 

Power continued to escape him. Filling up the tank who didn’t seem to respond. Long seconds the beam of power connected the two of them and then it was gone. Valen breathed in and out heavily as if he had run for a long time. His connection to the skill had disappeared and he knew he was out of essence or whatever was needed for the ability. 

Hank didn’t appear to notice the restoration of his health. Valen could feel that his pain had lessened slightly. Perhaps enough to push him through, but Valen couldn’t tell. The big man continued to weave in and out of the attacks until they abruptly stopped. 

The cavern was silent for a long moment as the Light Guard was no longer attacking. His limbs no longer glowing, the spider stood staring down at them almost disappointed it hadn’t killed Hank. 

“That all you got?” Hank asked as he began to glow a deep red. The glow spread over his entire body as he laughed loudly. “My turn,” he said and disappeared. 

It took Valen a split second to find where the man went. Then the spider was thrown back. It’s main body began to glow red as Hank appeared in front of it, stabbing straight into it’s face. The attack was so strong that the spider’s limbs folded in on themselves instantly as the body struck the wall behind it. 

A great boom resounded in the cavern as man struck arachnid. He cursed, pulled out his blade and stabbed again. Each thrust causing the boss’s limbs to jerk. This happened for a full minute until only Hank’s labored breathing could be heard in the cavern. 

“Now that was a fucking score,” the man said. He jumped off the corpse that was embedded in the rock. This time he was holding a bright white circular object. 

Valen’s eyes widened at the basketball sized material. He knew what it was right away, a Core. Only the strongest monsters had cores. Bosses, elementally attuned beasts, and other monsters had the precious material, deep inside of them. Valen knew they were used for the most expensive professions. Artificers, alchemists, and most any high leveled professionals would pay thousands of aurous for one that size. 

“So it was you,” Hank’s voice said as he took off his helmet. He was sweaty underneath as he moved hair from his eyes. Valen became stiff with fear as he locked eyes with the man. “Decided to heal me, eh?” 

Valen couldn’t say anything for a long moment. Eventually he nodded. “I uh…thought you needed it.”

Hank had an expressionless look on his face. Squinting his eyes he said, “I know you, don’t I. That healslut of Julian’s.” Valen didn’t say anything. He would have preferred to stay hidden but the man probably knew when he was healed though he didn’t act like it. “Come here.” Valen hesitated again. A great sense of wrongness came over him, but from the look on Hank’s eyes, he knew that it wasn’t a request. 

He slowly walked over. “Jeez, my reputation must be pretty bad if I can’t get a newbie to get any closer,” he said. Hank then took two big steps and came within arm’s reach of Valen. His hand still on the glowing white core he asked, “You gain any levels from that heal? Yes, you did. Good for you.” Valen gulped. He hadn’t looked at his notifications, but he assumed the man was right. Not too many, but enough for any level 1 minorly helping in a boss battle. “Good for you.”

Hank’s hand landed hard on Valen’s shoulder, practically making his legs buckle. “I remember when I was your level,” Hank then said. Valen had trouble looking up into his face. Valen’s eyes hurt as he realized he was crying uncontrollably for no reason. He had helped this man, right? Why was he so afraid? Somehow more afraid of him than the Dread of the dungeon. 

“I was brought here with everyone else. Expected to survive in this hell of a new world. I put in my dues. I earned my place here. So many hours training. I thought my Blessing would finally update thanks to this fight. So…many…hours.” He said the words as if he had lost something important to him. 

“Then you swoop in and give me less healing than a night’s sleep. A fucking fart of a holy spell to ruin my solo victory over a high leveled boss,” he said. Then with no expression on his face he pushed Valen away. Hard. Harder than he had ever been hit before. 

Wordlessly Valen was thrown back, missing the bridge to the other side by mere inches as he fell into the black abyss below. Valen thought Hank said something else, but he didn’t hear. The wind began roaring in his ears as he plummeted down. Far below than the light could reach. 

—

Valen woke up in immense pain. His mind was groggy with pain. Instantly he recalled the fight and fall. He knew he had to heal. Casting Heal on himself in a rush, nothing happened. His healing wasn’t working. Panicking he blinked his eyes over and over to try to see his body but there was nothing. The darkness around him was all encompassing. There was no light from above.  

