《Underworld - Level Up or Die!》


 Prologue

    Her mistress¡¯s throne room was decked out just like the pillowed dungeon you would imagine a millennia old succubus would have. Fabrics and cushions in gaudy reds, purples, and gold warmed up the gray stone walls and floors as much could be hoped for. A pearl white throne with blood red fabric was graced by the modestly dressed lady. Her purple Victorian gown had full-length sleeves and didn¡¯t even leave any leg or cleavage for the imagination. The odd fashion statement by the otherwise lusty, full lipped succubus wasn¡¯t lost on the Lich.


    ¡°Head Mistress. If I maybe so bold, why are you dressed so¡­¡±


    ¡°Elegant?¡± She interrupted him with a dare, even though she had no doubt expected him to ask.


    Having second thoughts, she sighed and answered the question on his mind. ¡°Yes, yes. It certainly must be odd to see one of my kind dressed so finely, let alone wearing clothing in the first place. After a thousand year I¡¯m tired of men ogling me. How would you feel after daily having every man¡¯s lecherous eyes feasting upon you?¡±


    The Lich couldn¡¯t help himself. A full belly laugh erupted from his skeletal frame. ¡°Forgive me Head Mistress.¡± He said immediately, trying to hold it in.


    Obviously not happy with him, she demanded. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?!¡±


    ¡°You capture and leech the life out of the men who you are accusing of being lecherous. Not only that, you are the queen of leeches. That is why I agreed to our deal.¡±


    He could tell she was still upset, but her pride had been invoked. He had wisely stroked her ego enough to hopefully save himself from a headache later restoring their working relationship. Their deal, after all, could grant them both great power.


    ¡°And it¡¯s the fact that I have grown tired of the act that has led me to our agreement. Leeching energy through magic is a much cleaner and more refined way of growing more powerful.¡±


    ¡°In that, we both agree. You do look lovely in the dress I must admit. It will make our meetings easier to manage.¡±


    She nodded at his compliment but picked up on the last part of his statement. ¡°Easier to manage?¡±


    Perhaps he shouldn¡¯t have gone as far as he did. She wasn¡¯t a lady in a gown after all. He had best remember that, even if she no longer desired to prey on men in the same way that came naturally to her.


    ¡°Yes, Mistress. In this attire, I can enjoy your presence, while not undertaking too many distractions.¡±


    With a raised brow she pushed him a little further. ¡°So my race¡¯s normal dressing habits would distract you. A Lich? How so? You have no flesh.¡±


    ¡°Very true, which give me immunity to some of your more persuasive abilities, but I was and still am, a man.¡±


    ¡°Noted.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Though she didn¡¯t show any inclination that this new bit of information affected her, he knew that she would test him later. How foolish had he been? It was time for a change of topic.


    ¡°If I may, I have some news that I think might please you.¡±


    For the first time, a grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. ¡°Oh yes please.¡±


    ¡°Everything is prepared. We begin tonight!¡±


    With a thought, the Lich turned into a hunchbacked old man in a servant¡¯s attire.


    ***


    Ranch dressing! It¡¯s a magically delicious concoction that should be put on everything. Steak. Burgers. Sandwiches. Chicken. More Chicken. Anything with bacon! Bacon? The two most wonderful things in the world¡­ ranch dressing and bacon!


    Well not quite, but I, Elorion, am a gamer. Food and gaming go well together, so dreaming about food while logged in on my favorite VR gaming chair was a great way to prepare myself for my next meal. It also helped pass the time while I was grinding or doing repetitive boring stuff to level up my game character.


    Go master of fire on another Minotaur century; seasoned fries dipped in ranch dressing! Lightning strike from heaven imbuing my hammer to forge some magic weapons; bacon pizza with extra bacon! Spamming ¡®ITEMS FOR SELL¡¯ in the town square; ranch dressing and apple sauce! Eh, wait¡­ Well. I¡¯d try it.


    Okay, I have had enough. I need food. Logging out, it took a moment before my VR head set gave me the red light that I was safe to take it off.


    As I pull the full VR helmet off of my head, I saw the ugliest flying lizard in the history of the world hovering a foot from my face. My first reaction is to scream like a macholess girly man, and scream I do!


    No, wait. It¡¯s not a lizard because its snout is human in shape and its skin is green gray in color.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s the sound I expect a fat lazy human to make! Congratulations! You have passed the test!¡±


    Why haven¡¯t I hit this flying, obnoxious, turtle-headed, thing in the face yet?


    Instead of reacting as I should, all that comes out of me as I face a creature that shouldn¡¯t exist is, ¡°Uh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not an uh. I¡¯m an imp. My job is to kidnap you. So come along.¡±


    ¡°You can talk?¡± I ask dumbly, completely missing what the creature just said about kidnapping.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. You have just wasted your life playing so many video games that you have gone insane. I do not really exist. You are just seeing things. Oh and by the way.¡± He lifted his hand and pointed a single finger at me, then said. ¡°Bind.¡±


    A dim gray light extended from his finger. It was quick but slow enough that it could be seen with the naked eye. He was a foot from me so there was no dodging it. Whatever it was.


    My arms shot to my chest, one over the other, and my heels clashed together. Something like an ethereal rope bound me and I suddenly found myself fallen off my chair, flapping around like a medicated walrus. There was no way of loosing what had bounded me.


    ¡°Time for your first lesson. You are a weak creature, only level 31. Fairly impressive I suppose for someone so young who is also so lazy, but humans normally get to between level 40 and 70 in their life time. That is incredibly low in the realm of the underworld. This binding spell is also fairly weak in general, but mine is a high level because I get to capture losers like you for coin. Anyways, the point of the story is that you are weak and useless right now. You will be given an opportunity to level up and hopefully, in time, you will be able to break this spell in mere moments. For now, you go where I want.¡±


    I tried to speak, but the binding spell had covered my mouth. Note to self. Next time you see an imp, punch it in the face. Who is he calling fat and lazy? I play soccer and run track, but it¡¯s summer so it¡¯s the off season. Besides I still workout¡­ sometimes. Fine, I¡¯ve gained fifteen pounds. I did plan on getting in shape for my senior year in high school¡­


    With a mix of panic and focus, I forced myself to examine my situation. When the imp said another command and I was suddenly floating, I gave him another round of walrus aerobics. The next thing I knew the imp whispered something and blew in my face. I lost consciousness.

 Chapter 1 - To Hit an Imp

    I awoke sitting against a cold stone wall. The room was one of shadows. To either side of me were other people, both guys, and girls. They wore simple, uniform gray pants and long sleeved shirts. Their shoes were leather that reminded me of moccasins, except they were laced up the middle. Wait¡­


    Looking down I saw I had identical clothing on. Remembering what happened I turned my head, frantically searching the shallow room for my kidnapper. I really needed to punch an imp in the face right now. He must have violated me by stripping me and changing my clothes.


    I heard someone before I saw them. Movement came from the darkest area on the far side of the room, which I assumed was an open door way. To its side, I could barely make out ranks of equipment on a diagonal stand that was nearly the length of the wall. Was this a torture chamber as well?


    ¡°Welcome to my labyrinth!¡± Came the most seductive of voices. ¡°You have been handpicked from the human race to be energy sources for your beloved, Head Mistress Lilith.¡±


    The voice was owned by an extremely beautiful, and highly dressed woman. To her side was a hunched over man in a butlers suit.


    With the raising of his hand and the whisper of his lips, the hunched man produced a large glowing globe that shone softly but somehow filled the room.


    ¡°You see, I have brought you here so that you can make something of yourselves. Each and every one of you spends the majority of their time trying to escape their current existence through video games. Here in the labyrinth, the games you spend so much time playing will become your reality. You will get to level up in real life as you fight monsters, find items, and most of all, try to survive.¡±


    A solemn moment was followed by a chorus of outrage from my fellow prisoners. The only thing that anyone had heard was ¡®energy sources¡¯. Now everyone was on their feet demanding to go back home.


    I stayed sitting, taken back by what was said. Each word I processed. My interest was piqued even if it made me feel dirty for even considering it.


    Stepping forward, Mr. Ten Thousand Wrinkles for a Face, the hunchbacked guy, responded. His voice didn¡¯t match his appearance. He sounded like a young man in his prime. ¡°Your outrage is not unexpected, but let me help persuade you. Head Mistress if you please.¡±


    ¡°This is a magic that has taken half a century to develop.¡± She said. Swirling masses of darkness the size of small ropes came from her palm and wrapped themselves together into a ball. ¡°Branding.¡±


    At her word, the dark magic shot out toward all of the captives in the room including myself. It was too difficult to see with its absence of light, so when it strung itself around my neck there was little I could do to stop it. The dark rope tightened and turned into a black hot coal. The sudden searing of skin sent my electricity up and down my spine; my fists clenched.


    ¡°The pain is necessary to bind you to the Head Mistress for the collecting of the energy that naturally escapes your body through normal activity. This will not take your energy directly from you. It is an energy catch of sorts. Even low-level creatures like yourselves are constantly leaking energy. As you level up the amount will only grow. It doesn¡¯t matter where you are in the Underworld, just like your internet, this excess energy is being sent to us through a network of magic.


    Furthermore, you are now marked by her Grace. If she wishes to locate you it is as simple as a thought.¡±


    I joined the sighs and complaints of my fellow captives with clenched teeth.


    ¡°Escape is not possible unless you want to flee to your death. Here.¡± He motioned with his hands to the surrounding room. ¡°Is your only place of safety. Monsters await if you leave your home base.¡±


    Suddenly the wrinkly man clapped his two hands together before him and a popup window the size of a normal sheet of paper shot up in front of me. From the immediate silence, everyone else had the same window that came up in front of them as well.


    ¡°This is your status screen. Your branding does not come without gifts. The ability to access your leveling system is something that few humans have had access to for nearly four thousand years. Anything under level 100 is considered what you would call newbies. Most humans don¡¯t reach level 100 in a single life time. I know you are used to starting a game at level 1, but that wouldn¡¯t be realistic. It doesn¡¯t take into context the different stages of a human¡¯s life. All of you are around level 25-40.¡±


    <h2>Character Sheet</h2>


    Name: Elorion Edwards


    Title: Lazy, Gamer, Athletic, Lives with Parents, Waiter at Cheap Restaurant, Unknown Future.


    Race: Human


    Age: 19


    Level: 31


    Health Points: 590


    Mana Points: 190


    Endurance: 400


    Stats


    Strength: 47


    Dexterity: 58


    Constitution: 59


    Intelligence: 38


    Wisdom: 30


    I was blown away. My level really was 31. As an ex-soccer player my stats reflected it with higher Constitution (Con) and Dexterity (Dex), but how did I compare to others I wondered?


    ¡°This is you. You have all played games, so you know what each of these categories means. Your stats and levels will vary. Normally people have a base of 10 stat points for each category and get about 5 state points to spend by per level, but if you train, you can gain stat points without leveling up.


    Look closely at your levels and stats. You are all pathetic, but each of you was chosen because of your love of Role Playing Games and surprisingly high potential. To help with this, our beloved Mistress here is going to grant you a few gifts. You will now receive a rush of insight, or experience as you call it, and 5 to 10 levels. Even with this help, it is likely some of you will die today.¡±


    With a nod of her head, the lady with deep red hair and purple dress lifted her hand and blue strands of light shot out like a spider¡¯s web, striking each of us in the head.


    A chime went off in my head and the words in see through yellow, Level Up floated up quickly from the floor and disappeared just above my head. It was nothing compared to the rush of clarity that seemed to flood my mind.


    Without hesitation, I looked to my status screen and my level read 38! I now had 35 stat points to spend however I so desired. 7 levels! Not bad!


