The New World

When I woke up, bats swarmed in every direction that was far away from me. At this point, I didn"t get exp from killing them, as they were over twenty levels below me now. How the times have changed. 

I turned oppression off. No point in killing the bats if I got nothing from it. I just wanted them to clear out all these bugs. With that handled, I sat up and glanced at my notifications. The first one was awesome.

Baldag-Ruhl, of Many(lvl 152) slain. 228,000*7.7*1.5 = 2,633,400 exp gained. 17 level up!

Additional Reward: Dungeon Core(Rare) - Adds an additional perk for free and allows pa.s.sage from and to the dungeon through the gate. Reap your rewards. You deserve it.

I balled up my fists then laughed aloud, "Mwahahahaha!"

I started a.s.signing attributes. I put two more points into strength, two into endurance, and two into willpower. I wanted the three perks given from them, and maybe 50 endurance will give me something, who the f.u.c.k knows. Even after spending all those points, I still had 11 attribute points left.

f.u.c.k man, so many choices. Well, I had five perk unlocks with the agony refund, the dungeon core and the three perks from defeating Baldag. I might as well try to unlock as many perks as I can. I check out my attribute screen and I find a nice set of even numbers. That fact pleases me far more than it should. 

I"m about to be out of this dungeon, so charisma may be useful now. I doubt it though. There"s no way I could afford armor better than my own. With that in mind, I put six points into perception, unlocking the first tier perk, and 5 more into dexterity. 

The increased flexibility helps me once more, and my nerves tighten their control of my body. I"m able to flex every toe in opposite directions now. It"s really weird. The perception is even stranger. It"s like I can comprehend more, even if I don"t fully understand it. You know how it feels to move your arms while your eyes are closed? I felt that same feeling, just for more than my body.

That awareness stretched out about 5 feet from me. My other senses sharpened as well. I could smell the bat"s nasty a.s.s breath. I could see just how gross they were. I could hear their mouth"s smacking like an old lady"s gums who forgot her dentures. I cut back on oppression.

The points in strength and willpower I hadn"t noticed near as much. I already had excellent totals in both, so that"s understandable. With the attributes a.s.signed, the perk menu"s come up. I"m ready and waiting for a ton of choices. They don"t disapoint.

[Willful(Willpower of 10 or more) - Your willpower is good. Doubles mana regeneration.]

[Disciplined(Willpower of 20 or more) - Your willpower is excellent. Willpower adds an extra 2% mana regen for every 1% missing max mana. Your mana can form a shield around you, blocking 2 damage for every 1 point in mana.]

[Uncompromising(Willpower of 25 or more) - Your willpower is incredible. Doubles mental resistance. Half of mental resistance from willpower added to elemental, plasma, and radiation resistances. 1/10th of willpower is added to intelligence.]

[Arbiter(Willpower of 30 or more) - Your will can change fate. Another 1/10th of willpower to intelligence, 10+ mana regeneration. .2+ mana regen per level. Extra internal motivation and .2% mental resistance per level.]

[Strong(Strength of 10 or more) - You are strong. Doubles bonus physical damage.]

[Powerful(Strength of 15 or more) - Your strength is admirable. Doubles carrying weight.]

[Cataclysmic(Strength of 30 or more) - Your strength can move mountains. Doubles maim chance, adds 1% physical damage bonus per level, Strength adds 5 health per point, and gives 1% total increased total physical power for every 1% of health missing. Doubles stamina consumption.] 

[Flexible(Dexterity of 10 or more) - Your dexterity is good. Doubles flexibility bonus.]

[Lithe(Dexterity of 15 or more) - Your dexterity is admirable. Doubles reflexive and reaction time bonus from dexterity.]

[Perceptive(Perception of 10 or more) - Your perception is good. Doubles sensory bonuses.]

[Arcane Blood(Convert any portion of your body into mana, Refunds discipline and willful perks, canceling their effects and perk point consumption) - Your flesh becomes the arcane, the unknown. Converts mana into health and mana regen into health regen. Can use health in place of mana for spells.] 

