The lack of refugees to take care of and the addition of a map eased their travel. Rayner had gotten the map from the refugees.
He had to buy it, and Axel thought they should have given it to them for free as a thank you for saving them. Rayner insisted the refugees were not in a position to give anything away for free.
Besides, he had checked its authenticity, and it was a good map.
“So, what’s the plan?” Rayner said. “I know you have one. You must, because we’re heading off into the countryside on our own. That has not worked out too well in the past.”
“You’re the one who signed up for this quest,” Axel said.
“I thought we would get Evans’s or Barny’s fighters to come with us. And we still don’t have a party.”
“Those two have other plans. We’ve been through a lot together in a short amount of time. It does not make us friends for life, our meeting wasn’t fate. It’s not that type of game world.”
Axel would have liked them to come along too, but they had things to do. Trust would be needed. Trust that they could not give them.
They were from another world and did not follow any faith or god, they could not know how others would react. Axel could guess it wouldn’t be positive. A war was being fought over religion after all.
“As for my plan, it’s to shorten our trip by days, by cutting through the miasma.” On the map marked in red was a mana heavy region. When mana grew too much in an area, it became deadly for most life. People called that dangerous mana, miasma.
“What is the point of me getting a map to avoid danger zones if you are going to concoct a plan to put is in that danger zone?”
“The longer we stay out in the open, the more likely we will run into bandits or soldiers.”
“So, we die in the miasma zone instead.”
“I am at level 3, meaning I interact with mana better than others. I have a higher resistance to dangerous mana, and that protection extends to you as well.”
Rayner saw Axel’s point. “OK, we will survive the miasma to fight strong monsters instead?”
“Strong when compared to the people of a country who have few strong Worshipers. If the monsters were really something to worry about, they would have left the miasma and become a bother to everyone near it. All I have heard indicates that those that can’t fight the monsters in the miasma can just go around it.”
“Hmm, alright. We do have to see your level in action. Another issue is the future,” Rayner said, accepting Axel’s plan.
“We talk about that all the time.”
“Yes, whenever we find some quiet time. But it’s not a concrete plan with steps and goals and timeliness. Trust me, I have done tons of organizing as a volunteer.”
“Yes, you have. So, what’s your idea?”
“I have written down what we need and plan to do in the future.” Rayner pulled out a list and showed it to him.
Rayner; Find effective uses for charisma and mana, find means to appraise items, create a god. Find offensive use for level stat, figure out a party structure; Axel.
“You have given yourself more work. Oh, and create a god, you are so humble,” Axel said.
“It was my idea so I should do the work. How our party will look is your expertise and you’re the one with the high level so only you can test what works.”
It made sense. Party structure was something that always bugged Axel when he, Rayner and Yazid talked about it back at school.
Questions like why a tank would be useful if they could not defend all party members? Is the party doomed if the enemy ignores the tank and kills the party members with no armor? In his opinion having all of one type of character would be better than having a balanced team.
A line of spears can be devastating as Evans and his fighters showed when they fought.
Other details were on the list. Mostly Rayner’s plans to achieve his goals. He did not have an idea yet, but he would, and soon before it became a problem.
The duo continued to speak, bouncing ideas off each other. They made a good pace, not worrying about monsters or bandits anymore. The villagers told them this route would be safe. Probably because neither monsters nor humans would be on a direct path to the miasma.
***
When they got close to the miasma, they did not need to check the map. While it was later in the afternoon, things still became darker, as if the sun were being blocked out by clouds. However, it was the mana causing this effect, so thick in the air as to cover the entire area in shade.
“It’s kinda hard to breathe,” Axel said, inhaling deeply to compensate.
“My body feels heavy, and I’m working up a sweat,” Rayner added.
This was before the two of them even entered the miasma proper. Axel considered going back.
Rayner seeing his hesitation bolstered his confidence. “We won’t turn back. We can’t.” Given Rayner’s doubt earlier in the day his determination surprised Axel. “We got attacked with mana by the Forest God in Corpsewood. It was not a blessing or curse so it had an effect on us, even with your higher level. And that was just a weak god. What happens when we face a serious god?”
“We will try to avoid fighting gods. I think our experience was rather rare.”
“For other people, but for people like us who are an abomination in this world, I can see the gods taking the effort to come down and wipe out a threat to their power like us. They are fighting to keep their power, why not personally step in and kill two punks before we become a problem?”
Rayner was right. They had to take this as an opportunity to train themselves. It may even help Rayner increase his level and catch up.
“Maybe you already found another use for your charisma.”
“No, I’m just that convincing. My charisma only works on my enemies, remember?” Axel wasn’t so sure.
Hardening their wills, they moved further into the miasma.
Inside the miasma, the world looked as if it were covered in a purple filter. It was sickly and moved like mist. Even the smell made Axel want to puke. It felt evil.
It was worse for Rayner. He clutched himself, shivering in fear. Axel put his hand on Rayner’s shoulder, attempting to reassure him. Rayner didn’t respond. “Hey man it’s OK, we got this.” No reaction. Growing worried he gripped Rayner harder, shoving him. Nothing. He hit his friend trying to get a reaction out of him other than this crippling fear.
