Underworld - Book 4 - Chapter 12

We made it to the hall of Ireki murals, past the hieroglyphics, before we slowed to a stop. I returned to my human form and cast Bone Titan’s Defense. Healing us both to alleviate our exhaustion, I watched Aeris as she stretched out in her airy form to receive the spell like a warm blanket.

“You’re going to have to tell me more about your new form.” I said in a whisper.

Floating down to the floor, she returned to Wind Sprite. “It’s called Wind Wisp. You’ve seen most of what it can do. Heat increases my speed and cold lessens it, but neither harms me. I think I’ll be immune to many of the elements in the same way, but there is a drawback. I can’t cast a wind spell without joining my body to it. So if I cast Gale, or Wind Slash, I’ll become a part of it. Same with Tornado. If I cast it in Wisp form, I’ll be a part of the funnel. It allows me to cast the same spells for a lot less mana, but if I want to stay at range, I have to cast them in Sprite form.”

“Is your magic more powerful in that form as well?”

“It is. Three times more powerful than before.” She said with a flirty squint. “Wisp form is even more powerful.”

“Amazing. It’s good to see that you’re enjoying this one.”

She nodded before resting her head on my shoulder. “Thanks to you. I’m starting to believe that this really is my true form. You and the others have been nothing but supportive. I’m still going to miss things like acne and sunburns.”

I grinned, holding back my laughter to keep from making our presence known. Not that I planned on hiding from the Wraith, but there was no reason to announce ourselves yet.

“So how do you want to approach the Wraith?”

“Bribes, flattery, and many threatenings.”

She arched her brow.

“Fine. Let me tell you my master plan.”

***

We entered the tomb’s entrance that resembled an obsidian cathedral with pearl white stairs climbing up to the arching doorway that stretched many stories overhead. The four elemental pillars, two on either side, stretched from floor to the ceiling high overhead. I knew enough about the tombs design, that I could possibly hack my way in, not with an axe or physical weapon, but by commandeering parts of the Arcane Machinery and sending it commands with my own mana. The problem with trying to hack into it in such a way was that I’d be placing myself in direct opposition to the Wraith. He had designed this very system and had the power of this advanced dungeon at his disposal as well as his own. It didn’t help that he’d seen me hack into his system once before to open the tomb’s doorway. A doorway that had been closed since our last visit.

He hadn’t had the chance to mana link with a creature to make a new tomb boss since I’d left. At least, there wasn’t any creature visible in the way the Rock Giant had been.

Aeris had attached herself to my back the best she could in her Wisp form. Her arms were wrapped around my neck and her legs were around my waist. It was like having a cloud for a backpack. I approached in the same way the Wraith had seen me before, in my skeleton armor. He’d used the Rock Giant’s eyes to see out of last time, but it would surprise me if he had developed another way to observe anyone who approached. If he had, he’d likely know that I’d grown stronger. Even if he could tell what level I was, my mix of Light and Blue Magic allowed me to hide my true power—or so I hoped.

I didn’t slow my forward progress when entering the room but walked straight toward the tomb’s vault-like entryway. Reaching the bottom of the pearl stairs, I let Rock Giant transform my flesh under my armor without growing my body in girth or height. Magma Fist took hold of my left hand and Fire Incubus did the same to my right. Having them both cast in a partial manner would allow for a quicker transition into their full forms if the need arose. It was possible for the Wraith to see the distinction in mana types in my hands and body if he had the ability to see me in the mana realm, but beneath my armor, it would be difficult to discern what forms I was using.

With half of my mana per minute in reserve, I began to scale the stairs. I slowed when I reached the top, watching the door and mana infused pillars to either side. Nothing happened, so I neared the smooth obsidian door. My last time here, I’d simply pushed against the door and fell through its surface after it had mysteriously lost its physical substance. It had been the same when Lord Darius had entered the Head Mistress’s dungeon. His Lich had somehow made the walls blocking their progress into something their entire army could walk through. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t interested in getting stuck in the tomb again.

Standing at the base of the giant door with bone covered knuckles, I knocked.

