Chapter 3: 3. Soren

“Did anyone see where those guys came from before the hooded ones appeared?” A player said quietly, receiving only negative responses.

“The first batch should have been of the Predator class, I think.” A girl said with a pensive expression on her face. “But I think only a handful of the ones wearing robes are Empowered. The rest are probably just grunts.”

Rhys cocked his head to listen to her when he heard that. Truth be told, he had not considered that some cultists could be normal people! But considering he had only dealt with Grennell and Merida for two years, it seemed natural to think that they all had to be mages. Especially with how they dressed!

The other players seemed to agree with the girl who had spoken, and after a quick inspection, Rhys discovered her name was Tolke. Well, that was her in-game name, according to the box above her head when he focused on her.

From what he could gather, the players seemed to think getting captured by the cult was a chance to receive their Empowered class. So they all thought they had struck a gold mine! So players have to be subjected to an Empowered Force as well to gain their class?

It made sense to Rhys now why the players had allowed themselves to be captured. If they did not have a class yet, then there was no way they could have fought off the cultists. He suddenly noticed that some cultists were staring at the players strangely. As if they could not understand what the players were saying.

That was when he remembered a piece of information he had gained during the glitch. That’s right! The players have their own chat channel that stops NPCs from hearing what they are talking about! It scrambles their words into gibberish! But why can I understand them then?

He could only put it down to the permissions that he had been granted. I guess I’m somewhere between a player and an NPC now. Rhys frowned as he thought about that revelation. I need to find a way to use these permissions to my advantage in the future. For now, I have to lose these guys before Grennell or Merida spot me.

Rhys had not got a good look at every cultist in the group, so he could only hope they were not among them. The players continued to chat excitedly as they moved further underground. They pointed out the luminous mushrooms and the stalks that grew all around them.

Wait! The path splits just up ahead! Rhys thought as he recognised the sight up ahead. Should I risk it?

He glanced around with a frown on his face, but nobody seemed to pay much attention to him. I don’t know where it goes, and I would risk getting lost. He chewed on his lip as the split came into view. Screw it!

He pressed himself closer to the wall and slowed his pace. Falling to the rear of the group. As soon as the wall opened up, Rhys hastened down the passage that went deep underground instead of following the group back to the living areas!

The sounds from the group faded behind him as he followed the twists and turns of the new passage. Rhys slipped on the damp rocks and cursed as his head hit the wall. By now, he was pretty far into the passage, and he was sure no one was following him.

He took several deep breaths before moving on. Rhys felt uneasy in that passage, but he could not explain why. Before long, he could make out the sound of running water coming from somewhere up ahead.

The passage took a few more turns as it twisted ever deeper into the earth. Then he saw it! Rhys’ eyes went wide as the tunnel opened up into a spacious cavern! From wall to wall in front of him there was a vast underground lake, with a waterfall on the far side of it.

At the top of that waterfall, Rhys could see the mouth of another tunnel. I guess that’s where I need to go. He sighed as he tried to spot a path along the walls. However, there was no easy way to get there. He gazed at the lake with a pensive expression. Guess I’m going to have to swim for it.

He could see that the rocky walls on either side of the waterfall had plenty of areas he could use as footholds and grab on to. Rhys stared at the placid lake as he approached it. Its waters looked black in that gloom, but there was something peaceful about it.

However, that was when something unexpected happened! Once he was right on the edge of the lake, a ripple ran from its center towards the shore where he was standing! Alarm bells rang in Rhys’ mind as he quickly backed away.

Something is coming! His right hand glowed with a pale blue light as he prepared his Creeping Lightning spell. I have one hundred points of Power and Health since I became a mage. I should be fine.

A powerful pair of jaws erupted from the water and snapped at the empty air where Rhys had been. Upon inspecting it, Rhys learned it was a Soren. A type of magical beast that looked like an alligator but had eight legs!

Rhys unleashed his spell! Several lightning bolts with only a few meters of range leapt from his fingertips every second. The Soren roared in pain as the scales where the spell struck blackened under Rhys’ assault. The beast fixed its small black eyes on Rhys as it charged towards him!

Rhys swiftly moved to the Soren’s left side, as the beast’s powerful jaws snapped once again. That was a little too close! Rhys gulped as scales fell off from his attack, exposing the soft tissue beneath them. The Soren entered a frenzy and whipped its tail at him, but Rhys was too close to its body for it to reach.

