That fucking bitch left me hanging, literally!
The mage and her cronies left as soon as the assault started.
If I could use a single damn spell, I'd turn her insides into her outsides!
But I can't, and I'm with useless over there.
"Grkkkk!"
The one time she could've actually been helpful she's a let down, like everyone else.
I can hear the muffled sounds of whatever passes as guards upstairs.
They probably only left one or two... five at most, they think we're useless and powerless down here - they're right - but that doesn't mean a damn thing! I am Flora Dreyas!
They're just dumb reprobate invalids that their mothers left for dead!
I just need to get them down here, tricking them will be akin to tricking a monkey.
Actually scratch that, the gap between our intelligence is far wider, more like they are cockroaches.
First step, get them down here.
"Hey, fuck faces! I'd talk shit about your mothers, but y'all being born is insult enough!"
I waited for them to barge down here.
A minute passed, then three, then ten.
Nothing? Really?!
"When I saw your father fucking a shit pile and tried to stop him, he turned around and told me to let him fuck your mother in peace!"
Again, no response.
Am I not loud enough?
"YOU'RE ONLY SUPPOSED TO SMELL LIKE THAT AFTER YOU DIE, YOU RANK MOTHERFUCKERS!"
I'm embarrassed to say that went on for a while, but I quickly changed tactics.
"HELP! HELP! HEEEEEEEELP! MY FRIEND IS CHOCKING ON HER OWN VOMIT! YOU HAVE TO HELP!"
Finally the trap door swung open.
Yes, I knew that'd work.
"Hey, can you keep it down? You're starting to give us headaches up here!"
Seriously?!
"My friend is dying, you need to help her!"
He looked at the still sleep Jurea.
"Looks fine to me."
"Trust me, you don't want us to die, do you?"
Checkmate.
"We were told to make sure you didn't escape, not to keep you alive."
"It's implied!"
"Listen cunt, you can talk all you want when the boss is done with you, and you're..."
Bang!
"What the fuck! Get her!"
The guard vanished up the trapdoor, to fight whoever had broke in.
Slap!
"Ugh!"
Whoosh!
Thunk!
"My fucking eye! You bitc... girk."
"Aaaaah! Please no... NOOO!"
THACK!
THUD!
Has the rescue already arrived? Please don't let it be....
Eric stuck her head down the trapdoor.
Fuck.
"Need help?"
She had a smug look on her face.
"Please, slave I was already about to enact my brilliant escape plan, when you came rushing in here like the dumb animal you are. But I'll allow you to help me."
She swung down and went over to Jurea.
"What's wrong with her?"
"The lazy bitch is just sleeping. Now, hurry up and cut me down."
She took out her dagger and started to saw at Jurea's ropes.
"Can't you understand simple instructions?"
Without stopping, she answered.
"I'll get her fresh air, then come back for you."
I guess that's fine, getting out of this fetid place would do her good.
"Just hurry up, I don't have forever."
Once she fell down Eric dragged her up the stairs and came back to start sawing at my ropes.
Once I was down I ran up the stairs, found a rag, and ran back down to start picking mushrooms.
"What are you doing?"
(Eric)
"What does it look like, I'm picking mushrooms. Now, shut up and come here, so I can put these into your capacity bag."
She came over and took off the bag, which I started to fill with mushrooms.
"Are you going to sell them?"
"Try grow them."
"What do they do?"
"Make you unable to use your mana."
"Why do you want them then?"
"Because I could make potions that disables magic, both enemy mages and monsters will be unable to attack or heal with magic."
"That is useful. So, you know alchemy?"
"No, but I bet I can find someone who does, that I can blackmail or threaten."
I left one of the mushrooms out of the bag, instead I crushed it into the rag.
"Do you think you can track that mage who attacked us at the cave?"
"Yes, but why?"
Ignoring her question, I continued.
"Good, but first we need our gear back. They probably have it under lock and key, it will not be easy."
"You mean this gear."
She pulled out Fate weaver.
"Yes! I mean... you did an adequate job. Where were they anyway?"
"In a guarded shed on my way here, I took care of the guards and had a peek inside."
"Well, there's no time to waste, time to find that bitch."
___________________
It was easy enough to find the mage, the slave is particularly good at tracking.
Jurea had woken up and the side effects appeared to have dissipated, but to be on the safe side she should take it easy for a couple of hours to make sure it's out of her system.
So, we left her in an abandoned hut.
"She's in there."
(Eric)
"Good, take this."
I handed her the rag I had crushed the mushroom in.
"Once inside, cover her mouth and nose with it, then sit back and let me at her."
She took the rag and we ran into the hut.
The mage bitch was too busy loading potions into her robe to notice us entering.
"You know a good mage is always prepared before she needs to be, but I guess being a good mage doesn't apply to you."
Startled, she spun around towards us.