A spike of mana leaped from the closest pillar to my left. I leapt back from the doorway to the ledge of the platform at the top of the stairs. On the same platform, near its pillar of origin, a crystalline creature began to form. It had the deep blue of ice mana. Its form became apparent immediately. Unlike the terrifying image of icicle laden abominable snowman I’d always imagined, the ice elemental took a form that looked human. It was tall and lengthy, with a long face and chiseled jaw. Its eyes were emotionless but intelligent.

Creature Observation revealed its true identity.

Master Ice Elemental

Level: 1,000

Health Points: 250,000

Mana Points: 10,000

Strength: 1,000

Dexterity: 500

Constitution: 2,500

Intelligence: 500

Wisdom: 500

Nothing about it surprised me. Just as Sanctuary had the ability to summon elementals at the cost of DP, there was little surprise that the Wraith had the same ability. Why the Wraith hadn’t summoned one last time I was here was the real mystery. Although, it may be as simple as he didn’t want to waste the mana.

“Deceiver. You have returned.” Even though the elemental’s mouth opened, it was the Wraith’s voice that spoke.

“I’m seeking answers.” I replied. “The kind of answer that only you may have the answers to.”

“You will become my guardian, then?” 

“No, but I can create one for you.”

He shook his head. “Another golem? That is but a shell—a machine. A stupid one at that. I require a living creature that I can feed my endless supply of power. One that will grow, indefinitely. Do you not understand what I’m offering you? In a few millennia you could be ranked among the Lords of the Underworld.”

If it was that simple, why didn’t he already have a guardian that was that powerful? I saw the opportunity to have one of my questions answered though, so I took it. “Say I take you up on your offer. As I grow, how would you hide my power from the other Lords and Ladies of the Underworld?”

“You concern is an understandable one, and I can assure you that as my vessel you have nothing to fear, but don’t think that I don’t know what you’re doing, thief. Have you not already stolen enough from me?”

“I’m willing to pay. I’m the master of my own dungeon and have people I’m seeking to protect. Abandoning them is not something I can do.”

“Then I will help you by making the decision for you.”

The Elemental’s arms flew forward. Blue energy blasted from them as it sought to engulf me.

I didn’t move out of the way. As the magic reached me, it burst into a mass of ice that gripped me from head to toe. It was impossible to know how thick the ice was. I already knew it wouldn’t hurt Aeris, but if I remained in it long enough it would probably cause me some serious damage. Aeris hadn’t tried to move either but remained snuggled against my back. She was sticking to the plan.

“Cold makes me tired.” Aeris said against the back of my neck.

Even in Rock Giant Form, a lesser version, I could feel the cold of ice. It had encapsulated my joints, so movement was difficult. The Wraith had learned little of me during my last visit and what I was capable of had only grown. Asking nicely had failed, so it was time to begin showing him what I was truly capable of.

Instead of casting a spell, I called on my inflated stats. As I struggled to pull my hands into fists, Primordial Cat and Fire Incubus that covering my hands didn’t react as muscle and tendon would. Instead, my Magma began to glow red hot and Fire Incubus began to swelter with heat. With little effort, my hands seared through the ice allowing me to form two tight fists.

All that it took to cause the first crack was the swelling of my forearms and biceps as I began to flex against the block of ice that enclosed me. Bringing my fists forward, I flexed my chest, sending a series of crack through the ice in front of me. If the ice hadn’t pressed into my face, I would have grinned. I was growing tired of holding my breath.

Rock Giant Form didn’t increase my Strength, only my Constitution and it would doubled my size if I let it. There were some interesting additions, like Stone Skin, which was the only reason I was using it now. I actually had a Stone Skin spell, but the form was only 500 Mana Per Minute even when I was using it as a partial form as I was now. Besides, if I was using the Blue Magic spell Stone Skin, it would have taken me longer to do this.

I let the held back mana flow into Rock Giant Form and I began to grow. One crack became many until the ice shattered like sugar glass and fell off of me. My size only continued to increase until I stood twice as tall as I normally did.

Looking down upon the Ice Elemental, I gave it a rocky smile from beneath my skeletal helm that had grown in size to match my form. Holding up my Magma Fist, I saw what I’d expected. It hadn’t grown with the rest of me. It was the same with my Fire Incubus Fist. I was a big rock giant with little hands.