Pitch black all around him he tried to lift his arm but it wouldn’t move. At first he thought maybe he was paralyzed. Maybe striking a rock on the way down into the pit, but no, he could feel his arm wiggle. Just slightly it moved upward but it was a struggle to get even that much movement. It was as if his arm was stuck in tar. Every inch of movement took all the strength he could muster. After long seconds he gave up and began to breathe in and out heavily as the pain he was in increased. Rather than one part of his body though, the pain was everywhere. As if the tiny spiders he had squashed earlier were nipping at every inch of him. 

He couldn’t help but scream at the image of it. In some dark desolate pit at the bottom of a dungeon, eaten slowly by millions of spiders. It was almost too much. He tried to flail, but his body moved minutely.

Panic setting in, his eyes blinked as he tried to figure out where the pain was coming from. Instead of feeling like his body was run over, it felt more like burning all over his skin. But not everywhere. His neck and head felt like they were the only two parts of him that were unaffected by whatever was happening. 

Unable to see he tried kicking his legs and continuing to move his arms but they were stuck firmly in place. With the movement he felt himself drop a little and a new burning awoke on his neck. As if he was dipped in a weak acid he cried out as his pain receptors told him he was sinking in some sort of corroding liquid. 

“Help!” He yelled as he felt better about potentially not being eaten by tiny spiders for some reason. His voice echoing around him, it shot straight up. He was at the bottom of the pit. “Help me!” He yelled louder. But there was no reply. 

Beginning to hyperventilate the fading echoes led to a long silence that engulfed him with the darkness. The image of Hank pushing him replayed in his mind. “Fucking fucker!” He yelled. He wasn’t sure what his assistance in the fight had caused the bastard to miss out on. Either way it didn’t matter. Whatever it was, was enough for the mass murderer to kill for. That’s what Valen got for trying to help out. 

The burning section of his neck reached further up. He knew he was sinking more and more. But there was nothing he could do. Magic still was not working for him; he tried yelling but he almost let out a scream as the pain leaching into his skin was redoubled. It was like he was being eaten alive as the acid around him broke apart his skin. . 

As a wave of more panic threatened to wash over him, Valen remembered his status screens. He brought up the notifications and they actually came up. He wasn’t blind, just somewhere pitch black. Unfortunately the light from the screens did not illuminate what was around him. Either way he was happy that he had some gains. 

He had finally gained a level. Levels in fact. But it was no time to celebrate. His skin was burning around him and he didn’t know how long he could hold out against it. Without hesitation he put all of his free points into stats that could help him. He had 9 points for class. He threw them in Vitality and Defense, as well as Psyche to help him attack. 

Next he had 4 points in his Body level. Unsure if he needed strength to break out, endurance to deal with it, intelligence or wisdom to use skills, he put a point in each. Power coursed through him as his stats increased. The first major change was that he now had Identify. The others had been vague on when it would happen, but it looked like level 2 was enough for him. Instantly he cast the skill below him. 

“Fuck,” he whispered. Oozes were always annoying, or so he heard. Immune to physical attacks there was only one way to deal enough damage to them. Magic, which was the last gain for Valen. He had gotten a new skill, Retribution. He cast Identify on the name in his status screen. 

“Thank…whatever god,” he said and cast it. Power exploded out from his hand. The same white light that had shot out from him to heal now did damage. For a split second the black goop was illuminated below him and the ooze shuddered as if hurt. 

One of many monsters he had asked about from the adventurers in the Behemoth were Oozes. Helen had been nice enough to explain that magic was the only sure-fire way to kill them. But they often had strong defense. He needed to be inside the beast to kill it with damage. The monster had a brain somewhere and he needed to attack it. 

He cast Retribution again and again in the general area of the beast engulfing him. Each blast casting a white light around him. Giving him some hope. Then it was gone. 