Just a little more! Rhys thought as he monitored the Soren’s health bar that appeared once they had entered combat. The beast thrashed helplessly. Its body was designed to dash in a straight line to catch its prey unawares. But after its initial charge it had little manoeuvrability.

A sizzling sound filled the air along with the scent of cooked meat as Rhys’ spell pierced through the soft tissue of the Soren. The beast’s eyes turned blank as it collapsed on the ground. Rhys heaved a sigh of relief as he cancelled his spell.

Almost didn’t make it. He frowned as he sat down next to the corpse and checked his stats.

 

Name: Rhys

Status: Normal

Race: Eldraen

Class: Mage

Gender: Male

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Age: 16

 

Health: 100/100

Power: 10/100

Rank: F-

Next Rank: 79/200 of Force Accumulated

 

Strength: 5

Physique: 10

Speed: 5

Will: 25

Luck: 10

 

The fight had only lasted thirty seconds, but Rhys had felt like it had lasted a lot longer than that. That spell costs three Power per second and deals five points of damage per second. Rhys stared at the rocky ceiling above him. I’d be close to empty if I killed someone with the same health as me. But they wouldn’t be as easy. They’d have their own skills and would move around a lot more.

Rhys sighed when he realised he was actually more likely to run out of power before killing another Empowered. In the end, he came to one conclusion. I need to get stronger.

With each minute that passed, he regained power equal to his Will stat. I guess I’ll need to balance my attacks with my recovery in the future. Let’s try the others.

Rhys placed a palm on the corpse and activated his Drain Force spell. A dark cloud covered his hand as he felt a strange sensation run through his arm and spread throughout his body. He kept the spell active until the sensation suddenly stopped.

You have accumulated 20 points of Force.

Rhys nodded in satisfaction at that result. This spell allows me to steal some of the Force stored in a corpse. With this, I should be able to raise my rank a lot quicker. He frowned when he realised that this was probably the fate that Merida had in mind for him when she took him for harvesting.

However, it’s only effective throughout the F ranks. I’d need to find a new method later on. Rhys sighed as he made a mental list of what he had to do once he was free. He needed to gain more spells, methods for accumulating force, a place to live, earn money, and find a way to make use of his knowledge about that world and the players.

The goal of this game for the players is to find the Nexus. Whoever finds it will be given full authority over this game. Rhys’ eyes narrowed when he thought about what might happen to his world if the Nexus fell into the wrong hands. I’ll just have to beat them to it. It’s the only way I can ensure the safety of my own life.

With that thought, another item appeared on his to-do list. Right, let me give that a try. Rhys pointed a finger towards the Soren’s corpse as he activated his last spell. A thin tendril of black smoke snaked its way through the air until it made contact with the Soren.

The dark energy seeped its way through the scales on the body, and Rhys waited for a few seconds for the spell to take hold. The beast’s black eyes turned red with the glow of undeath as it slowly stood up. Great! It was a success! Now I have a way to cross this lake!

Rhys chuckled as he sent a mental command through their joint energy to the beast. He climbed onto the creature’s back as it set off for the water at high speed. A smile crept across Rhys’ face at the intoxicating feeling of forcing that creature to do what he wanted.

It’s a shame it loses most of its power. This could have easily made up for Power problem otherwise. Targets reanimated with the Raise Lesser Undead spell saw all of their stats reduced to 25% of what they were when they were alive. Making them useful for nothing more than a distraction.

The spell would not last long either. The victim’s corpse decayed rapidly under the effect of the spell, so it was obviously better to use it on a fresh and intact corpse to get the longest use out of it. By the time the Soren had reached the other side, nearly all of its insides had leaked out of the wound that Rhys had created. Which left a gory trail floating in the water behind them.

Rhys had to cover his nose from the stench as he reached out to grab onto the wall in front of him. It was difficult to get a grip, since the waterfall splashed all over it. Rhys cursed as it hand slipped from it for the second time. Eventually, he was able to get ahold of it and began his climb.

He did his best not to look down as he climbed towards the peak of the waterfall. Minutes passed as his muscles strained to pull his body up to safety. He sighed in relief as he finally pulled his body onto the flat ledge at the mouth of the tunnel. Rhys took a quick look at the water below, but the Soren was nowhere to be seen.

I better get moving. Who knows if someone from the cult will come looking for me? He sighed as he stared into the dark passage. I hope you lead to the surface!

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