The Master Ice Elemental had cast another spell. His magic was already flowing toward me. I threw out my hands, opening them wide. Unable to help myself, I began wiggling my little fingers, mocking him.

He didn’t exactly take it well. An even larger spike of mana joined with the spell he had already cast. 

And this guy expects me to be his guardian for the next couple thousand years? He has no sense of humor.

Ice began to solidify around my form once again. Before it took my arms, I summoned a spell that the Wraith had seen once before.

Rhyolitic Magma

Spell cost – 500,000 MP (100,000 MP with bonuses.)

Only using 10,000 MP, liquid rock spurted out of my mini Magma Fist.

The elemental had to cut its spell short to try to get out of the path. Magma missed its arms and torso but blanketed the monster’s knee.

Ice once again took form over me, blocking my view. The last thing I’d seen was the meat of its leg disintegrate when meeting the liquid rock and turn into steam. It was an opening. No more playing around.

I lunged forward—the ice crumbled when faced with my full strength. Even with the 30% penalty to Dexterity, I still had over 1,400. Against the Ice Elemental’s 500, it didn’t have nearly enough to react in time, especially with an injured leg.

Rock Giant Form may have not added Strength, but it did add mass. With all that weight behind my normal sized Fire Incubus Fist, my hand punched into its chest, puncturing it like a piercing weapon.

The Ice Elemental lay with its back pinned against the pearl platform. The cracks my fist had caused were healing before my eyes, but it couldn’t out regenerate a fist in the chest. My hand remained lodged there.

It reached for me with both hands. “You will join me!” The Wraith growled.

I was growing tired of our game.

Releasing the flow of mana to Fire Incubus Fist, my hand began to expand to catch up with the rest of my body. I gave him a wink just before his torso shattered into three separate pieces.

As much as I tried, Forced Learn didn’t work on the artificial creature. In its last moment of life, I entered into its being through the mana realm, but instead of an orb of life, the strand of mana from the tomb’s pillar retracted and left the being to die.

Standing up, I returned Rock Giant to its lesser form, and I shrunk to my normal size. Fire Incubus Fist retook shape on my right hand.

Despite it being close to 250 levels higher than me, it only gave me 7 levels for defeating it. It was the first time I’d beat one as well. Without looking, I added the additional 35 stat points to my Wisdom bringing it to 3,865.

Drain was as useless as Force Learn had been. This Wraith really didn’t want to give me anything.

“That was easy.” Aeris whispered.

I nodded my head but didn’t respond. Instead, I addressed the Wraith, unsure if he could hear me now that his elemental was gone. “I’m willing to pay for information, but I will not let you take me. I make a good ally. I’m sure I can find a way to help you. What do you say?”

“What do I say?” Rumbled a voice from behind the tomb’s vault. “How should I respond to a mere slave?”

The room began to shake with power as all four elemental pillars glowed with flowing mana. Another Master Ice Elemental started to take form at the same time that another elemental did. This second one was filled with Earth mana. The moment they took full form, two more elementals started to take shape. A Wind and Fire one.

“Do you need my help?” Aeris said, her voice uneasy.

“Not yet but be ready just in case.” I replied in hushed tones.

“This time—” The Wraith spoke, but instead of inside the tomb it had come from the Ice Elemental. Then each following word came from a different one elemental like they were taking turns.

“You—” 

“Will—”

“Not—"

“Get—”

“Away!”

As they finished uttering the last word, the entire group of them attacked as one.

Mana Sight spiked up to full power and I leaped high into the air as my Fire Incubus Wing sprung from my back. Rock Giant Form faded from my body as I flapped my wings a single time, sending me high into the upper reaches of the room. I had wanted to keep from doing any real damage to the Wraith or his Tomb, but if I had to, I’d leave it a pile of rubble and strip it of every useful material I could find.

I saw multiple spells starting to take form. I had no plan to run. Instead, I dived right at them.

---

Author Note:

The next chapter should be up tomorrow. I'm not going to leave you hanging for long. It's almost ready.