    Just moments ago the people I was sitting next two were contemplating a rebellion. Now they were all carefully examining their screens, complete oblivious to how easily they had been turned from their anger. Everyone here really was a gamer.


    ¡°Now I would highly recommend that you allow me to finish before you spend your points¡­¡±


    A maniacal laugh interrupted. ¡°Too late!¡±


    An already large guy with a crew cut who reminded me of your typical football lineman started pumping his finger against his screen that was ethereal to me, but very clear to him. Before my eyes, he began to grow. Not only did he get slightly taller, but his muscle mass increased almost 50% before our eyes.


    My chin dropped to the floor.


    Everyone went nuts. At least two other guys started pumping away at their screens. I counted about forty people in the room and half of them were girls.


    Wrinkle man waited until the noise died down before he spoke again. ¡°As I was saying, next we will unlock your natural talent. Some people are naturally stronger, others faster, others smarter, and some have special abilities or proficiencies with magic.¡±


    The murmur of my fellow captives was silenced at the mention of magic.


    ¡°Depending on your talent, it might be wise to spend your points on stats that will benefit what you are naturally good at. It is my turn for this trick.¡±


    He held up his hands palm out and closed his eyes in concentration. A yellow light emitted, almost like he had a light bulb in either hand.


    ¡°Take your time to examine the windows before you.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Warmth entrapped me. That was when I saw another popup window about half the size on top of my status window.


    The first was named Skills.


    A number of mini windows popped up within this main window. There were dozens of these. Many of them were just acknowledging things I already know. Intermediate Logic. Intermediate Sprinting. Intermediate Distance Running. Intermediate High Jump. Intermediate Cooking. Novice Persuasion. Expert Procrastinator. Etc.


    I closed each mini window, making sure to check each one, but there were no surprises. When I closed the skill window I found a delightful surprise under it. Spells.


    A few mini windows had popped up here too. Light Magic Proficiency. Lesser Heal. Talent: Natural Healer.


    The talent window, being the only window that mentioned the talent the old man mentioned, read as follows.


    Due to a natural affinity with light magic, the users healing spells will heal health, endurance, and exhaustion. As individual spells level, this can grow to heal status effects as well. Healing spells will level faster than normal.


    Noooooo! This was terrible! I didn¡¯t want to be a support character! Give me lightning or fire¡­ give me a big gnarly club for all I care to bash stuff, but why does my talent have to be healing?!


    ¡°Very good. Very good indeed!¡± The hunched over wrinkled man was using some kind of examination skill on each of us in turn. ¡°Talent in Constitution. Talent in persuasion plus speed. Talent with traps. Talent with spirit magic. Talent with strength. Elemental magic fire. Green magic tangling roots.¡±


    He went on and on not missing a single one of us. Every two or three persons had a talent in some kind of magic, but no one else had healing magic. Everyone had some kind of bonus that would help them in a fight except for yours truly.


    When my turn came along he stopped on me before he said something aloud and looked up from his window.


    How pathetic I felt at my revelation of my talent must have been clear, for I found he was examining me closely as if I was some kind of rodent.


    I didn¡¯t look up at him. Instead, I acted the unhappy child and moped.


    When the lady joined him in examining me, she whispered just loud enough for me to hear. ¡°Poor soul.¡±


    ¡°You there!¡± Mr. Wrinkle man called me to attention.


    For the first time, I met his eye and stood to my feet.


    I nodded that he had my attention.


    ¡°Talent healing. I¡¯m afraid your talent won¡¯t get you very far in the Underworld. Your stats are a little above average, but you will probably die soon. What to do¡­¡±


    ¡°I assure you being a healer wasn¡¯t my first choice,¡± I replied with a shrug.


    ¡°Mistress?¡± Old man wrinkles asked.


    She looked me in the eye and immediately I felt my heart beat faster. She was incredibly beautiful. I didn¡¯t deserve such attention, but I certainly wanted it.


    ¡°You are right. This just won¡¯t do.¡± She tapped a few times on her chin with a long slender finger. ¡°Even though it might be entertaining watching you struggle and die, that is not our purpose here.


    It is in our best interest that you survive and grow stronger.


    As a show of good intention, this boy, Elorion, will be given another gift to help in the group¡¯s survival. The experience and unlocking of your talents are also a show of good faith. The stronger you become, the more power you will provide us. For those of you that please us in this, you will be rewarded. Elorion, step forward.¡±


    The step I took was a half-step at best. My odd attraction to the woman was not lost on me, so fear swore it would be best to stay as far away from her as possible.


    A ball of green light shot from her hand and ended in my chest. A new mini popup window came up under spells. Blue Magic Unlocked.


    ¡°Knowing blue magic will allow you to learn skills and spells from the monsters you face. If you face them, or examine them from afar you will learn from them in time. It is not a quick magic to master, but it will give you a chance to survive. It is also the only form of magic that might make up for your Light Magic Affinity.


    Now for some basic spells to help in your survival.¡±


    In quick succession, light shot from her hand and hit each of us in the head in turn. Three different colors of light, white, brown and green, all hit home.


    Looking to my new popup windows there were three new ones just like the three different beams of light that hit me.


    The first was Light Orb.


    This orb will obey your will and light up the path before you. The higher the level the further and brighter the light can extend. This spell can be essential for survival or a power outage.


    The second spell was Mages Deodorant.


    When unable to use deodorant because of unavailability, poverty, or strange religious alignment, this spell will keep you from adding smelly funk to your social engagements. The smell is neutral. As this spell levels up you can add special scents for any special occasion.


    You got to be kidding me! Why bother? Give me a damage spell already! With my fingers crossed I exited the screen and viewed the last one. Horror!


    Mages Toilet Paper


    Never run out of this household essential again! For anywhere you find yourself you will never be without! As the spell levels up lotion can be added to the effects of the spell!


    ¡°These are spells that I demand you use. Light orb will save your life, but the other two will keep you from totally disgusting me. You will find even my slave imps use these spells often or find themselves purified to death with fire. Do not neglect them.¡± She warned.


    ¡°Now for equipment.¡± Mr. Wrinkle threw a second ball of light to hover over the far side of the room. The wall was lined with an odd assortment of weapons.


    ¡°You can choose more than one weapon, but be careful to not overburden yourself. Humans are weak so two weapons at the most will benefit you.¡± The lady instructed.


    Without hesitation, the group of humans headed to the other side of the room but gave the two instructors a wide berth.


    I examined my spell screen one last time. Besides Blue Magic Proficiency I didn¡¯t get a blue spell, only an additional skill called Creature Observation. At least the name made obvious how it would work.


    Before I joined everyone I studied the rest of Light Orbs description.


    All that is necessary to cast this spell once it is learned is to will it. Saying the name out loud often helps with newbie spell casters to focus the mind correctly.


    ¡°Light Orb,¡± I said.


    Immediately a much dimmer version of the orb the old man had cast appeared a meter above my head and in front of me. It was only a matter of thought to move it further back and have it hover over my head.


    I had just cast my first spell. It gave me a rush like eating a new favorite food for the first time


    Being a blue mage definitely excited me more than being a healer. If I found the right creature I could wield lightning, fire, or whatever else abilities it might possess. Well, that was common among games, and as the Mistress seemed to imply, having gaming experience would help. There was hope!


    Even though I was among the last to pick out a weapon, I certainly hadn¡¯t missed anything. Whether it was a sword, club or spear, they were all worn, crude and would probably break a few days later.


    At least the belt I found seemed decent. I sheathed a short sword on either hip and grabbed a spear that would make a better walking stick than a weapon. Just because healers always use bashing weapons I grabbed a one-handed mace that strapped across my back. 1 to 2 weapons max? I¡¯m a gamer. Time to take advantage of free loot while there was an opportunity! Besides, until I knew what I was up against I would rather keep my options open. I could always rest between fights.


    Sadly there was no armor to speak of. I wasn¡¯t exactly a fan of a paladin type class, but if I had to be a healing tank, that would be better than a full-time healer. From eyeing the majority of the men in the group, except for three or four of them, I seemed to be among the best in shape. Gamers aren¡¯t always the most active people in the world as the most common attribute in the room, chub, confirmed.


    Only half of the girls in the room had this same problem. Most of them were in much leaner shape. No one in the room was what I would call chunky. The only one close was the now massive lineman looking guy. His muscle mass made up for his gut.


    Mr. Wrinkle and the Mistress were looking at me as I realized I had spaced out. Was I an idiot for not taking their advice with regard to taking 1 to 2 weapons? Glancing around, I saw the players were all staring at me as well. I was the last one to gather a weapon, or in my case four.


    ¡°This room will now belong to all of you as a group. You can add and take items from these racks as you will in the future.¡± The old man said with one last look at me to see if I would put any equipment back.


    I just grinned like I was oblivious to his and everyone else¡¯s objection.


    ¡°There is also a kitchen and barracks. To move out of the barracks to your own personal quarters you will have to earn enough coin or favor to pay for it. The same goes for food. To earn more than two meals a day or anything besides gruel and bread, you will have to do more than survive.


    To earn coin, you know the drill. The monsters you kill can drop items that have value. The stronger you get the stronger the monster you can fight and the better the items and the more the coin. There will also be more than one merchant from different cities to allow for competitive pricing.


    One last thing before you proceed. As you leave this room you will pass the kitchen and merchants on the left and the barracks on the right. If you keep heading straight you will head into the labyrinth. This labyrinth is a safer area of the Underworld in the Head Mistress¡¯s domain. Anything in this area has been summoned for you to fight. The monsters get progressively harder as you go deeper in. In order to leave the Head Mistress¡¯s realm, you will have to become strong enough and completely a few obstacles.


    The first area you run into has decaying skeletons that I have personally summoned. They are the weakest of all undead and will prove useful for training. Don¡¯t count on making much money from them. Most of them are barely level 50. Any questions?¡±


    One girl, with short brown hair and an elf like nose and large eyes, gritted her teeth and asked. ¡°Can we go home?¡±


    With the sweetest of smiles the Mistress stepped toward her and cocked her head with empathy, or so it seemed. ¡°No. You are mine.¡± She said with mock sweetness.


    ¡°For a thousand years I have hunted and devoured your kind. This is the largest group of humans I have been in the same room with that has actually survived in centuries.


    Don¡¯t be mistaken. You are still alive because you have the potential to provide me power. Currently, you are indebted to me not just for your lives, but I am giving you a chance to live and live in a way that each and every one of you has only dreamed of. Don¡¯t dwell on what you don¡¯t have but the opportunity that you do. Otherwise, you will do something stupid and I will suck the life out of you. Any more questions?¡±


    Half a dozen of us, including me, stepped forward and place ourselves between the wicked chick and the girl.


    The Mistress giggled and shook her head. ¡°At least you show the will to fight. We will take our leave. Bread and water will be available in abundance at all times in the dining hall during the first two weeks. After that, you will have to purchase anything beyond breakfast and dinner. And don¡¯t forget. If you die here you are really dead. No game overs to start again. Sweet dreams!¡±


    Sweet dreams? Was it night time? In the top right of my status screen, it gave me the time. 4:00pm. What time zone it didn¡¯t say. Not exactly the time to go to sleep. Or was she meaning the final slumber of death?


    Before the old man and mistress left four imps flew into the room holding a lamp-stand in one hand and the lamp in the other. They place them in the four corners of the room. With the placement, our kidnappers left. The stone wall was made up of massive misshapen dull gray stone stack upon each other. The floors and ceiling were large slabs of rough cut stones. High traffic areas of the floor were worn smooth from years of use.


    Above the imp¡¯s heads were floating red text.


