Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Something is wrong. I know it the moment my feet touch the final step of the stairs descending to the next floor. At first, I hadn't been very worried about encountering anything. I honestly thought the second floor was going to be clear. After all, the players who had been there were killed by the demonic nightmare, and those who survived had left, descending to the third floor. Plus, Riselle and Azlam had to come up from here, so surely they would have faced any new problems already. No, that's a bad assumption—that the dungeon is static. New threats could have spawned, but I have no real idea of how dungeons actually work after all.

I look around, my muscles tensing; something is wrong. It feels like...

"Look out, Jackson!" Lazarus calls.

I dive and roll. Something strikes the wall beside me—a viscous hiss emanating from the air. I look over at the noise and see a large purple snake with gleaming evil-red eyes. It looks like a cobra, except lining its hood are a bunch of eyes, just like the ones found in the demonic nightmare. I analyze the snake.

Demonic Cobra Level 20

More demons? But how? I don't have time to wonder about it; I'm forced to dodge another strike as the demon cobra lashes out at me, black fangs dripping purple liquid that can only be venom. If I had my sword, I could have slashed outward with it as I rolled, but I don't. Instead, I fling crimson lightning at the snake. Surprisingly, it's effective, tearing into the cobra and blasting it backward, causing it to slam into the wall.

You have injured the demonic cobra.

It isn't dead yet, however. The cobra is back up, and this time it rears its head and spits that purple liquid at me, which bubbles and hisses. Not wanting to get hit by it, I move backward. It hits the stone and bubbles and steams, burning away some of the stone. Yeah, not getting hit by that is a priority. I fling more lightning, which crackles with destructive power. The snake, though, is not stupid and dives and weaves its sinuous body around the lightning. I scowl. It would be so much easier if monsters just sat there and let me fling lightning at them. Despite the annoyance of the snake's movements, I do not relent. I fling bolt after crackling bolt.

I don't do this just because. I do it because it allows me to dictate the demon snake's movements. I fling a bolt low; the snake goes high; I fling one to the left; it goes right. I send a few in random directions and then fling one low, and I immediately follow it up with one two seconds later that I aim high. The snake, used to the pattern, dodges the low one by moving its body upward and right into the bolt I delay a bit and hit high.

The snake takes the lightning right to its evil red eye. It hisses in utter agony, convulses, and then falls to the ground, dead.

You have killed a demonic cobra at level 18. Your blood lightning has increased to level 10. You have increased in level. You are now at level 18.

I breathe out, and when the snake doesn't move, I allow my muscles to relax. Having leveled up, I focus on my one attribute point. That makes my mind attribute 16, which means it's only two levels behind my will attribute. Satisfied, I turn to Lazarus, who is simply staring at the snake.

"Are you okay over there? You're looking gloomy, Laz," I say.

Lazarus shakes his head, as if clearing it. Then he looks at me, and his eyes are almost haunted.

"When you described that demon nightmare to me, I thought it was just a dungeon creature. Dungeons have been known to spawn weird and powerful nightmarish creatures. I didn't take the demon's name literally. But now..." His voice grows quiet at the end, almost fearful.

"What? What is it, Laz?" I ask, concern growing at his unusual demeanor.

Lazarus blows out a breath, his spectral form flickering slightly. For just a moment, I notice something strange—a faint purplish tinge at the edges of his usually crimson aura. It's gone so quickly I wonder if I imagined it.

"I don't know how to tell you. Again, we are stumbling upon information that is dangerous."

Lazarus trails off, his gaze drifting back to the dead snake with what looks unmistakably like dread.

I growl, frustration boiling over. "No, not this time, Lazarus. You refuse to tell me anything! I am in constant danger! This whole world is dangerous! It's time you tell me something."

Lazarus' eyes and voice grow cold and hard, a sudden shift that makes me take a step back.

"This information is dangerous beyond the norm. It would put you in grave danger. You aren't prepared for that." His voice softens slightly. "Still, I will tell you that you need to get back to those demon nightmares. Inside of it is a dark, corrupting purple seed. You need to destroy it. If you don't, more of these snakes and other creatures will spawn from it. Do this, and I will help you another way. Something I should have done earlier."

I glare at him, wanting to argue further. However, I can see that Lazarus is not going to be pushed. Letting out a frustrated breath, I push the matter out of my mind. Then I make my way to the demonic nightmare corpse.

