----------Michael ---------
Michael placed his hand on the mirror within the opening of the temporal Dungeon, which he had come to learn was made by a vengeful dungeon lord nearly two centuries ago. He was yanked through the mirror, his mind overloaded with knowledge briefly as his connection to his guardian angel was weakened. He called out to her, but there was no response, he could still feel his magic so he didn't panic.
I put a hand to my forehead to quell the pain. I was now in some sort of cavern. I was pulled through some sort of barrier. When I looked back at the mirror, it was a crystal wall.
Instead of freaking out, I tried converting my mana thining it into radio waves as I sent them out to connect to Rose, my angel, connect to anyone like a signal. The mana bounced back never escaping the cave. Damn it did it not work or is it some special property of the cave. How am I supposed to be able to get back? Where am I? What happened? So I need to find the answer to the most important questions, What is this place and where is the exit. The Cavern was large and dark, not pitch black but it didn't matter, I cast a low-level fire flicker. It didn't even take a full point of mana! With my finger a blaze I used it to light my path. Soon I could see many bones and skeletons all over the floors and almost heaved.
Bones aren't that bad Michael, they aren't alive, they're just cool bones. "We're certainly not in Kansas anymore," I swore I saw movement out of the corner of my eye as I moved forward. It looked thin and bony but I couldn't be sure and I wasn't going to find out. I need to get out of here. I slowly went around all of the jagged rocks and edges and stepped around the strange colored puddles on the floor. I continued this type of walking, not bumbling this way for ten minutes, then suddenly I reached level dirt and rocky ground. Soon a creature lunged at me. "Ahh!" I was tackled to the floor. It was some sort of dog-sized rat, but it wasn't just a massive rat, it seemed to be missing much of its skin and half of its face. Ugh, get off of me. I threw it off of me.
I stood up and glanced at it. Its eyes were red and what's worse I saw three more sets of red eyes in the dark distance. I have to beat this thing fast. If this thing was half dead then it probably wasn't safe to touch it without gloves. I'd need to make sure to only hit its more living parts. As it lunged again I was prepared. I kicked it out of the air and toward a jagged rock. It slammed into the jagged rock, the rock piercing its body. I ran up to the stuck undead rat and kicked his head until it died. When it died it left behind a transparent red crystal as it seemed to dissolve into the crystal. I grabbed the crystal and I was revitalized and a bit stronger than before. Now it was time to test out fighting the undead.
I waited till the rats got closer. Then I decided to try an invisibility spell. The light started to bend and slow around my body as I charged an electric field and magnetic field using my earth style and lightning style mana. A sharp pain shot through my head but I didn't lose focus. Then channeled my mana into the light flowing around my body. When they got close enough to actually see me I walked up to them to make sure they could see me if I were truly visible. The darkness aided in my invisibility. As I walked up to them I made sure to stay quiet and walk softly. After I was sure they couldn't see me, I studied them. Using my lesser divination I was able to see the mana leaking from them. Besides that, they just seemed like animated corpses. I have to learn whatever spell made these creatures. I then tested three spells. Lightning and fire one shot two of them while a combination of water, earth, and wind spells took at least one of each to kill the creatures. Blunt attacks seemed to be better for killing it considering the jagged rock didn't do much more than holding it in place while my kicks took it down but as long as I have mana I should use fire and lightning. I stopped a few minutes so I could recover up to seventy percent of my mana. Then I gathered the rest of the dropped crystals and put them into my bookbag.
I continued walking for a few minutes then I heard noises of people, no it was chanting. There was light coming from what I considered the exit to this cave. in the distance, I could see. When I realized what they were chanting I almost turned and ran. "Burn the magic users, burn the witches and heathens." I should be able to blend in if I just sneak by them. I decided to try the invisibility spell again. This time the light immediately bent and slowed around my body as I charged the electric field and magnetic field. I then channeled my energy into the light around my body. As long as I'm slow and quiet I should be able to sneak by them. I walked into what could only be defined as a massacre...