What a list. I had some interesting perks here. I went ahead and picked up uncompromising, arbiter, cataclysmic, and strong. Those would add permanent, stacking bonuses that would make me overwhelmingly powerful at later levels. 

The most interesting perk of all, however, was blood magic. It just so happened that I had much, much more health than magic, a ton of pain tolerance, and a ton of health regen. I picked that perk and finalized my choice. The perks took effect.

I surge with a sudden, explosive strength. The armor and limbs become easy to move. My understanding of things solidifies. My memory is clearer. As I clasp my hands, my fingers clamp down like a lion"s jaws. Alright, I"m ready for anything.

I check out my attribute screen. 

My attributes are quite high now. Honestly though, the per level perks made the largest difference. I imagined that was how most higher level people would play. Gain the level 30 perk that unlocked the per level bonuses for every attribute, then focus on leveling. Every level would count for a lot more than a single attribute at that point. Well, at least that"s what I"m going to do.

With that handled, I check out my player screen. A message appears.

Dawwww. I was hoping I"d hit 100% and be invincible. I mean, I knew there had to be some sort of cap. I guess even the Schema has limits, even if those limits are self imposed. Another screen appears,

I Harbinger of Cataclysm(Armor, Legendary Unique) - Armor that can absorb rift energy(Ambient Mana) for evolutions. These evolutions may add other special effects. Cannot be removed, only altered. Armor is regenerated with health. 0/2,000,000 Mana left till next evolution.

A Harbinger"s Might - Increases Damage reduction cap by 1%Current Max: 96%

The Walking Calamity - Gives unique ability OppressionCurrent Damage: (5000 + 15% of your health/min) within a 100ft radius

       - From a different world I rise. We usher forth creation through ruin.

Kind of a spooky line there at the end. Well, I can"t say it"s a surprising turn of events. The armor"s made out of a soul and quite a bit of the other dimension"s energy. It was bound to cause some serious s.h.i.t. Oh well. Nothing I could do about that, especially at the time. The character screen appeared next.

 Well, I am a tough cookie now. The physical damage bonus went through the roof, my health regen doubled with blood magic, and the extra hp from cataclysmic helped a ton. Now that agony turned into oppression, I could also get some use out of the hp regen during fights. In essence, I lived up to the name of my skill, dreadnought brute.

 The armor I have, Harbinger of Cataclysm, could get even better with ambient mana. From what I know about it, ambient mana is mana that isn"t connected with a living person. In other words, most creatures and pools of mana would fall under this category. The more monsters I killed, the stronger my armor would grow. Awesome.

With all that handled, I stood up and started my walk out of the middle chamber. There were too many bugs for me to loot here, and I doubt Baldag-Ruhl had much useful stuff anyway. A few bat"s had even gained a few levels. I almost killed them for exp, but it just wasn"t worth it anymore. I had bigger fish to fry.

The main thing I"d want to keep would be the runes he"s carved. It doesn"t take a genius to figure out that they"re useful. With that in mind, I resolve to come back once I know anything about magic. Thinking of which, I reach for my mana. I find none waiting for me. I try to summon the little blue mana stream from before. A very, almost non existent burn spreads from my hand as a red fog appears. 

I place my hand over the reddish cloud, and the same cool air appears. A notification appearred. 

New Skill! Arcane Blood Manipulation(lvl 1)

Skill deleted, Mana manipulation(lvl 1) Half of skill"s ungained points converted into skill points.

h.e.l.l yeah, an easy 49 skill points. I put them into the obliterator tree and start running towards the outer ring that Baldag took me from. Before he"d taken me from our camp, Schema had marked my camp with a little red dot. For the first time, Schema was looking out for me. What a bro.

Anyway, I picked up my pace. My feet pounded against the stone and wind pa.s.sed by my face. I picked up ever greater speed, running faster than I ever have. I kept running faster, finally free from the chains of high const.i.tution. My strength and dexterity gave me the mobility that I wanted, no, needed. 