    Servant Imp


    #*$%


    There was gibberish under the creature¡¯s description that I assumed was where its level would appear. Because we were so much lower level than they were the text was red and it wouldn¡¯t even show us their levels.


    I wondered why the old man and Mistress didn¡¯t show anything above their heads. Nor did the other humans¡­

 Chapter 2 - Home Base, Bread, and Pain

    With a now well-lit room, everyone could see each other much better, but no one said anything or even moved at first. The real freak out moment happened half a minute later when the reality of what was going on started to really sink in for everyone.


    I stood back against the weapon rack as everyone unleashed their feelings on the matter with complaints, anger, and tears. Anger was the closest thing to my own response, but I didn¡¯t let myself think about it. We had just started a new RPG, or role playing game; a deadly one. More accurately an MMORPG, or massive multiplayer online role playing game. It was time to decide which strategy I wanted to use to play.


    Stepping up next to the elf eyed girl, I asked her and all those around her. ¡°Do you guys know what time it is?¡±


    I received a few shrugs and a single ¡°no¡±, from the girl that had the courage to ask what we had all been thinking. Directing them to the status screen I brought the time to their attention.


    ¡°It might be a good idea to get some food,¡± I said to no one in particular.


    A girl that had been standing close with rich caramel skin and shoulder length extension rebuked me. ¡°How can you think of food at a time like this?!¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t know when I last ate.¡± I shrugged. ¡°The imp that kidnapped me knocked me out with some spell.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d worry more about if the food was even eatable.¡± A chubby guy with glasses added.


    ¡°Might as well find out.¡±


    When the elf girl, who wasn¡¯t really an elf but cute like one, nodded, about 3 other people followed us to find this dining hall.


    Smells of freshly baked bread assaulted our senses and we were more pulled than forced to enter the large stone square of a room with about 8 stone tables lined with benches. On the far side of the room was a long table with enough bread for a hundred people. They were long loafs the size of my arm. The water was in normal plastic water bottles. I had expected them to be in animal skins or something.


    So I downed a whole loaf in a few minutes sitting with five other people I had just met. Eating is always good when you have something on your mind¡­


    ¡°My name is Aeris from New York.¡± The elf looking girl said, breaking the silence. ¡°My talent is wind magic and dexterity.¡±


    The rest of the group followed her lead. Everyone was suddenly weighing one another. A hunting group was starting to form.


    ¡°I¡¯m Travis from Cali. My talent is tracking and piercing weapons.¡± He was on the shorter side but thickly muscled if you didn¡¯t count his gamers gut.


    ¡°Ara. I¡¯m from Denver.¡± Introduced the girl who rebuked me about the food. ¡°Nature magic and traps.¡±


    ¡°Russ. Constitution and blacksmithing. Texas.¡± Said the pudgy guy who would probably make a good tank once he slimmed down.


    ¡°Elorion. Florida. Healing magic. I played sports all my life so I was hoping to fight up front though.¡±


    ¡°Of course you were.¡± Ara mocked, eyeing my many weapons. Since the Mistress and old man had been giving me a hard time, she seemed to think it was appropriate to continue the practice.


    Before I could think of anything witty to throw back at her, the guy who had pumped his status screen with strength burst in with about ten people at his heels.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, the sooner I can make some money, the sooner I can get out those barracks. The cots are miniature.¡±


    The rest of the group seemed to be in agreeance.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Ignoring our group entirely, he marched over and grabbed a loaf and a water bottle, then led his congregation out the way they had come.


    There was suddenly a stir among my group. The competitive gamer in each of them didn¡¯t like the idea of a large group getting a head start on them. I was pleased that the group I had fallen into seemed motivated.


    Staying at the back of my group, I followed as I planned my course of action. I needed first to figure out how to use my Creature Observation skill and healing spell. Once I got this down I needed to try and learn as many blue magic spells as possible, but I was afraid it would take quite some time. Not to forget, I needed to pitch in on the front lines as much as I could to make sure I was getting experience.


    It was only a 100-meter walk down the hall to reach the hunting area. At the end of the hall was an opening to a room that seemed to have a natural light hanging in the air. Though I couldn¡¯t see anything I guessed there was some kind of magic barrier here keeping monsters out.


    As we entered the large room, the ceiling was at least two stories up, even if it was hard to see because of the lack of light up there. There were numerous side passages, some well-lit and others pitch black. Random light orbs seemed placed on the walks in no logical pattern.


    The larger group was already ahead of us preparing to fight. Three pathetic looking four and a half foot skeletons were roaming on the other side of the room next to them.


    After overhearing the other group who had figured out how to open the party system, our smaller group all joined up together. The trick to opening up the party window or any window for that matter was to just say ¡®party¡¯ with the intention of opening the window. It seemed to work just like magic. At your will, it would open and close.


    And then we were joined by an unexpected visitor.


    ¡°Elorion.¡± Called a throaty, familiar voice that summoned an intense anger inside of me. A sudden urge to hit an imp in the face returned.


    My party turned to see my kidnapper flying toward us. Or more specifically me.


    He didn¡¯t seem happy to be joining us, at least from what I could tell from his ugly turtle face.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I acknowledged him.


    ¡°Her Head Mistress wanted me to teach you some blue magic that might be helpful.¡± He eyed me suspiciously.


    Something was off. ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡±


    ¡°Only that the quickest way for you to learn blue magic is if you experience the spell yourself. The one I will teach you is a stun of a sort, so I will have to cast it upon you for you to learn it.¡±


    My excitement overrode my concern. ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    He seemed to hesitate when I had agreed so easy. The creature smirked before uttering the word, ¡°Pain.¡±


    A magic cord shot from his finger and struck my chest before I realized what he had just said.


    Suddenly every muscle in my body flexed tight at the same time as if an electric jolt shot through me. It was a moment before the pain began. When it did it overwhelm all of my senses. All that existed was an intense burning sensation like all of my muscles were extremely sore and someone was stabbing me in each muscle over and over again.


    Time no longer had meaning to me. There was nothing but pain.


    As if waking from a deep sleep, all that remained was a searing memory. Opening my eyes I looked from my back and saw my torturer and four other humans looking down at me in horror.


    The popup window that indicated I had comprehended the blue magic Pain, was like rubbing salt in my wounds. A new spell had been born from my troubles, but my normal self that would have been thrilled was enraged.


    Standing up, my adrenaline pumped through me.


    Everyone gave me a wide berth, except the imp who stood his ground.


    I ignored him initially, looking down at my hands as they trembled. It was time.


    Without so much as looking at him, except through my peripheral vision, I relaxed as much as I could manage and relaxed my arms to my side. Then I turned my torso.


    My father had taught me the key to throwing a punch was to be as loose as possible because muscle tension will slow you down. I brought my hand up, only making a fist milliseconds before contact. My left hook came in from a deceitful angle. It caught the imp square on the chin. He was caught completely unaware.


    Finally, I hit an imp in the face! His neck snapped to the side, knocking him woozy enough that he fell to the floor.


    There was a popping noise during the impact, but it didn¡¯t come from the imp. The face my fist had just come in contact with had been like hitting nothing but solid bone. My fist struck low on my knuckles breaking my ring finger and pinky.


    I¡¯m an idiot. My adventures with pain had just begun.


    Cheers came from my immediate group as they saw what had just happened.


    The larger group had moved on and were facing their second skeleton already.


    Perhaps if I hadn¡¯t hesitated and started stabbing the monster before it got back up it would have been dead and I would have saved myself from what happened next.


    ¡°You dare challenge a level 200 imp?!¡±


    Everyone around me, including myself, was suddenly filled with terror. I suspected some form of fear spell had been cast.


    When the imp attacked me again with Pain, they ran. I didn¡¯t blame them.


    Before the pain overtook me, I heard the imp say. ¡°I don¡¯t have permission to kill you, but there is still a lot of fun we can have before you reach that point.¡±

 Underworld - Update!

    Underworld - Level Up or Die! is going up for preorder on Amazon!


    Preorder Here!</a>


    November 6th is the big day!


    So what does this mean?Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    1) Only 10% of book 1 can remain on RRL to meet the KU requirements.


    2) This does not effect future chapters for book 2!


    Giveaway!


    I''m working on a giveaway so that I can give a number copies of the final version of to those of you that have been following this fiction for a long time now. I''m not sure how that is going to work, but I''ll let you know soon.


    Why would you want a final version?


    An extra 7k words worth of new content, a few secondary characters now play bigger roles, many, many revisions and a little rewriting. Did I mention the entire later part of the book has a new twist?


    Even though the giveaway will be limited, we aren''t talking a couple copies, but dozens.


    Hope you enjoy the new cover art!

 Published Today and GIVEAWAY!

    It''s official! Underworld - Level Up or Die! is now live!


    Already its in the Amazon top 500 and a Best Seller in 3 categories!


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    <li class="zg_hrsr_item">#1 in Kindle Store</a> > Kindle eBooks</a> > Humor & Entertainment</a> > Activities, Puzzles & Games</a> > Science Fiction & Fantasy Gaming</a> > Dungeons & Dragons</a></li>


    <li class="zg_hrsr_item">#1 in Kindle Store</a> > Kindle eBooks</a> > Science Fiction & Fantasy</a> > Science Fiction</a> > TV, Movie, Video Game Adaptations</a></li>


    <li class="zg_hrsr_item">#1 in Kindle Store</a> > Kindle eBooks</a> > Humor & Entertainment</a> > Activities, Puzzles & Games</a> > Role Playing & Fantas</a></li>


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    Thank you all for the support and all the feedback over the months! It really helped me get it cleaned up.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    You can get it here!


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    US - https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B076V6MBBS</a>


    UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076V6MBBS</a>


    CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076V6MBBS</a>


    DE - https://www.amazon.de/dp/B076V6MBBS</a>


    (The issue getting it in Australia should now be fixed!)


    I do plan on posting my rough draft for book 2 here online just like book 1. It should be here for you guys to read as I do the work to put the plot and characters in order.


    The Giveaway!


    I have already Personal Messaged 15 of you with a link for a free Ebook!


    (So check your PMs!)


    If you didn''t get one there is still another chance!


    1. Go to my website and sign up for my Mailing List</a>.


    2. Wait to hear from me this weekend!


    Thats it!


    This Saturday I am going be giving away at least 10 more ebooks! If there are enough entrees I''ll add more to the list.


    If you have already signed up for my mailing list, just PM me and I''ll make sure you are in the drawing. This is really an RRL only giveaway, so no sharing needed.


    Once again, thank you guys! I first started posting on RRL two years ago in October of 2015! Its been a great growing experience and you have made it well worth all the work!

 Winners and Poll!

    Winner''s Selected!


    For everyone who participated in my first Underworld Giveaway, emails have been sent to the winnders!


    Check your Email!


    For everyone that has bought it or read it through KU, thank you for your support!


    You can get it here!


    US - https://royalroadl.com/amazon/B076V6MBBS</a>


    UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076V6MBBS</a>


    CA - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076V6MBBS</a>


    DE - https://www.amazon.de/dp/B076V6MBBS</a>


    Highlights!


    Underworld had been #1 in three categories all week!


