With Ayla out of mana, we had to take it easy for the rest of the day. Esme took us to an area where we could collect crafting ingredients from these monsters that resembled giant frogs. Using the katana and arrows, Esme and I easily farmed them. Too bad we couldn’t use Ayla’s Wind Blast, since it was such a powerful area-of-effect spell.
After that, we went to a settlement where Esme often sold her wares. It was nestled between a mountain and a stream. As usual, an orange glyph-covered barrier surrounded it. Though larger than the other settlements we’d seen, it was still pretty shoddy, with the houses and hovels formed mostly from mud and reeds. A well sat in the center of the settlement, along with coops for farm animals.
Like last time, the seller met us at the edge of the barrier. Esme handed him the ring we’d found in the bronze treasure chest in the Ruined Palace. The man looked at both the jewel and the band through his eye piece.
“Can you read the script?” Esme asked. “What does it do?”
The man grunted. “Says here that it provides a barrier against magic attacks, one time per day.”
Holy hell. That sounded super useful.
“It’s too useful to sell,” I said. “We’ll hold on to it.”
The man handed it to me. I handed it to Ayla.
“Why me?” she asked. “I’d feel better if Esme had it.”
Of course she would. I stroked Ayla’s hair. “Esme has ice arrows. That allows her to stay safe and away from magical attacks. Since you stand in the vanguard, you’re much more likely to be targeted. So you wear it.”
Obviously if Ayla wore it, I’d get the same benefit. But Esme wouldn’t, sadly.
Ayla nodded and put it on. It was a stunning splash of color on her, especially since her outfit was mostly black.
We bought some potions, soul cabins, and other useful supplies from the settlement. Then we used a soul cabin so Ayla could rest properly. Esme gave her a massage to relax her. We were too melancholy to have sex that night, our thoughts on Tara’s struggles. But the three of us cuddled and enjoyed each other’s warmth.
I wanted Tara and her twin sister to be a part of it. I wanted to warm their cold bodies in my bed, and make them happy. It would be my purpose from now on. I had to find Saran’s house in Port City, kill him, and free them both.
The next day, we returned to the dungeon that Esme and I had failed to clear because of the Soulless Warrior’s second form. We descended into its depths, killing giant ants the while. They posed no challenge against our powered-up abilities. After a few hours of hiking down stairs and tunnels and across the various ruins, we arrived at the massive chamber. A tower stood at the edge, within which was surely a wonderful treasure, considering what guarded it.
The Soulless Warrior stood at the entrance to the tower. He’d returned to his original form. We approached him slowly, ready to enact our strategy. Esme hit him with ice arrows, drawing his ire, as Ayla and I smashed at his plate mail with our hammers. When his ire turned our way, we’d back off, and Esme would shoot him with ice arrows until his hate returned to her. Then we’d just rinse and repeat this strategy, being careful not to overindulge in our attacks and stay patient.
After ten minutes, the Soulless Warrior’s limbs snapped, and it contorted and ballooned and grew with a terrifying inhalation of all the shadows in the entire cave. The three of us made sure to stay as far back as we could.
Now we had to enact the second part of our strategy. This time it would be more complicated, but because we had foreknowledge of how this monster behaved, we were confident we could kill it and finally claim the treasure.
Esme used her Leaping Shoes to jump over the thing’s massive ax swipes. She also wore the fez, which attracted its hate — though not all of it. Carefully, she bounced around, hitting it in the face with ice arrows. Ayla and I stayed near the thing’s feet and bashed it with our hammers. As we did, shadows wheezed out of the wounds.
There were moments when I feared it would crush us, or Esme would mistime her jump and get hit. But whenever the thing began stomping its feet, Ayla and I would backdash. And when it would swing its ax vertically rather than horizontally, Esme made sure not to jump but to dash to the side. She was so agile and attentive. The dumb thing telegraphed its attacks too much, so all we needed to do was whittle it down.
Ayla and I pounded its shins so hard, it actually staggered and fell to its knees, causing rocks to shoot from the ground where it fell and the whole cavern to quake. I was ready to try a risky move.
