The Apprentice of Ouroboros [Monster Evo LitRPG Adventure]

The next day was the day of their first foray into the city below and the adjacent tunnels. She was excited...but also a little nervous, considering who they expected to find by the end.

Neska thought it would be just their individual team, along with Kalloway, Jurik, and Hadley. Everyone had been equipped with the new armor set, or, for Jurik and Hadley, had their armor modified to include the new chitin plate inserts.

Interestingly, even this configuration provided a surprising benefit: partial venom resistance. Trevor noted this piecemeal approach to armor should be considered for future applications. When Neska questioned why, in thousands of years, no one had thought of this, he responded that armor typically wasn't modular like this. Most were designed as a single set, and not with swappable components. He also thought it might be a hidden asset of his modular runic enchantment.

He really was going to be a pioneer in this magical technology, she realized. She also told him to stay put as they prepared to head down below to the unexplored area of the ruined city, the visible portion on the cavern floor. He’d been upset, naturally. But he also acknowledged that their foe required the utmost caution when approaching, with dedicated individuals suited for the task.

Though he did pout a bit. “I held my own in the mine. Didn’t I?”

“You most certainly did.” She tried to keep her fangs retracted as she smiled, though he didn't seem to notice. “But in this instance, we need to move in smaller teams. Too many people ups the danger. Unlike in the mine, we’re only looking for one person, not fighting an army of mutated wasps,” she tried in a persuasive tone.

“I hate it. I’d really like to test this gear out, put it through its paces. Plus…we all worked well together.”

“Can attest. Our wizard was able to crowd control a lot of the wasps,” Brent said proudly. “I must admit, we all face danger eventually, Neska. Better now, in a scenario of our choosing. You know?”

Brent did have a point. “Alright. Trevor, is there anything you can contribute?”

He frowned and rubbed at his chin. He really did have a boyish look, even with the glasses raked forward to present maturity. “Okay, not a hundred percent I can be useful, but I have some knowledge of Valosian ruins and history. When you have a home library and precious knowledge, you use it. In this case, language and runes. Plus I can provide my support powers in a pinch to keep us moving quietly.

“Aren't runes always the same for enchantment work?”

“Uh…not exactly. Small inflections in the shape or order they are carved can make small changes in the overall runic effect. Is it like everyone has a unique handwriting signature? It's kinda like that.”

Interesting. She wondered if it was possible to make variants of the same enchantment just by changing how a rune was made. Perhaps the same could be applied to rituals? She doubted she'd had this notion first.

When she considered the group, they did have a good overlap of passive and helpful abilities. Brent had more than sufficient experience in his danger-sensing powers. Jurik brought a subtle veteran's voice, having had to run quietly behind lines and knew how to move unseen. Hadley also had a sense for danger and tracking targets and traps. Juni, of course, could sense vibrations and subterranean dangers.

But what threw off Neska was the arrival of Captain Nevin. And a new arrival, a dark-haired professor who only came up to his chest.

Neska raised a brow. “Surprised to see you here.”

“You shouldn't be. Student safety is my priority, as well. I'll be organizing a second team shortly, as backup. With me is Professor Durim, our expert in the history of Valos and its cultures, who will be joining you on the primary investigation team."

Standing only about a foot above Juni’s height was the stocky, muscular form of Professor Durim, a dwarf with fiery red hair, but strangely, no beard, and caramel-colored eyes. Scars were etched faintly on his face, neck, and arms, and he looked at the gathered students.

“So, this is the lamia I've heard about?” He asked, looking unconvinced at her presence. “Didn't know they came with fancy hats now.”

“Neska Aksen.” She slowly extended a hand of greeting. “Snakes now come with fancy hats and magical spells. I'm trying to start a trend.”

He belly-laughed at this and shook her hand. “Oh, is that so? Well, I’d say you're off to a good start. Though a proper helmet going deep into the world is my preferred choice.”

“So, it's no secret this city exists.”

“Not at all. The Undercommons has served as a staging ground to a few points of access. The reason we don't drop in all willy-nilly is that some of the structure is in a bad state of repair. Crumbing brickwork, support beams cracked or starting to yield. I've been with the campus for about…eh, thirty-one years or so?” he scratched his head as if still remembering. “Nah, thirty-two. Close enough. The point is, I haven't lost a student that wasn't doing something remarkably stupid.”

“What a thrilling endorsement of a track record,” Juni said with thinly veiled disgust.

“Hey hey, I can't always protect students from themselves. And there was only one.”

One casualty in thirty-two years, with an ongoing battle against invading monsters for over half that time? No wonder Kalloway leered at him angrily. “I am surprised they still let you delve and practice a study that isn't tied to the Varadur. I presume there are reasons for that?” Neska chose to redirect the discussion.

The professor nodded. “Ancient tech, old secrets, and anything we can dig up on the Varadur. Plus, the last few years of relative silence on the monsters’ part lead us to believe they have their own problems sustaining a sweeping invasion indefinitely. Ergo, treasure hunting and secret sniffing is back on the board.”

