Chapter 7
Title: The Winding
I sat on a jagged rock deep within the cave, shaping a earth spike into a makeshift dagger. Threads of dark mana coiled lazily through my fingers, molding the obsidian like wet clay.
"You know," I began,
my voice low, calm, each word exhaled like poison, infecting the abominations muffled grunts with slow, deliberate malice, filling the air with an aura of death.
"once upon a time, I met a demon who fancied himself a fucking artist."
*shhhnnkk*
"He really thought he'd perfected the art of torture. A real connoisseur of agony. No one could hold a candle to his brilliance, of course. One day, lucky bastard, he stumbled across the perfect toy. Someone who couldn't die. No matter what he tried. We'll call him Test Subject B. TSB, for short."
The dagger's tip came into focus, ugly, uneven, and sharp enough to whisper promises all the way to the bone.
"So this demon went to work. If death was off the table, he'd just carve his masterpiece directly into his mind. Year after year, he whittled away at TSB. And in the beginning? Sure, there was screaming. Crying. Begging. This made the demon excited."
*Shhhnnk*
"He thought he was close. Any day now, he'd shatter that fragile little mind. But then…" I paused for a moment "the screaming stopped. Just like that. TSB didn't beg anymore. Didn't even blink. He just watched, even as chunks of his flesh were twisted off like rotten fruit."
I lifted my eyes to meet the abomination's—still nailed to the wall like a grotesque painting. My gaze met his with the dull certainty of someone who'd already seen how this story ends. Repeatedly.
"A few more years in, TSB started laughing. Not the broken kind. Not desperate. Full-on, belly-clutching, hysterical laughter. Right in the demon's face. That rattled him. Shook the very foundations of his precious little ego. So he went back to the drawing board, burning the midnight oil, convinced he'd finally cracked the code."
I stood, the dagger now fully formed in my hand. The light in my eyes was colder than before, a void of pity, absent of empathy. Just a hollow amusement.
"The next morning, the demon charged into the cell like it was a holiday. Bright-eyed. Smiling. Giddy to unveil his latest 'innovation.'"
I took a step forward. Then another slowly.
"But when he opened that door? Do you know what he saw? Not fear. Not even despair. Just TSB, chained and butchered, grinning like a madman. Eyes ablaze. And why? Because somewhere along the line, TSB figured out…"
A low chuckle rumbled up from my throat. The kind that held more venom than humor.
"That self-proclaimed demon had never been on the receiving end of his 'art.'"
I started laughing like a lunatic, taping the blade against my cheek.
"That 'Genius' never tested his techniques on anyone who could give him feedback. And since he never went through any of his methods himself, his 'painting' had more flaws than a novice."
My laughing calmed down and I leaned in close to the Abomination speaking my next words slowly and deliberately.
"You see, TSB watched. learned. Every flick of the wrist. Every careless flourish. He memorized it all."
I leaned in so close the abomination could feel the heat of my breath on its face.
"And now?"
My grin split wider, the kind of smile that could curdle blood.
"He's ready to give him a 'FEW' pointers!"
Real fear, raw and unfamiliar, crashed into the creature like a wave. It writhed, squirming against the stone, bruised and broken from my so-called warm-up. Panic bloomed behind its eyes. Not the fear of death… no, something worse.
I dropped my voice to a whisper, intimate and cold.
"TSB laughed at every mistake the demon made. Took notes. And when he found a better way to twist the blade… oh, he HOWLED with joy."
I raised the dagger to the thing's eye. Slowly. Letting it understand what came next.
"Now hold still, little lamb. I don't just want you to see what I'm going to do…"
I pressed the jagged edge into the soft tissue, savoring the resistance.
"I want you to feel it. In every last atom of your body."
*SCHLK*
"This is only going to hurt—"
I barked a laugh, guttural and unhinged.
"—a fucking lot! HAHAHAHA!"
The cave shook with a chorus of screams, both beast and man. My horrific laughter echoed through the tunnels mixed with the beasts screams of agony, calling to every nearby abomination. They were drawn to the sound.
"What a beautiful symphony!" I roared. "TELL ME, LITTLE LAMB, HOW DOES IT FEEL? THIS PERFECTED CRAFT?! TRULY… SENSATIONAL, ISN'T IT?!"
Far down the left tunnel, the screams echoed beyond two massive wooden doors.
Something powerful stirred.
⸻
*DING*
## Kill Confirmed ##
• Abomination (S+)
• 8,000 XP
*DING*
## Level Up! ##
• Level 67
• rewards:
+5 stat points
+ 1 skill point
"Finally…"
I huffed, pulling my sword free from the creature's shoulder.
