Everything hurt as Bria pushed herself upright. Blinking her eyes open, she hissed at the sight of blood dripping from her brow. A quick casting of [Heal] helped, bits of wood and stone falling as wounds closed. Bria shakily got to her feet, staring off into the darkness. None of her magic would produce light, which left her standing in near total black.
A groan nearby had her turning, only to freeze as light pierced the void. There, just feet away, was the same soldier pushing themselves upright while holding a now glowing stick. Looking about, Bria was glad to spot her sword and reached for it as quickly as she could. The steel rang out as it scraped stone, and the soldier’s gaze sharpened on her. His eyes focused and a malevolent grin stretched across his lips.
“Well now, if it isn’t the frail girly,” the man said, retrieving his own weapon as he tossed the glowstick down, letting it light up the space while freeing his hand. “Be a good little bitch and die for me, now would ya?”
“Seriously?” Bria hissed. “We just dropped who-knows-how-deep into the dungeon and your first thought is finishing the job?”
The man snorted. “Just following orders kid. No hard feelings.”
“No, very much hard feelings.”
Like how her hands were trembling as she gripped her blade with everything she had. Her pack fell loose as she shook it off her shoulder and and her shield was nowhere within reach. Bria had no other recourse but to fight a man several times stronger than she was alone and partially disarmed.
[Enhance] flowed through her, bringing her physical attributes back to a more respectable level. That one missing experience point continued to mock her as the soldier stalked forward with little regard for his own injuries. Why wasn’t he healing himself? He should have the ability, yet he hadn’t so much as cast a single spell.
Steel lashed out, prompting Bria to block with her own blade. The impact rattled her bones as her arm was forced back. Her eyes widened at the change in strength and speed. He must have been playing with her the entire time on the bridge despite his orders. The soldier didn’t hesitate to take advantage, slashing again in quick succession. A lance of fire streaked across her arm where the blade had cut, tearing a scream out with it before she could bite down and grit through it.
A rhythmic huffing echoed through the dark, followed by growing laughter. Bria glared at the shadowed face of the man who was trying to kill her as he grinned manically. This time when he approached, it was far more relaxed and confident. Just looking at him was making her sick. He was looking forward to making her suffer before she died.
No, Bria refused to go that easily. She brought her blade back up, only for it to be swatted aside. With that same flick of the wrist, the blade cut deep. She stumbled, but the man continued to approach lazily. Her mana was low, and she couldn’t risk another [Heal] just yet. She needed to save it for when it would matter most.
The next exchange was almost insulting as he parried her thrust and spun the blade away. Then, steel parted armor and flesh alike as it pierced her side. The pain was less that she expected from getting stabbed, and her own sword clattered to the ground as her health ticked down into the teens.
The man leaned close, looking deep into her eyes. They were a similar brown to her own. “Ya know, it’s always something special watching the life leave a person. I wonder what your eyes will show me in your final moments?”
The malice that shone within his gaze burned worse than the blade itself. Here she was, about to die, and the last thing she was going to see was this man taking sick satisfaction in her suffering? Where were the others? Was Neth even okay? Had they ended up under the rubble? With each bit of health that ticked away, it became more and more apparent that nobody was going to save her.
“Don’t know,” Bria grit out, her hand dropping to her side as she took a steadying breath. “Why don’t you go first?”
Grabbing the hilt at her hip, Bria’s hand flashed up, driving her knife through his chin and up into his skull. The man’s eyes rolled back and he fell slack, dropping to the ground even as a dull chime sounded in her mind followed by another. With that surge of power, her mana recovered a bit, but not completely. [Heal] flowed out, only for the flesh around the sword in her gut to immediately be cut again.
Hissing, Bria pulled the sword free, casting [Heal] once more to close the wound.
“Note to self,” she muttered, adding a [Cleanse] followed by [Mend], “make sure the blade is removed before healing.”
She slumped to the ground, panting as sweat dripped from her brow even after the experience was over. Those last spells had depleted her mana completely, which had her reaching for her pack and finding the sole mana potion she had. They were expensive, but she couldn’t see a better use for it when she was so close to having died and still in danger. Drinking the bitter brew, Bria was content to simply sit there and give it a chance to recover. Her eyes trailed over to the man’s corpse, and the dagger still stuck through his neck.
She’d killed a man, and had gained experience for doing so. Worse, she had gained a level from the act of murder. Sure, she could justify it as self-defense, but Bria had taken the life of another human being.
You have defeated a [Human] 48 EXP Granted!
Bria Ortega has leveled up!
Hit Points: 43+8=51
Mana: 36+8=44
Strength: 39+9=48
Defense: 35+8=43
Agility: 36+5=41
Magic Might: 30+7=37
Magic Defense: 37+6=43
[Flame] Learned!
Her chest and stomach constricted, and vomit spilled across the stone floor. A life extinguished, even if it was a horrible person. How many others had he bled slowly like he intended to do with her? Could she rest easier knowing he wouldn’t hurt another person ever again? Would someone one day be sitting over her body justifying themselves just as she currently was? Would they too finally get their first offensive ability from it?