He had an idea, hopefully Rayner wouldn’t be pissed after. But him being mad would be better than this petrified boy. Axel pulled out the dagger Rayner had bought for him, and pricked Rayner with it, using the skill Pain Knife.
It had the desired effect. Rayner clutched his shoulder in pain, and that pain did not go away. He rubbed at it and scratched the tiny wound. Axel did not know how to turn the ability off, so he could not give his friend any relief.
Previous tests showed the effect would weaken or end in another couple seconds. Axel was sure Rayner did not feel that way right now.
So, he did something out of character and hugged Rayner. This was not to comfort him; it was to take advantage of his higher level. Proximity let him extend the effect to Rayner. If standing close to him was not enough, then they would just have to hug it out.
Rayner’s breathing steadied, and eyes came back into focus. “How long was I like that?”
“Only 2 minutes at most. How long did it feel like?”
“Hours. It was like being attacked. As if everything around me was a threat.”
“We could rest awhile?”
“No, we push forward. This just shows I was right. If someone used an attack like this on me in combat, I would be dead.” Standing straight, he strode ahead of him.
Axel looked at his back for a while before joining him.
***
After the trauma of first entering the miasma things went well. Rayner had gotten used to the effect and only suffered from shortness of breath. Axel no longer felt a hot chill on his skin, but his eyes did play tricks on him when looking at places where the miasma was thicker.
“We should rest here. I have not heard anything since coming in. It looks to be safe from monsters,” Axel said.
“Sure,” Rayner said, already getting set up.
Axel assumed no monsters survived in here because the monsters in this country were weak. For now, this was a positive, but what happened when they wanted to fight strong monsters to improve themselves by gaining EXP? A better question was if fighting monsters was an effective means of gaining EXP at all. It had not worked well for Rayner. It was something to add to Rayner’s notes.
Axel slept like the dead. He’d never been in a place so quiet. The miasma zone looked scary, with its purple misty surroundings, rotting trees, and odd moving grass. But once he got used to it, it was more comedic than scary; like a bizarre cartoon.
Axel should have connected the dots earlier. There was a place that had been this quiet, the Corpsewood.
Rayner woke him, dragging him while still in his sleeping bag. “What’s going on?” he asked, disoriented.
Rayner did not answer with words, pointing forward instead. A skeleton had slammed its bony hand where his chest would have been if Rayner had not saved him.
Undead, this time it’s skeletons instead of zombies. Damn.
“Good thing I was on watch instead of you. I tried waking you earlier, but you just snored louder!”
“I do not snore!” Axel said, priorities screwed up.
Rayner positioned himself in-front of Axel, giving him time to get out of his sleeping bag and ready for battle.
The skeleton was fast, sprinting toward Rayner, bony hand outstretched. Rayner slammed it in the head with his new hammer, taking advantage of the weapon’s greater reach. The attack knocked it to the ground but did not finish it.
“Keep it down!” Axel said. Rayner did as asked, putting his boot to the creature’s white ribs. Axel took his dagger and used Pain Knife on it. The creature clawed and thrashed under Rayner’s boot, but it was not in pain. It just wanted to get at them.
“Well fuck.”
“I got this.” A smooth green light distorted the air around Rayner’s hammer. He’d used Force Hammer on the skeleton, breaking its legs. Not lethal but did put it out of commission.
Seeing more Skeletons in the distance they bolted from the area, hoping to lose them in the mist. It did not work. As soon as they stopped for breath, the skeletons were on their tail again. They distanced themselves from the undead, this time hiding in a cluster of bushes. Still, the zombies found them.
It was Rayner who figured it out. “They sense mana, like the zombies of Corpsewood.”
Axel had forgotten about that little detail. It was an ability even more amazing than them being immortal monsters. Being able to find an enemy no matter where they hid felt like cheating.
“It’s got to have a range limit. If we run far enough, we could lose them.”
“That would only work if they get tired. We would run out of their range, and we would be back in their range in a minute unless we keep moving. If we go another direction but not further away, they would still pick up on us.”
“God damn it!” Rayner said panicking. They were in dire straits, but this wasn’t like Rayner. The miasma was influencing him. When things were calm, it was easy for him to control his fear, but with the undead after him, things changed.
Turning toward Axel, Rayner said, “Use your Pain Knife on me when I get like this.”
Axel did not argue, this was necessary. He used the skill on Rayner and like the last time, his attention shifted to the pain. In this case, what hurt him made him stronger.
“If we can’t run, we will have to fight. Your force hammer is effective.”
“I don’t want to face them head-on. They move so damn fast.”
“Follow me I got an idea,” he said, then ran toward the trees.
He took rope from his pack and tied it between the base of trees. Rayner didn’t need an explanation. They moved into position a few feet away. When the skeletons arrived, they did not notice the trap, tripping over the rope, landing on their fleshless jaws. Rayner then smashed at the skeletal body until it was in pieces.
