A Dungeon’s Survival

Fable

My advantage was speed, but against an opponent as large as mine, that only did me so much good. Sure, I could move faster than it, but to stay out of its range, I also needed to give it a wide berth. With that being the case, it didn't matter if I was twice as fast as it was. All the bear needed to do to keep up with me was to turn in place.

In contrast, I was forced to sprint to maintain my distance from the creature. It felt as though it were a building trying to box me in instead of a living being, and when something was as big as it was, it didn't need to move far to effect change to its surroundings, something that was evidenced by the craters it kept smashing into the ground as it lashed out at me. As bad as all of that was, however, it wasn't the full extent of the creature's mobility, a problem that was further exacerbated by its intelligence.

When the thing moved, it was a force of nature. When it came toward me, it took everything I had to remain out of its path, but even then, it never moved at full speed. It always held back, ensuring it didn't build up so much momentum that it couldn't stop itself when it needed to. Then, just when I thought I was safe, it would take advantage of its unique physiology to attack me from an angle I'd previously considered impossible. It drove home the fact that this was no ordinary ursine terror and that Onikumas were considered to be as dangerous as they were for a reason.

At the end of the day, no matter how it thrashed about on all fours, it was bipedal. That might not have meant much on paper, but in a close quarters battle this this, it made all the difference. That was because its anatomy was fully equipped for both bestial and humanoid movement. It could switch between the two seamlessly and even manage motions that fell somewhere in between.

More than once had I dived out of the way only for it to throw itself onto its side in my direction in a devastating display of its immense mass and surprising flexibility. Tons crashed into the ground under what force it could propel itself with, and in its wake, the Dungeon-reinforced terrain was reshaped. Then, it rolled back onto its feet and either followed up with a bite or swipe of its paw. It even kicked at me with its hind leg the one time I'd ended up on the other side of it. The thing closer resembled a bloodthirsty feature of the terrain rather than an opponent, and that was the crux of my problem: nowhere was safe, but was that truly the case?

I wasn't entirely without options; it was just that I didn't like the risks associated with the ones I had. As it stood, the room I was in had four exits. I wasn't willing to regroup with Sean, not when the chaos the monsters in that room could cause had the potential to give this thing the edge it needed to finish me or him off. As for the other three paths, they all had the same issue. They were narrow.

In ways, that was exactly what I needed. The narrow walls would've been enough to restrict this thing's movements and prevent it from turning around, the ideal conditions for me to finish it off; however, that went both ways. Were I to have set foot in any of those tunnels, it would've meant sacrificing any chance of evasion I had when it came to another magical roar from the beast. I still would've taken that risk if I thought it was likely to pay off, but unfortunately, the most likely outcome I could foresee was my own death. That left me uncertain of how to proceed.

As I was mulling that over, a task my persistent headache was not helping with, my opponent made another swipe for me. I managed to get out of range in time, but what I couldn't avoid so easily were the debris kicked up by its claws smashing into the ground. I was more than durable enough to shrug off a bit of dirt and some broken rocks, but the real risk was the dust. It obscured my vision and made evading its follow up attack all the harder.

This isn't working!

Every second I was stuck continuing this one-sided fight, my disadvantages were mounting. From the size of my opponents stamina pool, the thing could likely keep going at the pace it was for hours on end, if not a full day. Exhaustion was not a factor for it.

I, on the other hand, was tiring the longer this continued. It didn't matter if I could keep up with some physical fighters in terms of endurance. Against this thing, that meant about as much as a child keeping up with the best of their peers. It might have been impressive relative to what could be expected of them, but compared to someone with an actual class, it meant nothing at all.

Worse, the longer I kept this up, the more likely I was to make a mistake. All it would've taken was one misstep, one glancing strike, for me to find myself pulverized, and that was to say nothing of how much more difficult the torn up terrain was making things for me. Like it or not, I needed to end this, even if it meant taking a risk I didn't want to. That just left me with a single question. Which connecting tunnel was I most likely to be able to cross through in full without giving my opponent an opening? Unfortunately, there was one clear answer to that, and I didn't like it.

* * *

Rein

“Stupid lifespring stone!” Adraugon suddenly hissed as he began pacing back and forth rapidly.

“Is everything alright, my lord?” I asked promptly, concerned at his unexpected outburst.

“Yes, fine!” he barked, “Lifespring stone making things difficult. New goal. Bear dies; mortal lives. No one leaves room.”

My eyes widened at that. It was certainly a change in plans. It was also quite unfortunate. Still, if it was what my liege said we were doing, it was not my place to question it.

“How would you like us to proceed, then?” I asked.

At my question, he quickly came to a halt. Silently, he stood still for a time, doubtlessly deep in thought about our current circumstances. Patiently, I awaited his answer in anticipation.

Then, my clueless counterpart chimed in, “We kill the bear, right?”

I could only give my lord's other servant a blank stare. He was making it all too obvious that he hadn't spent so much a single point on his MIND. How he could rationalize making such a poor decision to himself, I still couldn't understand. I'd spent half of my free points on the stat, and it still didn't feel like enough to me. Truly, the way he could confidently put forth such an obviously wrong suggestion was a testimony to his foolishness.

“Yes!” our lord agreed after a short pause.

My mouth fell open slightly, but I was quick to shut it again. If it was what our liege said we'd do, it was what we'd do. Clearly, I must've overlooked something.

