Chapter 374 - Gauntlet (Patreon)

Zeke gazed across the chasm at the mountainous building in the distance. The lowest level was the largest, spanning what had to be miles in each direction, and each floor above that was a little smaller. That pattern continued until, at the very top where it merged with the chamber’s ceiling, it was the size of a normal building.

“Like a wedding cake, right?” said Eveline. “I hate that I even know what a wedding cake is. Your world was weird.”

Zeke ignored her, instead continuing to study the building. Other than its massive size and odd structure, it was notable in a couple of other ways. For one, it seemed to consist of all sharp edges, wicked towers, and steeply sloped roofs. For another, it was wreathed in green mist that swirled of its own volition before blanketing the outskirts. When Zeke looked down, he got the feeling that he was gazing into an endless abyss.

And given the obviously magical nature of the dungeon, that very well could have been the case.

Sweeping his attention across the rest of the massive chamber – and it was still completely underground, as evidenced by the jagged stalactites jutting from the distant roof – he saw that the walls were ringed by a series of waterfalls. Some were situated higher on the wall, but others were much lower and obscured by the green mist.

Zeke didn’t bother looking back the way he’d come. In that direction was only a dead end. If he wanted to defeat the dungeon, the only viable path was forward. Fortunately, there was a long, narrow bridge composed of stone stretching across the chasm to connect the tunnel to the giant structure in the distance.

Kneeling down, he focused on the bridge’s supporting columns, which descended into the abyss. They had been carved with a macabre motif that made it look like the bridge was being supported by giant skeletons. That did not fill Zeke with confidence, especially after he’d recently seen a group of seemingly lifeless statues become ghoulgoyles.

However, as foreboding as the setting was, Zeke didn’t need anyone to tell him that he didn’t have much choice in the matter. Back the way he’d come was nothing but the cistern in which he’d awoken, and there was no way to get to the other openings he saw in the cavern. And even if he could, he suspected that each of them would only lead to more of the same. He had no interest in facing off against another horde of rotroaches.

No - if he wanted to progress, forward was the only option. That meant traversing the incredibly narrow bridge and entering the structure in the distance. So, without any other options, Zeke took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and strode forward.

The bridge was only three feet across, and without the benefit of rails, Zeke found his passage incredibly unnerving. He wasn’t afraid of heights, and he was more than capable of keeping on the path. However, when even a slight slip would mean falling into a seemingly endless abyss, a little anxiety was more than understandable.

Not for the first time, he wished he had some sort of flying ability like Abby. Her [Cloud Walk] skill wasn’t true flight, but it certainly would have been useful in his current situation. But if everything worked out going forward, Zeke had plans for his next skill that would grant him a movement skill. With his earth attunement, it probably wouldn’t be flight, but he still held out hope that he could put some decent substitute together.

But that was a worry for another time. For now, he needed to focus on crossing the bridge – which was precisely what he did. It took him almost thirty minutes to traverse the narrow path, but eventually, he reached what looked like the courtyard of a haunted house.

His progress was blocked off by a wrought iron gate, beyond which was an overgrown lawn filled with twisted trees and leafless bushes. The grass grew in knee-high tufts that looked like islands amidst a sea of muddy, brown earth. Beyond the depressing grounds rose the structure itself, which as he’d drawn closer, Zeke saw was curiously mundane. There were no twisted statues or lifelike gargoyles. Just bare, stone walls and normal architectural flourishes. Certainly, it still looked like an overzealous architect’s gothic fever dream, but there was little aside from its gargantuan size to suggest that it was magical.

Of course, as Eveline was quick to remind him, that meant less than nothing. Zeke knew he was in a dungeon, and as such, he expected that everything he saw was going to try to kill him. Perhaps it wouldn’t, but nobody ever died from being overly cautious.

“That is patently untrue,” Eveline said. “I knew a demon once who was so terrified of his enemies that he locked himself in an impregnable tower. Ended up dying from starvation or some such. Or maybe his staff killed him. I don’t know. The point is that he –”

“I get it, Eveline,” Zeke said aloud. She tried to continue the conversation, but he ignored her. Instead, he continued to study his surroundings. Unless he was completely misreading things, he fully expected that the moment he opened the gate, he would have to face some sort of threat. What form the danger took was unknowable, but judging by his previous experiences within the dungeon, he suspected it would push him to his limits.