Axel wanted to contribute but his knife would do no good. He even tried using his new skill Fear Knife, to no effect. It didn’t seem to matter as their tactic had defeated the group of skeletons that were chasing them.
Rayner panted, hammer raised, as if ready to smash more bones to dust, before calming down, the green light around the hammer fading. “Hey, Axel.”
“What?”
“You know any good bone jokes.”
“No.”
“Too bad because I’m bone tired,” Rayner said. Waiting for his laughter.
Axel reconsidered their friendship.
***
They did not see any more skeletons. They could thank some god that they did not worship for that. The skeletons they defeated didn’t die, they just couldn’t attack them as they were in pieces. The encounter did raise questions for the duo. Were those the remains of people who wandered into the miasma? Or were the skeletons a monster that manifested out of nothing? It reminded them that the only monsters they had met were the zombies and goblins. They were ignorant. Another thing to add to Rayner’s list: learn about monsters.
“Do you think Yazid had anything to do with the undead skeletons like with the zombies?”
“Could be. Have no idea why.”
“Maybe to stop the armies. We are going through the miasma as a shortcut, the armies could have done so too?”
It was a good point. At the first opportunity, Axel would make discrete inquiries into Yazid. Another note for the list. He’d avoided talking about Yazid because then he would have to remember his death.
Having run around trying to lose the zombies they couldn’t find any landmark that matched the map. Even before the skeleton attack, they weren’t sure they were on the right path.
The warped environment of the miasma confused their sense of direction. Wandering aimlessly would get them in trouble, but they had little choice. Little choice was becoming the norm.
“The compass!” Rayner yelled, pointing to Axel’s pack.
“Oh shit, I forgot,” Axel said, face-palming.
The fairies gave them the compass to find their way around the Corpsewood. It had led them to the heart of the Corpsewood, then after taking the God’s Will, out of the forest.
Pulling it out Axel looked to see where it pointed. “That way,” he said, pointing in the direction the compass indicated.
With the compass, they may make even better time than before. As long as nothing got in their way. So naturally, something did.
“Up ahead,” Rayner warned. Axel had to squint to see through the purple mist of the miasma, but he could make out short figures in the distance. “Goblins.”
As they moved closer, Axel could confirm goblins approached. Their movements were jerky and they let out anguished moans.
“Zombies?” Axel said.
“Could be, maybe this is the stage before they go the way of the skeleton.”
The goblins hadn’t noticed them even though they were within sight, too entranced by their pain to care about them. So, the miasma had the same effect as Axel’s Pain Knife for the goblins.
“Axel, I don’t think they are zombies. If miasma can make them feel pain, then your Pain knife should have worked on the skeletons.”
“Zombies have flesh, skeletons don’t.” Stating the obvious.
“Breaking bones can hurt too,” Rayner countered.
Axel was no doctor, so he didn’t know if bones had pain nerves, and it wasn’t as if this world followed all the rules of anatomy. It did have the undead as a feature after all.
The goblins moved past them, and they were happy to let them. But one goblin stayed behind. It peered right at them, unmoving.
“The hell is wrong with it?” Rayner said.
“Plenty of things I’m sure. Let’s just move past it. If it attacks us, we can take it out.”
As they moved, the goblin spoke in an indecipherable tongue, its words quick, small, and harsh. The goblin stood still as they continued to move away. He and Rayner kept their eyes on the goblin the entire time. It never stopped staring and kept speaking its language.
It was now out of sight and they let go a breath they did not know they were holding.
“That was creepy,” Axel said. Rayner nodded in agreement.
***
Following the compass, they ventured deeper and deeper into the miasma. The mist became less thick but the oppressive feeling became heavier. They checked their stats and did not like what they saw.
Name: Rayner, Level: 1, Class: Barbarian, Mana: 20, Skills: Force Hammer(0.5) Roar(1.5), EXP: 36.
Name: Axel, Level: 3, Class: Thug, Mana: 10, Skills: Pain Knife(1) Fear Knife(0.5) EXP: 32.
“Frustrating but not entirely unexpected. I am suffering less because of my higher level. You are still at 20 mana after all this, we’re doing OK” Axel said.
“I can deal with this as long as it doesn’t get any worse,” Rayner said.
Axel didn’t see any kind of debuff indicator and he heard from Barny it existed. Meaning this was a result of the effort they expended fighting the effects of the miasma, not the direct cause of the miasma.
The difference being they didn’t have a problem they couldn’t solve. Before their mana ran out, they would get out of here. At the rate they were losing mana they would have another day or two before losing the ability to fight.
And again, because the gods did not shine on them, a fight came. The creepy goblin from before appeared, pointing at them, mouth open as if to scream but no sound escaped. Soon the group from before came into view, also pointing.
“Axel…we’re surrounded.”
Looking around, he saw Rayner was correct. About 3 dozen zombies circled them. All the zombies pointed toward them.
“Let’s breakthrough that group of three over there. It’s the smallest group.”
“Sure, it’s also in the direction we need to go. We go on three,” Axel said, beginning the countdown with his fingers.
