Isaac wanted to check my stats during our trek to the last known place of the blacksmith. He wouldn't shut up about it, so I reluctantly agreed.
Name: Laila
Rank: Undecided
Strength:11 Agility:19
Durability:10 Mana:4
Masteries: Marksmanship Lvl 1 Swordsmanship Lvl 2 Mana Weapon Construction Lvl 2 Heat Resistance Lvl 1 Night Vision Lvl 1
"Damn Laila. Your stats jumped the last time I saw them. Your agility is seriously high… Are you running a speedster build?"
"Not on purpose. It just happened," I said plainly while reading the map. "It says that we'll see a clump of cliffs, and behind them will be the Wyvern Zone."
"So, the magic you used earlier is called [Mana Weapon Construction]? That's a cool name. How many can you summon at a time?"
I thought about it for a bit. "Hm… Good question. I never really had the time to test it out. I was mostly focused on survival than ways to utilize my magic. Might as well try it out."
I closed my eyes and imagined myself holding two katanas in my hand. A powerful pull from within my core made me open my eyes, and there they were. Isaac seemed impressed as he lightly squeezed my shoulder.
"Yep. Now I'm jealous. Your magic is amazing when you think about it. If upgraded enough, you could summon millions of them!"
I tried to suppress a laugh at Isaac's joke. "Okay buddy. That's too big of an exaggeration now…"
While it sounds crazy, he's on the right track. If I improve my magic, I could summon more weapons from my mana. When I get back, I should let Solgen know about this.
Isaac released his grip and motioned for me to grab his shoulder. "Ok, now it's my turn. Check mine out."
"Alright, alright…" I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. After Isaac granted me permission, a red screen popped up.
Name: Isaac
Rank: Undecided
Strength:15 Agility:12
Durability:11 Mana: 3
Masteries: Marksmanship Lvl 2 Swordsmanship Lvl 2 Energy Manipulation Lvl 1 Night Vision Lvl 1 Heat Resistance Lvl 1
His stats are fairly well balanced, except for strength and mana. What interests me the most are his masteries, specifically [Energy Manipulation]. If used well, this magic can completely triumph over any magic. Manipulating energy is like manipulating matter, and matter is everywhere and everything! Mechanical, thermal, electrical, nuclear, and even mana! The possibilities my brother can achieve…
"Isaac, what are you able to do with [Energy Manipulation] at the moment?"
Isaac frowned at my question. "Not much, to be frank. Since my level is low, I'm limited in what I do right now. For example, I could increase/decrease the temperature or kinetic energy of an object. If I exert myself over the limit, my heart will basically explode. As of now, I mostly use it for this, since my knowledge of energy is limited."
He pointed toward the nearest lava pit that housed some sort of lava fish that had obsidian-like scales and fins made of magma itself. They were happily jumping out of the lava with no care in the world, until Isaac released small balls of condensed electricity that hit the fish dead on, killing them in one fell swoop.
I released my hand from his shoulder. "Interesting. Too bad your understanding of energy is limited. Why would you torture yourself by choosing it?"
My brother shrugged his shoulders and continued walking. "No comment. Mistakes were made, and we learn from them."
"Hearing you say a somewhat inspirational quote makes me want to gag. Come on, we're almost there."
As I looked ahead, I could see a range of hills, their ragged peaks silhouetted against the sky. Many creatures I have never seen before were grazing peacefully. The fire-breathing oxen, the size of rhinos, ate molten rock with seemingly no effort. Their ivory horns curved in a half U shape atop their thick basalt skin, which accented their bulging muscles nicely. Two of them were in a heated one-on-one battle as they rammed into each other headfirst. On the sidelines was another creature, a little smaller and hornless. Were they fighting to gain the favor of a female?
I shook my head and continued reading the map. "Past those black hills will be the Wyvern Zone. We must be careful not to disrupt the life there. If we were to be attacked, you know what to do."
Isaac gave me the side-eye and sighed. "Yea… Don't disrupt the life there. Honestly, I hope we get atta-"
The lava pit to our right was emitting a hissing sound as it bubbled. A moment later, two large, webbed feet appeared, dripping wet with lava. A head then slowly emerged from the molten lava, steam and sulfur rising from its surface.
"Is that a fucking salamander coming out of the lava!" Isaac sounded excited when the creature finally emerged. As he said, it looked like a salamander. Its skin had a smooth, red finish that seemed impenetrable, and it had a triangular head with two jet-black eyes. Its tail was thick and heavy, like a semi-truck. It blinked at us slowly, unmoving.
