Chapter 12: Chapter 12 – Ancient Ones? (Oriwynn Ruins VI)

Seven members of Sparky's pack had turned on him. The one leading them had that rough around the edges vibe and was easily the second largest here, even towering over Sparky’s girl. He wore a greyish dirty fur that was full of scars, battle damage, and specs of crusted blood. This guy sure needed a grooming, but I bet he liked to keep it that way– to keep up with his whole rabid-wolf act. Seeing his former master on the ground like that in this weakened form must have given him the balls to stage this coup.

The traitor glanced at the she-wolf with a predatory gaze as if he thought he had some kind of chance with her. She growled back at him in defiance as the kid hid behind her and went all pale like a ghost.

This was starting to get on my nerves. Sparky had just saved all our hides, and I know for a fact we would have all been dead if it weren't for him. The five who stayed true to Sparky were most likely smart enough to figure that out.

[Ali’Creed Level 5: HP: 57/161, SP: 97/161, MP: 146/161]

My health was getting low, and I would bet all my money that the leader of this little revolution packed quite a punch. While the two groups squared up, I took this opportunity to drink a potion, which spilled again, before easing a few steps forward.

You Consumed Health Potion Level 0: +89 HP

[Grey Dire-Wolf Brute Level 8: HP: 179/230]

“You’re all mine, traitors!” I shouted as the brute growled and lunged forward, attempting to take a chunk out of my chest. I sidestepped the attack as I had with the first wolf I’d battled back in my camp, raised my sword, and swung it in a downward arc. The elven blade whistled through the air and sliced through its thick coat around the shoulder, causing a torrent of blood to spurt out. It growled in pain before pausing to reconsider its next move.

[Grey Dire-Wolf Brute Level 8: HP: 128/230]

The adrenaline was still flowing through my body from the previous battle in addition to the anger caused by that black goo slipping away through our grasp. I moved in for another strike, but this time, I lunged forward, the pointy curved tip of the blade leading, and hit it square in the stomach before it whimpered and backed off, satiating the ground below with blood.

[Grey Dire-Wolf Brute Level 8: HP: 87/230]

The other members of Sparky's pack had done a great job of fending the traitors off. When the other remaining traitors had seen the brute defeated, they backed off and made a run for the forest. The brute limped away following their tracks. I chased it for the final strike and just as I was about to land the final strike Sparky interrupted with a loud growl and followed up with some sparks from his mouth. It was as if he was trying to tell me to let it be. I let out a drawn-out sigh as I didn’t exactly want Sparky to get the wrong impression of me, especially in front of his family. “Alright, I’ll let him go, but if he comes anywhere near us again, I’ll kill him.” I scoffed before sheathing my blood-soaked sword.

Sparky just shook off my words as if he knew I was just talking shit for no reason. Maybe he wanted the bastard to bleed out and suffer a slow death. Who knows? So, I just decided to leave it be and limped over to Sparky and sat beside him. “Glad that's over now,” I patted him, “I want you and your friends to stay here until you’re good enough to walk. I need to go back in there,” I pointed to the entrance of the ruins.

Sparky raised an eyebrow in a very confused look as if to tell me I nearly died the last time I went in there. Why go back?

I replied with a cheeky grin, there was still loot left in there, and besides, I wanted to know what became of Eldrin. “I might be gone for about an hour or so. When I get back, we’ll make our way back to my camp where we’ll be safe. Not sure why you’d want to stay in this forest any longer with that monster lurking around. I don’t know about you, but that shit would make me super paranoid.”

Sparky pondered on the thought while glancing at his family. Releasing a sigh through his sharp teeth, he turned to lock eyes with me. He could probably sense my intentions were good and gave me an approving nod before getting some R&R in.

If only I could do the same. My greed for loot had gotten the better of me. I checked my inventory to see if I had any berries left. I was starving and the unsettling noises coming from my stomach even gave the wolves a run for their money. I stuffed what remained of the berries and scavenged the few drops of water left in the flask.