On three, they rushed the small group. The group did not move and continued to point at them. Creepy, but fine with him. Rayner led the way, pushing past them, not bothering to use his hammer.
Axel would have taken the path Rayner opened for him, but he had to test something. He cut a goblin as he passed, then did so with the other, using Pain Knife on it, the signature red light around the dagger dimmer in the miasma.
The reaction of the first goblin Axel cut was mute, red blood came from the wound; It was not a zombie. The other zombie Axel stabbed held its wound and groaned. It was alive for sure and aware. It ran after them.
“God damn it, Axel!” Rayner cursed.
Axel didn’t blame him. They now had a goblin chasing them.
Rayner threw a rock at the pursuing goblin. The nimble creature avoided the rock and picked up the pace.
“Screw this, there are two of us and one of it,” Axel said, turning to face the goblin.
The goblin didn’t even have a weapon, but it didn’t stop running, instead, it ran faster and jumped. It leaped over Axel and landed between him and Rayner.
“Stupid, now it’s stuck between the both of us. Rayner, you ready?”
He answered by raising his hammer and stalking forward. When the goblin looked to Rayner, Axel took that as his chance to strike. The goblin, without looking at Axel, avoided his stab, grabbed his arm, used it as a swing to kick him in the stomach with both feet.
The attack did not hurt, but it caused him to double over, and the goblin followed up with a flurry of punches to Axel’s face.
“Axel!” Rayner swung at the goblin’s head. This time the goblin moved forward quickly, causing Rayner to misjudge the distance, missing his hammer stroke. The goblin moved behind him and threw a rock at Axel, hitting his forehead, creating a cut above his eye.
The back and forth continued, their skills not mattering as they couldn’t hit it. The blood got into Axel’s eye and every time he tried to wipe it away the goblin would attack.
What made all this worse was that the goblin’s attacks were weak. Not because the goblin was weak, but because it was holding back. The sick little creature was toying with them.
Axel had been afraid of this. In a one on one, they struggled. Now, this was a two on one and the goblin outmatched them.
“Stop!” Rayner yelled. Not at the goblin, but at Axel.
“Why?”
“Just do it,” Rayner said, putting his hammer, away.
Rayner was many things, but he wasn’t crazy. Axel stopped his attack.
“See, it’s not attacking.” Rayner was right, the goblin no longer attacked. Instead, it raised its hands up, palms facing them. It was the sign of surrender.
“What’s going on?”
“I think that’s what it was trying to explain before we attacked it. If I had to guess, it was in a trance like the other goblins, and you woke it up. Maybe it needs you to do it again.”
The goblin nodded its head slightly, but it was a half nod. Did that mean Rayner was only partially correct?
The goblin motioned for them to come closer to it. Trusting a goblin seemed stupid, but all he knew of goblins were from games in his world, and no matter how similar they were, this was not their world. The rules were different. Maybe goblins were as well. Or at least this one, at this time.
They moved toward it, hands on weapons just in case. It did not seem to mind. Once they were close, it started making gestures and grunts, it sounded like a name.
“Is your name Vix?” Axel asked. The goblin nodded. The goblin continued grunting but his name was all they could understand; the rest was a guessing game.
Vix waved his hands around. “The goblins are around us?” Rayner guessed. It shook its head indicating yes, then no. Rayner was right in that goblins were around them but that was not what It meant.
“Something else around us,” Axel said. Vix nodded.
Vix waved some more but slower. “Something around us that moves slowly,” said Rayner. This was wrong as well.
“The miasma,” Axel said. The goblin nodded rapidly. “Ha! I got it.”
“So, what about the miasma?” Rayner said. The goblin made a sad face. “This one’s easy. He means sick. The miasma made him sick.”
Vix jumped up and down. “So, we could see that. Is that it?” Axel said.
So began the game of charades. Vix then pointed at them. The miasma was trying to make them sick. It was working for—no it was using the goblins. The miasma made the land sick. The miasma was using the goblins to follow them.
It went on like this for some time. Until they understood what the goblin was trying to say.
Vix had come into this area when it was thick with mana, but not dangerous. When the miasma formed it attacked them, killing many, infecting some until they lost their minds.
The miasma warped the land and all the life in the area. The miasma had a will of its own. All the changes were for a purpose, it wanted to build something.
Figuring it out Rayner said, “A dungeon. A dungeon is being formed from the land, and it’s turning anything it can into monsters.”
“Cool!” Axel said. Vix showed that he did not agree. “Do you want us to save your friends?” Again, Vix showed disagreement, looking insulted.
“It can’t leave,” said Rayner.
“Too bad.”
Vix made more gestures. It was trying to say they can’t either. The miasma would stop them.
“Damn,” he said.
“That’s not the only reason we can’t leave.”
Both Axel and the goblin looked confused. So, the goblin didn’t know, so what other reason could there be?
“Alta is a weak country, with few combat Worshipers. War has devastated the Alis region. A dungeon popping up would be disastrous.”