I never knew I missed running fast so much. The rush of speed. The sensation of my body flowing as one unit. The rush of speed. Alright, I said it twice. Go ahead and sue me.

I sprinted down the hallway, my feet cracking stone with each stomp. Within an hour, I rushed out of the tunnel and crashed into a boulder hiding it. A thunderous explosion echoed throughout the cavern. I sunk several feet into the rock, dust floating around me. Gaping fissures lined the boulder before I pulled myself out. With a quick dash towards it, I crushed through it.

The bits of boulder flung outwards as I smashed out the other side. The rush of power was intoxicating. It was a good day to be alive.

But that was over with. Now it was time to find Stacy and David. They wouldn"t be able to get out without my help. I didn"t care too much about them, but I wouldn"t leave them here stranded.

I sprinted towards our previous encampment, cutting off oppression. I would kill them in one second with it on. I"d have to be careful about that skill from now on. It would be brutally effective at ma.s.s murder if I wasn"t.

My feet pounded against the stone as I ran, excited when I saw a fire at the red dots location. Stacy and David sat around it with a book between them. Worn, ragged, and thin, the book looked more like a used napkin than a proper book. The two of them looked enraptured by it, however.

At least, before I came running up. Once they heard me, they pulled out their bows as David said, "It"s over. We"re f.u.c.ked. I told you we should have never came to this G.o.d forsaken cave."

Stacy shouted, "f.u.c.k you David. You"re the one that mentioned it before we left. I would never have thought of this stupid s.h.i.t if it wasn"t for your dumba.s.s."

Their arrows bounced off my armor like throwing sticks at a tank. I slowed down as I reached them. I glanced up, slow and foreboding as I said in a deep voice, 

"I have come. Come to steal your souls and devour your bones."

David and Stacy screamed before I busted out into laughter. They glanced at each other, confused as f.u.c.k before David said, "Wait a second. That voice is familiar."

I nodded before saying, "Of course it is. I got this sweet new set of armor."

Stacy glanced at David before turning back to me. The oddest look was on her face, like she was taking an awful s.h.i.t. She said, "Daniel?"

I nodded and said, "The one and only."

She continued, "What...happened to you?"

I said, "I killed the boss. Got some armor. We can go now."

David said, "Uh...uhm...I don"t know how to break this too you man...but you"re a boss now."

My jaw dropped as I said, "Wait...what?"

He continued, "Yeah...uh...my Schema says your a boss now. You got a black outline and everything for yourself. It"s crazy."

I rolled my eyes under my helm before saying, "Yeah, sure."

Stacy replied, "He"s f.u.c.kin serious."

I turned towards her, then back to David. He said, "I can show if you"d like."

I said, "Wait, you can show people your status screen?"

"Yeah, you just have to give them permission to view with your thoughts. Schema does the rest. It was in-"

"The tutorial. Yeah, I figured. Go ahead and open it up."

I walked beside them before a screen popped up. Good G.o.d, I am f.u.c.ked.

Harbinger of Cataclysm(lvl 82) - A powerful warrior possessed by an armor crafted from limitless eldritch energy and ambient mana. This being is an abomination, an incarnation of endless amounts of eldritch. With an aura that will kill most enemies in seconds and incredible durability, he is nigh immune to most damage. His strength is immense. His will is boundless. Extremely dangerous, avoid at all costs. 

I said, "Why in the f.u.c.k am I a boss? A boss with a purple name at that."

David shrugged. Stacy said, "You"ve definitely seemed less than human since we met."

I pointed at her while looking at David as I said, "She actually does looks like a monster. Why isn"t she the boss?"

David burst into laughter while Stacy replied, "Quit being an a.s.s. You"re still the same old dips.h.i.t at least."

David interjected, "To answer your earlier question, your name is purple because you"re an unknown. Schema color codes stuff depending on certain factors. Bosses have black screens, and it"s rumored there even items with black screens too."

He rose a hand as he said,

"In the tutorial, it"s said that only unique and legendary items are given black screens and orange names. Bosses are all unique enemies with legends of their own, so they have those black screens too. The tutorial said purple means that even Schema doesn"t really know what something is. Anything purple is considered a boss, regardless of affiliation. It doesn"t like the unknown."