"Okay Isaac, let's back away slowly," I whispered harshly. We both backpedaled away from the towering figure, not taking our eyes off it. However, we soon found out that our actions were a terrible idea. As soon as I took the fourth step, it screeched. The scream was like a person gargling water in their throat.
I scowled and pulled out the weapon Solgen gifted us. "Isaac, get ready to fight!"
I glanced over my shoulder to find that Isaac had already taken it out. With his new sword on his shoulder, Isaac took off toward the four-limbed monster. The salamander tilted its head at Isaac quizzically and tensed its muscles. I quickly recognized what it was about to do.
"Hold on! Watch out for its tail!" I cried out. My brother noticed the creature flicking its tail at him just in time as he vaulted over its swipe and landed safely.
"Laila, use your sword magic thingy!" Isaac barked.
In an instant, two blades materialized right on top of me. With a flick of a hand, I aimed them at the salamanders' eyes. Its attention was all on Isaac, so it didn't notice the weapons I was hurtling toward it until it was too late. Its pupils were punctured as a weird white liquid squirted out. It cried out in pain. With a great leap, Isaacs' sword gleamed in the sunlight as he raised his weapon on top of the creature's head and stabbed it. Orange blood spurted out of the fresh wound as it wailed one last time before going limp. Its large body crashed right in front of the lava pool it exited from. I ran up to the corpse just as Isaac retracted the weapon from its skull.
"Man, that was fun! There's no way your heart doesn't beat fiercely from that exhilarating fight! Don't lie now, Laila." Isaac had a huge smirk as he waited patiently for my answer.
"Okay. Maybe it was a kinda fun, but! We aren't here for that. Remember our original goal?"
"Yea, sourpuss," he pouted. "Like you said before, if we're attacked-"
I ignored his sarcasm as I trudged on ahead, my face already buried in the map. I heard Isaac mumbling something, but I couldn't discern what he said, so I just waved it off and continued.
****
"We're here," I announced.
"Woah… Look at this amazing view," Isaac whispered.
Isaac and I were on top of the rocky hills, scouting out the area. Enormous creatures with wings were flying in droves, like fighter jets in a V formation. It was a day with little to no clouds. A light breeze washed over us, prickling our skin as gazed out toward a valley. Lush greenery encompassed the lands as fifty-foot trees jutted out of the fertile grasslands, like the spires of a church. There was a large lake that had a river protruding out of the banks, snaking through the valley. Creatures you would see on Earth like deer, birds, rabbits, and bears were too busy drinking its contents to be paying attention to each other. There was a stark contrast between the Magmi Region and the Wyvern Zone. The Magmi Region had a destructive and dangerous atmosphere to it, with all the lava, obsidian hills, and dead black trees. The Wyvern Zone was calm and vibrant, a mix of dark green and blue. Side by side, it was like Hell and the greenest parts of Earth were mushed together yet held separate by an invisible boundary.
"Isaac, look over there." I pointed at an old mineshaft embedded in a mountain's side. It was smack down between the mountains of the Magmi Region and the Wyvern Zone.
"That's the place marked on this map. There's a high chance our guy is right there."
Isaac wrinkled his nose in aversion. "Another cave? It hasn't been long since we left one ourselves."
"It is what it is, I guess," I shrugged. "Let's get this over with before it gets dark."
Isaac nodded his head and took the lead in sliding down the hill. I followed right after. It didn't take long until we were right in front of the entrance. A cold shiver ran down my spine when inspecting the run-down structure. A large hole was embedded inside the mountain, with only wooden beams keeping it from collapsing. The longer I peer into the dark hole, a sense of unease grew. I don't know whether I imagined it, but I thought I saw a large hand beckoning us forward… inviting us to enter.
A heavy lump formed in my throat as I tried to suppress my fear. "This place doesn't feel right. It might be because we're sensitive to mana now, but I can feel something dark within…"
"I thought I was the only one. I feel it too," Isaac agreed. We both looked at each other tensely, as I'm sure we shared the same thought.
"Isaac, can you light a flame with your finger or whatever?"
"Hm? Oh, for a light source? Say no more." A snap of his fingers caused a small fire to flicker on the tip of his index finger. "This consumes a bit of mana but ill manage somehow. Come on, I'll take the lead."