Rayner was right. What little they knew of dungeons was that they were incredibly dangerous. Someone could make riches in one, but the risk was often too high. Dungeons are places of malice, a mutation of the world. A problem for a bigger country to handle, not this war-torn land.
“You want to stop it, don’t you.” Axel knew Rayner did.
Rayner nodded. Vix shook his head, not agreeing.
Pointing to Vix, Rayner said, “And you will help.” Vix took a step back. It had other ideas. “If the miasma will try to stop us from leaving, then if we don’t stop it, then how will we escape?”
Vix was looking around as if to escape. The goblin was stuck, trapped, again.
How does one go about snuffing out a dungeon in its cradle? They had hoped Vix would have an answer. It didn’t.
They had asked Vix if there was some big boss they could fight and it laughed, voice high and guttural. OK, so expecting a monster to be waiting for them somewhere to slay was silly.
Axel suggested killing everything, thus denying the miasma resources for the dungeon. That would not be possible either, it would take days, probably weeks. They could not stay in the miasma that long. Vix was not helpful at all. It tried, though, showing enthusiasm when one of them came up with an idea.
They had made camp under a large twisted tree. They could not sleep with a goblin watching over them, so they drank devil’s water to keep them awake. Another neat thing about devil’s water was that if one drank too much of it, they would fall asleep, if it was just a sip every so often it could keep that person awake.
“OK, one more round of brainstorming. Let’s list our resources and capabilities and see what use they will have for this problem,” Rayner said, pencil and paper ready.
“You are Faithless, I am Godless. You are a Barbarian; I am a Thug. You have more mana I have less. You have offensive skills using force, I have debuff skills involving emotions,” Axel droned on.
“Try to be more upbeat. This is serious,” Rayner said.
“This is me upbeat.”
“Fine, go on.”
“We got a hammer, a dagger, a magic compass, some useless phones, camping stuff, 1 nicotine gum.” he went on.
“You smoke?”
“No, but I like the gum.”
“It would be sad if that became your gateway into smoking. Bad for your lungs, bad for the environment.”
“Are you going to tell me smoking contributes to global warming?”
“It’s global cooling. Global warming makes people believe everything is fine if it snows.”
“Doesn’t matter now. It’s a whole new world,” Axel said.
“Yet here we are, in the middle of an environmental disaster, spreading to the rest of the land,” Rayner said, arms folded, knowing he had scored a point. He had, and Axel was thinking of a comeback, when Vix shouted at them, hitting the both of them with a rock to get their attention.
It pointed to the compass in Axel’s pocket. “This, can this help?” Axel asked. Vix clapped its hands. “How?” It motioned making itself look larger.
“We use the same method when we searched for the God of the Corpsewood. We go the opposite direction of the exit.”
“We can find the source of this mess. What will we do when we get there?”
Vix had another idea. It got very close to them and held its arms wide.
“A hug…” Axel said.
“He means to use your level ability to fight the miasma,” Rayner said.
“I can barely do that now.”
“Learn as you go…and it looks like we have to go now.” Rayner looked at an infected goblin. It was no longer pointing at them. Instead, it foamed out the mouth, its eyes bloodshot.
They packed their supplies in haste and ran. The miasma knew of their plan. This told them the miasma knew what they were saying, and their plan may be a threat to it. Progress?
The goblins came at them like wild beasts, followed by wolves, bears, and a bipedal tiger creature. The miasma threw everything it had at them. As these things were alive, Axel’s skill Pain Knife was of use again. He tried to be conservative, but holding back while being assaulted was difficult.
He did not have to do too much work as Vix fought with them, displaying the dexterity it showed when fighting he and Rayner. Vix dived, ducked, and dodged the attacks of his rabid brethren. It had no weapons, only rocks it threw at anything getting too close. If Axel trusted it, he would consider giving it his dagger.
He would make a note to bring extra weapons, in case they came across allies in the future, however temporary.
“At least these creatures get tired!” Rayner called out from farther ahead.
“Another plus for us,” he said pointing to a human who broke his ankle while chasing them. “They have no sense of self-preservation.” The miasma monsters would die trying to kill them.
And that’s what they did. They tripped over logs, fell in holes, and got tangled in vines. It became comedic. But they still pursued them.
“How many are there!” Axel screamed, no longer finding this in any way amusing.
Vix tried to answer but was too busy throwing rocks at their enemies. The rabid creatures would tire them out and kill them through attrition at this rate.
“Follow me,” Rayner said, heading to the trees.
They followed. Rayner started climbing. Vix did not hesitate and was already up one of the trees, Axel was last to get to the top of his.
Instead of following them up the tree, the stupid creatures bashed into the tree trunk, clawing at it, as if trying to chop it down with their nails.
How would they get out of this one?
***
The tree Axel was on was rather comfortable. Soft leaves, sturdy branches, he could have fallen asleep on it if it wasn’t for screaming monsters under him. It had been hours, and the monsters had not figured out how to climb a tree. Vix had no problem getting some shut-eye, even Rayner took a nap.