"Thought I'd never figure out how to kill you bastards."
I examined the now-exposed ribcage, noting a shattered gem lodged between the bones of his spinal cord.
"Huh… looks like you guys run off some weird kinda mana crystals. I wonder if they're all placed in the same spot?"
I poked at it with my dagger thoughtfully.
"I don't suppose any of you would be kind enough to just tell me?"
I turned to face the horde of abominations that gathered from the screams.
They answered with a unified, deafening roar.
"Yeah… figured as much."
I cracked my neck, bounced up and down on my toes, and gripped my sword.
"So who's first?"
They rushed me as one. The first swung wide. I vanished with Phantom Step, reappearing to the left and slicing the beast's arm clean off. Another came from behind, I flipped backward, reinforced my body with mana, and drove my heel into its ribs shattering the mana crystal inside. The beast flew into the wall.
*DING*
## Skill Acquired ##
• Body Reinforcement (D)
• the user can supplement strength and Health/Defense for mana points at a 1/100 ratio
• +1 VIT cost 100 MP per minute
• +1 STR cost 100 Mp per minute
*DING*
## Kill Confirmed ##
• Abomination (S+)
• 8,000 XP
Another charged and slammed both fists down. I reinforced my body, catching the blow with my forearms. I sank an inch into the mud floor, grinning.
"Gonna have to try harder than tha—!"
*CRACK*
The one-armed abomination hurled its severed limb. It caught me in the side, slamming me into the wall.
Before the dust could settle, I launched from the crater I made from the impact, spinning mid-air, and drove my sword straight into the attacker's chest.
*DING*
## Kill Confirmed ##
• Abomination (S+)
• 8,000 XP
*DING*
## Level Up! ##
• Level 68!
• Rewards:
+ 5 Stat Points
+ 1 Skill Point
Before the next enemy could react, I kicked off the corpse, pulled my sword free, slid between another's legs, and stabbed upward through its back without looking.
*DING*
## Kill Confirmed ##
• Abomination (S+)
• 8,000 XP
Tch. "These messages are getting annoying."
*DING*
## System notification ##
Would you like to disable:
• Kill Messages? (Yes/No)
• Level Ups? (Yes/No)
• Skill Acquisition? (Yes/No)
• Status Effects? (Yes/No)
• Low Mana/Health Alerts? (Yes/No)
"Huh? This is new."
Dodging two swings while adjusting my settings, I muttered,
"Good. Should be better now."
*CRACK*
I caught a fist, spun around the arm, and stabbed through the beast's crystal with my sword.
"Ah… that's much better!"
I smiled as a message box didn't pop up
While I was distracted, a beast grabbed me by the throat, slamming me into the ground and hammered down on me with brutal force.
*SWOOSH*
*THUD-THUD-THUD*
The beast stopped— now nailed to the ceiling of the cave by three earth spikes. Blue blood rained on top of me.
"…Five," I muttered.
I stood, expression dark. dashing forward, kneeing another abomination in the jaw.
*THUD*
I slammed my blade into its chest.
"Six."
*DING*
## Skill Unlocked ##
• KNEEL! (F)
– Level Requirement Met
skill description
For their sins they shall kneel in repentance, the target will have chains pulling them to the ground in a kneeling position. The greater their sins the stronger the chains.
Can Be Used Once a day
Target is only affected for 2 mins.
This was unlocked through the users job 'Eldritch knight'. As an Eldritch Knight you carry out the will of Sarien to punish sinners.
(a skill gained at lvl 70)
A beast kicked at me
"too slow."
I leapt, leaving my sword behind, and summoned three spikes mid-air.
*SWOOSH*
*THUD-THUD-THUD*
Three abominations were skewered instantly.
Landing on top of my previous kill, I ripped my sword free and flicked the blood off of it.
"Seven. Eight. Nine. And ten."
The remaining beasts edged backward, forming a wary half-circle.
One of them glanced toward his fallen comrade, impaled against the wall. It's flesh hung in ragged strips,horn severed clean off, eye gouged from its socket. Toes split to the heel, ribcage dismantled and rammed into his own arms. Loops of intestine draped around his neck like a grotesque necklace.
Terror took root in his gaze.
Then his eyes met mine. I stepped toward him, smiling.
Panic seized him. He spun around and bolted.
The others didn't wait to decide. They ran too. Anywhere was better than here.
I giggled, low and menacing.
*ZIP*
"Boo."
