Underworld - Book 7 - Chapter 48

Aeris was careful but frantic as she chipped away at the igneous volcanic boulder Xaphan had entrapped Elorion in. She still didn’t feel anything from him.

Geros the silver bodied golem monster thrower was there using his hands like axes as he chopped into the rock. Her Wind Slashes with his help made short work of it. Soon they had pried off the top half of the boulder to reveal the man she was looking for.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the energy radiating off him. He’d returned to his normal Solar Body so she could feel his heat. He was dangerously low on mana. With the top half of the boulder removed, he laid there as if taking a nap like a chick in its shell.

The golem that looked like her husband was already healing him.

Wisping over, she turned into her Sprite form and just laid there on top of him. Her instincts had been right. Not just about him, but also the Primordial Cat. She almost wanted to wake him and lecture him on why it was such a good idea to trust her. She would save it for later. Even if her instincts had been right, things were far more complicated than she liked.

When he moaned sleepily without opening his eyes, she knew he was messing with her. She dug her fingers into his armpits and tickled until he wrapped her up and screamed his apology.

“So what happened?” he asked. “Weren’t you helping the others escape?”

Pushing herself off him, she sat on the rock and drew her arms across her chest.

He stretched out in the boulder’s human imprint and placed his hands behind his head to listen.

She shook her head at how carefree he was acting, but then she told him what had happened while he was playing with the Colossal. At the mention of the Illuminated Cathedral’s arrival, he sat up.

“So you left everyone in the Moreerie Grove?”

She shrugged. “So you very nearly got yourself killed, and if it wasn’t for a magma cat covering you in molten rock you would’ve died by your own spell?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” he replied. “Light Eater kind of does its own thing, so unless I control it then it would’ve likely given me enough life regen to survive.”

“Likely isn’t good enough.”

He nodded, but then slyly changed the subject to one she couldn’t refuse. “What level did you reach?”

She brought up her character sheet and showed him.

Aeris

Level: 43,894

Health Points: 4,000,000

Current Mana: 17,403,600

Attributes

Strength: 2,171

Dexterity: 100,000

Constitution: 10,000

Intelligence: 29,006

Wisdom: 100,002

Unspent Points: 0

“You took your Constitution to 10,000?”

“You noticed,” she grinned. “I thought gaining four times the HP for a few points was worth it.”

“Don’t let anyone ever call you an air head.”

She rolled her eyes. “That insult gets a bad rap.”

“So you don’t mind if I call you that?”

Pursing up her lips, she ignored his prodding and asked, “Level. Spill it.”

“Before that. Let’s see if there’s anything left of this Colossal.”

***

We flew up until we had a good vantage to see the entire area where the Colossal and my Scorching Sun had been. The scorch marks were vast, leaving blackened rock over a wide area that was more than a mile in diameter. Interestingly enough, it hadn’t grown so large that it dipped into the ground or ceiling.

As for the Colossal, the two ends that had been visible on the Cavern Level were more or less turned into ash. We flew over to the hole it had smashed into the ground and found it stuffed with meaty bits. Part of it was still wiggling.

“Gross,” Aeris said.

“Yeah. I hate this part,” I replied as I cast Vampire’s Might, Devour, and Succubi’s Caress as one. There was so much of it still left behind. Something like a flesh smoothy the size of Godzilla was sucked up out of the massive hole in the ground that reached all the way to the Dungeon level.

Even though it was transformed into a substance I could absorb, I was drown in that disgusting gunk for a couple minutes until every last drop of it was slurped up.

“It’s finally over,” I said with a sigh of relief. “Want a hug?” I approached her in my Astral Body.

She darted back and smiled awkwardly as if she was trying to hide her revulsion.

I frowned teasingly, but then looked at my popups. The first thing I noticed was that Devour had upgraded to the Advanced rank. That meant I’d be getting more stats from a zombie’s favorite snack. No, not brains. Zombies aren’t nearly that picky.

Then I saw my level and began applying my new stat points to Wisdom as I did.

Character Status

Elorion

Level: 51,005

The Colossal had given me just over 6,000 levels. As for the rest… I’d begun the beast tide at level 33,881. I’d gained 17,124 levels in less than two days. It had only taken the sacrifice of tens if not hundreds of millions of creatures, an adult Leviathan, many unique monsters of advanced levels, and one of the Underworld’s most disturbing abominations.

Draining them had given me so much more.

+5,910 Strength

+3090 Dexterity

+8,008 Constitution

Not only was it a substantial number of physical stats, but it gave me an additional 8,008,000 HP. That was enough to make a huge difference the next time I found myself trying to cast Scorching Sun. They continued to climb. I took a look at my end totals.