Neska glanced down at the access shaft that had been dug up, a small steam engine powering a lift to the city floor. The shaft descended, at minimum, several hundred feet. Not nearly as deep as Juni described, with Markus's lair easily two kilofeet down.

Then something he said caused her to let out a sound of surprise. “Wait. This place is ancient. What does the Varadur have anything to do with what's happening down here?”

“Oh boy, here we go,” Kalloway sighed. He pinched his fingers together, only leaving a small gap between them. “Short version, please.”

Durim scowled at the veteran professor. “Oh, have you divined up an answer to this monster crisis with that big hat of yours yet?”

“No. And let's keep it brief so our team understands what we are up against.”

Durim grumbled under his breath about witches. “Alright, short version? Our current crisis may have happened before. The deeper you dive into the city, there are writings that the monsters may have invaded previously. Plus, we've discovered bones of monsters that aren't native to the underground biome, and we've never accounted for how they got there. The entire city is also constructed of various species of humanity; chiefly dwarves, but even some of the fey folk and humanity have left their mark. The writings of the fey in particular seem to share origins out in the old establishments out in the Sarpathi Expanse.”

“Meaning, humanity had a single city of cohabitation,” Kalloway summed up. “As for the monsters? I think they kept a collection of specimens like a game preserve. I am not on board with this theory of repeating disaster, as it's not supported by evidence.”

Juni raised her hand again. Neska would have just asked plainly. “Let me get this right. Are you saying our current crisis is cyclic in nature? That's crazy.”

“About as crazy as the divines rebuilding the world a half-dozen times, but you hear a lot of crazy fables with the temples to the various divines,” Durim countered. “At any rate, there's never been a priority to find out the history of these beasts or search out the truth of whether this incursion has happened before. Also, this city fell because of what happened about thirty-three hundred years ago. That's roughly when this place became a ruin. My guess is some big mage energy collapsed the plateau, and our lovely Rivilat is now perched over the debris.”

“Or, you can buy the theory that this was a dwarven kingdom that attracted others, and like all mixing pots, eventually, someone does something stupid.” Kalloway rolled his eyes. “Now, explain the dangers here.”

Neska knew of plenty, having briefed the team on what she could find of subterranean monsters, not even counting the Varadur. Kasfew and Nori would be useful down here even with the limited mobility, owing to their primary powers. Juni could tunnel through some areas, but not all, and served as their hidden monster detector, especially for any burrowed foes.

Durim motioned for them to examine the partial map they'd constructed. “Alright, region? It's off the known maps. It’s so buried down that we haven't been able to get a proper team in there to survey it. There are plenty of hazards along the way: slimes, molds, fungus colonies, skraks, spiders–there are always spiders,” he shuddered. “We also have run into golem-type monsters, and some artificial construction golems that don't like intruders. What I'm saying is, touch nothing. Not unless I give the go-say.”

“So you've done this before.”

Kalloway rolled his eyes. "Yes, if you raid enough tombs of important people and don't die in the process? They hand out a graduation mark and tenure on campus.”

Durim laughed at that. “Are you still sour about that? Not like we don't have more pressing priorities right now. When's the last time you delved into dangerous terrain?”

Kalloway let out a grumble of protest. “Hey, I was clearing out a nuisance Roc infestation in the caverns below not that long ago. Plus a dracolisk.”

Durim gave a respectful bow. “Well then, I take back what I said. We also have one other possible hazard to consider: other Awakened.”

That statement left Neska feeling grossly unprepared. “They are still our fellow students. If Markus has indeed been receiving assistance, we need to know how and when.”

She glanced at the mason jar filled with a thick, jam-like substance. This muscle relaxant, intended to stop or ease muscle seizures or tremors, now served as a potent paralytic. It was one of the easier alchemical formulas from Risha’s book, though hers had the consistency of syrup and almost seemed to glow with its own light. Once again, all she did was follow instructions and make something slightly better than the baseline.

She really should consider some witch powers that enhanced her alchemical powers. Though [Alchemical Imbuement] was already powerful. She’d look through her options with Vivi for the next level-up.

It did raise a rather intriguing thought: even her alchemical power and the powers of the witch class at large, receiving an internal boost from her Titles? That Ouroboros title might finally be less of a disturbing omen and something with tangible benefits.

After the briefing, they had their plans in place: they'd slowly work their way to the lair's location, buried deep in the city, take up a perimeter to observe and report back, then expand the search to the surrounding area. Nevin had insisted they not bring in too many, as the confines of the underground gave a distinct disadvantage to bunched-up groups.

The lift rumbled to life, and Neska watched cracked stone and veins of silver and flashy stone pass by as they descended. Juni looked at ease in her new outfit; Brent took a casual stance, folding his arms and looking confident, same with Syra.

“We should bring more geo affinity users,” Kalloway grumbled. “I am not a fan of this spread of abilities between us.”

“We also have no idea what to expect, either. Better to have an answer to unconventional threats,” Durim grunted. “Watch your feet, people. I've come across mousetraps and tripwires down here left by people who survived the city’s collapse into the depths. Or other, newer occupants.”

Hadley smiled politely. “Finally a reason to have me around other than my pretty looks and deadly aim.”

