Chapter 78 – Long Live the King

Luke eased himself down to the nearest shelf to rest and recover. His HP was dangerously low, not only from the King’s attacks, but from his followers and the toxic aura surrounding him.

As it turned out, Luke’s [Poison Eater] title didn’t work on the King’s aura.

Without any new wounds to deal with, the [Golden Ginger Pill] performed its prescribed magic. His supercharged HP regeneration beat out the numerous wounds and even the poison coursing through his veins. With the King dead, Luke could feel the poison letting up.

Once he was sure enough of himself, Luke scaled down to what was left of the King’s corpse. He stepped around chunks of coral the size of houses, wondering why he didn’t get a kill confirmation.

Wary, Luke kept his [Cipher Swords] at the ready. He was flagging, but his vital resources were slowly rebounding now that he wasn’t burning the candle at both ends.

Luke paused beside a leaking chunk of coral. He could hear a faint, rasping breath.

Stepping around the side, swords raised, Luke was ready for another fight but found none. His eyes dropped to the floor where a fish-like creature was on its back, clearly at the end of its life.

It gasped, gills fluttering on the sides of its waxy-skinned neck. Milky, bulbous eyes regarded him kindly. Luke had expected hatred or rage, but… not pride.

“You… did well,” the creature gasped. “The King may rest again. Thank… you.”

Luke stepped up to the creature, keeping a wary distance from its webbed and claw-tipped hands. He wasn’t about to present an opportunity for reprisal. Luke could tell by the state of the bloated creature that there was nothing he could do for him.

Well, not nothing, Luke thought darkly.

“You fought well,” Luke told him.

“Not as well as you… for which I am… grateful.” The creature wheezed painfully between words, purplish blood leaking from every wound Luke had dealt to the King.

“Would you like me to ease your passing?” Luke said, surprising himself with the tenderness in his voice.

This creature did not hate him. While Luke didn’t understand precisely what was going on, he wasn’t cruel. He understood mercy.

Milky eyes locked with his. “Please.”

With a nod, Luke drove the [Cipher Swords] into the pelagic creature’s chest. The fish-man spasmed for a moment and then went very still.

It was only in the silence that followed that Luke felt the burning-hot heat of the talisman Jimmy had given him. Only now was it cooling down. Gingerly, Luke pulled it out from his armor and set it against the scaled armor’s exterior.

You have defeated [King in the Deep - Level ??]. Extra experience gained for slaying an enemy above your level. 5,000 LP obtained.

Title gained: [King Killer]

Few have managed to kill one of the Four Kings, though countless people have tried throughout the ages. You are among the few successful creatures who have slain a King, joining a select brotherhood of warriors spanning the ages of the multiverse. Your Marks have been updated. +50 Fate.

Title upgraded: [Soloer, Third-Class]

Only acquirable by those with the Soloer title, this auxiliary title grants boons specific to soloers. You have once again proved your mettle against a wide range of threats while completely solo and outnumbered vastly. Whenever you fight an opponent solo, your stats are further enhanced based on how much stronger your opponent is up to an expanded limit. Your Marks have been updated. +10 all stats.

Title upgraded: [Soloer, Fourth-Class]

Only acquirable by those with the Soloer title, this auxiliary title grants boons specific to soloers. You have gone above and beyond to prove your mettle against the strongest threats possible while solo and outnumbered. Whenever you fight an opponent solo, your stats are drastically enhanced based on how much stronger your opponent is up to an even greater limit. Your Marks have been updated. +15 all stats.

Level Up! Your [Thief] Class has reached Level 38.

Stat points earned: +4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, +2 Perception, +2 Vitality, +2 Free Points.

Level Up! Your [Human (F-Grade)] Race has reached Level 26.

Stat points earned: +3 All Stats, +1 Fate, +2 Free Points.

Level Up! Your [Thief] Class has reached Level 39.

Stat points earned: +4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, +2 Perception, +2 Vitality, +2 Free Points.

Level Up! Your [Thief] Class has reached Level 40.

Stat points earned: +4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, +2 Perception, +2 Vitality, +2 Free Points.

You have [Thief] skills to select.

Level Up! Your [Human (F-Grade)] Race has reached Level 27.

Stat points earned: +3 All Stats, +1 Fate, +2 Free Points.

Level Up! Your [Thief] Class has reached Level 41.

Stat points earned: +4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, +2 Perception, +2 Vitality, +2 Free Points.

Level Up! Your [Thief] Class has reached Level 42.

Stat points earned: +4 Strength, +6 Dexterity, +2 Perception, +2 Vitality, +2 Free Points.