Attributes

Strength: 26,356

Dexterity: 23,971

Constitution: 29,271

Physical stats weren’t the only thing I received though.

+2,313 Intelligence

+1,089 Wisdom

This added 23,130,000 MP and 2,178 Mana Per Second to my totals. It was nothing too crazy, but with the 79,285 additional stat points, my Wisdom soared.

Attributes

Intelligence: 119,805

Wisdom: 351,216

This really allowed me to better understand what my stats might look like as I neared the max level. If 100,000 was the soft cap, then that left approximately 49,000 levels, or about 245,000 stat points. So I’d max out at around 600,000 Wisdom. That would give me about 1.2 million MPS, or 72 million Mana Per Minute. It was incredible. Unless I was fighting an extremely powerful monster, I’d never even have to dip into my stored mana.

If I wanted to go crazy with Blue Magic Forms, I could walk around with a dragon torso, ten heads, a hundred tails, and fifteen different types of wings from who knows what creatures just for fun and still have mana regen left to play with. But against the real monsters of the Underworld, I’d still be but a blip on their radar.

There were likely other ways I could defeat a Colossal. More efficient ones. This Colossal wasn’t even max level though. And what about the monsters like the Head Mistress? I’d gained so much, but it wasn’t even close to enough. Yet, there were spells out there that utilized mana and the laws of nature. Scorching Sun didn’t even require a fraction of the mana I’d flooded into it in my inexperience. What if I could master this real magic? Epic spells that normally took incredibly rare instruments like a focal lens to cast. Genuine legendary magic. The kind that hadn’t been seen in a thousand years and took skill to cast that few people possessed, if any, in all of existence. That is where true power lied, and I’d only just gotten a taste of it.

I took a good look at the shape I was in. My mana was already nearing 1 billion just because I could refine it so quickly now and Succubi’s Caress had given me a good chunk when draining what was left of the Colossal.

Health Points: 29,271,000

Current Mana: 967 million

Base Mana: 1,198,050,000

Mana Once Refined: 5,990,250,000

Mana Per Minute: 42,145,920(702,432 Per Second)

My wife was leaning against my chest with her head under my chin so that we could both examine my status.

“I was totally catching up to you until you killed that Colossal,” she sulked.

“You get the next one. Besides, I think it’s time we find a Blue Magic vein so that you can start draining stats. Mistress Nava had it unlocked. That way we’ll be able to get you caught up in no time.”

“Sister Nava.”

“Sister.”

She smiled. “I was actually considering Light Magic as my First School. That way it would be more compatible with your magic. And being able to heal you will give me even more peace of mind.”

“Then Light Magic as your First and Blue as your Second. I wonder if I surpassed Sister Nava in level? If so, she’ll totally freak out.”

“Don’t bully her, El.”

“Bully her? Did you see what she did to the Colossal in her pink Dark Magic Form?”

“It’s closer to purple, but yeah. She was holding back almost everything when we fought her.”

“Well, if I’m really going to treat her like a little sister, then teasing her is a nonnegotiable. Besides, she deserves it.”

My Wind Wifey spun around in my arms and glared at me.

“I won’t be cruel about it, and if she really doesn’t like it then I’ll stop.”

Aeris was about to say something, but we both felt it about the same time. Something was approaching fast. We flew back to stand with my four militant golems. I tossed a hundred Master Light Orbs into the air behind me, caught them with mana strands then began draining them to restore my mana even faster.

“It’s a scouting party from the Illuminated Cathedral?” she speculated.

“That’s my guess, and… They’re powerful. That First Spear guy you mentioned is probably among them.”

Nine platemailed tanks ran toward us at a sprint.

Realizing I was less than presentable, I reverted to Solar Being and covered the upper half of my body with Skeletal Armor. Aeris had similar ideas and made expert use of her inventory to quickly get dressed into a full-length gown that was a light blue that went well with her complexion.

When they reached the crater that linked with the Dungeon Level, they chose to leap over it instead of going around. For a second I almost laughed thinking they were trying to show off, but realized it wasn’t really a difficult feat for anyone with decent stats.

I knew enough about armor to recognize they were likely varying the elemental natures among their ranks on purpose. Nothing they were wearing was of low quality. However, one specific set looked so bulky that I wondered how the man moved. Then they drew near, and their speed slowed. They were running in a spearhead formation with the bulky armored guy in the middle.

At about one hundred feet out they came to a stop. Only the man in the bulky armor approached. His cylindrical helmet disappeared, and he was carrying no weapon.