She looked at her staff on a wall opposite us, then looked back at us.
She raised her hand towards me.
"{Solar fla.....mmmmmm."
Before she could finish her chant Eric had already reached her, and muffled her with the mushroom rag.
After she held to her face for a couple of seconds she kicked her to the floor.
I stood above her.
"Take your best shot bitch."
I saw the suspicion in her eyes, but she had to try.
"{Solar flare}."
Nothing happened.
Her eyes widened in fear.
"{Solar flare}{solar flare}{solar flare}{solar flare}.....no, no, no, no! Talium."
"Hahaha! So, there is something between those ears after all. Not that it matters."
I kicked her in her face.
She flung back onto her back.
"What was it that you said? Oh, yeah! There are other ways to break a bitch."
I smiled down cruelly at her.
"Don't worry though, I don't have the time to waste on breaking you, so I'll just settle for it."
"I don't know what you're talking about. "
I picked up a heavy paper weight off of her desk and whacked her over the head with it.
"Gyaaah!!"
Blood coated the paper weight.
"Don't play stupid, give it up!"
"Fuck you!"
I kicked her hard in the face again.
Blood spurted from her nose.
When she rolled on the ground in pain I noticed she protected her belly, not her face that I've been using as my personal training dummy.
I smiled and turned to the slave.
"Hey, cut this bitch's belly open."
The mage's eyes grew as wide as plates as she grasped her stomach.
"No! It's over there! Please, just don't touch my stomach!"
She was pointing at the wall.
I went over there to examine it.
On closer inspection there was a hidden crevice in the wall that had a lever in it.
"There aren't any traps, are there? I'd hate for something to happen to the little one."
"There aren't any, just promise me you won't hurt my baby."
I ignored her and pulled the lever.
With a click a part of the wall opened.
"Jackpot!"
Inside was what every mage hordes: mana hearts, spell scrolls, among other things.
"Give me the bag!"
When Eric came over, I gleefully started stuffing things in.
"Most of those spells are useless to you, they're fire based, and you're an ice mage. That's why we wanted you."
Why does she think I'm only an ice mage?
Then, it dawned on me, I've been mainly using ice spear and encapsulating ice in the third set because it's mana efficient.
She must think that if I think that it's useless to me that I'll just leave it.
Fucking retarded bitch.
This horde probably took her years - maybe even a decade - to cultivate.
Too bad, spell scrolls are useful not only because you can learn a single spell, but because it will make it easier to make a brand-new spell using the scroll as a blueprint rather than starting from scratch.
"Spoils of war cunt, you should've thought of what you could've lost before abducting me!
In fact, I think it's about time to finish up some loose ends."
She started to crawl backwards, away from me.
"You promised you would spare my baby!"
"I don't remember saying anything like that.
And even if I did, killing you and that bastard spawn growing in your belly would be a boon for everyone else.
After all, it would just grow up to be pathetic waste of space like its whore of a mother."
I stepped forward, but was stopped by Eric grabbing me.
"We have what we came for, let's just go."
I tried yanking my hand away, but couldn't because she's too strong.
"We have what we came for? They took us, drugged us, beat us, and then they were going to... to... point is, they... she isn't going to get away with it!"
Eric looked at the sniveling bitch.
"She's pregnant."
"So?! That baby is just going to grow up to be another bandit anyway, just think of it as a preemptive strike of justice before it's killed an adventurer."
"I can't d...."
Boooom!!
The whole room shook.
What the fuck is going on out there?
Eric started pulling me towards the door.
"We have to go, now!"
I stared at the mage, rage flared up inside me again as I remembered what almost had happened to me if they had not come to rescue us.
"Fine!"
With that we left a sobbing mage behind us as we beat a hasty retreat.
............
I opened my eyes and winced in pain.
I got up slowly and looked around.
Ten yards in any direction was completely destroyed, as if a bomb had gone off.
Probably cause one had, namely me!
What the hell Patty?!
I fucking blew up! That's what!
How is that my fault?!