Axel watched the monsters closely looking for weaknesses. The creatures were being forced awake by the miasma; it acted as a super drug, keeping them active. The only downside was the loss of mental capacity and freedom.
He’d already used Pain Knife and Fear Knife on them, hoping some would wake up as Vix did. That did not work either; he couldn’t figure out the difference between Vix he saved and the rest of the monsters.
He looked off into the distance, hoping something crazy would happen, like a battle princess charging in to save them. It was not to be. It was just them here. They would have to save themselves.
It was then Vix woke up and climbed down the tree. What was it thinking?
Vix jumped the remaining distance down and landed behind the crowd of rabid monsters. Vix then ran around the area as the monsters chased it. It was serving as a distraction.
“Rayner,” he said.
“Yeah, I see. So, what, are we going to leave it?”
“No, we will wait for an opening.
“And do that thing we talked about.” Rayner showed his confusion, he’d forgotten. “Using your Roar skill from above as you fall on them. Then as they are on the ground, we slaughter them.”
“We could have done that earlier…never mind, my Roar would not have worked on that many. But Vix peeled some of them away.”
Axel signaled for Vix to lead the others farther away. When it followed his instructions, they made their move. Rayner fell into the crowd, roaring. It was if an invisible hammer flattened the monsters.
It worked better than he could have hoped. Rayner was already smashing their skulls in, one after the other. He was efficient. By the time, Axel got down the tree, many of the monsters were dead; he added some finishing stabs.
“Rinse and repeat?” Rayner said, standing over the bodies of his enemies.
“Rinse and repeat,” Axel confirmed.
So began the process of climbing back up the tree, having Vix lead the monsters closer and others away, then falling upon the monsters to knock them down and finishing them off.
It reminded him of exploiting a game AI’s attack range. The miasma was not intelligent enough to learn from this mistake. They hoped to stop it before it could gain such capabilities.
After finishing, they were alone. He did not doubt that more would come, but for now, they had won a victory. He gave credit where credit was due and gave an imaginary tip of the hat to Vix. It didn’t understand the gesture, turning its head to the side in confusion. Probably thought Axel was a weirdo.
Axel checked the compass. “We are almost there. Hopefully, the hard part is over.”
Rayner and Vix snapped their heads toward him. He realized his mistake too late. He had jinxed himself.
The oppressive feeling of the miasma lifted. The stench of death gone, his shoulders lightened, Rayner was breathing normally again, even Vix looked a little greener. Something he supposed was a sign of good health for it.
The reason for their relief became immediately clear. The miasma gathered in one place, swirling in on itself like a whirlpool, taking shape into a human form.
“Looks like we are going to see how dungeon babies are born!” Rayner said, readying himself.
Vix had found a rusty short sword on a body and cackled at Rayner’s joke.
The creature taking shape was definitely a person. Its skin was a sickly purple, the color of its eyes matched its skin. It stood tall and heavily muscled, veins showing as it stretched, acclimating to its new body. Exhaling, a purple mist came from its mouth.
“Is this the boss?” Rayner said.
“I think this is the final defense,” Axel said.
This wouldn’t have happened if they were not making progress. The miasma was afraid. And what was he doing standing there watching this thing be born? He charged the newly born monster, hoping to finish the fight before it started.
The Purple Man saw him but did not move, rather it ignored him and continued stretching. This should have been a warning to Axel, but he chalked it up to the monster’s lack of mental capacity.
He stabbed it, to no effect. The monster didn’t even flinch. Vix had jumped behind it, piercing it in the back with its short sword, also doing no damage.
“Move!” Rayner said. They disengaged from the Purple Man, giving Rayner room to Roar at it. A green distortion of the air came from Rayner’s mouth as he activated the skill.
This got its attention, but only a little. The skill only caused it to move back an inch, its eyes turned to Rayner. It opened its mouth and gave off a roar of its own. It did not push Rayner back, but it disabled him. Rayner returned to the state he was in when first entering the miasma, holding himself like a scared child.
“Vix, continue to attack it, I will snap Rayner out of it,” Axel said.
Vix didn’t need to be told twice. It was already fighting the thing.
“Hey, I got you, buddy,” he told Rayner. It was worse than before. A hug and a prick would not work. So, he slashed Rayner down his arm. It worked. “This thing is using its mana as the Corpsewood God did.”
“Y-yeah,” Rayner stuttered, “I can’t have you slashing me, every time that happens.”
“I know how we can counter that. Use your charisma”
“I don’t know how yet. It’s not something I can turn on.”
“Yes, it is. You just did it.”
“My Roar?” Rayner said.
“You use mana to activate the skill, but your charisma is what makes it effective. Your Force Hammer would not be as effective if you had weak physical strength, would it? It is the same with Roar.”
Vix cried out; it was losing the battle. It had taken a strike to the face from the well-built Purple Man. Axel yelled out to get its attention, leaving Rayner to figure out how to re-work his skill.
The monster was not fast, and the knife training lessons he took started to show. He made sure not to overextend himself, keeping his movements small and accurate. Axel slashed and stabbed to no effect. Pain Knife did not work, neither did Fear Knife. Why?