I informed my golems to stay back. Offering Aeris my arm, she took it, and we strolled forward.

The man had silver speckled hair and a tightly trimmed beard. His eyes narrowed as he studied us.

I remembered Nava’s lessons in civility, so I didn’t use Creature Observation on him without asking. Not that I had to in order to know he was powerful. Not only was the mana in his armor extremely dense, but what I saw coming off of his unarmored head was even thicker.

As we both came to a stop, I gave him a subtle grin and greeted, “Welcome to Sanctuary.”

He didn’t react as he continued to study my face. Only after an uncomfortable silence did he address me. “You’re the one that cast the Scorching Sun? Elorion was it?”

I nodded.

He remained impassive but eventually glanced at Aeris and his expression softened. “I’m glad I wasn’t too late to see it for myself. I’m First Captain Cassian Gallus of the Illustrious Dragoons, at your service.” He placed an open gauntlet to his chest and tipped his head forward.

“Ahh, Cassian Gallus. We heard you were coming. I admit to not knowing how to appropriately address you. This is my wife, Aeris.”

“Lady Sprite,” he bowed his head again. “Call me what you like. My name, Captain—”

“First Spear?”

The corner of his mouth turned up and he nodded. “I have two hundred men incoming. Is there room to accommodate us? It’s so soon after your battle. We could camp outside—”

“I’m sure we do,” Aeris replied. “The Whitfield’s have been preparing for your arrival.”

The man’s expression narrowed, but he thanked her. “May I ask where they are, and the rest of the group from the cathedral?”

“They should be returning to the necropolis now,” I answered so she wouldn’t have to decide whether to add that she’d left them. “We had them escape to the north just to be safe since the Colossal surprised us by breaking into the Dungeon Level.”

Cassian stepped to the side and looked back toward the crater in the ground. “I wouldn’t expect much strategy from a Wererat, but digging is a part of its nature…”

“We’ll have to remember that for the next one.”

“Your Solar Magic has saved us from having to clean up quite the mess,” the man offered a little praise.

“That reminds me,” I looked excitedly at Aeris. “There was that giant bison for steaks, and I can’t wait to find out what leviathan tastes like. I wonder if rhino tastes good…” Turning back to the captain. “There’s a lot of meat, and we’ll probably need some help butchering it all, but we’re more than happy to share.”

“Don’t forget Liulfr and the Dire Wolves,” Aeris said. “They’ll probably want some. I think they gain stats through eating high-quality monster meat.”

“Even if they take ninety percent of it, that will still probably feed us and the captain’s men for two weeks.”

“Dire wolves?” Cassian asked.

I grinned and motioned behind us. I’d been feeling people approaching from behind, so I’m sure they’d sensed it too. When I turned, I saw Liulfr and Brynhild running in our direction with the Pastor and his wife riding their backs. They drew to a stop on the other side of the magma shell Xaphan had created for me. The towering wolves lowered their heads to be more on our level.

The Dire Wolf Alpha’s voice sounded in my mind. “Beware of this man. He’s nearing the maximum level and far more dangerous than the Colossal.”

I didn’t respond directly, but addressed the captain, “This is Liulfr and his mate Brynhild. We met them in the Moreerie Grove north of Sanctuary, and they’ve been allies ever since. They lead their pack which was a great help during the beast tide. If my memory serves, I saw Liulfr defeat a higher-level Dire Bear that was one of the rulers of the forest all on his own.”

The Alpha’s response was a new one. He grinned in all its sinister splendor, showing his massive canines. A few of them were taller than I was.

I laughed out loud.

Jeremiah hopped down off of our tree-sized friend. Debra followed. They both gave their temporary mounts their gratitude before they strolled over to join us. The beast tide had been good to them and raised their levels to the mid-30 thousands. It would’ve been even better if they weren’t so focused on helping others.

The Pastor cuffed Geros on the shoulder as he passed by. If I wasn’t seeing things, I was sure the golem had a smug look.

“First Spear,” Jeremiah called out jovially. “Glad you could make it.”

“Jeremiah…” Cassian said evenly.

“Hello, Captain,” Debra chimed as they drew near. The woman walked right up to him and asked, “Did you have a safe journey?”

“Yes, Lady Debra. Thank you. Nothing our healers couldn’t mend easily enough.”

“That’s a relief. We have prepared enough rooms for a few platoons. What’s your numbers?”

The man frowned. “Two hundred and eleven. A full company.”

“I see…” She had a complicated look, but then glanced back at her husband. “If we get access to a second tower then we should be able to sleep everyone.”

“Forgive me for inconveniencing you,” he insisted.