It wasn't compatible, and it started to destabilize your cells. Your peerless regeneration was doing an admirable job, but eventually you would've died. So, I did the only thing I could think of, I purged it. There was still a high chance of failure, and it used up all of your remaining energy. But it was either that, or we both die. And this is why I told you not to absorb mana hearts that's above your rank. > But I absorbed the soldier ant heart, and it's a rank above me. It didn't blow me up then! < You already had absorbed a worker ant mana heart. This made you compatible enough to - almost - safely absorb the Mid-rank heart. > Shit, I didn't even thinking about that. I just wanted its ability. Yeah, I hear you loud and clear. Jurea and the rest were running towards me. "Thank God y'all are alright." "Talk later, run now, they're regrouping." Flora said as they ran past me. I followed suit. _________________________________ After running for a while, we stopped in a clearing to set up camp. The rest of them were getting some shut-eye while I kept watch. I was supposed to wake one of them up an hour ago to take over watch duty, but I let them sleep - they need it more than me. Might as well use some points while I wait. Status. ------------------ Name : Jamal Hendricks / no name monster Level : 68 points available : 1,190 Pets : 1 Species : Akkedis/ human soul Strength : 1,000 Intelligence : 300 Durability : 1,000 Energy : 324 Health : 1,200 Stamina : 706 Extra energy : 0 Luck : 134 Speed : 700 Agility : 700 Crafting: 1000 Special ability : adaptation : forced conscription : perfect mimic : empath aura : peerless regeneration : excess energy : acid shot : webs : spatial awareness : dash : polymorph : thermal absorption : mana clone : transcendental traversal Adaptation : ability to adapt to any situation to survive. Dependent on energy levels. Forced conscription: Anyone you defeat you can force into your party. Can order them unlimited times, but each order takes energy. All previous benefits from 'Party Leader' apply. Slots : 4/6 Perfect mimicry: Can perfectly replicate any sound. Lesser ability perfect recall is a side affect of this ability. Due to this lesser ability you will remember everything. Empath Aura : you can produce an aura that can sense and manipulate others emotional state. The farther the target the mana drainage increases. All benefits of empath darts apply. Lesser ability Gastron mucus allows you to produce mucus through your skin. The mucus gives you minimal protection and allows you to scale vertical surfaces. Peerless Regeneration: you will continuously heal. Lesser ability Ample Strength doubles strength. Excess energy : all food eaten will be stored as energy. Can use energy as extra stamina at will. Acid shot : can make acid to shoot. All benefits of acid blood apply. Webs : can convert mana into webs. Adhesive and regular are the only options right now. Every yard of web produced will consume one energy. Spatial awareness : changes in temperature, air currents, vibrations, and smell will be recorded and used to locate prey. Always on. Dash : Increases speed by a factor of ten. Quadruple the amount of stamina will be used every second it is active. Polymorph : can change into the form of those that you have consumed. Thermal Absorption : You can continuously absorb the thermal energy of your enemies. Mana Clone : using energy you can form an energy golem to fight in your stead. There is an initial energy cost and the longer it stays active it will drain energy. Transcendental Traversal : By going into a pocket dimension you gain physical avoidance. The longer the ability is used energy drainage will double. ------------------ From that battle everyone except me and Jurea got fifteen levels, due to my pet I got only seven. Only a few of those dungeon bandits were higher than level fifty or so. ------------------ Name : Jamal Hendricks / no name monster Level : 68 points available : 0 Pets : 1 Species : Akkedis/ human soul Strength : 1,000 Intelligence : 300 Durability : 1,000 Energy : 324 Health : 1,200 Stamina : 706 Extra energy : 50 Luck : 134 Speed : 700 Agility : 1,000 Crafting: 1000 Special ability : adaptation : forced conscription : perfect mimic : empath aura : peerless regeneration : excess energy : acid shot : webs : spatial awareness : dash : polymorph : thermal absorption : mana clone : transcendental traversal Adaptation : ability to adapt to any situation to survive. Dependent on energy levels. Forced conscription: Anyone you defeat you can force into your party. Can order them unlimited times, but each order takes energy. All previous benefits from 'Party Leader ' apply. Slots : 4/6 Perfect mimicry: Can perfectly replicate any sound. Lesser ability perfect recall is a side affect of this ability. Due to this lesser ability you will remember anything. Empath Aura : you can produce an aura that can sense and manipulate others emotional state. The farther the target the mana drainage increases. All benefits of empath darts apply. Lesser ability Gastron mucus allows you to produce mucus through your skin. The mucus gives you minimal protection and allows you to scale vertical surfaces. Peerless Regeneration: you will continuously heal. Lesser ability Ample Strength doubles strength. Excess energy : all food eaten will stored as energy. Can use energy as extra stamina at will. Acid shot : can make acid to shoot. All benefits of acid blood apply. Webs : can convert mana into webs. Adhesive and regular are the only options right now. Every yard of web produced will consume one energy. Spatial awareness : changes in temperature, air currents, vibrations, and smell will be recorded and used to locate prey. Always on. Dash : Increases speed by a factor of ten. Quadruple the amount of stamina will be used every second it is active. Polymorph : can change into the form of those that you have consumed. Thermal Absorption : You can continuously absorb the thermal energy of your enemies. Mana Clone : using energy you can form an energy