Isaac stepped into the mineshaft, his foot sinking into the coarse dirt, which made a sound like crunching sand. The inside of the mineshaft was a sight of despair, with the wooden support beams looking weathered and scratched. The entrance was also cramped. We had to enter one by one. As we ventured deeper in, the smell of wet concrete and dirt became stronger and stronger, tickling my nostrils. Dust and rock residue from the walls scratched my throat- reducing me to fits of coughs and wheezes randomly. I was not enjoying my time here at all.
After some time, the space of the mineshaft expanded, and we waltzed right into a small cave. The ceiling was a smidge higher, probably at least fifteen feet. I saw no wooden beams or any support structures around us.
"It'd suck if this cave collapses on top of us. Do you think we'd survive being buried?" Isaac nonchalantly threw out as he paced around like a health inspector at a run-down restaurant.
"Please don't joke about that kind of thing Isaac… Wait, stop."
"Why? What happened?" Isaac asked. I crouched down and took a good hard look at the dirt. Isaac lowered his finger torch to give me more visibility.
"Come look at this. Footprints," I revealed. The print looks like it belongs to a man. Not only that, but these are also the markings of some sort of heavy boot. If we were to follow them...
"Hey Laila, there is another set of prints here," Isaac called out to me. He had gone ahead and found some more footprints. A few meters next to the boot prints were much smaller, but something seemed off about it. It's definitely a humanoid footprint, but they seem smaller, almost skeleton-like…
"Isaac, we need to hurry. I think our target seemed to have gotten into some trouble," I guessed.
Isaac nodded. "Yea, seemed like someone had a bone to pick with him…"
I silently stared at him, poker-faced.
"I'll just go on ahead," he muttered as he followed along a path to our left.
"He's aware his jokes aren't funny, yet he persists in telling them at the worst possible time," I thought to myself. I rose from my position and dusted myself from the dirt that got on me. I caught up to Isaac not long after and spotted him observing the tracks.
"Look here. They stop right in front of this wall," he informed. There was nothing particularly interesting about the rocky exterior. Is there some kind of secret passage embedded within?
"I don't see a switch around here… Maybe a good ol' punch will do?" Isaac cocked his arm back and was ready to throw a punch.
"No, you idiot! What if you collapse this whole cave onto our heads?"
Isaac lowered his arm, pouting. "Okay… How about I use mana on it? That might work. Could be a secret tunnel hidden with magic. If using mana doesn't work, then it's punching time."
Reluctantly, I accepted his condition and backed off. Isaac looked back at the wall and placed his palm on it and closed his eyes. Not even three seconds had passed before I saw mana flowing within his hand as it traced over the wall like a spider web. Later, a rune was formed. A clicking sound echoed through the cave, and the ground beneath our feet shook with a low rumble. The wall in front of us then crumbled into little pieces.
I gawked at Isaac in surprise. "That actually worked?"
He had a victorious smile on his face. "I'm a genius, I know."
Ignoring his comment, I took a quick peek inside. I saw descending cobblestone stairs connected to a square platform. The uncomfortable feeling from before grew stronger.
Isaac poked his head over my shoulder. "Yep. That's definitely bad news, Laila. I'm positive we are dealing with the undead. I bet my gaming console back home."
Did the blacksmith sense this and investigated? Should we go back and tell Morgac and Solgen our findings? I have a really bad feeling about this...
"Laila, I know what you're thinking, and it's not gonna work. I'm positive if we told her this, she would probably go: 'why'd you come back empty-handed? You guys are on your own. You must overcome this hurdle yourselves'."
… He's not wrong. Solgen was reluctant to have us leave, almost like she somehow knew we could come across this situation, but that would be impossible. She was imprisoned for a decade and only now just reconciled with Morgac.
"…Looks like we have no choice," I sighed. "Let's go in Isaac. There's no use deliberating on what to do. Might as well get this over with."
We stepped in and suddenly felt the floor sink beneath us as a trap door activated. Our screams echoed through the chasm as we fell. The light on Isaac's finger was snuffed out, so we were basically plummeting down this hole blindly. I wildly flailed my arms while shrieking in terror.
"Isaac, use your magic to save us!" I cried out desperately.
"I can't control gravity, ya know?! If I try it, I might as well explode!" He shouted back.