Level Up! Your [Human (F-Grade)] Race has reached Level 28.

Stat points earned: +3 All Stats, +1 Fate, +2 Free Points.

The warm flood of stats and levels rushed through Luke. Coupled with the miracle of the [Golden Ginger Pill], Luke felt like he could take on the world.

A weary Yind padded over to Luke and bumped her head against him. With a snort of curling dark flames, she collapsed beside him to rest.

He petted her smooth scales, feeling the warmth saturate through his bones. Though he was tired too, the golden ginger pill continued to fuel his body and mind with unending energy.

Looking over all his System prompts, Luke cracked a grin at the possibilities that lay before him. Killing the King had catapulted him forward in power.

He could solo even stronger monsters now. What had once seemed like an impossible task now was in reach.

He had defeated one of the Four Kings. The rest were for the taking.

“I could hunt the remaining three Kings,” he mused aloud. “But the assessment is coming to a close, isn’t it?”

Skill advanced:

Your [Novice Dual Wielding (Uncommon)] Skill has advanced to [Intermediate Dual Wielding (Uncommon)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Intermediate Dual Wielding (Uncommon)] Skill has upgraded to [Intermediate Dual Wielding (Unusual)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Eyes of the Dragon (Crude)] Skill has upgraded to [Eyes of the Dragon (Common)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Eyes of the Dragon (Common)] Skill has upgraded to [Eyes of the Dragon (Uncommon)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Novice Dunamis Wieldance (Common)] Skill has upgraded to [Novice Dunamis Wieldance (Uncommon)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Intermediate One-Handed Weapons (Common)] Skill has upgraded to [Intermediate One-Handed Weapons (Uncommon)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Fleet of Foot (Common)] Skill has upgraded to [Fleet of Foot (Uncommon)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Sneak Attack (Uncommon)] Skill has upgraded to [Sneak Attack (Unusual)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [High Larceny (Uncommon)] Skill has upgraded to [High Larceny (Unusual)].

Skill upgraded:

Your [Perfect Dodge (Uncommon)] Skill has upgraded to [Perfect Dodge (Unusual)].

The influx of knowledge was immense. No wonder it was so hard to raise the rarity of each skill. Each increase imparted an incredible amount of new knowledge.

Luke took in the world with his [Eyes of the Dragon], feeling the stark difference between crude-rarity and its current uncommon-rarity.

The strain was significantly reduced, and he swore he could see more color than ever before. The King had fallen, and though Luke was tempted to set his free points right then and there, he didn’t want to be distracted just yet.

A prickling sensation on his scalp drew his golden eyes toward the large hole about 80 yards above his head. Hundreds of faces were peering down at him. He wondered what they saw. He must look like little more than a darkly wrapped figure standing amid the wreckage of pastel-colored coral.

When Luke turned back to the avatar of the King, he was surprised to find that it had melted into a puddle of sea foam.

His lungs still burned where the poison ravaged him, but his body was slowly fighting it off.

Luke forced his tired and wired body to stiffen as he turned to face the dead King. He placed one arm behind his back, raising the other [Cipher Sword] vertical in front of his face, so his features were lit by the purple glow of its runes.

Luke gave the King a fencing salute, from one combatant to another. He swept the blade to the side, creating a trailing afterglow of purple runes.

Somewhere high above, a cheer rose and was carried by hundreds of voices. Luke was tempted to go up and see what had happened to the rest of the army, but if there were people up there, then he could guess well enough that the army was finished.

Putting his hand on Yind’s flank, he said, “Still up for a little hunting girl?”

Yind growled enthusiastically and rose to all four paws. She was wounded, much more than he was. Yindferl lacked Luke’s [Golden Ginger Pill].

Shaking his head, he dismissed the runes on each weapon. He pocketed the true [Cipher Sword] and sheathed [Hadal’s Mirror]. Luke dropped to one knee and wrapped his arms around Yindferl’s thick and warm neck.

“It’s okay, Yind, rest. I’ll be okay.” Though those weren’t the command phrases to send her back, the shadow drake was a lot more perceptive than even Alfair had given her credit for.

She took the meaning, and it was a sign of how tired and wounded she was that she went without a fight.

Luke’s arms stayed on her neck until they held nothing but sweet-smelling purple smoke. He plucked the statuette from the ground and put it safely into his cloak pocket. “Rest up, Yind.”

He could have climbed back up. Perhaps it would have been a good idea. He had saved Havenholm after all… but Luke hadn’t done it for them.

He did it for himself.

The rewards, though great, were still missing the loot from the King himself. Summoning up a pool of shadow around the “body” of the King’s avatar presented a curious problem.