I said, "Thanks for letting me know. I"m a G.o.dd.a.m.n boss monster now. What next?"

Stacy said, "We"ll figure it out. Alright then evil demon lord, what the h.e.l.l happened when you left?"

I explained Baldag-Ruhl"s ritual and him trying to steal my soul. They ooh-ed and ahhh-ed at some of my descriptions before David nodded and said, "Yeah...That matches up perfect with this journal."

I frowned, "Journal?"

"Yeah. When we woke up, you weren"t around. We went looking for you, and we shouted for hours. You were gone for days."

Jesus I slept a long time. David continued, "We thought you just got tired of us and decided to leave."

Stacy said, "I figured you just went off to kill the boss. David"s the one who thought you left us."

David gave Stacy an exasperated look before saying, "We explored the cave, looking for the boss or some way out. The journal was back where you fought the Lord of Worms. He had hidden it at the bottom of a chest  It was written by that Alfred Worm guy you mentioned. It was really hard to read. He started writing it after the whole...corrupted soul thing."

I nodded before pacing over towards the book. I picked it up, the leather cover torn in places. I opened it, exposing yellowed pages. In a neat cursive, it read,

"h.e.l.lo there. If you"re reading this, you"ve no doubt killed me and taken my diary from a corpse. My corpse, hopefully. If so, then a thank you is in order.

I"ve been a part of a plan. A plan from well before either of us were born. It starts with a fascination of mine. One over magic. You see, I have a penchant for all things unknown, for the whimsical and bizzare. Those inclinations brought me here, to the BloodHollow Caves. Those inclinations are also why I will die here as well.

My father was a necromancer. Torix Worm, archlich of Darkhill. He gave me a dark legacy, one riddled with things better left unspoken and more over, unlearned. I despised him. I hated how he cast so many lives into this abyss of his. It left me in his shadow. And there is only one way out of a shadow. It is to go into the light.

He spent his life stealing life, so I would spend my life giving it. The most reliable source for this exploration was from an unlikely source. Ambient mana. You see, mana is representation of will and intellect. Those are the attributes that guide its creation. Intellect creates the mana you may use, willpower is what directs it. In essence, mana is our own conscious given physical form.

 With this understanding, I searched out for better ways of understanding it. Our world was new to Schema"s iron fisted control, so few sought after the dungeons it created. I was one of those few. With a satchel full of tomes and a goal in my head, I entered this dungeon. I had one purpose.

Create life from the mana that Schema found so dest.i.tute.

With that in mind, I had strengthened my own magic. I myself showed quite the talent for necromancy as well, though I never killed for a corpse. I would find the family members and ask for their permission. A timely process, but that was how I slept at night doing such dark things.

When I reached inside the caves, I found the bats to be easy for my skeletons to handle. I was, afterall, level 57. They released no mana I could hold, however. No matter how many I slew, I found none from them. 

Even more concerning, there was no ruler of this dungeon. No matter how many times I pa.s.sed through this dungeon"s halls, it was no where to be found. That is, until I found how to produce the ambient mana I so dearly sought.

With the correct alignment of runes, I could create a sort of pipeline from our dimension and the er, darker one. Not an actual tear, but a seeping of sorts. This process would create pools of glowing water, each shining pink. 

The bears of the cave enjoyed this light, basking in it"s glow. They were the only enemies I had found here, the bats and bears. Once the water of the cave filled, I discovered a set of beetles collecting on the edge of my pools. 

They would sit there with remarkable patience, almost as if they were watching me. Waiting for something. Over time, they walked closer and closer. One day, I turned to them and shouted,

"You are a rather peculiar pack of beetles, aren"t you?"

In all my days, I have never come closer to a heart attack then when it replied with a powerful, ancient voice,

"I am so much more."

I learned that this was the ruler of this dungeon. A hivemind of insects that called itself Baldag-Ruhl, of Many. We spoke on good terms for years after that. He was well spoken. At times, even more well spoken than I. We told tall tales of more than just this cave. Of a wide, open world with so much to see.