“In that case,” I began, my concerns completely forgotten, “How would you like us to proceed?”

He paused again, but soon enough, he gave an answer, “Hunt, grab pointy metal. Rein, potions!”

My eyes widened at that. He was granting us treasures from his hoard? A wide grin crept across my face. What a wonderful and generous lord he was!

I wasted no time in rushing to the side of the room where he kept the bottles Hunt and I had earned him with our blood. What we had was limited, but there was variety.

Firstly, I grabbed an Elixir of Minor Strength and practically shoved it in Hunt's face as he selected a weapon from a nearby pile of our lord's possessions. Next, I, too, downed one. Then, I scooped up the four remaining mixtures. With the bottles tucked under my arm, I quickly rushed to report back to my lord.

“Which do you require?” I asked as I took a knee.

“Fire,” he answered immediately.

In response I set down the bulk of my load and uncorked the vial of Flame Solvent. Already, I could see where he was going with this.

“Shall I fill one of the empty bottles with Flame Gel?” I offered as I readied myself to activate the ability I'd been granted upon my creation.

“No,” he shot me down, “Add to bottle when ready.”

I nodded at that. I wasn't sure what he had in mind, but I was excited to see. Before he could give us our next instructions, though, a loud, infuriated roar echoed up from the shaft beside us. Turning my head to face it, something quickly blurred into vision. After that was chaos.

* * *

Fable

Both the tunnel I'd entered this room through and the path that led back to the surface were far too long for me to even consider trying to race through them before the Onikuma had a chance to blast me from behind. Comparatively, the hole in the ceiling was much shorter, even if all three mana signatures I could feel up there were by the edge of it now. It also had an added bonus of cover. So long as I got the bear to charge at me first, I could ensure my path remained out of its line of sight for a short time. From there, it had only been a matter of figuring out how I was going to scale it quickly enough for my purposes.

What I'd ended up doing was baiting the bear into advancing toward me. As it approached, instead of falling back as I had been doing, I instead closed the distance. I slid under claws that could shred metal like paper and leaped toward the maw that would devour me the instant it got a chance. With a touch of magic, I shifted the element of my staff as I was forced to spend precious points of mana to activate a spell that wasn't the finishing blow. I swung it in an arc in front of me, and in the same motion, used the ice I conjured as a foothold.

The snapping of jaws and the crunching of ice were the sounds that carried to my ears as I vaulted over the beast's head. That might've been an opening, but the risks involved in taking it were too great, so without looking back, I sailed toward the gaping hole above me. As I reached it, I cast my magic once again, creating another small foothold. With this one frozen in place and attached to the stone wall I found myself crashing into with less grace than I might've liked, I was afforded a minor sense of stability in my position.

That was when I turned to assess the situation below me. The bear was already on its back, eyes locked onto me. An attack there would've left it with the perfect opening to take me down with it and me with no room for escape. With that being the case, I regrettably left the beast behind me, instead seeking shelter from the stone walls I soon put between us. Breaking line of sight with it, I launched myself off of the wall behind me and formed another platform of ice where I landed. Then, I repeated the action.

As I did that, the Onikuma unleashed a roar of outrage from below. I paid it no mind, though. My attention had already moved onto more important things, namely the three mana signatures I was quickly approaching. The last thing I needed was to take a hit the moment I poked my head over the top of this shaft.

Fortunately, I didn't find myself the target of any attacks as I crested the edge of the gap. I did, however, come face to face with three monsters, two of which looked to be Lizard Men of sorts and one of which was a familiar lizard.

Got you, I thought as I activated my ring, bringing my staff down on it like a club in the same motion.

It might not have been built to be used in such a manner, but in a pinch, I wasn't above doing so anyway. In a worst case scenario, I risked breaking it. By no means would that have a good outcome, but no matter the price tag attached to it, I valued a replaceable weapon far less than my own life.

As I swung it, words appeared before my eyes. I only had a split second to look them over, so I didn't go over them in detail. Instead, I only focused on the most important things.

[Adraugon]

Named. It's either a static monster or a familiar.

[Title: Patron]

Overlord. Fuck.

[Stats: FORT 0 (10), VIT 6 (15), STR 79 (98), END 15 (26), SOUL 113 (131), MIND 4 (19), WILL 31 (44), COM 23 (34), DEX 54 (69), AGI 140 (160)]

Fast and powerful but frail. One good hit should do.

My staff landed a moment later, but instead of crushing the thing, it jerked suddenly. I managed to keep my grip on it, but I could feel the thud of stone from the end of it. I wasn't sure what it'd done, but I'd missed. In the next moment, a potion bottle was passing through the spot my head had just been. No more than a couple of seconds later, another followed, but I was already gone.

Two Lizard Men I could handle without magic. I just needed to dispatch them. Then, I could focus on the real threats.

Clenching my fist, I threw a punch at the monster before me. It raised its arm to block, and I found it to be more resilient than I'd been expecting, but as bone crunched under my the force of my blow, it was knocked out of my way all the same. Before I could follow up, however, a wave of heat erupted from behind me, likely the result of whatever had been in those bottles. A moment later, I found myself being consumed by flames as a gust of wind bore down on me. When my vision cleared a handful of seconds later, I found myself to be the only one left in the room.