    Amazon.com: Underworld - Level Up or Die: A LitRPG Series eBook: Apollos Thorne, Andi Marlowe: Kindle Store Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272 Paid in Kindle Store


    #1 in Kindle Store</a> > Kindle eBooks</a> > Humor & Entertainment</a> > Activities, Puzzles & Games</a> > Science Fiction & Fantasy Gaming</a> > Dungeons & Dragons</a>This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    #1 in Kindle Store</a> > Kindle eBooks</a> > Humor & Entertainment</a> > Activities, Puzzles & Games</a> > Role Playing & Fantasy</a>


    #1 in Kindle Store</a> > Kindle eBooks</a> > Science Fiction & Fantasy</a> > Science Fiction</a> > TV, Movie, Video Game Adaptations</a>


    Amazon.com: Underworld - Level Up or Die: A LitRPG Series eBook: Apollos Thorne, Andi Marlowe: Kindle Store


    Customer reviews


    Amazon.com: Underworld - Level Up or Die: A LitRPG Series eBook: Apollos Thorne, Andi Marlowe: Kindle Store


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    <em class="a-icon a-icon-star-medium a-star-medium-4-5 averageStarRating">4.7 out of 5 stars


    33


    4.7 out of 5 stars</a>


    Book 2!


    Chapters for book 2 will be release on this very page, but not until sometime in January most likely.


    If you have been following Codename: Freedom, I have started to post new chapters here on RRL on that page.


    Codename: Freedom</a>

 Book 2 - Chapter 1

    I cast Basic Blood Drain on every lowbie zombie we came across as I walked with Aeris on the way to our destination. It was powerful enough that I didn''t have to bother killing them. The spell dealt close to two hundred damage. The stronger the enemy I cast it on the less damage they would take. Outside of the newbie area the spell would do little more than fizzle out until after I had killed stronger enemies.


    Sending out my Skeleton Warrior, he picked up all the loot and stored it in a large pack I had bought for him that was strapped to his back. It might seem like a waste of a level 170 Skeleton''s abilities, but the convenience was worth it. Where was Olivia and her Nature Magic when you need it? He was great for collecting the little odds and ends Lydia would need for her alchemy.


    I only had to Drain a humanoid creature once every seven days to keep my drain bonuses, but it had become such a habit I probably did it a couple hundred times each day. There was no experience bar for the skill, but I was pretty sure the more I used it the faster it would level. These were too low to give me any additional stats, but they could sustain me. I hoped Intermediate Blood Drain would give me a big boost in the stats I could earn once the spell leveled up.


    ¡°I never thought I would say it, but I really want to be able to drain zombie blood too.¡± Aeris said with a pout.


    She wore her polished platemail that shone dull in the subtle light of the Mistress''s Dungeon. Her black cloak swept about in gentle waves as we strolled forward. I wasn''t sure if the cloak''s movement came from her forward motion, or, as I suspected, an invisible aura of air that surrounded her. As her Wind Magic grew more powerful I wasn''t sure what to expect. Neither was she.


    My eyes met hers as I snickered. Her helm was deposited in her inventory, so her large eyes, that had once been a deep blue, but had changed with her magic to a cloudy color, were pleading with me.


    I simply shrugged.


    She sliced the head off one of the last zombies with her Wind Slash with little effort as we entered the next section of Skeletons.


    We didn''t slow as we killed all of them that got in our path as we marched through the labyrinth. We didn''t have to. She was able to sling her Wind Slash spell so quickly now that the Skeletons fell in two at the spine with little more than a look from her.


    After the vampire Lord Darius had attacked our fear of even the mid-level skeletons had become non-existent. We had all started to realize how powerful we were and ultimately, how powerful we weren¡¯t.


    Once a day, all my fellow captors had agreed to start meeting at the Skeleton Sentinels for a few hours of group tactics training. Yesterday had been our first day. Only two days had passed since Skyler had been returned to us from the Mistress¡¯ clutches, but with my ability to heal exhaustion, we had all tried to make the most of our time.


    Except for my solo hunting, most of my time had been spent with Aeris. It wasn''t just because we enjoyed each other¡¯s company, although, I wasn''t exactly hiding that fact any longer. We were on another errand for Russ who was determined to collect as much rare ore as possible before the new forge was finished in about twelve days.


    Travis had taken to mapping out the Mistress''s Labyrinth. A Labyrinth was a type of dungeon with numerous tunnels and sections, often with different creatures in each region. There were even different grades of dungeons, but it seemed that type of information was only available to those with the right examination skill. Thankfully Travis had the skill. Even then, it wasn''t simple like examining an item. A dungeon had to be explored to a certain extent before its level was made known. It didn''t seem like a very useful skill if we had to find out the hard way what kind of danger there was before Travis¡¯s skill told us anything useful.


    His real usefulness was found in other areas. If it wasn''t for him, we would have never found the Rock Lizards. They were ugly little buggers that looked a lot like gators with the heads of a hairless beaver. No surprise that they mostly munched on rocks and your occasional skeleton that lost its way. Not only did they drop rare ore and the occasional gemstone, but they also had a knack of finding the best cavern with a good supply of the best stuff.


    They didn''t respawn like the Mistress''s undead minions did, so once we cleared them out they were gone. It also meant that they didn''t follow spawn patterns, so we found them scattered out all over the place. Our fellow humans with mining skills had taken a break from clearing the area that would become our new home to pick clean a cavern we had cleared of Rock Lizards just yesterday. There was a new spotting of Rock Lizards that Aeris and I were heading to now.


    ¡°Bacon jerky?¡± I asked, removing a gauntlet and retrieving a half-eaten bag from my inventory. We both had our shields and weapons put away as we traveled back and forth. I was also helmless and wearing my green rune covered platemail.


    ¡°We just ate breakfast. You''re still hungry?¡± Aeris asked amused.


    ¡°This is dessert.¡±


    ¡°Bacon for dessert? Really?¡±


    ¡°Now that I can afford it? Yes!¡±


    She rolled her eyes, but her grin was clear as day.


    ¡°Okay. Just one piece though.¡± She replied.


    Handing a generous strip over to her, I watched as she tore off a large chunk.


    ¡°It almost makes you feel sorry for the rock-beavers, doesn''t it?¡± I asked, using the nickname I had given the lizards. ¡°Can you imagine going all of your life and never trying bacon?¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Do you think they even half taste buds?¡± She asked, turning her head up in question.


    ¡°How else can they tell the difference between rocks?¡±


    ¡°Texture. They probably just like the way certain things...¡±


    ¡°Crunch?¡± I replied, finishing her sentence.


    ¡°Yup!¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. I like my bacon every way. Both crunchy and slurpy.¡±


    ¡°Ewww,¡± She replied, scrunching up her nose, ¡°You got to at least cook it.¡±


    ¡°I''m not saying eat it raw, but there is nothing wrong with it coming with a nice dose of bacon juice!¡±


    ¡°That''s disgusting. It needs to be a little crispy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s startling that you share so much in common with the rock-beavers,¡± I said with a sigh, ¡°Are you sure you aren''t part beaver?¡±


    She stopped and huffed out an abnormally large amount of air for a single breath.


    Suddenly, I found myself stumbling forward from the gust of wind that struck me from behind.


    With a chuckle, Aeris replied. ¡°Are you sure you aren''t a rock-beaver? You share so much in common with them crawling around on all fours.¡±


    When I caught myself, I looked up with all the fabricated offense I could muster and glared at her.


    We shared a laugh.


    Humor was something we both fled to as a coping mechanism to the totally messed up situation we found ourselves in. But, I could feel that there was a difference now that hadn''t been there before Lord Darius had come.


    ***


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± I asked, taking a step out from behind the boulder that stood between us and about forty Rock Lizards.


    My Darkvision spell had reached level 18, so I could see about 90 meters in the dark. This cavern that Travis had found was simply a naturally formed cave that had been uncovered when the Mistress''s dungeon had first been excavated. It was connected to a side tunnel that had held Skeleton Archers. It was in the very back of the side tunnel, so we had walked about three miles just to reach the cave. From there in had taken us a few minutes to get to a place where the cave opened. That is where we first spotted the Rock Lizards. It looked like they had been here for months, for the wide vein in the cave had turned into a large cavity that could probably fit a small house.


    ¡°I never thought you would ask.¡± Aeris whispered.


    I hesitated for a moment as I considered whether I should cast from my mouth or just use my hand. Casting from my hand gave me the ability to keep my eyes on what was around us, but it lacked style points.


    Already making that mistake once, I chose to go with what was the most practical and raised my hand in the air above my head.


    ¡°Now!¡± I called, slipping out of Invisibility at the same time I released a jet of flames into the air.


    Aeris''s Wind Magic met my stream of fire. The additional oxygen fed the flames, like pulling the trigger on a giant cannon. Surging forward, the fire exploded into the room devouring everything in its path. My Flamethrower merged with her Gale spell and turned into something I could only describe as Dragon''s Fire.


    The Rock Lizard''s scaly hides were just as solid as they sounded. Instead of burning them to death, they melted.


    It wasn''t just a burst of a magic inferno, but what had been a cool cavern turned into a raging furnace. Every Rock Lizard caught in the blaze found no escape.


    ¡°Bacon jerky?¡± I asked as I lowered my hand.


    ¡°Are you trying to get me fat?¡± She teased. ¡°Sure.¡±


    The experience was barely measurable at this point. I had gained one level yesterday. One. After ten hours clearing the Skeleton Sentinels not to mention all the other mobs I had killed or drained, I had basically out leveled the Mistress''s dungeon. It shouldn''t bother me, but that meant that everyone was starting to catch up.


    My level wasn''t the only avenue I had to get stronger though. Finding new creatures to devour or steal abilities from with my Blue Magic gave me a huge advantage, but I knew now that it wasn''t enough.


    Mel, our necromancer, was building a small army that was able to fight for him as he slept. Because he could focus his attention on other things, he technically had the greatest ability to level up out of all of us, even if it would be a few weeks before he had enough Skeletons to get the most out of the ability. And that was only one example. Olivia, our Nature Mage, could fill an entire room with Skeleton devouring plants and clear them repeatedly as they spawned.


    In other words, if I didn''t do something I would get left behind.


    I sat about the work of cooling the cavern down, which was more difficult than killing a lot of Rock Lizards. Instead of casting Ice Shard, I manipulated the spell to make a large ice cube of sorts and just cast about ten of them around the room by the walls.


    Aeris went about helping by creating a wind vortex swirling around in the center of the room. It was nowhere as powerful as a tornado, but I suspected she was almost to that level of power if she went all out.


    Stepping back into the passageway to get away from the loud howling of the wind, I leaned against the wall to think.


    Aeris had climbed faster in levels than anyone else besides me. At first it was because of my help, but as she came into her magic, she discovered a speed to her casting that I doubted anyone could match. At level 181 she would be the next to reach level 200 and with that she would soon reach 1000 Wisdom. I knew what that meant and how much of a power boost it would give her.


    ¡°What''s wrong? You look like you''ve seen a giant melted otter.¡± She said with a snort.


    I found her standing there with her hand on her hip. Instead of her flirtatious grin, she had one serious brow raised in question.


    ¡°I''m still thinking about opening up the Bone Palace and giving the first floor a go. I know its selfish. I should wait for everyone to catch up to my level, but I also feel like I''m wasting time. I''m just not sure what to do next.¡± I replied.


    ¡°You could always go with Travis and help him map out the labyrinth to steal all the Blue Magic you can while you''re waiting.¡±


    ¡°That''s true. I could also try enchanting, mining, even botany.¡±


    ¡°Definitely botany. Although, Olivia might take that as flirting.¡± She chuckled, walking over and leaning against the rough cavern wall next to me.


    ¡°We can''t have that.¡± I replied.


    ¡°Poor Russ?¡±


    ¡°Poor Russ.¡±


    We shared a laugh.


    ¡°I don''t know what the right answer is Lucius.¡± She said, leaning against my shoulder. ¡°I''d say try to go power level the others, but honestly they are killing fast enough in their groups that you would just be an experience drain on them.¡±


    I shrugged.


    ¡°Your desire isn''t completely selfish.¡± She said, turning to look me in the eye.