“God, this is so fucked.”
Bria pushed herself up, legs wobbling as she struggled to get them back under her. Despite the increased stats and [Enhance] still being active, she felt so incredibly weak. Where were the others? Just how far into the depths of the dungeon had she fallen? Bria walked over to the fallen glowstick and picked it up, holding it aloft. She found her shield just a few feet away, underneath some sections of broken bridge. Bria looked up into the void, unable to see anything of note through the darkness
Whoever that masked person was, she would pay them back tenfold.
Looking about, Bria didn’t have much of a choice, there was only one path forward. She considered calling out for her friends, but if they hadn’t heard the fight earlier, then announcing herself to potential surviving soldiers wasn’t the brightest of ideas.
Barely a minute had passed before the path opened back up. The space held the subtle glow of the reflected moon and planets, casting the open space in an eerie light. Rope bridges much like the one she had fallen from spanned the gaps, leading ever deeper into the chasm.
“I really don’t want to get on another,” Bria said to herself.
As if to spite her, a chunk of the ceiling fell, taking out one of the bridges just a couple dozen feet away. Wisely, she shut her mouth to avoid tempting fate yet further. Briefly, she considered attempting to scale the walls and simply climb out, but even with her enhanced attributes it seemed daunting. Looking at the dilapidated bridges, Bria let out a heavy sigh and approached the closest one. A quick casting of [Mend] removed the worst of the wear, and she gave it a tentative step.
It held.
“Would [Mend] have saved the last bridge before it burned through?”
Crossing took only a moment, not that she paid much attention to the actual act. Anything to avoid thinking about another tumble into the dark. Another bridge led upwards, and Bria made sure to [Mend] it as well before climbing. From there, only a singular path into the dark remained.
The strange light stick—not dissimilar to an earth glowstick—continued to provide her with illumination. Without it, she would need to rely on her newest spell, which would leave her without mana for any fights to come.
And there would be more, if the cries up ahead were any indication. Her pace hastened, feet hammering against stone as she jumped over a rotten bridge, landing deftly on the other side. Had that been a solid twenty feet? It was hard to tell in the haste of the moment.
A new space opened up and Bria’s eyes scanned the room for any of her friends that might be in trouble. Someone was in peril, running as fast as his legs could carry him from nearly a dozen shambling humanoids that lacked proper form or coordination. Bria almost moved, only to pause when a spell lashed out, illuminating the regalia of a Brookvale soldier. The same colors that Ri-durak’s men wore.
The man tripped, and the monsters were upon him before he could right himself. Gnarled hands and gnashing teeth fell upon him and Bria had to look away. An inhuman screech tore free from the soldier as the monsters ripped him apart with monstrous strength.
[Zombie Lv. 9]
And there were a dozen of them feasting upon the flesh of the dead man. Bria’s stomach roiled at the sight, her muscles contracting as she forced what little remained back down. She couldn’t afford such weakness, especially not when it would result in all of those monsters coming after her just as savagely.
Despite the new spell offering a ranged flame attack, she didn’t have high hopes for her ability to survive a fight with level nine monsters. Heck, she hadn’t even tested it to know if it fired a ball, or if it was a continuous gout of flame. A fight with creatures hungry for flesh wasn’t exactly the time or place to figure out new magic.
A primal scream stole her attention as three men in that same armor came running out of the far passage. One was the man with a class from earlier, and his sword cleaved through one of the zombies in a single stroke. The others had significantly less luck, which had Bria suspecting a skill was involved with the Class holder.
She didn’t even want to think about how effective her own sword might be against the monsters. Blades bit into the flesh of the shambling creatures, but that didn’t even seem to slow them down as they grabbed hold of the soldiers attempting to put them down. The Class Holder cut down three of them before the first of his compatriots went down screaming.
A horrible guilt welled up within Bria at the sight, but those men had agreed to kill her just as an example. To her surprise, it was the Class Holder that went down next, though he certainly evened the odds for when it was her turn. The final soldier turned tail, attempting to flee, only to have a fallen monster grab him by the leg and trip him.
The remaining four shredded him in moments.
Watching the gruesome scene, Bria could hardly believe the thoughts running through her head. Was she actually considering fighting the zombies despite having just watched someone at level eleven die horribly to them?
“Okay, four is better than nine,” Bria muttered, gripping her sword tight.
Apparently she was, which seemed to be the height of foolishness if there ever was one. Still, she couldn’t see any alternatives. There was only one path forward, and behind her laid a single corpse. Part of her considered dragging it into the room as bait, but the monsters had completely abandoned the dead soldier in favor of the live ones.
No, if she was to continue through the dungeon, she would have to fight them. And she would be doing it alone. Taking a breath, Bria put one foot forward, and then another. Soon, she was approaching at a steady gait despite the fear roiling in her stomach. The first of the undead pulled its head from the guts of the dead man and looked right at her.
Bria didn’t look away, and brought her sword and shield up even as she channeled her mana. There was no need to waste her breath with words. Either she would kill these monsters and continue, or she would die horribly.
Given the foes before her, Bria wasn’t a fan of those odds.