golem to fight in your stead. There is an initial energy cost and the longer it stays active it will drain energy. Transcendental Traversal : By going into a pocket dimension you gain physical avoidance. The longer the ability is used energy drainage will double. ------------------ Wow! Really? I pressed the pet section. ------------------ Level : 15 Species : Slagan Strength : 700 +/- Intelligence : 65 +/- Durability : 100 +/- Energy : 100 +/- Health : 1200 +/- Stamina : 350 +/- Luck : 100 +/- Speed : 100 +/- Agility : 130 +/- Evolution path : options available ------------------ I tried pressing the evolution path menu, but it wouldn't work. Patty, why can't I access the evolution menu? Then, why even tell me? You know..... I stopped mid-thought because I sensed something. "Guys, wake up!" Jurea was the first to open her eyes, and jump to her feet grabbing her hammer as she did. "What is it?" "Company, about two hundred and fifty yards that way." My abilities are telling me three people are coming from the direction of the dungeon bandits. Dungeon bandits, Flora told me about them when we stopped to rest. Basically they're bandits who got lost in the dungeon and couldn't find the exit, or chose to stay down here to escape the law. They prey on adventurers that come down here. I don't know why only three of them came, but they're going to regret it. Jurea had already finished waking the others up, and we were all in position to receive our guests. The first one to come out was Teal with her hands up and empty. She had plenty of burns that were caused by me, not that she didn't deserve every single last one. Then, came a bulky dude shielding the mage. He looked at Jurea. "We mean you no harm." "Says the man who kidnapped us." "And in retaliation your party broke our defenses and let in the monsters that killed dozens of my men." "Which y'all deserved." He put his hands up in the universal meaning of I don't want to fight. "Be that as it may, that is not why we are here." "Enough fucking beating around the bush, just tell us what you want." "I want to pay you to take my wife and our unborn child to the surface." "Hahaha! You must be fucking joking! After what y'all fucking did." Flora brandished her staff at them. "Why would you even need her to go to the surface? Didn't y'all kill all of the monsters?" (Lyra) "Yes, we did. Unfortunately it is not the monsters I'm worried about." "What?" "My position as leader is strenuous at best, there are many who'd take my place in an instant. That attack of yours killed a decent chunk of my supporters, it's not safe for my family to stay here." "Why don't you just take her up yourself?" "I can't, the second I leave we would be found and killed. Look, I know this is unreasonable, so I'm willing to pay you." "Pay us what?" (Flora) "Well, you did take my spell scrolls." (Mage) "Spoils of war bitch." The bandit leader stared at the mage, then looked back at Jurea. "I apologize for Rebecca's behavior, she's strong willed." "That's fine, but I agree with my party mate. If all you're offering is what we've already stole...." "It isn't. I'm assuming because y'all have been searching in multiple directions that y'all still haven't located the exit yet, right?" "So, what if we haven't?" He gestured with his arm towards Teal. "Latia has already been there and marked the portal, so she can lead you to it wherever it is." "You're offering a guide, that's it?" "She will kill the boss single-handedly and y'all keep everything from it, and we'll give you this." He pulled out a big iridescent egg from a bag. "My men found this egg a while back, my beastmaster has told me it is at least a Mid-rank monster egg. You can sell it to any alchemist for a large sum." Jurea pointed in the direction they came from. "Go back there, we have to discuss this amongst ourselves." "Of course, we'll be right over there." All three of them headed back a couple dozen yards. "I don't think we should do it, they could betray us at anytime." (Flora) "She's pregnant." (Eric) "What does getting knocked up have to do with anything! If she wasn't carrying that spawn, you'd kill her without a second thought." "Never mind the pregnancy bit, I thought you'd agree simply because they're willing to pay." (Me) "They're desperate, they showed us all they had from the get-go. We can just steal it from their corpses." "Well, I think we should help them, we are running out of time before we have start looking for exit all over again. Also, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when talking about killing a pregnant lady." (Me) "You've killed before." "In self-defense, not when they pose no significant threat." "I agree with Jay." (Jurea) "No surprise there." (Flora) "What's that supposed mean?" (Jurea) "Nothing, let's settle this the mature way." "Fingers?" "Fingers." Flora and Jurea looked at each other like life and death were on the line. "What's fingers?" I asked. "It's a kids game." Eric answered me. "It is not! It's a strategic game meant to challenge the mind." (Flora) "Okay, how do you play?" "Both parties throw out a number between one and ten with their fingers. The goal is to beat your opponent by three...." "That's not challenging at all! All you've got to do is play ten fingers all the time." Flora hit me with her staff. "Let me finish! As I was saying, the goal is to beat your opponent by three, but if you beat him by more than three, your opponent wins. So, you need to gauge your enemy's mind and figure out what they're going to do." "Like I said, it's a kids game. I used to play it all the time." (Eric) "Well, you're just a dumb animal, we wouldn't expect you to understand the many intricacies involved." We all just stared at her. "Fine! Let's just play Jurea. Remember we are just playing one round, no do overs." "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three!" They both flung their hands forward, Flora with six fingers and Jurea with two. "I demand a redo! Your count threw me off!" And that was how we ended up taking Rebecca and Teal with us.