There are no more demonic snakes. I make it to the corpse with no other problems. It still looks like a huge blob of purple flesh, surrounded by player corpses. The whole area has begun to stink as the corpses begin to decompose and release their bowels. It is not a pleasant smell, to say the least. I wrap a torn piece of cloth around my nose. Lazarus points and laughs at me, though his laughter sounds a little forced. The spirit clearly has other things on his mind.

I walk up to the demon corpse and, without ceremony, weave crimson lightning. Instead of flinging it, I wield the lightning in my hand like a blade and use it to destroy the flesh of the monster. This is not pleasant, but I do my best to ignore it as I make my way to the center of the creature's corpse. Once I get through all of the guts, the body's juices, and every other unpleasant thing, I find what Lazarus had been talking about.

The seed is a necrotic-looking purple, and it pulses with a malicious aura that even I can feel. It feels alive, in a way, if you can call the evil aura it gives off alive. Lazarus actually seems to shudder at the sight of it.

"That is the closest thing to pure evil you will likely experience, my young fledgling. Crush it, if you please."

As I reach for the seed, I notice Lazarus is keeping his distance. His form seems to waver, like a flame in wind, and there's an expression I can't quite read on his face. Is it fear? Revulsion? Or something else entirely? I hesitate for a moment.

"Laz? What happens if someone comes into contact with one of these seeds for too long?"

His eyes flick away from mine. "Corruption, fledgling. Now destroy it before it spreads further."

Letting it fall to the ground, I do as he bids, crushing the seed underfoot. It lets out a squelching, evil sort of hiss and then promptly explodes into purple goo. When I do that, the nightmare corpse completely vanishes, leaving behind only a faint wisp of violet smoke that smells of decay and something else—something burnt and ancient.

As the smoke dissipates, I could swear I see tendrils of it drift toward Lazarus, curling around his spectral form before disappearing. His expression shifts momentarily—a flash of something dark and hungry crossing his features—before returning to normal. He shakes himself, as if throwing off unwelcome thoughts.

You have destroyed a demon seed! Congratulations, Jackson! You have been awarded one life, and your level has increased to 20! Congratulations, Jackson!

I gape and blink my eyes, stunned by the unexpected reward.

"What the?!"

Lazarus chuckles, "I'm guessing the Judge awarded you well."

It's more of a statement than a question. I nod, "An extra life and two whole levels. What gives?"

Lazarus speaks slowly, his voice taking on that formal, teaching tone I'm starting to recognize. "Let's just say that the Judge approves of you destroying these seeds. So much so that Eden's avatar rewards whomever does handsomely. Not every time, mind you, but especially well for the first you destroy. It is one of the very, very few actions in all of Eden that will yield you an extra life." His eyes grow distant for a moment. "The seeds spread corruption. They weaken regeneration abilities and twist beings into monstrous forms."

He refocuses on me, and for a brief instant, I notice something different about his eyes—a flicker of violet at their edges, so quick I almost miss it.

"Even spirits are not immune to their influence," he adds quietly, almost to himself. Before I can question him, he continues more brightly, "Now, I think it's time we got to what I promised you."

I look at him, eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

Lazarus nods decisively. "I am going to teach you new weaves."

"Uhh, you can do that?" I question, genuinely surprised.

Lazarus laughs, shaking his head at my expression of befuddlement. "I swear, fledgling, you can be so resourceful at times and yet so clueless at others. Of course, weaves can be taught; why couldn't they?"

I shrug, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I just thought they were always rewarded or given upon unlocking your Domain."

Lazarus shakes his head, eyes closed, and a frown on his face. "No, that isn't true. Haven't you ever heard that assumptions make an ass out of you and me? Never mind." Lazarus waves the matter away before he continues.

"Weaves can be taught; that's the important answer. I should have taught you earlier, but all of the weaves I could teach are a higher level. I prefer to be more of a hands-off kind of mentor. Yet, you need to survive if I have any chance of reaching my people, and it looks like the dungeon has become more dangerous than I could have imagined. To that end, I will teach you."

I snort. A hands-off mentor, indeed. Chuckling at the thought, I ask, "Well, what's first?"

"Well, that's up to you in a way. I could teach you many weaves, but at your Domain's level, you can only learn a total of six weaves. It's all the Judge will allow you at this level." He pauses, counting on his translucent fingers. "You already know blood lightning and mass charm, so you can learn four more."

Lazarus's form grows more substantial as he begins to lecture, as if the act of teaching gives him strength. "The first is blood surge, which will allow you to accelerate your minor regeneration skill, thus healing yourself faster. Be cautious, however, in choosing this, as it will increase your hunger."