“Oh? You know I used to be a scout,” Brent chuckled. “Not gonna lie, a second lease on life beats being dead. But damn, I wish I'd gotten to pick one power to take with me into this form.”

Hadley folded her arms, leaning on the railing. “Which one?”

“My favorite. [Threat assessment] was a must-have. The longer I focused on a target, the more hints I could intuit on a target's resistances and weaknesses. It also had a secondary bonus to the next blow struck. That single strike could bypass evasions and resistances, at only Tier 2. But that cooldown…you only got one shot at it in a battle.”

“Good for high-value targets? Very useful, even only at Tier two.”

The marbled rock trailed by; Neska noted small fractures of blue light spiderwebbing through the material. Raw mana, in an unpurified form, but likely too little to harvest efficiently.

She’d noticed that a lot, same with the luminary crystals she’d seen underground, or even above ground. Economical extraction seemed exceedingly out of reach.

The lift ground to a halt, and before them lay a plaza of moldy stone dwellings in the vast expanse. Stairs climbed up and down in open-air accessways, zigzagging past one another. It was surprisingly spacious for an underground city.

The first thing Neska noticed was the lack of air currents underground; almost as if her sense of taste and smell had been dampened or dulled by a scent that overrode others. It reminded her of old rusty metal, mud, and a pervasive damp smell as far as she could sense.

“Guys? This place gives me the creeps.” Syra leaped forward, keeping her body solid, landing gracefully. Streams of water whirled around her arms in small loops. “So, how far have people made it into this city anyway?”

Professor Durim took the formation lead, beckoning everyone to follow his path. His confident, wry attitude had faded as they delved underground. Now, a grittiness to his tone had set in. Neska intuited that he was keenly aware danger lay ahead.

“A lot of people have made it farther. This is one of the staging grounds. In front of us is one of the common squares. We think it was an open cavern market where vendors would trade goods.” He waved to a fountain in the middle of the large, cubic-shaped area. The stone had been formed into a simple vase-like design, with brackish water trickling out of slime-streaked orifices; how it was still running was beyond Neska, given the state of disrepair.

“This is a plaza that connects to one of the chambers above that actually connects to the Commons. As for how far we've actually mapped, our search area is actually off the grid by a fair amount. Either because we've been pushed back by something, there's been a cave-in, or perhaps there are secret panels or teleportation circles used to access restricted locations. There is few things more defensible than a wall of stone hundreds of feet thick.”

“Is that general opinion, or just a dwarf sentiment?” Neska asked casually.

He shrugged. “A little of a mix of both, I suppose. The best defense is a door you don't have to defend, know what I'm saying?”

“Either way, we should proceed quietly. There's no telling what else we might find buried down here other than demic monsters or traps.” Jurik, ever the voice of reason, proceeded alongside Professor Durim's side, and on a glow stone, and kept it shrouded. Though the depths of the cabin were very dark, in certain spots, Neska could see a world awash in color by switching between her thermal senses and her spectral sense.

What should have been a near-pitch-black zone was filled with a swath of light and energy sources. She could see the temperature gradients or little vent pockets, and the faintest hint of steam from a thermal vent deep below. Colder undercurrents of water trickled down from above, pooling in some prime evil basin nearby; her spectral sense showed even more, and she toggled her ability,

With her spectral sense, it was like looking underground and seeing that ray of light had been cast down in front of her. Small traces of mana-based material lit the underground. What amazed her was the use of mana-based materials in the brickwork; all the grains and particles of this wonderful substance aligned in precise arrays. Given the pavement Stones beneath their feet were made of a slightly different material, with its own grain of Mana structure.

She had seen her peers' Mana structures, and knew how to differentiate them, if not by height and posture, then by a type of energy emitted. It took a little while, but she was able to discern that the Mana strands' gradients were different in the area.

It’s beautiful, Vivi, in that old, forgotten world kind of way. I feel I could burrow here and find a home among these ruins, a little grotto to call my own.

You’re leaning too much into this snake thing, you know that?

Acceptance is…a strength in itself. Keep your eyes open. There are likely all sorts of dangerous mousetraps lying about.

The mouse’s snout twitched, and she looked around warily. “I should be comfortable in the underground? But this space, this vast volume…this feels like a whole other world down here.”

“And likely not the only spacious area,” Durim cautioned. His hand kept drifting to a battleaxe resting over his shoulder, rubbing the handle as if it were an old, familiar, and well-tested tool. “C’mon, over here to the north. If your estimates are correct, we’re in for a couple of miles of trekking. Down here, that’s hours, maybe a day’s walk, with all the twists and turns. We need to keep the volume down. Try to keep to hushed whispers, or something you don’t want to hear you might.”

“Worse than Dracolisks?” Neska asked, reaching for her bow, and her athame remained belted to her side as she slithered about.

A shifting of stone as dust drifted down, and the primal howl of some inhuman thing echoed from the depths of the city and from what lay beneath the topmost surface of the structures. Somewhere, down here, Markus had made his lair right beside monsters. He’d likely fit in.

“Oh yes, Neska. Way worse.”