The body was no longer there, and try as Luke might to loot the spreading puddle of sea foam, nothing happened.

He had the sensation that the Kings could not be looted. At least not in the traditional sense.

With lightning in his veins, Luke turned and cast his shadow senses wide. There.

He could feel a passage that led him deeper into the ruins below, a different area than he’d been to before. It was time to find another King, and barring that, he would kill everything in his way.

At least until his [Golden Ginger Pill] wore off.

Luke hurried at a quick trot down one drunkenly slanted hallway before something unexpected pulled him up short.

What the–?

A familiar ornate doorway materialized in his way. It swung open, and the god Du’sat stepped through.

“Hello Luke.”

“Hi?” Luke looked around. “What’s going on? What’re you doing here?”

The Discordant Dragon glanced at his surroundings while straightening his black cuffs. He was back in his Board attire, AKA John Wick impersonator, and looked unaccountably nervous. As if he expected a teacher to come yell at him for sneaking out of class.

“I figured you’re owed a way out of this impending bloodbath. You killed the King in the Deep, and should be commended for it, but that’s nothing compared to what happens in assessment tests when there’s a mutalyst outbreak. We need to go. Now. Things are about to go from bad to worse.”

Luke felt odd standing still, but there wasn’t enough room in the narrow hallway to pace. “I’m not even sure what that is.”

“Let me state this more plainly. In every single assessment test conducted by the Company, when there is a mutalyst outbreak–that’s what cannibals turn into if they keep eating their own–the resulting fallout is complete annihilation. No survivors. The Company takes a very bleak view on cannibalism and the infection that spreads is worse than you could imagine. Entire universes can go dark from a mutalyst outbreak. Now get in here, I’m not joking.”

Luke frowned. “So, everybody is about to die.”

“Yes! Didn’t you hear me?”

Luke took a step back. “But what if the cannibals are killed?”

Du’sat took a step farther out of the door, but kept one hand on the handle and one leg on the other side of the frame. “That doesn’t happen, Luke. Time is running out. You’ve got a few seconds to make up your mind. Stay and die when the Company inevitably decides to obliterate everything to contain the infection, or come with me and live. I didn’t take you for the suicidal sort. Come on.”

Luke felt frozen at a crossroads. One where he went on to greater and better things with the Discordant Dragon, and the other where he had a chance of saving Emma. If she was even alive.

Had she been one of those faces looking down at him?

Why does it always return to Emma?

Humanity had been brought into the multiverse. She must have as well. Du’sat had told him, in that roundabout way of his, that she was here somewhere. If he left the test behind, he would be dooming the one person he still cared about more than anyone else.

“We have less than a day left in the assessment,” Luke said.

“They’ll extend it,” the Dragon said sharply and without thinking, then he saw Luke’s expression and realized he had made an error. “Oh, no. No! Luke, that’s not a good thing. That’ll just give more time for the mutalysts to spread.”

But it’ll also give me time to hunt the other Kings, and to find Emma, Luke thought in the privacy of his own head.

Luke took another step back. “I’m sorry, Du’sat. But I’m staying. Thank you for trying to help.”

“You really are an idiot,” Du’sat said, but there was a hint of pride in his voice. “Fine. But you’re going to need this.” He dropped a red-edged envelope at the door. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” he said as he shut the door and disappeared.

Luke stooped to pick up the envelope. It felt heavy and buzzed slightly in his hands with an aurora of Dunamis to his enhanced eyes.

Before he could open it, a quest notification appeared.

The Company Quest: No Cannibals

Time and time again, newly uplifted humans abandon the tenants of civilization and devolve into cannibalism. The Company and its Board have a zero tolerance policy for such heinous acts within its employed workforce. Radical mutations, mental instability and Dunamis malformations run rampant in these infected individuals.

An additional 30 days has been added to the assessment, during which time the cannibal threat must be sufficiently expunged. Should the assessment population rise above the catastrophic mutalyst threshold (60%), the assessment will immediately end and be sanitized. Wiping out the mutalysts entirely or keeping their population below acceptable targeted sanitation thresholds (~12%) will result in successful completion and cessation of assessment-wide sanitation protocols.

Luke stared at the quest. For a moment, he wondered if he had made the wrong decision, then he crushed the thought.

He now had 30 more days to not only hunt the remaining 3 Kings and find Emma, but to cull as many cannibals as he could find.

Despite the dire news and the threat of an executioner’s axe over the collective necks of the entire assessment population, Luke felt more alive and driven than ever before.

He took off at a run deeper into the ruins, intent on finding his quarry.

End of Book 1, Mark of the Shadow Lord