“What?” He asked. That sense of emptiness filled him as he realized he couldn’t cast any more. “Fuck!” He yelled and the ooze bubbled up, raising higher to touch his chin and begin to burn him there as well. Valen’s mind blanked for a split second. His points for stats were gone and used up. Whatever capacity he had for essence dried up. A quick look at his new faculty screen showed he couldn’t gain anything to help him there. He was literally out of options. This time the ooze touched his bottom lip. Pain practically seared into his bones as the monster ate away at him. 

Still clinging to life somehow Valen took in deep breaths as his mind raced. No skills could help him here. There was nothing. Only darkness. He continued to try to move and dropped once more. 

This time his lips were covered but his nose was just above the ooze. His nostrils flared, trying to take in as much air as possible. A tear shed down his eye as he tried to see anything in the darkness. Then his nose was covered and he could only rely on what oxygen could be held in his lungs. Long seconds passed and he knew he was dead. He couldn’t scream let alone use any muscles to escape. This was his grave.  

Closing his eyes, a part of Valen gave up. Not the part that held his breath but the part that rationalized there was no way out. 

His skin felt like it was being peeled away. Millions of needles were pricking every inch of his body. His mind pictured being slowly digested by this slimy ooze as his friends struggled in the guild. As Hank ran off to fight yet another monster somewhere. 

When his eyes were under the ooze, Valen gave in to it all. The despair of his situation. Either being eaten or suffocating, those were his only two options. Despite his feeling of dread, the realization that there was nothing he could do helped him to ignore the pain. The tingling ache around him was the first to go. That left something more dangerous in it’s wake. The biggest part of him lately struggled to be severed, his fear. For so many years he had been scared, and finally now that he knew death was upon him, he wasn’t as scared anymore. Letting go of that fear his hopes and dreams followed. 

The only thing that was left of Valen were his memories. The past that had been haunting him for years now was laid bare. And the first thought that came to Valen was that…He was a loser. He never set out to become one, but he had. Back in New Rapids he had friends, dreams for the future, and everything he needed. But he let a false sense of security ruin all that. 

Guilds were the future for everyone. A collective of people that looked out for one another. But he hadn’t really been in the guild. He was always one step away from pissing off the wrong person. One step away from being caught up in a fight that would end him. The fight Hank had been in could have easily turned ugly for Valen, but he lucked out. Leveled up, only to be dropped in a pit for his efforts. 

He had been so hopeful too. He had hoped that this path would help he and his friends escape their nowhere lives. Escape the label of being worthless orphans. Forced to let only the kind natured individuals take care of them. It had been so… 

You’re a joke, he thought. He wanted to chuckle as he was digested by the ooze. A fucking joke. Collateral damage. A bystander. The punchline to the joke that was his life. His eyes closed, Valen let his mouth open slightly. A minor attempt to let the darkness take him. His skin didn’t even hurt anymore as he felt the depressing end draw closer. Just falling into the void as if he was in the vacuum of space. 

He was alone. He was born alone. He would die alone. For so long he had watched other kids with their families. People that had one another to lean on. He had been so jealous of them, as if parents would save them in the end. That had been the wrong way of thinking about it. Parents couldn’t live for their kids. Just like the parents couldn’t control who their children would become, they couldn’t protect them from all dangers either. 

We were all alone. Every human had to fend for themselves. Make something of their shitty life. Any problems or successes in his life were laid at his feet alone. No one else. And nothing he could do would change the fact that each and every person in the world was in it for themselves. As it should and always would be. 

With the final thought something opened in his mind. Confused, a wave of euphoria filled him and what he considered a huge stream of power coursed into his veins. A power he hadn’t felt before. 

Unable to help himself, Valen opened his eyes. Though his eyes began to sizzle and burn he still read the notification. 

Essence pouring into him once more Valen pushed back the depression and dread that had been taking him over. As if something clicked in his mind more notifications popped up, but he ignored them. Screaming under the black ooze he put all he had into his Retribution. 

White light pouring out of his palms the gray liquid lit up and was blasted away from him. The ooze sizzled and crackled as the black goop shrunk back. Power still flowing through him Valen gave the single blast his all and the goop disappeared from his holy light. 

Taking in huge gulps of air the light disappeared and Valen dropped to his knees. His raw skin slamming into jagged rocks, his eyes rolled up to the back of his head and he passed out once more.