Tens of men and women were slaughtered before my eyes. I felt arcane energy coming from them as they cursed and fired fireballs and lightning bolts at the chanting group of a couple hundred. Some were hung while others were fighting against the group but were quickly gunned down. We're they hanging them and then their fellow magic-users came to save them? And they were gunned down in response. What is going on? I saw everyone in the group was connected through mana similar to a mass suggestion spell but on a much bigger scale. I inched closer to the edge of the cave.
Some of the group was burned and chard, the smell of burning flesh, rusted iron, and sulfur filled the air. The iron-rich blood turned what I thought at some point might have been a greenfield red and brown. It looked like due to their clothes, we were in a pre-1800s era.
"Holy shit. What the hell is going on?" I said quietly to myself as I inched even closer.
Not quite enough because a man wearing monk robes and white gloves leading the group of outdated magic haters turned my way and his eyes locked on me. A priest? Can he see me? My question was soon answered. "One of the heathens thinks he can hide from God's divine justice." My invisibility seemed to have worn off because everyone noticed my presence immediately. I then could see a shadowy aura over his body as what seemed to be a mass suggestion spell controlled everyone to attack me. I blocked the entrance to the cave with a force field draining half of my mana. The spell I had learned was such an easy spell that I had first cast it on accident, it now was the only thing separating what would be my imminent death from me. They crashed into the barrier and I felt the shock of their crash. It was as if they had rushed a shield i was holding, the shock knocked me down. "This heathen thinks he can hide inside the dungeon of the undead keeping it hostage." Suddenly the thought of all those skeletons was less disgusting and much scarier. But the energy surrounding him felt the same way as the cave I was currently standing in. Your mana reeks of more death than the zombie giant rats. If this is a dungeon-like in those games, what does that make you?
What is better a mob of angry magic-hating murders or man-eating skeletons? I don't know enough about the skeletons. Crack! Boom! one of the men in the group pulled out a shotgun and fired. Its force dispersed across the barrier leaving a small crack in its center. Crack! Boom! The second shot shocked me back to reality. I can't take another shot on top of their pounding, undead starting to seem much more appealing. In an attempt to buy more time I collapsed the barrier and shot a massive shock wave of raw kinetic mana. The last shot fired off randomly and many who were against the barrier fell and the shock wave knocked over many others making a makeshift wall of fallen people.
I ran back to where I started in the cave. The room I left was now filled with tens of walking skeletons. I need a way to clear a path quickly. I knew for a fact that trying to punch and kick them like I had the first zombie rat, would take too long but an explosion of fire should work. I ran quickly and charged up a ball of pure mana, I applied fire and lightning mana to the ball of my remaining mana and threw it like a baseball blasting through the center of the crowd, and then a huge explosion went off at the end of the cavern. It had to have destroyed over forty skeletons and injured several. Where the skeletons used to be there were now crystals like the ones the rats dropped. I ran with all my might toward the end of the cavern picking up all the crystals on my way. I made it and hid behind a large natural crystal. Some of the crystals were easily crushed as I grabbed them. As they dissolved in my palm I felt rejuvenated and stronger. I put the rest of the crystals in my pocket and bag. It turns out I wasn't the only one who could escape the skeletons. The priest seemed to be commanding the skeletons out of the way. I knew it, necromancer. I immediately boosted my mind and body with mana my perception increased 5 times and my speed 10 times allowing me to run into the next room without being noticed. The slowed speed of the world allowed me to see that unlike before he wasn't using a suggestion spell. It was just a command without magic. I need that kind of power, it would be so cool. I continued into the room and saw zombies. There were a few skeletons wearing armor but the zombies had either basic weapons or none at all. I figured with the ten times amp to my strength, speed, and agility it would be easy enough to just fight them head-on instead of wasting mana on offensive spells. So I did. I lunged at the stronger skeletons. Using the invisibility spell and the terrain, I was able to pick them off one by one. I learned after trying to use one of their swords against them, they take less damage from slashing attacks and even less from piercing attacks as well. Hmm, the swords have no added ability to harm each other, but the swords worked against the zombies just fine at least when disarming them. I chuckled at the pun as I cut the arm off of a handsy zombie. "Hey, buddy you can look all you want but no touching."