    I met her gaze.


    ¡°Without you going off and power leveling as you did when we first got here we would have died more than once. Give it a day and if you find nothing else to do, then I say go for it. You''re going to bring me, right?¡±


    Immediately, I wanted to reject her request. The danger was unknown. Who knew what strengths and levels the mobs behind those boney doors possessed.


    Shaking my head to myself, I finally replied. ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Took you long enough to respond. I was getting worried.¡± She replied.


    ¡°I was just thinking I should charge you to come with me.¡±


    She offered me a fake chuckle and didn''t even bother to roll her eyes, before saying. ¡°Whatever. I know you only see me as an incredibly attractive girl that can''t protect herself.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I said, shaking my head.


    ¡°No? To which part?¡±


    ¡°Oh look,¡± I said, walking past her. ¡°Things seemed to have cooled down. Let¡¯s get our loot.¡±


    My Skeleton that had been standing guard at our rear came trotting up to help with the haul.


    I didn''t have to look back to see her expression. The gust of air that pushed me forward told me all I needed to know.

 Book 2 - Chapter 2

    The pounding from Russ¡¯s hammer greeted us as we entered the vast hall that had once been the newbie skeleton area. It had been cleared out in minutes by either the Mistress or her Lich. I still couldn¡¯t rightly judge how mana that would have taken or what kind of spell it would take to do such a thing in so little time. I looked up to see the same eerie light that filled the rest of the Mistress¡¯ dungeon throughout its main corridors. The expanse between us and the ceiling varied . Near the entrance to our old base that contained the merchant shops, mess hall, barracks and armory, it only reaches about two stories high, but near the center of the room it climbed at least five stories in the air. As we had started construction, there always seemed to be numerous Light Orbs setting the room aglow, so seeing the heights of the room was now possible.


    The dwarves seemed to work endlessly as they built the forge. Lydia, our alchemist, was always there and did very little fighting unless she had to, but it seemed her tireless work in alchemy gave her a fair amount of experience. She was undoubtedly the lowest level of all the captives, but still, she had nearly reached level 120, which was pretty impressive for a crafter.


    I gave my Skeleton a mental command to head to Lydia¡¯s lab. I always made a point to stop by and say hi to her, but she seemed to feel more comfortable with my minion than me, so I sent it to offer her the drops that might interest her.


    We stopped by Russ, who was gripping a small blade in his tongs that glowed bright orange as he pounded on it with his hammer. Everything was in place. He had a stand that stood off to the side with three crafting books opened and lying atop of one another as if he used one book as a bookmark for the next. His furnace was alive with mature coals and each tool was hanging in its place on his tool rack.


    Pooling mana around my eyes to connect with the magic around me had started to become an obsession. After feeling the connection I had with Lord Darius when I had used Force Learned magic on him as he died, I couldn¡¯t get enough. After the battle, I had feared Blood Drain would cause me to lust for blood like a vampire, but that had proved to be untrue. The true danger was that I couldn¡¯t get the memory of what it felt like to connect with the realm of magic. The worst part was that magic seemed to be everywhere and in everything.


    The form of Creature Observation that gave sight into the realm of magic that required a constant flow of mana to keep active was Mana Sight.


    Russ wasn¡¯t capable of casting magic, but as he practiced his craft, I was able to see the subtle glow that exude from his large form. I amped the mana I used to 500 mana per minute to enhance my vision. Time seemed to slow as my senses became more aware of the magic around me. To use Force Learn as I had with Lord Darius it would take thousands of mana that had to be unleashed all at a single moment. I had already tried as much on Russ, but I suspected I wasn¡¯t able to enter into the magic inside him because he wasn¡¯t in a weakened state. I could be wrong though. It could also be that he hadn¡¯t unlocked any magic alignment.


    He had once been an overweight teen that dreamed of little else than gaming and the fantasies they provided him. This place had changed him. Russ had shed his body fat, but instead of losing weight he was transformed into a small titan of muscle. It wasn¡¯t the shredded muscle of Skyler, our melee damage dealer, but it was firm and practical. His genius was his constitution. Mixed with his talent for blacksmithing, I wouldn¡¯t doubt he could wield his hammer non-stop for forty-eight hours straight.


    I could almost see visibly currently of magic flow through him, which made me suspect this is just how his body channeled the magic he possessed. Since I was barred from seeing everything, I could at least feel the magic as it worked with the muscles in his arm, shoulder and back to lift and direct his hammer. His connection with the hammer was the most interesting part. The magic inside of him didn¡¯t so much as enter into the hammer but joined with it providing it fuel and purpose. This wasn¡¯t one of the advanced hammers the dwarves had mentioned that could contain magic themselves, but a simple tool of steel and wood.


    Drawing my eyes away from him, I once again looked up toward the ceiling. Magic floated about in clouds of dull, translucent color. I knew some of the magic was from the dozen or so light orbs that hung in the air overhead, but the blue and green currents between them and all around was something else entirely. I suspected that all matter possessed magic.


    Turning to Aeris, she was looking at me with her hands on her hips, annoyed.


    Before releasing the spell, I took a few moments, that would only seem like a second to her, and examined the silvery energy all around her. She had allowed me to do an experiment and I confirmed there seemed to be a barely perceptible breeze coming off of her, but I didn¡¯t know if this was really magic or air itself. Since I could see in it using magic my best guess what that it was both. There was so much that we just didn¡¯t know.


    With a sigh, I lowered my eyes to the chains of shadow that was fastened around her neck. We each had one and I knew this to be the Mistress¡¯ spell to funnel our excess energy from us to her. The chain was not perceptible without Creature Observation, but with it I was able to see it hovering in the air toward the Mistress¡¯s chambers. The walls between us didn¡¯t matter. It passed right through them like they weren¡¯t even there.


    One positive was that since I could see the chain, I would always know where the Mistress was. I didn¡¯t know what use I could make out of it, but eventually it might come in handy. Not only could she use it to always track us down, but I could always find her.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± I said as I dropped most of the mana from my eyes. I kept 20 mana per minute funneled into the spell even if the mana around me was only barely visible while doing it. Time didn¡¯t slow with this small amount, so it was worth it. I could still see enough that if there was anything strange change in the magic realm I should notice it. At least, that was my hope.


    With a nod, Aeris lowered her hands from her hips and turned to Russ. ¡°Hey big guy!¡±


    He didn¡¯t stop what he was doing immediately but pounded on the short blade two more times before lifting it from his anvil and examining it. With a nod to himself, he walked over to a thick wooden table, placed his blade in a vice and tightened it until he felt it was secure, then sat his hammer and tongs on the table.


    With a big grin, he looked to Aeris and said, ¡°Hey Aeris! How was the haul?¡±


    ¡°Better than the last one, I think.¡± She replied.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    There were five crates that stood open and came up to just over my knee that were already filled with different kinds of ore. We both took turns unloading the different kinds of ore we had picked up from the Rock Lizards.


    ¡°It looks like you will soon need more crates.¡± Aeris continued after unloading her inventory.


    ¡°So it does. Thank you again for clearing the place out.¡± Russ replied as he looked from crate to crate like a toddler with a new toy.


    After saying our farewells, we headed toward the mess hall.


    ¡°You¡¯re really quiet.¡± Aeris said, brushing up against me as we walked.


    ¡°I¡¯m brooding over what to do next.¡± I replied.


    She stopped and was looking at me like I had lost my bacon. ¡°You can¡¯t say you¡¯re brooding.¡±


    Raising a brow, I asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It just sounds weird. You can say that about someone else, but never about yourself. It makes you sound like a teen celebrity that is trying to say something really deep and fails terribly. Besides, the best brooding is done silently.¡±


    ¡°I get your point. So, your advice to me is to stop talking? That way my brooding will be more genuine¡­¡±


    Aeris crossed her arms across her chest and glared at me.


    Holding my hands up to beg for peace, I added, ¡°I think I just need taquitos to dip in some ranch dressing to cheer me up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you do. We should hire an imp to follow us around just to carry all of your snacks,¡± she replied.


    ¡°You think we could do that?¡±


    Her glare narrowed to a razors edge.


    ***


    ¡°Taquitos please!¡± I called as soon as we entered the mess hall.


    Little had changed here. The eight stone tables with benches for sitting were now joined to the long table near the back of the room near the counter where our mostly friendly imp waited on us. The table had once held bread and water bottles for me and my fellow captives. We had quickly emptied it and just as quickly outgrew it, having plenty of coin to purchase our own food now.


    No one else was here, but Aeris and me, not including our host imp. He had proved to be very helpful after my actions of warning the Mistress had delivered a bag of coins into his possession.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Ello, sir!¡± The flying creature called from behind the counter. ¡°Taquitos it is, with a bowl of ranch?¡±


    ¡°You know me so well.¡±


    The imp made almost a choking sound as his chest vibrated in response to my compliment. Was he purring?


    We walked through the mist of the tables and up toward the counter. As we did Aeris asked, ¡°Do you have anything that could lighten a sour mood?¡±


    She looked at me like I was a spoiled meat.


    ¡°I do.¡± The imp replied as he flew off to the side to prepare my snack in the kitchen.


    ¡°Really?¡± Aeris replied, looking to me wide eyed. ¡°I was teasing, but if you really got something¡­¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± I said sarcastically.


    ¡°Well,¡± The imp said from the back as he worked, ¡°I¡¯m not sure you humans could stomach it. The Mistress said that humans are picky eaters.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I guess that¡¯s true,¡± Aeris replied, ¡°But, since you mentioned it, what is it?¡±


    ¡°You have a few options. Dried Weat Mushrooms give good dreams but also cause drowsiness. Muck-cow Milk causes euphoria, but to the point of short term insanity. Although, if you use Muck-cow Milk to cook with, something like cave-swine hind chops will give you a mild dose without the insanity. There are a few other things, but that is probably your best option.¡±


    ¡°Did you say cave-swine?¡± I asked, suddenly more intrigued than grossed out.


    ¡°Yes.¡± He said, coming around the corner and rejoining us at the counter. ¡°Did you want me to add some to your order? Its more expensive than what you are used to because of the ingredient¡¯s properties.¡±


    ¡°What are cave-swine exactly?¡±


    ¡°You are seriously considering this?¡± Aeris whispered in my ear.


    I gave her a wink.


    ¡°They are similar to what you would think of as pigs, except their first form is about twice as large. They taste very similar, but their ability to absorb the properties of other ingredients is top of the line. Most Underworld meat is like that to an extent.¡±


    ¡°Interesting.¡± I said, scratching at my chin. ¡°Two things. What do you mean by their first form and can you make them into bacon?¡±


    ¡°They have at least two other forms. Their first evolution is into a humanoid type creature that is much smaller than their first form, but they¡¯re are fast and vicious with their tusks. They don¡¯t taste very good during their second form. In their third form they stand about a head taller than you humans and gain intelligence, including the ability to speak. Though I use the term intelligent loosely. They do taste the best in their final form, but its hard to come by so they become really expensive. To answer your second question, yes. In their first form they make excellent bacon.¡±


    ¡°I take some then.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to be sick.¡± Aeris said, wiping her forehead with her hand.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was afraid of,¡± the imp said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the Muck-cow Milk in the form of a dressing so that you get the same mild effects I was talking about.¡±


    ¡°Uh. Okay. How much will it cost?¡±


    ¡°The taquitos will be 550 coins and the cave-swine bacon with Much-cow Milk dressing will be 2,200.


    ¡°2,200?!¡± I said, taken aback.


    ¡°Yes. I think you will find the effects worth the money.¡± He replied, making the same purring noise from before.