During those tales, I could sense an almost palpable hunger from him. I could not blame him. I had all I needed here for my research. A steady supply of bear meat and my mana pools. He, well he wanted quite a bit more than just meat and water. He wanted freedom.

So he helped me with my research. With a fervor rivalling my own, he toiled day and night, learning the incantations, formulas, and runes. I would wake with him still working on new algorithms of the arcane. His sheer frenzy amazed me. In my eyes, the Schema had been wrong all along. These monsters were no such thing. They had souls. Baldag-Ruhl was their shining example.

It wasn"t until I began growing old that he changed. Less a student and more an equal, he and I spoke of magical theory for long stretches of time. He was my closest friend and the champion of my cause. 

Over the years, we had crafted many of these pools. In the richer spots, a wondrous cyan color was created. No animal here could handle such strong light, so they wandered away from these pools. I enjoyed bathing and swimming in these during idle days. 

I had come so close to discovering some means for holding this ambient mana. That was when I had my breakthrough. I could tie the ambient mana to cores crafted from condensed b.a.l.l.s of my own mana. This gave them purpose, a goal. Not quite life, but something like it.

With the revolution in thought, Baldag-Ruhl began creating his magnum opus. An incantation of such complexity, length, and precision, it would open a portal into his dimension and let him escape here. 

I helped as much as I could. Hours we would toil on it, pouring sweat like slaves. I remember finishing the center of the expanse. That was when Baldag-Ruhl betrayed me. He cast the spell, trapping me within the center of the spell. He shouted madness of using my soul for escape. There was but one flaw in his plan.

I had brought the cores with me that day, along with the ambient mana. Any corruption of your soul will result in the sentinel of monolith attacking you on sight. I also gained an uncanny amount of mana. Mana I then put to good use.

With a violent spell of my own, his spell shattered, sending his grotesque form flying into a nearby wall. Using the chance, I escaped from his grasp and used the thickest pools of mana for my defense. The gray pools would leak mana thick enough for sustaining these cores, strengthening them over time. They would act as guardians of the mana locked there.

I took the thickest pool and imbued my soul onto a piece of corundum given to me by my father. Though my mind may fall apart, my will would not. I would continue experimenting on any who entered here, I"m sure. Please, forgive me for my sins.

The mana seeped into my own, warping it, corrupting it completely. My mind, it is fading as I write this. The ambient mana is like carrying the minds of madmen. There is no reason, no direction. I am becoming...insane.

I fear by the time of your reading this, I will have fallen into depravity. The necromancy I so desperately wished to reform is now my only defence. I find myself murdering any adventurer"s who enter this cave, terrified of Baldag-Ruhl using them. 

One day, an adventurer will come who can kill me. By then, this...corundum of souls will hopefully be complete, with a piece of my soul within it. Baldag-Ruhl will attempt using you for his own twisted goals. Please, I beg you. Stop him. Do not let him ruin the world as he has ruined me. I give up the last vestiges of my fading soul for a chance at redemption.

These will be my last words before I do so. Let my father know...I understand him now. It is not the person that corrupts the world. It is the world that corrupts the person. Goodbye. 

I hate this scratching...I want to eat. I will rule the dirt....ruler of worms. Lord...of worms..."

Jesus...That was intense. I glanced back up and said, "He found redemption after death."

Stacy and David nodded. We stood in silence for a moment. It was a respectful sort of silence, like at a funeral. It pa.s.sed as quickly as it came before I stood up and said, "Well, any ideas on what to do now?"

David said, "You have the dungeon core, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then we reach the sentinel and use it to escape."

I banged the edge of my head. A sharp, metallic sound echoed in the cave before I said, "Do you not see me Sherlock Holmes? I"m a f.u.c.king harbinger of cataclysm. The sentinel will attack me on sight."

David nodded as he said, "You still have the cores right?"

"Er, yeah?"

A wicked smile traced his lips as he said, "Then I have a plan."