A pale light from below grew brighter with every passing second. Knowing it was useless to scream, I shut my eyes and felt my body tense up as I prepared for impact. Upon impact, I felt an unknown object break my fall. I was hit with a wave of pain that felt like a truck running me over, and I could feel it in every inch of my body.
"Ugh… My back..." I heard Isaac whimpering nearby.
"I… think… somethings prickling me," I whined under my breath. We both groaned in agony as we tried to discern our new environment until a sickening smell of rot that almost made my eyes water. I glanced below and located the source of that nauseating stench. I let out a shallow shriek. A pile of decomposing dead bodies cushioned our fall. Maggots were leaving and entering new bodies to feast on. Flies buzzed out of their hosts from the sudden impact. I felt something horrible rising from my gut, so I ran into a corner of the room and retched. Isaac's footsteps echoed through the hall as he slowly approached me, then I felt his gentle touch as he patted my back.
"Don't worry, I'm here. This is an extremely disgusting sight to witness..." Isaac muttered, his voice strained. His usual carefree tone was no longer present but replaced with anger. I wiped my mouth with a clean spot on my sleeve and weakly looked up.
"Thank you, Isaac…" I murmured.
I was no good with dead bodies. Especially when they assume that kind of form. It wasn't necessarily necrophobia since tombstones and regular corpses don't affect me in the slightest. It's when the skin of a dead body peels or disgusting things like worms and maggots protrude out of every orifice of their body that gets me. Oh god… I think I'm going to hurl! Think about something else! Survey your surroundings and forget about the dead corpses!
After a few moments of quiet contemplation, I set out to assess our location. We seemed to be trapped in a dark, damp cell buried beneath the ground. Iron bars were a few meters in front of us. On the walls and floor, iron chains and cuffs were strewn about. Right now, the cell door was closed shut, and I saw no keys or anything that could get us out.
"I'll go burn these bars away," Isaac said, walking forward. I nodded at his proposal, and he went to work quickly. Isaac's palms were so hot that the metal bars melted away almost as soon as they touched. Skipping the puddle of metal, we arrived at the cell in front of us, which wasn't any better. A humanoid beyond recognition had half of its body chained on a wall, and the other on some sort of operation steel table littered with tools.
"This is brutal… Just what kind of psychopath would do these things?" Isaac seethed. He had both his fists clenched on the verge of punching the nearest object. Or human.
"C-Calm down Isaac. Let's just figure out a way to get out of here."
"Yea we'll get out of here alright. Right after the fucker who's responsible for this pays for their crimes," he spat.
As we walked past more cells, we saw the haunted expressions of those who had experienced a cruel death. Some even had monsters we hadn't come across. They were so disfigured; it was hard pinpointing any notable features other than the number of legs they had. Scanning around, we really are in an underground cell meant to imprison creatures and humanoids. Around us, cobblestone walls were cracked, with layers of green and black mold growing in the crevices. The ceiling was curved, with little lanterns suspended from metal beams, casting a soft, yellow glow across the room. The atmosphere was dreary and unsettling, like walking through a graveyard at night. Up ahead were stone steps leading to a small wooden door. I put an ear on the door, hoping to hear any voices, but I was met with silence.
"I hear nothing beyond this door…"
Confirming the coast was clear, I turned the knob and poked my head inside. It was another room, this time lit by four torches in each corner. On one end of the room was a desk littered with papers and sandwiched by two shelves filled with moldy, dusty books. The room had cobbled walls and wooden boards as the foundation. The ground was covered in a thick, dark layer of dust.
"Is this a study room?" Isaac murmured while trudging up to one shelf and pulling out books. I went over to the pile of papers at the desk and read one of the pages.
DAY 12
DAY 127
DAY 153
DAY 240
.
Hm? That's it? Where's the rest of it?!
I franticly searched the desk, hoping to find more clues, opening drawer boxes and even searching underneath. Alas, I found nothing noteworthy, until Isaac urgently called my name.
"Laila come look!"
Hearing my brother's plea, I rushed over to his side. He was holding a black leather book in his hand. "First off, I cannot understand the language written inside BUT there was one word that was readable. Come look…"
He handed the book to my hands. I wondered what he found that needed my immediate attention until reading a single word on the spine almost made me drop the book. A word embroidered in gold lettering.
The dead bodies in the cells, the operating tables, monsters, humanoids, and the writer of this book detailing their experiments and the contents I've read… Only one idea came to mind.
This person was trying to create a Chimera!