He wasn’t given time to think about it, as the monster took a deep breath and blew a torrent of purple wind at him, sending him flying. He landed on his back, groaning in pain. It stalked toward him, only for Vix to slash it behind the knees. It did not even flinch, continuing toward Axel.
Looking at Rayner, he saw his friend still meditating. Vix threw rocks at the back of the monster’s head, pointlessly.
“Vix, do exactly what I say!” Axel had a plan. It was about time his wisdom stat kicked in. “Pierce it’s spine.”
Vix did as told, jamming the short sword into the Purple Man’s back. Now he had to get the timing just right. He went for a stab, and as he hoped, the Purple Man didn’t bother to dodge. This time when the knife connected to its chest, it let out a scream.
He’d figured out the Purple Man’s trick. The attacks did nothing to it because it softened its body created from the miasma, then hardening again to attack. The clever goblin, following his plan without being told, had motioned to remove the sword from its back, then stopped, tricking the monster into becoming solid with the sword still in its back. The pain also prevented it from softening again, letting Axel plunge his knife into it.
Again, it roared, and he felt what Rayner must have gone through. His insecurities rising forward, his fear of death and maiming. But only for a moment did this last. He had learned to let the fear in, to accept it as a part of himself and use it. It was how he learned his Fear Knife skill.
Now that they had a way to hurt it, the true battle began. The wounds didn’t kill the monster, it had a human shape, but it was not mortal. It kept coming at them, with increased intensity, taking quick swings at Vix.
Vix jumped too low, and the Purple Man grabbed its leg. It threw Vix at Axel, causing them both to tumble and lose their weapons.
The Purple Man couldn’t take advantage of their weak position because Rayner had arrived, attacking with a mighty Battle Cry. The Purple Man took a step back before letting out a roar of its own. This time, it had no effect on Rayner. Grinning, Rayner swung his hammer at the enemy; fear had left him.
He and Vix had gotten to their feet; seeing Rayner stand up to the monster, taking it head on, hearing his battle cries, galvanized him and Vix. They joined Rayner in combat.
They traded blows. Bones broke and bruises went ignored, as they duked it out against the creature. Their attacks were wearing it down. It did not bleed, instead, its attacks grew slower and punches weaker. Rayner landed a hit to its ribs when it should have been able to soften its body to absorb the blow. The Purple Man’s ability no longer worked.
The threesome went all out, hacking, stabbing, smashing any part of the monster they could. The Purple Man tried letting out a roar again to intimidate them, but with no effect. It was over. It fell to its knees, unable to stand. The last thing it saw was Rayner’s hammer coming down on its face.
They needed rest, so they took it. Axel no longer worried about Vix attacking them as they slept. Vix had earned their trust after the battle. The Purple Man used up most of the miasma in the area to form itself, meaning they were no longer harassed by rabid monsters.
Once they had eaten and rested another benefit of defeating the boss monster revealed itself in their stats.
Name: Rayner, Level: 1, Class: Barbarian, Mana: 39, Skills: Force Hammer(0.5) Roar(1.5) Battle Cry(1), EXP: 41.
Name: Axel, Level: 3, Class: Thug, Mana: 14, Skills: Pain Knife(1) Fear Knife(0.5), EXP: 38.
Their improvements were deserved. They had both used their respective skills and attributes to the best of their ability to defeat the boss. Still no level up for Rayner, which was worrisome. If quality experiences were needed to level up, then surely the boss battle counted as one. Another task added to the list of mysteries to investigate and goals to accomplish.
Vix looked at his palm too. Axel was curious about the changes it went through. The green creature looked very pleased by what it saw. It did not offer to show them. Just as well because they would not show it theirs either. It would reveal their Titles and they did not trust it to such an extent. Who knows what would happen if they left this place?
They could be sure Vix wasn’t part of the Inimi army. It seemed confused by what they had told it. Vix must have been under the miasma’s control for an extended period of time.
“Battle Cry is a buff. It increases my resistance against mental attacks, and charisma,” Rayner said.
“The charisma increase takes form as a morale boost,” he said. “This confirms your theory that we can use attributes in different ways.”
Rayner was giddy. “Our attributes…what we feel when using mana to create a skill is key.” He stopped talking and jotted down notes on his thoughts. Axel could look at them later.
Meanwhile, Vix stared at them. Their conversation must have seemed odd without context.
Refreshed and recharged, the group continued to the center of the miasma. It wasn’t what they expected.
Much of what they had seen since entering this place was death and decay, but here, life thrived. A twisted life, but life nonetheless. A black deer with purple eyes drank from a large pond.
The pond was a deep purple, squirrels, and other rodents he did not recognize ran up a tree that twisted as if bothered by the animals on it. They jumped as the ground underneath them moved, up, then down again. The ground was breathing.
Vix stabbed at the ground. The hum of life stopped. Then a whirlpool of miasma gathered, just like with the Purple Man. Only this time on a massive scale.
Rayner smacked Vix on the back of the head for its actions. “I don’t think it’s forming another monster.”