You Consumed Raspberry (3)

You Consumed Blueberry (4)

[Ali’Creed Level 5: HP: 161/161, SP: 114/161, MP: 161/161]

I turned to face what remained of Sparky's crew, “You guys are responsible for Sparky until I get back. He better be ok when I return, or we’re going to have a problem. You hear me?” They bowed their heads in acknowledgment before taking their places around the ruins to watch guard. Sparky's she-wolf came to me and rubbed her head on my breastplate, shortly followed by his kid, who caressed my leg with his cute fluffy hair. I patted the little baby’s head and tickled him before getting up. We barely knew each other, but they appreciated my loyalty toward Sparky.

With my hunger at bay and some energy returning, I walked to the entrance of the ruins and cast the light spell before descending, hopefully for the last time… like ever.

You cast Sphere of Light: +10 XP

[Ali’Creed Level 5: HP: 161/161, SP: 114/161, MP: 123/161]

I held the spell in my hands at a quarter of its normal capacity. This allowed me enough time to reach the bottom of the stairs and find a half-decent torch. I ripped one off the wall and used the flint and steel to spark it up. I made my way all the way back to the cave where I had first encountered the black goo monster.

Along the way, I noticed that the creatures I had cremated with the fire spell had ended up becoming small piles of ash. Upon closer inspection, I gave it a shot trying to loot them, only to fail. The system was having none of that, annoyed, I cast another light spell and let it float to the ceiling to get a better look around.

You cast Sphere of Light: +10 XP

You are reading story Rekindle Project (A LITRPG Series) at novel35.com

[Ali’Creed Level 5: HP: 161/161, SP: 114/161, MP: 85/161]

The room had been cleared of all enemies. In the centre of the cave, I noticed a spire rising up where a weird-looking stone tablet rested upon its flat tip. Patterns had been engraved on its surface similar to the ones I had seen earlier, but upon closer inspection, they seemed to have a faint green gleam to them. I wasn’t sure touching this thing would lead to anything good, but it seemed to be giving off a nice kind of energy.

I felt it interact with my magic, with that, it looked like it had once contained both good and evil energy in equal amounts, but whatever Eldrin and his people did here must have accidentally released the evil side. Which most likely resulted in the birth of that black goo and fucked everything up. Not feeling any bad intent from it, I raised my hand forward and used the tip of my finger to touch it. The symbols lit up like neon lights when a sudden rush of magic blasted my face with a stormy breeze.

Through hard work and turmoil, you have fought the evil contained within this relic of an ancient era.

You have Unlocked a New Skill: Ancient Knowledge Level 0

[Not much is known about the Ancient beings. Upgrade this skill to learn more.]

You have Unlocked a new Ability: Slow Time

[Become a master of space and time like the beings of old. Slow time to a standstill and enact your will. Cost 5AP/s. Experience Rewarded: 5XP/s.]

Discover more relics of the ancient ones to gain other abilities and knowledge of the ancient age.

[Ali’Creed Level 5: HP: 161/161, SP: 114/161, MP: 85/161, AP:50/50]

Interesting! My combat screen had flickered to life and updated. A new stat had been added titled: Ability Points (AP). Followed by a small decal of one of those strange symbols in the corner of my HUD. This must be something like a quick select command similar to what you could do with old RPGs like if you wanted to use an ability without opening a menu. This ability would allow me to slow the passage of time like bullet time but with sword and sorcery instead. Wicked! I couldn’t wait to use it… but this place was giving me the creeps. I just wanted to get my loot and get the hell out of here as Sparky and his buddies were waiting for me topside.

With that done I looked around the edges of this place and noticed a reflection coming from the far side of the chamber. It looked like a large piece of elven metal, so I hurried towards it, which also revealed a large sized chest. The metal object just so happened to be an elven shield, exactly what I needed to complete my armour set. I stuffed it in my inventory and rushed to open the chest.

You Gained Elven Shield

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