Then using the bone-hilted sword I got from one of the skeletons, I cut down all the zombies in my way for about a minute until my amps ran out then made a run for it. They also seemed to drop crystals, but this time I made sure to grab them and not destroy them as I had done accidentally. I took a scabbard from one of the skeletons as I punched it back cracking its skull. I tied the scabbard onto my waist.
Waiting in the next empty chamber, my mana refilled as I sat on the front bench. It looked like a church but all the seats and furniture were made of bones. Alright, I need to be ready for that necromancer-priest. I took off my bag, shoved my hand deep inside, and began crushing some of the crystals. Then I could feel my mana overflowing and boosting my strength. I put my bag back on. The priest appeared at the doorway as I was walking around the stage. "You have figured me out, haven't you. That I am the one causing the monsters to leave the dungeon and not the Witches and Warlocks that-"
I cut him off instantly. "Imma stop you there. I have no clue what you are talking about. I just got here, I was ripped from this weird bar and now I'm here, all I know is you are killing magic users and I'm a magic user, but you are too so I figure if you attack me I should help you out by killing you." His eyes widened.
"Well, then you can never leave. The people can't know what you know and I can not allow someone with magic to ever challenge me you, arrogant child." I was beginning to be fed up with this world and everything that was happening. I amped my body and pulled out my skeleton sword from its scabbard.
I ran up to him as quickly as I could his eyes widened as my blade stabbed forward toward his heart. Whoa am I faster there is no way I could close the distance that fast even with the amp. A barrier of light came up between him and my blade. I sent electric mana from my hand to the blade allowing it to pierce the barrier. He tried moving out of the way and he moved as it stabbed into his chest. As he moved to make sure he didn't get impaled, the sword embedded into his left shoulder after slashing his chest. He jumped back and summoned more skeletons.
They were the armored kind and much bigger than before with one being twice as big as the other three. He smirked, "Face the power of my executioner and his worriers!" I half expected the boss title that would read The Executioner to pop up above the large armored skeletons head. It had a massive ax and shield while the others had shields and swords. I saw him in the distance, my sword still in his shoulder trying to heal himself? No, I can't let him! The wound was closing but he seemed worried whether he should pull it out. As I learned blunt attacks worked better on them. I fought them going blow for blow.
For every bash of their shield or thin cut, the landed I landed two punches and a kick. I can use them as shields. I kicked one of the smaller skeletons in the knee letting it fall in front of me as I jumped out of the way of an oncoming ax slash. The ax made contact with the smaller skeleton, crushing its already cracked and battered body.
I made sure to grab its sword. As I learned earlier I can sharpen the blade with lightning mana, so I then used this blade to cut down one of the skeletons. And used the last smaller skeletons as a shield. Talking its sword. I then applied fire to the other sword. Then I chopped the largest skeleton in half, killing it. With the two blades, I ran up and chopped down every zombie and skeleton in my path. "Command! Kill yourself, slit your throat this moment." He ordered me. I suddenly felt compelled to cut my throat. He's using a mind-control spell. Even knowing my arm slowly coming up to cut my throat. Full power advanced Lesser Divination. Now with time seeming to slow to a tenth of its original speed, giving me time to figure out how to stop the spell. If I can control my mind then I should be better, I'm resisting his control but I won't resist my own magical control. I pumped my remaining extra mana into my mind for a powerful charm spell. Charm doesn't directly affect me and as long as I don't outright break his command I should be fine... right? It worked well enough to help slow my arms pace seeming to stop it completely, then I ran up to him. Can't give him time for another command. Cutting into him "Spare me." He screamed, I didn't listen. He bleed out as his body convulsed due to the huge amount of electricity entering his body. I walked away to look at the room as I diverted mana to my injuries to heal myself. Suddenly after finding a mirror that looked just like the one I came through and felt just as liquid-like. I heard the grinding of bones and wet meat the wasn't completely connected, he stood up. Oh great. He's now undead. What is this some sort of boss battle? Lesson two that I had learned was that fire and lightning worked great against the undead. I decided to use a mana ball and filled with fire and lightning mana. I chucked it at him before he could completely get his bearings. He blew up and left behind a crystal-like the others, but the crystal he left was much bigger and was a more solid blueish color. I walked over and picked it up. I bonded to my arm in a painful flashy process. It didn't really give me a choice as the mana it was clearly made out of was unique, it was like it wanted to enter him. "Ahahg!" I could now see the undead better than before, even without using my lesser divination.