The thought of increased hunger sends a cold shiver down my spine. I remember the taste of Riselle's blood, the euphoria—and the horror after.

"Second is the blood mist weave," Lazarus continues, "which allows you to release a thick cloud of crimson mist, disorienting foes and obscuring their vision while you can see perfectly. Blood binding allows you to restrict a target's movement; a blood veil will allow you to distort the light around you, rendering you invisible."

Each option sounds more intriguing than the last. I can already envision the tactical advantages.

"The destruction infusion allows you to empower yourself with enhanced movement and increased strength. In addition, it infuses your strikes with destructive power." As he describes this last weave, his voice takes on a strange quality—almost longing, as if he's remembering using such power himself. "Which of these should I teach you? Choose well, young fledgling."

I rub my chin, considering each option. These sound like amazing abilities that would truly allow me more versatility in combat and how I approach encounters. I can learn four more, given I already know two weaves. I decide to go over each of the options carefully.

Blood surge would certainly be useful, as I often find myself becoming hurt, and this would be a way to heal. Except it increases my hunger. Images of Riselle and Adaran's bodies flash through my mind, and I grimace at the wave of guilt that pulses through me. I can always heal by consuming blood, and according to Lazarus and my own experience, I don't have to consume the blood of humans. I can consume beast blood and monster blood, apparently. Nor do I need to consume until death, I'm sure. Right now, the hunger doesn't bother me at all, but I know it will be back. I have time to prepare for that.

Yet if I go around increasing it, the hunger will become even more of a problem than it is. Shaking my head, I put that option to the side. Blood mist is the second weave, and it sounds awesome. If my enemies can't see me, I would gain a massive advantage. The last two fights I experienced come to mind. If I was able to obscure vision with blood mist, I could have easily hit the snake as it would not have known to dodge, in addition to the confusion the mist would cause.

The goliath couldn't have blocked my weaves if he couldn't see them. I try to consider the downsides of the weave, and the only thing I can think of is that it isn't really an attack. But that's a weak argument, which I admit to myself. It's a utility spell, and it makes it far easier to disorient and kill opponents. I nod, putting that one on my mental list as a likely possibility.

Blood binding is also utility-based, and it sounds like it has a lot of potential. Again, rooting someone in place means they cannot dodge, making it far easier to hit my foe. I chew my lip and ask Lazarus a question.

"Laz, how much mana do blood mist and blood binding cost? I have never seen any kind of health or mana bar."

Lazarus nods, his expression thoughtful. "Of course you haven't since there is no such thing. The Judge informs you when you're about to reach your limit or die, but he is an almost omnipotent being capable of judging such a thing, hence his name. However, it is true that some weaves take more of your strength than others, and that is dependent on what you are doing."

He gestures as he speaks, his hands creating faint crimson trails in the air. "Your lightning, for example, does not take much power, so you can fire it off without tiring for a while. Your mass charm likely drains a little more mana because you are attempting to affect multiple beings at once. Weaves like that always take more energy."

I nod thoughtfully. "So blood mist is likely to take a little more mana than blood binding, then?"

Lazarus nods, "Correct."

Even so, the news doesn't deter me much. Blood mist is still looking likelier and likelier for me to pick. I just can't stop thinking about how useful that would be. Blood veil is next, and I have to admit that it sounds awesome to turn invisible. If I paired that with blood mist, that would be a truly powerful combination. I really don't even think about it much; I would definitely choose it.

Next is destruction infusion, and it appeals to me. It's almost utility and a direct attack in one. I have no doubt it costs a good bit of mana, but I'm unconcerned; it would only get easier to weave multiple times as I progress. Nodding, I let my gaze meet Laz's eyes.

"I am ready to make my choices."

Lazarus's eyes gleam with anticipation, a teacher eager to see what his student has learned. For a moment, I glimpse something else in his expression—a shadow of memory, perhaps, of other students he once taught in another life, another time. The Red Sands he mentioned, the sealed coven—there's so much I still don't know about my new mentor.

As he waits for my decision, I notice his form seems to flicker again, that same purplish tinge briefly visible at the edges of his crimson aura. I wonder if it has something to do with the demon seed we just destroyed. Seeds spread corruption, he said. Even spirits aren't immune to their influence, he'd added. The thought makes me uneasy, but I push it aside for now.

After all, Lazarus is a powerful ancient vampyre. Surely he would know if something was trying to corrupt him. Wouldn't he?

But for now, the weaves await, and with them, new power to survive whatever lies ahead.