I drew all the mana from Ayla that I could and summoned the Divine Wind. Like last time, a black hole opened in midair, and a minor god made from wind poured out of it. This time, the wind god grew as it ensnared the Soulless Knight. It encompassed the entire giant in its body, beating against its armor with a fierce storm. And as it did, wisps of shadow bled out of the giant.
After twenty seconds, the minor god returned to its black hole, but not without having done incredible damage. The problem was, Ayla was completely out of mana, so neither of us could conjure our hammers.
The plate around the giant’s feet was so badly broken, I easily sliced through it with my ice katana. Esme joined in, and together we minced its legs to pieces. It fell forward onto its belly and erupted into the most massive plume of shadow we’d ever beheld.
The three of us cheered. The Soulless Warrior had been vanquished. Not just by power. Not just by skill. But by strategy, teamwork, and most of all, by the bonds we’d forged.
In lockstep, we climbed to the tower’s entrance and entered.
We were not greeted by a treasure chest, as we expected. Rather, we were greeted with a lever and a platform.
“So this is like the palace, then,” I said. “This platform is going to descend and take us to a treasure room. Nice.”
Once we were all on it, Ayla pulled the lever. It descended with the groan of gears.
And kept descending. And descending. From Ayla and Esme’s concerned faces, they too wondered if it would ever end. Five minutes. Ten minutes.
“Are we going to hell itself?” I said.
Esme tapped her chin. “I’ve heard of a deep layer beneath the surface. But I’ve never heard of anyone actually going there.”
“Deep layer… you mean like an underworld?” I asked. “Could such a thing really exist?”
Ayla nodded. “All sorts of rumors on the mainland about adventurers falling into holes and never returning. Perhaps they all got trapped there.”
“Well… we better be ready for anything, then.” I stuck my hands in my pockets and whistled, like I’d sometimes do during long elevator rides. “And I really hope whatever’s down there can make us insanely powerful. Powerful enough to storm Port City and free Tara and her sister.”
“I’m with you on that,” Esme said. “I’d like nothing more than to help her. I want to see her smile. I bet it’s cute.”
After another ten minutes of wondering if we were going to fall out of the other side of the world, the descending platform finally ground to a stop.
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With Ayla out of mana, we had to take it easy for the rest of the day. Esme took us to an area where we could collect crafting ingredients from these monsters that resembled giant frogs. Using the katana and arrows, Esme and I easily farmed them. Too bad we couldn’t use Ayla’s Wind Blast, since it was such a powerful area-of-effect spell.
After that, we went to a settlement where Esme often sold her wares. It was nestled between a mountain and a stream. As usual, an orange glyph-covered barrier surrounded it. Though larger than the other settlements we’d seen, it was still pretty shoddy, with the houses and hovels formed mostly from mud and reeds. A well sat in the center of the settlement, along with coops for farm animals.
Like last time, the seller met us at the edge of the barrier. Esme handed him the ring we’d found in the bronze treasure chest in the Ruined Palace. The man looked at both the jewel and the band through his eye piece.
“Can you read the script?” Esme asked. “What does it do?”
The man grunted. “Says here that it provides a barrier against magic attacks, one time per day.”
Holy hell. That sounded super useful.
“It’s too useful to sell,” I said. “We’ll hold on to it.”
The man handed it to me. I handed it to Ayla.
“Why me?” she asked. “I’d feel better if Esme had it.”
Of course she would. I stroked Ayla’s hair. “Esme has ice arrows. That allows her to stay safe and away from magical attacks. Since you stand in the vanguard, you’re much more likely to be targeted. So you wear it.”
Obviously if Ayla wore it, I’d get the same benefit. But Esme wouldn’t, sadly.
Ayla nodded and put it on. It was a stunning splash of color on her, especially since her outfit was mostly black.
We bought some potions, soul cabins, and other useful supplies from the settlement. Then we used a soul cabin so Ayla could rest properly. Esme gave her a massage to relax her. We were too melancholy to have sex that night, our thoughts on Tara’s struggles. But the three of us cuddled and enjoyed each other’s warmth.
I wanted Tara and her twin sister to be a part of it. I wanted to warm their cold bodies in my bed, and make them happy. It would be my purpose from now on. I had to find Saran’s house in Port City, kill him, and free them both.