I appeared in front of the closest runner using phantom step and spun…
*SLASH*
cutting him clean in half I moved to the next one.
"Eleven."
*ZIP*
"Twelve."
*ZIP*
"Thirteen."
The rest had fled too far for Phantom Step to close the gap, so I didn't bother chasing.
I walked forward, whistling.
The sound echoed down the empty tunnels, light and cheerful, a tune of melody cutting through the stillness.
"Back at the crossroads." I stopped.
Closing my eyes, I let mana vision bloom threads of energy tugging at my senses like whispers in the dark.
"One to the left. Ten straight ahead. Three to the right."
I chose the middle tunnel, humming as I went, twirling my sword with idle grace. Each step was unhurried, the sound of steel spinning in my hand almost like a child playing with a toy.
⸻
In the abominations' sleeping chamber, ten of them huddled in the far corner. Their bodies pressed together, eyes fixed on the yawning black mouth of the tunnel, the only way in or out. Muscles bunched, claws flexed, every breath quick and shallow.
*Whistling*
*Step…*
*step…*
*step…*
*silence.*
Two glowing purple eyes ignited in the pitch black void at the threshold of the entrance.
"Found ya."
The next moment, the room blurred.
*ZIP*
———
"and that makes twenty-three."
I exhaled, wiping my brow and looked around at the mess I made. Not a single one escaped the massacre. Heads were cut off, body parts were strewn all over the place and the room stank of iron and sweat.
"Whew. Been a while since I've moved around like this."
I switched to the jagged dagger.
"Their Crystals are junk… but these horns might be useful."
Carefully avoiding the poison, I harvested the horns and stored them in my inventory.
"Now to say hello to the three in the tunnel on the right."
⸻
I approached the side tunnel, gathering dark mana in my hand. The orb swirled, pulsing with power.
"They're crouched near the entrance. Waiting for a chance to ambush I guess…"
I shrugged. "Oh well."
Leaning back, I threw the orb into the chamber.
*VOOOM*
The cave lit with brilliant white and purple light. My face was illuminated at the edge of the tunnel, eyes wide with awe.
Then, the void opened.
It sucked everything in, abominations, chunks of stone, even part of the ceiling.
In seconds, the room was silent. The only evidence it had ever existed was a crater in the ground.
"Whoa… BEAUTIFUL! HAHAHA!"
*DING*
## New Skill Created ##
• (nameless) (A)
• Would you like to name this skill?
"Nova Bomb,"
I said instantly.
*DING*
## Skill Confirmed ##
• Nova Bomb (A)
• Created Through your Authority
"One left."
⸻
Back at the crossroad I sat cross-legged, breathing slow and steady. Activating Mana control to regain my mana.
Eleven minutes passed and I was fully recharged.
I opened my eyes and then froze.
A headless abomination stood before me, holding a horn. It moved in a blur.
*SHUNK*
"Shit!"
The horn dug into my leg.
"Where the hell did you come from?!"
I ripped the horn out and jammed it into the beast's chest, shattering its crystal.
"Ugh. Not again…"
I fell to my knees, dizzy.
"Ughhh"
As I fell to my face a message popped up.
*DING*
## You Have Been Poisoned ##
• Paralyzing Blue Dragon Blood
• You will die in: 00:30
"Mmmpphh"
I focused my mana, directing it toward the poison and circulated it out of my open wound in my leg, pushing the poison out slowly.
*DING*
## Skill Acquired ##
- • Poison Resistance (F)
"Yesh… jush wha I nee'ded…"
My vision went black. My life slipping away yet again.
"ARRRGHHHHHHH!"
I screamed, forcing every drop of mana I could push into the poisoned zone, suppressing and neutralizing the paralyzing effect.
Breathing heavily, I sat up, blue blood oozing out of my wound.
"Good thing I topped off… or I'd be out for another 12."
I healed the wound with my measly healing magic just enough to stop the bleeding.
"Damn, My healing really sucks. If only I had Illyria's… or Bella's… ability to heal"
Recalling the memories of my past days, I sighed, reaching into my inventory.
Two HP potions.
I downed both. A green glow and a slight warmth wrapped my leg, restoring it completely.
"Now then… one last time."
I meditated, absorbing ambient mana. I had to make sure I was ready for the last guy, I could tell he was strong by the pure aura flowing from the tunnel he was down.
⸻
I reached the end of the tunnel to be greeted by a massive wooden door, sealing off whatever was beyond.
"That's a big-ass door. If the exit's not back there, I'm gonna lose it."
I placed my hand on the handle.
Took a deep breath.
And pushed the door open.