For a long time, Zeke just stood there as he looked for a way to subvert the intended path. He considered leaping from the bridge and climbing the wall, but the blocks with which it had been constructed were well-fitted, offering no easy handholds. And while he suspected that he might be able to create his own, there was a long drop into an abyss waiting on him if he misjudged things.

In the end, he chose to climb the gate, reasoning that the trigger mechanism for whatever awaited him might be tied to the opening of the wrought iron gate. As it turned out, that was a mistake, and the moment he reached the top, an explosion of force erupted from beneath him. Before Zeke knew what was happening, he found himself sailing backward through the air.

Fortunately, he hit the bridge, then skidded across it for another twenty or thirty feet before barely managing to arrest his momentum by digging his fingers into the stone. It was just in time, too, because if he’d gone even a few more feet, he’d have tumbled off of the bridge and into the endless abyss below.

“So, I guess that was a bad idea,” he said, flopping over onto his back as he struggled to breathe. His entire body hurt, and the blow had knocked the wind out of him. “That thing hit like a truck. What was it?”

“Just force,” Eveline answered.

“How, though?” he asked, still lying on his back and trying to catch his breath. He hadn’t seen any runes to suggest that the gate had been enchanted. If he had, he would have used his Runebreaker technique to tear them apart.

“Dungeons are constructed entirely of mana,” Eveline said. “They don’t follow the rules of the outside world. For all we know, this entire demesne is one giant rune structure.”

“Demesne?”

“Like your tower, but significantly more advanced. One day, your tower will get there, but you’re not strong enough to support something like that. Not yet, at least. But to answer your question, it’s a domain of pure magic. Dungeons are the wild versions, but there are artificial ones as well. Your tower is a little of both, I think, which makes it almost entirely unique in this realm.”

“Are the artificial ones common?”

Eveline gave the impression that she was shaking her head before answering, “Fairly common. You’ve even seen them before. Extremely primitive versions abound in the form of spatial storage containers, but it requires a conceptual leap to even begin to progress past that limited form. And to create a true demesne is almost impossible in this realm due to the power, talent, and skill requirements.”

Zeke nodded along to her explanation. As he did, his mind screamed at him to get up and continue on his way, but his body needed a few minutes to recover. So, Zeke continued to lay there, thinking about Eveline’s description of a demesne. Once he’d wrapped his head around it, he said, “So, a demesne is just a personalized space?”

“It’s that and much more. Think about your bond to the Crimson Tower, and you’ll see the difference,” Eveline answered.

For a few more minutes, Zeke continued to give the subject some thought, but he didn’t get much further than the basic idea before he realized that his body had recovered. So, pushing the topic aside, he rose to his feet and once again approached the gate. Seeing no other route into the courtyard, he unlatched the gate, pushed it open, and stepped inside.

And nothing happened.

“Well, that’s a bit anticlimactic,” said Eveline. “I expected –”

Before she could finish her thought, a series of howls echoed through the chamber. Zeke’s head whipped around, searching for the source, but the nature of the echoing howls prevented him from pinpointing their origin. Still, he summoned his hammer and embraced [Triune Colossus], fueling it with pure mana.

Only a moment after his body completed its transformation, the source of the howling presented itself across the courtyard.

Using the most basic parameters, it looked like a dog. Four legs. An elongated snout. A tail. But it differed from any canine Zeke had ever seen in two significant ways. For one, it was at least as tall as his waist. Given that he was currently twelve feet tall, that meant the thing was absolutely enormous. However, it was built more like a greyhound than a mastiff, so its body was sleek and slim.

The second major difference seemed far more important than its size, though. Mostly because Zeke had never seen a skinless canine before. And looking at the one sprinting toward him, he really didn’t want to see another one ever again.

Not only were its muscles visible, but they clearly weren’t in the best shape. Bits and pieces were missing, which exposed all sorts of things nobody should have to see in a moving animal. Bones. Intestines. Veins. Every step it took left a trail of slimy blood.