I picked up the white gloves he wore now stained crimson. I picked out the remaining pieces of his hands. I put the gloves on. It seemed to cover the crystal now embedded into my forearm.
I looked into my bag and grabbed The Book of Known and Unknown Spells. I opened the book and there were many new additions to my spells. Spell one: Wish. Description: Wish is the mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast. By simply speaking aloud or thinking, you can alter the very foundations of reality in accord with your desires. Currently can only be cast 2/3 times this year; Spell two: Fire Flicker. Description: Create fire at the tips of your fingers, control the spread and effects of this fire in a limited range of currently 1 foot;
Mana cost: 1+
Spell three: Lesser Divination: includes detect magic, detect poison, detect sickness
Mana cost:0.05 per minute+
Spell four: Lightning bolt
Description: at the speed of lightning, charge and shoot a bolt of lightning or electric mana at your target.
Mana cost:3+
Spell five: mana bomb
Description: create a ball of explosive pure mana
Mana cost: 4+
Spell six: fireball/flame breath
Description: generate a blast or fan of fire or fire mana that is 1500 degrees Celsius or 1600 degrees Celsius at the speed of wind and sound.
Mana cost: 3/4+
Spell seven: mana force
Description: the ability to create a force field of mana or shock wave of mana
Mana cost: 2+
Spell eight: lesser invisibility
Description: use light or the absence of it to hide your body from sight.
Spell nine: Greater regeneration
Description: dungeon lord spell, use light mana to regenerate your body. Due to your affinity and ability to use regeneration and heal this power is easier to cast with little more than instinctual thought.
Mana cost: 1+ (reduced-0.5+)
Spell ten: command undead.
Description: you can command and control the undead up to one rank greater than you unless you add more mana to the spell.
Mana cost:0.5+
Spell eleven: conjure an undead
Description: create undead creatures using dead creatures as long as there is 80% of the body remaining, the undead retains 90% of its memory including events leading to its death.
Mana cost: 20+(plus 10 per minute)
Spell twelve: Create permanent undead
Description: dungeon lord spell, create or revive one creature permanently as an undead. Depending on the creature can take much more mana.
Mana cost: 50-200+
Spell thirteen: Undead resurrection
Description: dungeon lord spell, soon after Death resurrects as an undead creature retaining all of your memories.
Spell fourteen: Advanced Lesser Ocular Divination
Description: bullets may seem fast to some but for you, they are nothing more than Dodge balls. You're ability to perceive the world has increased up to tenfold and your reactions and processing power is boosted up to tenfold.
Mana Cost: 0.2+ per minute.
Spell fifteen: Charm
Description: Whether it's to boost your natural charisma, persuade a person or just outright unknowingly and subtly control them.
Mana cost: dependent
Spell sixteen: command
Description: dungeon lord spell, Command a person or creature to do what you want.
Spell mastery: Mana manipulation, greater necromancy, Lightning mana manipulation, fire manipulation, wind manipulation, water manipulation, lesser earth manipulation, lesser light manipulation, mind/mental manipulation/fortitude.
That's a lot of spells and power. I thought aloud.
He didn't find any new exits so he resigned himself to go back to the start. He walked back the entire length of the dungeon to the entrance and pressed his hand to the crystalline wall that had once been a mirror. Please just work again... as he pressed his hand to the wall, the mirror returned and he fell back through. Hell yeah. He went back to the guild with pep in his step, walking right up to the front desk, "I'd like to turn in a quest." he said with a shit-eating grin.
The woman at the front desk handed him a quest turn in crystal, "Just place your hand on it and any quest you have completed should appear on one of the tablets connected to the crystal."
Michael nodded, "Alright angel. Connect and let her see what I did."