“You’re under my brother’s orders, Cassian. I can’t blame you for this.”

“Regardless.”

Jeremiah chose that moment to step forward. He’d at least put a shirt on. “I’m sure we’ll be yelling at each other in no time, First Captain. You have your duty, but let us at least show you some hospitality before we get started, shall we?”

The man’s laugh was more like a grunt, but he removed his giant gauntlet, and they grasped each other by the wrist. “For a politician, you’ve put on some levels.”

The pastor chuckled. “A politician that gave up everything and left his home to minister to those in need.”

The old soldier smirked. “You just wanted to get in at the ground level before us Catholics got here.”

“That’s not completely untrue.”

They shared a grin.

“Lord Elorion has mentioned leviathan meat…” Cassian said.

I palmed the back of my head when hearing the title.

Jeremiah snickered. “As you can see, this group of young men and women from Sanctuary aren’t accustomed to the authoritarian ways of Rome.”

The captain squinted. “I thought we were leaving the arguing for later.”

“It’s just a joke, I assure you.”

“I can’t say I especially missed you, Pastor.”

“Just like back home,” he replied with a wink before walking past the man and greeting the rest of the scouting group.

Aeris and I shared a look.

“Politics…” she muttered.

We knew it was coming, but now that this Cassian had brought his men things were about to get complicated in Sanctuary. I couldn’t help but put on a goofy smirk.

“What?” my wife asked.

“I was suddenly thinking how thankful I was to have Skyler to deal with all of this.”

She rolled her eyes. “We do need to support him, you know.”

“I’ll fill a room with his favorite orbs to swim in.”

“That’s not what I meant. His motivations lie elsewhere.”

Remembering how the guy liked to eat… “You’re right. Should we set a rule that he always gets a double portion from the incubus breakfast bar?”

She just looked at me. “You know in just a few days we’ll be leaving. Let’s get back and spend as much time with everyone as we can.”

“Deal.”

In the next moment, a pink-purple light streaked across the sky and soon a barefooted redhead in platemail touched down and hurried over to us. “I got experience for the Colossal,” she shrieked, hopping back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Aeris grabbed her by the hands and bounced with her.

Turning back, I watched the captain tilt his head as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“First Spear,” I addressed him. “This is Sister Nava.”

Suddenly a succubus was clearing her throat. “It’s Mistress to everyone but you and Sister Aeris,” Nava corrected me.

“Got it. My bad.”

“You’re forgiven. What’s your level?”

I showed her my Character Sheet and her expression darkened. “Did I pass you up?”

She pursed her mouth and showed me hers.

Nava

Level: 51,341

Health Points: 18.6 million

Current Mana: 10.1 billion

Mana Per Minute: 18,813,720(313,562 Per Second)

Attributes

Strength: 17,157

Dexterity: 16,221

Constitution: 18,618

Intelligence: 202,841

Wisdom: 156,781

“Oh. You’re still ahead,” I observed. It was just a few hundred levels. She’d also earned a lot of stats through Draining. She had me beat in total mana, but I had double her Mana Per Minute.

“We’re tied,” she said, sticking out her tongue. “If I would’ve stuck around and did more damage to the Colossal…” her words drifted off.

“Aeris has dibs on the next one. You can have the one after that.”

She gave me a sideways look but didn’t do a good job of hiding her grin.

I clapped my hands together and lifted my voice so that everyone could hear. “Let’s help the First Captain in any way he might need and get back. We should check on the others, and our giant monster chef is going to be busy. If there’s someone with more experience among your ranks, Cassian, we’d be grateful if he could pass on any tricks of the trade. I think—” I began but turned to Aeris. “Who’s our giant monster chef?”

“Uh,” she looked perplexed. “Audrey, Perry, Skyler, Zorik, and even Lydia have shown interest. We haven’t exactly decided on who is going to do it.”

My face lit up. “You know what that means, right?”

She closed her eyes as if she knew what I was about to say. Then she peeked out of one eye and asked, “Muck-cow Milk?”

“What? No, we’ll save that for later. We’re going to have Sanctuary’s first cook off.”

She lifted her brow. “Oh? Oh! That’s a great idea.”

“If only we could speed up the Cave-Swine breeding.”

“If you need livestock, you can always purchase more from Matriarch’s Crown,” Nava interjected.

My jaw drooped open. “Sister, do mana orbs act as currency there?”

“Sure. Especially high rank ones.”

A giant grin stretched across my face.

Aeris patted my arm. “Everything begins and ends with magic bacon.”

“Magic bacon that gives permanent stats.”

Sister Nava had scrunched up her nose. “What’s magic bacon?”

---

End of book 7