    ¡°Why not.¡±


    ***


    ¡°You are really going to eat that?¡± Aeris asked from her side of the table.


    In front of her she had a plate holding half of the taquitos and a small bowl of ranch. I had the same, but also a separate place with three large strips that resembled bacon in look and smell. The only thing that was obviously different was the size of the strips. Each strip was about the size of my arm in length and three times wider than a normal strip. They were still cut in the same thickness common to bacon, so I wouldn¡¯t need monster teeth to eat them.


    The Much-cow Milk dressing smelled a lot like a creamy alfredo sauce. My interest was as much in it as it was in the bacon, although, my taste buds mostly just wanted the bacon.


    ¡°Nothing like having bacon for brunch.¡± I said, with a grin.


    ¡°I think its still too early for brunch.¡± Aeris said, sighing.


    I nudged her with my elbow.


    ¡°Here goes nothing.¡± I announced.


    Picking up my first strip, I took a small bite from one end. The juices that could come from nothing other than bacon filled the back of my throat as I swallowed greedily.


    Looking up to Aeris, I chewed, trying to hide my excitement. The corners of my mouth turned up almost against my will.


    ¡°It¡¯s so good!¡± I said.


    ¡°Really?¡± She said, shifting back in her seat.


    ¡°Seriously. I can¡¯t tell the difference.¡±


    She looked at my plate in suspicion, but also with renewed interest.


    ¡°Go ahead. I won¡¯t tell anyone you ate cave-pig.¡±


    She didn¡¯t answer but reached toward my plate slowly. Not only did she take some, but instead of breaking off a small piece she took an entire strip. She nibbled on one end, then a few seconds later took a larger bite.


    ¡°This really is good.¡± She said with food still in her mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious.¡± I said, focusing my eye on my plate. I increased the mana flow to my eyes. As the world of magic became clearer, the food before me lit up like little strips of magic goodness. The taquitos also had a certain glow to them, but it was nothing compared to the Cave-swine bacon. There really was no color to the light, meaning it was probably just magical energy that had no real purpose. Immediately I speculated that because Underworld creatures were bred, born and raised around so much magic that their very existence possessed more magic than creatures from the world above.


    The Muck-cow Milk dressing was just as bright but shone an amber color. Dipping my bacon in it, I took a bite while keeping the mana flowing to my eyes. In moments, the white energy that I saw coming from my own body started to turn the same color as the dressing. I realized in that moment that if we could digest magic and make use out of it that this could become a big source of progression for all of us.


    In my excitement, I almost didn¡¯t realize I had started to feel the effects of the magic the dressing had filled me with. I felt my ears and brow perk up and my spirit with them. I let the flow of magic to my eyes lessen as I looked up at Aeris.


    ¡°If you want to feel as beautiful as you look, you need to try this stuff.¡± I said, genuinely wanting her to feel this.


    ¡°Beautiful huh?¡± She leaned forward and put her chin in her hand. ¡°Elorion, are you high?¡±


    ¡°I think so, but not in the way that you are thinking. My mind is clear, but my mood is, elevated. It¡¯s more like the effects of caffeine than being drunk. Except, its not just my energy level that has peaked. It¡¯s like the magic is flooding my system with a warm feeling.


    ¡°First, you¡¯re brooding and now you are under a happy spell. Will this day get any stranger?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I can confirmed that there is magic in the bacon and dressing.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t help, but to burst out laughing. ¡°Magic bacon! Its just what you always wanted.¡±


    ¡°I think it might be much more amazing than that. Not only does this food possess magic, but I think we might be able to manipulate it to make some kind of super food. Aeris. What if I can add healing magic to this bacon? Everyone could use it to heal and recover from exhaustion whether I was here or not.¡±


    ¡°You would really share so much bacon?¡± She asked, teasing me.


    ¡°Very funny.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t been paying attention enough to realize she had dipped her own bacon into the Muck-Cow Mild dressing. She took another bite and I saw her aura start to change color. Intensifying the magic to my eyes, I saw her silvery aura mix with amber.


    ¡°How does it feel?¡±


    ¡°If I really look at good as I feel right now, I think I¡¯m probably too good for you.¡± She said with a snort.


    Caught off guard, I found myself staring at her, my mouth agape.


    With a charming shrug, she dipped her bacon strip back into the dressing and took a much more generous bite.


    ¡°This was a good idea, Elorion. I definitely don¡¯t feel drunk, but I have a feeling I¡¯m bound to make just as stupid decisions. Like watch this.¡±


    She dipped her bacon in the dish again and took another large bite.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± She said, pointing her bacon at me matter-of-factly. ¡°The only problem is that I have a sudden urge to dance. Don¡¯t mind me.¡±


    Suddenly, she was standing on the bench she had been sitting on and hopped from it to our table.


    ¡°There is a problem with wearing all this armor. It¡¯s so cumbersome¡± She said, beginning to unfasten her armor.


    Her hands began to work faster than seemed natural. After her pauldron, shoulder armor, was removed, her vambraces, counters and rerebraces were off in seconds. After her arms were free she was out of her armor in moments. It was scary how swiftly she moved, and I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the bacon and dressing. Under her armor and gambeson she still had a pink long sleeve shirt and pants that resembled black sweat pants.


    ¡°Welp, if you aren¡¯t going to get up here and dance with me, I¡¯ll just have to dance by myself.¡± She said, with a smirk.


    With that she was airborne. Flipping back, she moved as if she had spent her life as an acrobat. As she landed a table away, nothing but the ball of a single foot met the tabletop. She cradled herself with nothing but the strength of her calf muscle. I realized then that there wasn¡¯t an acrobat alive that could land with so little effort. Remembering that her talent was in Dexterity as well as Wind Magic, I wondered if she had been hiding her ability.


    She spun and leaped from table to table as if she was a child and gravity was her play thing.


    It was a moment of silliness, but it sobered me enough as I watched her get faster and more creative with her flips. In time she would as elusive as the wind. Did she know how much potential she had? That was a dumb question. I knew that she had to have thought about it. There was nothing stupid about her. With increased Wisdom, it was probably something she couldn¡¯t help to think about even if she didn¡¯t want to. I seemed to be becoming even more introspective the more my mental stats increased, so I was sure it was the same for her.


    Then suddenly, she bounded from one table to another on the far side of the room and then jumped. Landing against the wall, her momentum didn¡¯t stop there, she launched herself back and flipped with a spin. Like a tumbling corkscrew, she floated back toward the table. As soon as she landed she was off again flipping sideways to take advantage of the spin. She neared until she was a table away.


    With a final jump, her spinning stopped, and she launched herself high in the air. Her arms were out as she slowly flipped forward as if she was enjoying the feel of the air while she was along for the ride.


    At the last moment, I realized where her momentum was carrying her. It was too late to move. A rush of wind surged down against my hair and all around me. I felt a chill go down my spine.


    Looking up, I saw Aeris, who had landed on my head. I felt her foot move to my shoulder and then her other foot settled on the other. She had turned about and was bending down to look me in the eye. Her eyes were as full of glee.


    ¡°You¡¯re upside down.¡± I replied. At the same time, I marveled that it felt like she weighed almost nothing.


    Reaching down, I dipped my bacon strip into the dressing once more.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She replied with a wink. ¡°To me, every direction seems like it¡¯s right side up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m second guessing whether this dressing is a good idea. If I have another bite, I fear I¡¯ll start dancing on top of the lunch room table.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That doesn¡¯t sound so bad. Eat some more. I would really like to see that.¡±


    ¡°You should have thought about that before you put on the greatest gymnastics routine in human history. Now all I want to do is sit back and admire you.¡±


    ¡°Flattery will get you nowhere, mister.¡±


    ¡°I think it will.¡± I said, giving her my creepiest grin.


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    Without another thought I took a bite. The feeling of levity increased, but only slightly. It seemed the dressing wouldn¡¯t have an exact accumulative effect. Still, I took a few more before standing up from my seat with Aeris still on my shoulders.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± She asked, mischievously.


    ¡°I really have a sudden urge to cause some trouble. Want to find Skyler¡¯s group, go invisible, and steal their kills just to give them a hard time?¡±


    ¡°What?! No. Okay, yes. But, not all of their kills.¡±


    ¡°Right. Just enough to make them think they are going crazy. If we are found out when can give them some of our new magic sauce.¡±


    ¡°No to the sauce. I don¡¯t want to share.¡±


    I raised my brow in question.


    Her mouth pursed as she shrugged.

 Book 2 - Chapter 3

    We knew Skyler and his party would be at the very end of the Mistress¡¯ dungeon, so we had a good distance to trek before we got there. With the Muck-cow sauce still in our system, Aeris and I didn¡¯t waste any time.


    She had inventoried her armor and still wore her black pants and pink tank-top. She bent over to stretch, placing both palms on the ground as if humans were supposed to be that flexible.


    I cast Invisible on both of us after removing my platemail. I had invested in some Umbros, soccer shorts, after everyone had given me a hard time with my other athletic shorts. My long sleeve shirt was charcoal blue with Level Up written in yellow, that went well with the black of my shorts. After going Advanced In The Buff, I turned to her.


    She was already shaking her head. ¡°No thank you. I never showed you everything I got from leveling when we defeated the vampires army.¡± She said.


    Holding out her hand, she closed her eyes. The muscles at her temps flexed. A silver cloud seeped out of her palm and surrounded her ethereal form. It started to collapse, as it filtered into her limbs. I was only able to see it because of I was observing her with Mana Sight, but the small aura of silver had intensified. She now shone like a silver torch in the magic realm. Invisible mostly held back her aura to the rest of the world.


    ¡°Do try to keep up.¡± She challenged with a smirk.


    I felt the surge of magic echo off her as she shot out of the mess hall.


    With a chuckle, I sped after her. Turning into the hall, I saw that she had already covered the one hundred meters between us and our new base.


    I had only taken a few strides when she approached Russ. Instead of going around she jumped, floating over him and his entire forgery with effortless grace.


    All I could do was shake my head as I picked up speed. I might not have had any special talent for speed, but with the base stats of 64 Strength and 100 Dexterity, plus an additional +300 to each stat from In The Buff, I didn¡¯t need it.


    Reaching Russ, I dipped low and launched myself up into the air. As opposed to floating, I barreled over him and pounded into the ground nearly forty feet away. My landing was loud enough that everyone at our base looked in my direction, but I was already off again and out of the room.


    They would likely guess what was going on when my Skeleton minion came lumbering after us.


    I stretched out my stride and set a steady flow of healing magic into my system to battle my exhaustion before it could take hold of me. Like a truck with the gas floored I plowed through anything that got in my way and sped from room to room.


    I had almost made it to the Skeleton Archers before I saw Aeris again. She wasn¡¯t running in a straight line.


    She swerved toward the next skeleton, cast a compressed Gust that blew it apart, then skid under a flying femur and immediately jumped as she came to her feet, clearing the mob¡¯s skull before gravity could pull it to the stone floor.


    A skeleton to her left was her next victim, but as soon as it was in pieces, she was already destroying another, then entering the next room.


    Hundreds of bones fell to the ground as I followed her from the room.


    I charged forward, catching her, but only because she was still weaving about killing skeletons and leaving a trail of bones in her wake.


    The competitive side of me couldn¡¯t help it, but to see it as a challenge.


    I left an Intermediate Health Bomb build in each hand. As she set her sights on entering the next room, I launched it forward. It entered just ahead of her.


    As we were about to enter, a flare of light went off near the middle of the room before us.


    She was waiting for me with her arms crossed.


    I saw that my Health Bomb had done the trick and took out most of the Archers that had been waiting for us.