The next day, we returned to the dungeon that Esme and I had failed to clear because of the Soulless Warrior’s second form. We descended into its depths, killing giant ants the while. They posed no challenge against our powered-up abilities. After a few hours of hiking down stairs and tunnels and across the various ruins, we arrived at the massive chamber. A tower stood at the edge, within which was surely a wonderful treasure, considering what guarded it.
The Soulless Warrior stood at the entrance to the tower. He’d returned to his original form. We approached him slowly, ready to enact our strategy. Esme hit him with ice arrows, drawing his ire, as Ayla and I smashed at his plate mail with our hammers. When his ire turned our way, we’d back off, and Esme would shoot him with ice arrows until his hate returned to her. Then we’d just rinse and repeat this strategy, being careful not to overindulge in our attacks and stay patient.
After ten minutes, the Soulless Warrior’s limbs snapped, and it contorted and ballooned and grew with a terrifying inhalation of all the shadows in the entire cave. The three of us made sure to stay as far back as we could.
Now we had to enact the second part of our strategy. This time it would be more complicated, but because we had foreknowledge of how this monster behaved, we were confident we could kill it and finally claim the treasure.
Esme used her Leaping Shoes to jump over the thing’s massive ax swipes. She also wore the fez, which attracted its hate — though not all of it. Carefully, she bounced around, hitting it in the face with ice arrows. Ayla and I stayed near the thing’s feet and bashed it with our hammers. As we did, shadows wheezed out of the wounds.
There were moments when I feared it would crush us, or Esme would mistime her jump and get hit. But whenever the thing began stomping its feet, Ayla and I would backdash. And when it would swing its ax vertically rather than horizontally, Esme made sure not to jump but to dash to the side. She was so agile and attentive. The dumb thing telegraphed its attacks too much, so all we needed to do was whittle it down.
Ayla and I pounded its shins so hard, it actually staggered and fell to its knees, causing rocks to shoot from the ground where it fell and the whole cavern to quake. I was ready to try a risky move.
I drew all the mana from Ayla that I could and summoned the Divine Wind. Like last time, a black hole opened in midair, and a minor god made from wind poured out of it. This time, the wind god grew as it ensnared the Soulless Knight. It encompassed the entire giant in its body, beating against its armor with a fierce storm. And as it did, wisps of shadow bled out of the giant.
After twenty seconds, the minor god returned to its black hole, but not without having done incredible damage. The problem was, Ayla was completely out of mana, so neither of us could conjure our hammers.
The plate around the giant’s feet was so badly broken, I easily sliced through it with my ice katana. Esme joined in, and together we minced its legs to pieces. It fell forward onto its belly and erupted into the most massive plume of shadow we’d ever beheld.
The three of us cheered. The Soulless Warrior had been vanquished. Not just by power. Not just by skill. But by strategy, teamwork, and most of all, by the bonds we’d forged.
In lockstep, we climbed to the tower’s entrance and entered.
We were not greeted by a treasure chest, as we expected. Rather, we were greeted with a lever and a platform.
“So this is like the palace, then,” I said. “This platform is going to descend and take us to a treasure room. Nice.”
Once we were all on it, Ayla pulled the lever. It descended with the groan of gears.
And kept descending. And descending. From Ayla and Esme’s concerned faces, they too wondered if it would ever end. Five minutes. Ten minutes.
“Are we going to hell itself?” I said.
Esme tapped her chin. “I’ve heard of a deep layer beneath the surface. But I’ve never heard of anyone actually going there.”
“Deep layer… you mean like an underworld?” I asked. “Could such a thing really exist?”
Ayla nodded. “All sorts of rumors on the mainland about adventurers falling into holes and never returning. Perhaps they all got trapped there.”
“Well… we better be ready for anything, then.” I stuck my hands in my pockets and whistled, like I’d sometimes do during long elevator rides. “And I really hope whatever’s down there can make us insanely powerful. Powerful enough to storm Port City and free Tara and her sister.”
“I’m with you on that,” Esme said. “I’d like nothing more than to help her. I want to see her smile. I bet it’s cute.”
After another ten minutes of wondering if we were going to fall out of the other side of the world, the descending platform finally ground to a stop.
AnnouncementHey there! Go up to 10 chapters ahead by joining my PATREON and get exclusive art of the girls!