“Same. Rather, I bet it’s moving up its schedule.”
“The dungeon is forming right now.” Rayner tried to approach the swirling purple mass of malice but the force it gave off pushed him back.
“I know what to do. Vix, help brace me, I don’t want to collapse as I do this. Rayner, use Battle Cry, I need the confidence boost.” Both did as asked.
Goblins were small only because of the way they walked, with back and knees hunched. Vix stood at his full height, the height of an average human man, and pushed on Axel’s back so the force would not blow him away. Rayner gave a mighty Battle Cry, filling him with confidence. He was ready.
Level represented Force. It was how mana interacted with other mana. He was level 3; he would see now if that really meant anything. He would pit his mana against the mass of power before him.
Axel released his mana, in its pure form, not as a skill but as raw magical energy. His dull blue colored mana was swallowed by the miasma that now bubbled and popped, condensing into a sphere.
The surrounding land changed, becoming even odder than it was before. The ground further ahead sank, becoming a massive pit. Earth rose around it and a cave formed, the skeleton of a dungeon.
Rayner used his Battle Cry over and over again, hoping it would stack, increasing the effects of the skill. It didn’t, but Rayner tried regardless, not knowing what else to do. Axel could feel Vix’s nails dig into his back; Vix held onto Axel for support as much as Axel relied on it to keep him from collapsing.
Axel expended half his mana attacking the miasma, for no result. His mana was too weak. Yet, he could still feel it, in the miasma, fighting to exist, resisting total absorption. He changed tactics, hurling mana at it wasn’t enough.
That was playing to the miasma’s advantage. It had more mana than him. Instead, he worked with it, moving with the flow of power. The miasma was already in the shape of a sphere. Axel would use this.
He formed a thick, hard container of mana around it, making sure to leave a gap for the miasma to enter through. It worked. The miasma channeled itself through the hole and continued to condense itself. This did not stop the land around them from reshaping.
Rayner stopped using his skill, possibly because he was running out of mana, but probably because he was gawking at the huge cave entrance. To look inside it was to look into an abyss. Evil lay within the cave; he just knew it. Rayner had been right from the start. They had to stop this. They were the only ones who could.
The creatures that had scattered returned, their intentions clear. They came to fight, to stop them. Rayner held them off, and Vix went off to join him, leaving Axel to face the miasma alone.
Axel held firm, sweat soaking his shirt, his legs shaking. The container stabilized, no longer warping when a surge of miasma entered. He had to plug the hole with little mana left, the pain he felt when using mana left him leaving him numb. His eyes struggled to stay open.
“Axel we can’t hold them off much longer. Whatever you are doing, finish it right now! You have to—” a scream came from his friend.
That woke him up. The plug was not ready, but it didn’t have to be, it only had to stop the miasma. He would find a longer lasting solution later. Screaming in agony he pulled the little mana he had left and sealed the container, and the miasma with it. The sudden change caused a pulse to ripple out from the container sending him flying backward. His vision went black, then his mind.
***
Rayner tried for hours to wake Axel up with no success. He and Vix dragged him as far away from the battle site as possible and laid him down on a blanket. It would have been odd if Axel was in perfect condition after what he did.
Sealing a dungeon, it was epic and Rayner would make sure to heap praise on him once he woke up. If he woke up. Mana strain was a major killer for those who were not careful. Axel didn’t just strain his mana, he overloaded it.
His condition had the same symptoms as a bad flu. Heavy breathing, sweating, increased temperature, with the addition of blue patches dotting his skin.
The cause of all this, the miasma, was carried by Vix. Vix didn’t need to hold it, for when they tried to touch it directly it floated as if they moved it with telekinesis. The sealed object radiated heat; he could see the purple mist pushing against the barrier. What would they do with the object? Destroying it may only set it free.
Rayner took it from Vix. It did not enjoy being near the miasma, for good reason. It was the reason for the Vix’s loss of freedom for who knows how long.
The purple-tinted filter effects the miasma caused disappeared after the sealing. The land did not go back to normal.
The twisted remained twisted, many of the mutated creatures lived, and many died, unable to sustain themselves without the miasma. In other circumstances he would have stayed and explored, recording the changes. But Axel needed medical attention.
Vix took both their packs, so Rayner could carry Axel on his back. It was still being helpful. Did this mean all goblins were not evil and self-interested?
The compass showed the exit was close. The sun shone down on them as Rayner had lost track of time. The running and the fighting didn’t give him a chance to get his bearings. Just like when they first came to this world. So much for an easy outing.
After another hour Vix pointed to a dirt path. He could see the path was still in use and not by monsters. Civilization was close. Vix dropped their packs and pointed at itself and another direction.
“You are leaving,” he said. Not surprised. It was for the best. A goblin could not go with him to the village Fred Copper’s family lived. Vix put his hand to his chest, in what he assumed was its way of saying thanks, then turned and sprinted away.
“Not one for long goodbyes.” He picked up the packs, struggling with the combined weight of the bags and Axel on his back and trudged toward the village to start their quest.