In short, it lived up to its name, which Zeke managed to read just before it reached him:

Canine Horror – Level 51

Zeke lowered his shoulder and launched himself into the grotesque creature, sending it skidding backwards. The moment he got enough room, he swung his hammer with every ounce of strength he could bring to bear. Voromir’s head took it in the side, crushing ribs and rupturing its visible organs before launching it through the air to collide with one of the courtyard’s twisted trees.

It collapsed into a heap, but Zeke knew from experience that the thing wasn’t dead. He hadn’t felt an influx of kill energy, so he knew it was still alive. So, he raced forward, and over the next few moments, pounded the thing into mush. Eventually, it died, leaving Zeke covered in its blood and viscera.

Zeke’s shoulders slumped as he caught his breath. The battle hadn’t been difficult, but the sight of the monster had been panic-inducing.

“That was an ability. Believe me, if you didn’t have [Bulwark of the Triumvirate], you would have frozen,” Eveline said.

Zeke just shook his head. The mental protection skill wasn’t flashy. In fact, he often forgot it was even active, he’d grown so used to keeping it up. Still, it had saved him on more than one occasion. And that was on top of giving him the means to protect himself against Eveline if she ever became hostile.

“I would never!”

“Sure,” was his only reply.

He would have said more, but at that moment, another howl assailed his ears. Then another. When he looked up, he saw a pair of canine horrors loping in his direction. Both were level fifty-three. So, they were more powerful and more numerous – two facts that didn’t bode well for Zeke’s continued existence.

With grim determination, he turned to face the two newcomers.

The fight went much as the first encounter had, though, due to their slightly higher levels, the creatures were a little more capable of getting through his defenses. Still, Zeke managed to fend them off all the same. The first, he crushed with a sledgehammer blow to the head, but the second managed to disarm him, so he was forced to rip it apart with his bare hands.

In the end, Zeke found himself kneeling in a pool of blood and pulverized entrails as he struggled to catch his breath.

So, when the howling began again, he was a little slow to turn to face the newest threat. When he saw his new opponents, a spike of genuine fear managed to bypass his mental defenses.

Three canine horrors, all level fifty-five.

Zeke wasted no time before using [Colossal Legion], summoning his golems to help even the odds. The three bronze statues strode forward, meeting the charging canines with implacable determination. The battle was brutal, and without Zeke, the golems were completely overmatched. However, because the golems worked together, they managed to kill two of them before the last one fell to the remaining monster.

Zeke finished it off by repeatedly hammering the wounded creature into the ground. It was remarkably resilient – doubtless due to its high level – but he managed to kill it without sustaining any additional damage.

He’d just managed to kill the third creature when another set of howls echoed through the courtyard. Only a moment later, four more canine horrors appeared. This time, they were level fifty-seven.

The ensuing fight was a battle of attrition that pushed Zeke’s endurance to the limit. In the end, he only managed to win after using [Weight of Two Worlds] to slow the monsters down. That was the tipping point that allowed him to finish the first two off, but the remaining pair quickly adjusted. However, with half their number already dead, Zeke finished them off by briefly channeling demonic mana through [Cambion’s Awakening]. With a burst of explosive strength, he ripped the head from one canine before turning his attention to the last remaining monster.

It dashed in his direction, but he dipped his shoulder and dodged to the side. The canine was incapable of adjusting its direction, so it skidded past him. As it did so, Zeke pounced, latching his arms around its torso and lifting it into the air. Then, even as the thing snapped at him, he charged toward the gate and tossed it over the edge and into the abyss.

As it fell, it let out another howl that only began to fade thirty seconds later.

Zeke’s shoulders sagged in exhaustion. He could usually fight for hours, but the earth mana in the area was so thin that it was barely enough to even activate [Cambion’s Awakening]. So, he was forced to use the inefficient unattuned version of the skill, which was incapable of fending off the level of fatigue he’d reached.

Demonic mana was an option, but even that was only a short-term solution. The burst he’d used during battle had exhausted most of the ambient corruption in the air, and unless he relocated, it just wasn’t going to help for more than a second or two. So, he chose to keep that in his back pocket in case he found himself on the verge of defeat.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, another howl crashed into him. It was louder than any that had come before, and it echoed through his mind just as it bounced off the confines of the giant cavern. A jolt of fear passed through him, sending a tingle of anxiety up his spine. When the source of the howl padded into view, Zeke could only agree with that natural response.