    She narrowed her gaze, accepting my challenge. Quicker than my eyes could follow, she turned and headed straight for the next room.


    I tried to follow, but without boosting my buffs there was just no way.


    Like wading through fields of sparse grass, I had to watch my step as I ran from room to room. Her speed and mobility were impressive, but I was sure she would soon slow. Then another full minute passed and still she continued on, baffling me how she had the endurance necessary. As we got deeper into the dungeon, there were less skeleton bodies than before. The difficulty was getting higher, but she still continued to massacre them. When we reached the doorway to the Skeleton Sentinels, I found her waiting for me.


    I heard the air fill her lungs as she took in a large pool of air. She let it slowly escape from her nose.


    ¡°That was fun.¡± She said, doing her best to disguise her breathing as I strolled up from behind.


    Casting Heal on her, I heard no objections as it helped her recover faster.


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± I asked.


    She met my eyes. The color had gone out of them in her see-through state, but her pupils were still visible.


    ¡°The Wind Magic buffs usually just make a person faster I¡¯ve read, but my talent adds a weightless property to them. After we beat the Zombie Sergeant, I was able to unlock a few new spells.¡±


    ¡°Do you have some other surprises?¡±


    She scrunched up her nose like I had asked her something inappropriate.


    ¡°A girl doesn¡¯t tell.¡± She insisted.


    I snorted, before changing the subject. ¡°Are you ready for this?¡±


    ¡°What do you have in mind?¡±


    ***


    The bones of the Skeleton Sentinels were mostly hidden because of their excess armor. The bone of their ribs was shielded by thick a breast plate of bone plates that fit together like joints. Their waist and pelvis were covered by this same extension of armor. Their legs were wrapped in similar plates and even their feet were encased in extra bone. Three of them stood shoulder to shoulder as one unit.


    The sledge brothers didn¡¯t flinch away from a one on one with the three of them. Skyler and the two guys mimicking his fighting style stood their ground as the Sentinels marched toward them at a brusque pace.


    The three guys were still using war hammers, but their gear had completely changed. They each wore platemail, but there were slight differences between each one of them. The smallest guy was named George was level 154 and had silver runes etched into his grey steel mail. The tallest guy¡¯s name was Perry. He was level 155 and had brown runes in white steel mail. Not surprising, Skyler was the highest level of the three at level 159. He also looked to be thirty percent bigger than they were even if he wasn¡¯t the tallest among them. That was saying a lot considering they were all using Strength builds and likely had close to the same amount.


    Skyler¡¯s armor didn¡¯t have any runes I could see, but his mail was streaked in black and red. There was no doubt that he won all the cool points.


    When the Sentinels were about fifteen feet out, Trevon, their level 152 Ice Mage, cast a sheet of ice across the floor.


    The Sentinels slid forward with each step, lowering themselves to keep their footing.


    Trevon still wore a monk like garb but had upgraded it. He was teal from top to bottom except for his large bronze belt buckle, a round golden pendant with a red ruby handing from his neck.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Holding up her hand, Clarissa, was hiding her blond hair under a visorless sallet helmet. She was level 150 and wore a black cloak over a purple gown that had the typical mage flare to it. I intensified the magic to my vision to see the brown light seep from her hand and approach at the backs of the sledge brothers like a fog. The magic bypassed them entirely and entered the ground between Skyler¡¯s men and the Sentinels.


    A row of stone spikes shot out toward the incoming Sentinels reaching up to their waste.


    When they were only a few feet from colliding with them another hand shot up, causing a crimson cloak to snap with the sudden movement. The red light that left her hand didn¡¯t creep slowly like the last one but flew high into the air before smoldering into life, igniting in flame. Fire rained down, blanketing the Sentinels.


    I watched as the fire blinded the skeletons momentarily, but it did more than that. It ate at the bone, greedily sucking all the moisture it could get from the marrow inside.


    It was no wonder their Fire Mage, Audrey was level 158, the second highest level among them. She was also the only caster to wear any armor. It was a smooth leather breast plate of deep red and black that hid under her cloak. She was tall, but petite with caramel skin and her short hair was curled up under her Corinthian bronze helm.


    As the skeletons slipped into the stone spikes with flames still blocking their vision, three cold steel sledge hammers were thrust forward into the Sentinel¡¯s shields. The creatures stumbled back and started to fall to the icy floor.


    With their mobs positioned at their feet, the sledge brothers raised their axes like woodcutters preparing to split wood. Their hammers fell.


    It was too easy.


    Before their hammers finished the three Sentinels, my healing spell reached the mobs, causing them to crumble into dust.


    Their hammers pounded against the ground.


    Aeris threw her hand over her mouth to keep her laughter from escaping.


    I nudged her with my arm.


    We stood directly in front of our friends a dozen feet behind the remains of the Sentinels they had just faced. Standing here, they were less likely to see us as we cast our spells.


    ¡°Eh.¡± Perry complained.


    ¡°You are getting too powerful Audrey.¡± Skyler said turning about and giving her a flirty grin.


    Aeris looked up to me wide eyed.


    I shrugged.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t me.¡± Audrey replied squinting at the screen in front of her. ¡°I don¡¯t think we got any experience from them.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Skyler bellowed. ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    I held my finger to my mouth as Aeris looked to me with concern to shush her.


    She took a deep breath.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pull the next group.¡± Audrey said.


    With my hand on Aeris¡¯ shoulder, I had her duck down slowly.


    A fire ball soared in our direction, but off to the side, hitting another trio of Sentinels.


    The skeletons immediately started this way. From the angle that they were coming, we were safe to stay where we were.


    Leaning over, I whispered in her ear. ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡±


    Just as before, the Sledge brothers lined up to face the Sentinels as they came.


    Their strategy was one born of necessity to include the strengths of all their party members. They had a lot of variety, so there were so many things they could have done, but still, what they had decided to do worked.


    The ground froze under the skeleton¡¯s feet and once again they started to slide. Stone spikes shot up to position the mob¡¯s stopping position.


    I watched Aeris all the while. Her eyes shifted from one thing to the next as she calculated what she was going to do.


    As Audrey¡¯s flame appeared above her party, Aeris turned her head to the side. When the fire came, a grin turned up the corner of her mouth.


    Aeris¡¯ hand shot out.


    Fire funneled down and baked the Sentinels that had almost reached the group¡¯s tanks.


    As mana was focused into Aeris¡¯ spell, I could feel waves of energy against my skin. Like a boomerang, her Wind Slash darted forwards than swept across the back of the Skeleton Sentinel¡¯s necks.


    Before the Sledge Brother¡¯s had made their first attack, they watched the enemy before them as their heads fell from their shoulders.


    ¡°Kevin!¡± Skyler cried. ¡°Was that you?¡±


    ¡°Nope!¡±


    Aeris and I both jumped up from our crouching position as the noise came from directly behind us.


    Platemail or not, Skeleton General¡¯s Defense surrounded me in bone platemail that the Skeleton Sentinels would have been jealous of. In one hand a Health Bullet formed and in the other an Alpha Bullet.


    ¡°I found the experience Thief!¡± The voice called again, but he was still invisible to me.


    Throwing hundreds of extra MP into my eyes, Mana Sight allowed me to pick up traces of the shadow magic that shrouded someone standing before me. Taking advantage of how time sped up while I was in this state, I examined the invisible person with Creature Observation. To my surprise, it actually worked now that I knew he was there.


    It was Kevin, their dual knife wielder, who was level 161. He was a higher level than Skyler.


    I was able to see the Sledge Brothers moving in slow motion as they started to head around the stone spikes to walk this way. Their mages were also craning their necks to get a better view.


    In my panic, I had foolishly jumped up out of invisibility and summoned my skeletal armor that everyone knew I possessed. Was there any way to get out of this? It would take a moment before invisible fully took effect again.


    I doubted Kevin could see us while we were invisible. He had probably just been watching after they didn¡¯t get experience and seen Aeris appear when she cast her spell. The fact he said thief and not thieves made that even more likely.


    Then, I noticed that Aeris was gone. Not that she had already turned invisible but wasn¡¯t there at all.


    I scanned the room, seeing nothing, but when I finally looked up, I saw her close to the ceiling, moving faster than everyone else.


    Well, I was about to be found out and all the blame would fall upon me. What could I do? There was one thing that came to mind.


    Allowing the mana to continue to flow into my eyes, I dropped Skeleton General¡¯s Defense at the same time I cast Bat Form.


    I didn¡¯t take form immediately. The magic was flowing at its normal speed but couldn¡¯t match the rate that I observed it.


    My skeletal armor dissolved into nonexistence first. Only then did my body start to change. It was as if my body shrunk before my eyes. My head seemed to stay the same size while my body rose from the floor. I became a giant bat at about head level. Immediately I began to flap my wings to climb into the air. I would do my best to follow Aeris. Where ever she was going.


    As I released Forced Learn, time sped back into place and I lifted quickly into the air, making it to the ceiling in only a few flaps of my wings.


    Aeris had caught herself on the ceiling by flipping and landing there on her feet, then jumping off toward the rear of Skyler¡¯s group.


    I followed her by skirting along the ceiling.


    ¡°Who is it!¡± Skyler bellowed as he made it around the stone spikes.


    ¡°I. I could have sworn that I just saw a large skeleton, but now its gone.¡± Kevin called.


    ¡°Could it be a boss mob?!¡± Asked Clarissa with a stutter.


    ¡°A boss mob killing other mobs?¡± Skyler replied.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get a kill this time either!¡± Audrey confirmed.


    As they gathered around Kevin below, an idea came to mind that was too good to pass up. It was time I shared one of my favorite jokes even if it would give us away. It would be well worth it.


    Looking toward Aeris, she had made her way to a side room and entered safely without anyone seeing her.


    With a little bat shrug, I decided it was time.


    Turning toward the group of confused players, a large dose of giddiness shot up my spine and I let out a squeaky laugh.


    I flew right at them.


    As I neared, I dived down, opening my bat mouth in a fang filled grin and screeched, ¡°Bat man!¡±


    They turned to me as one with their sledges and magic ready.


    My large bat eyes went wide. Immediately, I retreated out of bat form and cast Skeleton General¡¯s Defense.


    Instead of meeting the brunt of their magic and steel, they jumped back.


    I landed on the ground with a solid thud with enough of an angle that it sent me rolling.


    ¡°Elorion?!¡± Kevin cried.


    Nearly ten feet away I stopped rolling.


    ¡°What in the Underworld are you doing man?¡± Skyler demanded.


    Collecting myself I hopped to my feet. Turning to them through the eyes of the Skeleton General¡¯s Skull, which was actually my helm, I saw both relief and irritation.


    Looking from one serious face to the next I was no longer able to help myself. What started as a snicker soon turned into a full belly laugh. I tried to answer the question while holding myself back, but it proved difficult.


    Uncasting my skeletal helmet, I ultimately told them the truth. ¡°Its Aeris¡¯ fault!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡± She called as she stepped from outside of the room she was hiding in.


    Their eyes went wide as the turned to see that she was behind them.


    ¡°It was you¡¯re idea!¡± She insisted.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! I had this genius idea and instead of stopping me, you decided to come with me. It¡¯s totally your fault.¡±


    Clarissa started to giggle, shortly followed by Audrey.


    Aeris¡¯ mouth stood open as she shook her head but was interrupted before she could respond.


    ¡°What idea, to steal our kills?!¡± Skyler accused.


    ¡°Well, kind of.¡± I replied scratching my head. ¡°Honestly, we ate some magic bacon with happy sauce and wanted to see your faces when your mobs started dying without explanation.¡±


    ¡°You stole our kills! That goes against the gamer code! Its unforgivable!¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but to chuckle at his response.


    Audrey rolled her eyes and hugged Aeris who had stepped up next to her, joining her and Clarissa.


    ¡°That was pretty funny.¡± Kevin said, coming out of invisibility.


    ¡°Bat man!¡± George, the shortest Sledge Brother yelled with a laugh.


    Everyone laughed. Everyone but Skyler.


    Taking his helm off, Skyler wore a nasty scowl.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you Skyler.¡± I promised.


    His scowl remained as his brow raised in question.


    ¡°You thought I was lying when I said there was magic bacon and happy sauce... Would you like to try some?¡±


    ¡°Really.¡± Aeris encouraged. ¡°The sauce holds properties that make you really, really¡­ uh, happy.¡±


    ¡°Happy.¡± I said, drawing out the word like it had some special power.


    ¡°You guys are acting kind of strange,¡± Audrey said.


    ¡°I do like bacon.¡± Skyler said, as the hints of a smile started to overtake his scowl.


    ¡°My man!¡± I declared.


    We all came together in a huddle as they started to discuss how much longer they were going to hunt here when a dark static began to bombard us from the direction of the entrance to the room. We all turned at once.


    A small woman with vibrant red hair hanging down past her waist stared back at us. The magic power that beamed off her was clear as day even with minimal mana funneled to my eyes. She looked like a black sun, with tendrils of dark magic snaking off of her.


    Only after we had seen her did she hold back the power emanating from her. It was then that I saw the red silk looped over a single shoulder than hung down over her enticing form. She was barefoot, which seemed to add to the illusion that she was delicate and needed extra attention.


    ¡°So, you are Lilith¡¯s new pets. A bunch of weak idiots.¡±


    ¡°We are getting stronger!¡± Skyler spit. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Someone who is really hoping you will make a mistake, so I have an excuse to devour you.¡±


    If there was ever any question in my mind as to what she was, that had been answered. She was undoubtedly a succubus.

 Publishing Update

    Hey there!


    I wanted to give everyone a time table so you know when to expect the remaining chapters and when book 2 is going to be published.


    So, I finished with book 2 about two weeks ago and I''m in the process of revising and personal edits. August 7th my editor is going to take over and Underworld - Through the Belly of the Beast will be published about a week later.


    Because of KU rules, most of you know the drill. I have to remove all but 10% of book 2 from RRL. I will start posting a chapter a day until the 7th and leave this rough copy of the book up until its time to publish. It will only be here for about a week. I want to give everyone a heads up so you get a chance to read it.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Know that I have gone through and redone all the numbers, updated spell discriptions and, as you can expect, revised much of book 2. It might feel a little disjointed here if you tried to read it in one sitting, because it is. Sorry about that, but if I waited to post until it was edited and ready to go, I would only be able to have it up for about a day before I had to take it down. Heh.


    I look forward to finishing up the story with you guys and reading your comments.


    Cheers!

 Shapeshifting Update

    This has been requested on multiple occasions so I went ahead and went into more detail with the Shapeshifting Forms. I was going to save detail for the next book, but nah, here you go.


    Primordial Cat


    Level: 1


    Cost: 100,000 Mana Per Second


    HP: NA (See Magma Manipulation.)


    Strength: +5,000


    Dexterity: +5,000


    Special Abilities: Body of Magma, Magma, Manipulation, Magma Regeneration.


    Body of Magma: You body is transformed to one that consists entirely of magma.


    Magma Manipulation: Because your being exists within a magma state, you have full control over the magma itself. Harden or soften your body at will.


    Magma Regeneration: If magma is displaced from your body, you are able to return to your Primordial Cat form indefinitely, unless 75% of your magma is lost.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Note: You do not take damage to your HP. Any attack that removes or separates magma from your body leaves you weaker.


    Next Level:


    Cost: 99,100 Mana Per Second


    +50 Strength


    +1% Strength


    +50 Dexterity


    +1% Dexterity


    Werewolf Form


    Level: 1


    Cost: 3,500 Mana Per Minute


    Strength: +500


    Dexterity: +500


    Constitution: +500


    Intelligence: -50%


    Wisdom: -50%


    Special Abilities: Bloodlust, Regeneration.


    Bloodlust: When faced with battle, the lust for blood has a clouding effect on the mind, making it difficult to think of anything other than your prey.


    Regeneration: Your HP Regeneration is three times higher than your natural state.


    Next Level:


    Cost: 3,470 Mana Per Minute


    +5 Strength


    +5 Dexterity


    +5 Constitution


    Intelligence: -49%


    Wisdom: -49%


    Hellhound Form


    Level: 1


    Cost: 10,000 Mana Per Minute


    Dexterity: 1,000


    Special Abilities: Flame Breath, Fire Aura, Turn Up the Heat.


    Flame Breath: +1,000 Fire Damage/2,000 MP


    Fire Aura: Passive. +5 Fire Damage/Per Minute.


    Turn Up the Heat: For every 100 Mana Per Minute an additional +5 Fire Damage/Per Minute is given. Maximum damage, 500.


    Next Level:


    Cost: 9,900 Mana Per Minute


    Flame Breath: +1,000 Fire Damage/1,985 MP


    +40 Dexterity


    Many of the other forms he has stolen the essence for he is unable to use because he can''t use Dark Magic. These are the main one he currently can.

 Update - Leaving RoyalRoad.com

    Hey all!


    Book 2


    Book 2 of Underworld is right around the corner! We are just days away. As before, I''m planning on doing something special, giveaway type thing, for those of you that have been following this story. I have to remove chapters from RoyalRoad.com to fullfill my contract obligations for KU. Stay tuned!


    Leaving RoyalRoad


    This is also bittersweet, because I have decided to stop posting future chapters of Underworld and Codename: Freedom on RoyalRoad.com. I am working on a few options so that you can still read chapters for free, but it will probably be a while before it is live through my website. There are a couple reasons for this.


    Quality


    When I post online, you are reading a inferior product. The revisions and rewriting that happen cause a lot of confusion and in a sense, depending on what version you read, different people are reading a different story.


    Also, I am a professional writer now, so having an inferior product available will eventually come back and bite me.


    Ratings and reviews.


    Every since I first published on Amazon and had to take chapters off of royalroad.com, I have gotten dozens of ratings and a few reviews greatly lowering my ranking. When you post a Publishing Update and get three .5 ratings in less than a day... I went from the top 100 to just under the top 300 since I first hit the publish button. This means that when I publish a chapter, I''m not getting near the number of views that I used to. Which also means that the time I spend readying chapters for this site do not reach as many people.


    Note: There is also the question as to whether it is necessary to publsh here for free to gain an audience when I already have one purchasing my books.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Now, perhaps some of these ratings are because people aren''t liking the direction the story is going. That''s fine and understandable. But, there is a group of readers on royalroad.com that are hostile to authors trying to make money. Some are very vocal about it. I have discussed it with many, more reasonable persons, who would like me to keep my fiction up and focus on Patreon. Thank you for reaching out to me and trying to find a compromise. This isn''t a bad idea, and I do have a Patreon up, but to be as honest as possible, it isn''t enough.


    Money


    I hate mentioning money, but some of you have been with me for over two years so I want to give you some context. I''m going to talk in generalities that are based on facts, but I''m not going to mention how much money I, or any individual makes. As you can imagine there is a lot of variables, but these numbers aren''t fictional or fabricated. I could give you names and figures, but that would be betraying trust and also tacky. Lol. I already feel kind of of dirty even going this far.


    So, take the amount of money that the most popular authors on royalroad.com make through Patreon in a year. You have probably seen some making in the realm of 20-30k a year. This will be our example. We won''t even mention the 10% that Patreon takes out of their paycheck each month. If that same author published on Amazon using KU, assuming they published 2 books a year minimum, they would make 2-5 times that amount. Possibly more if they published an insane number of books.


    Yes, the range is huge, but please understand that even those with the best Patreon following are leaving tens of thousands to as much as a hundred thousand dollars on the table; depending on how many books they could publish in a year and how popular their series is. That is why almost every successful series is slowly disappearing from royalroad.com. Treat those that are still here well, because I couldn''t in my right mind recommend that they stay. Not because I''m greedy, but you''ve probably heard me say it before. I have a family and I have to put them first.


    Not Finished With RoyalRoad Entirely


    I am seriously considering writing something just for royal road, or possibly putting the first book up in any new series when I do start them in the future. If it wasn''t for RoyalRoad.com I probably wouldn''t have publshed this early in life. Your feedback and encouragement since October of 2015 has been incredible. Thanks you guys.


    For those of you worried about not being able to continue reading and you can''t afford the books, Patreon, or can''t buy from Amazon, I haven''t forgotten you. I''m working on it.


    Also, sorry for so many unanswered comments recently. I''m in crunch time, getting ready to publish, so I''m havign difficulty getting to respond. I have read all of them though. You are getting through to me.


    Thanks to all. You will probably hear from me again later this week!

 Through the Belly of the Beast is Live!

    Underworld Book 2 is Live


    Hey ladies and gents!


    After only 3 hours of sleep, I present to you the long-awaited sequel to the Amazon Best Selling novel Underworld ¨C Level Up or Die has been published!


    Blurb:


    Surviving Lord Darius¡¯ attack put Elorion¡¯s level over the top. He must soon leave the Mistress¡¯ Labyrinth for the unknown dangers of the Underworld.


    Three paths stand before him. Should he absorb all the Blue Magic he can find, power leveling his fellow captives, or take on the bone palace alone?Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The Underworld is waiting¡­


    Buy it Here!


    US ¨C https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B07GLLWDWW</a>


    UK ¨C https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GLLWDWW</a>


    DE ¨C https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07GLLWDWW</a>


    CA ¨C https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07GLLWDWW</a>


    AU ¨C https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07GLLWDWW</a>


    The Future


    I''ve been seriously considering what I can do to stay involved in royalroad.com. Because of this I''m looking for your opinions and suggestions. Please give the poll a vote, or, if you have an idea, let me know in the comments.


    Cheers!

 Is Anything Free in the Underworld?

    It''s been too long since I was posting chapters on RoyalRoad. So much has happened since. I''m publishing my 7<sup>th</sup> book, book 4 in the Underworld series, on February 3rd. I''ve wanted to find a way to come back to RoyalRoad for a while now, but since my livelihood depends upon writing, it¡¯s been difficult to justify spending time on something that won¡¯t put bacon on the table. There is something I can do, though.


    The Underworld Trilogy for Free!If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    To celebrate Underworld book 4, and to show you guys how thankful I am for all the community has provided me, I¡¯m putting the entire Underworld trilogy, books 1-3, up for Free this Sunday, February 2<sup>nd</sup>. That''s 298,000 words for your reading enjoyment. I believe the sale only runs in the US and UK, sorry. Besides a few giveaways, it''s the first time any of the books in this series has been given away publically for free. I really appreciate all the support and feedback you guys provided in helping me get my writing career off the ground.


    I''ll make another post on "the day" when the sale goes live.


    Cheers!

 Free Box Set - Books 1-3!

    Super Bowl Sunday - I brought the after party!


    In celebration of the release of Underworld - Proving Grounds on February 3rd, the entire first trilogy is Free for today only!


    Note: Link for book 4 below.


    If you haven''t already tried it, Underworld has a combined 650 reviews with an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon and 50,000 units sold! Not to mention, 298,000 words!


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Synopsis


    Elorion has just finished a VR gaming session to find a monster waiting for him. With nineteen other students who have also been kidnapped, he is now subject to the whims of a thousand-year-old succubus and must survive deep under the earth in the lost realm of the Underworld. Gifted with the ability to use magic and advance in power, he is given an ultimatum. Level up or die...