Denizens of the Labyrinth

The road inland was hard and arduous and as his body recovered from his fall from the cliff. He was badly hurt. But nothing seemed to think prey of him. Well not yet. Immediately the woods all around grew silent; the birds that had previously been singing stopped and he scowled at himself cursing his own thoughts. Out from behind a tree ambled a troll it had not even been looking for him, but once it saw him. It charged. He drew Hajime and as it rushed him, he slipped by and felt the sword slice through the shoulder of the ogre.

EXP EARNED

It did not die but whirled on him and charged again, as he saw it rushing him. He watched as it regenerated in front of him. This was going to be tough, he said to himself.

He struck three times, a hand fell. A fist was parried away, and a throat slashed. All while he move past it, flicking his sword so the green goo that was inside the troll fell off his blade. It fell to a knee and began to regenerate; he watched in horror as a hand began to form at the stump of what once was. He drove his sword into the heart quickly and the troll whined as it died this time. It fell forward and before it could revive itself if it could. He struck off its head.

EXP EARNED

WELL, DONE!

TIER II HUNTER TROLL KILLED

+1 STR

+1 VIT

+1 AGL

+1 DEX

He nodded; this was a hard-fought battle. He had been faster responding but what if he had been ambushed instead. But before he could even continue to respond. He heard another roar, a cacophony of roars and three trolls rushed forward out of the woods for him. Clubs raised and anger in their eyes.

Slash

He shouted and the first one took it straight to the face, an eye popped in its face which seemed to only make it angrier, another came for him but this time he was ready. He pushed more Mana into his sword and twirling it around his head he stroke downward. A different type of cut. But the attack was violent. The second troll was cut in half. Completely and the strike struck the third but not so deeply, it healed before even reaching him, but he created distance enough to strike again.

Flight of the blue kite!

The Mana shrieked as he burst from the tip of the blade. Mana in the shape of a bird and mixed with a piercing arrow. Struck the first troll again, this time full in the face. It fell over and he whirled to deal with the third. He struck off the hands and from the bottom, up. He used Mana to drive his sword upwards in one complete move. The system popped up in his sight and he smiled. His skill had tiered up again!

SLASH HAS EVOLVED

SLASH IS NOW TIER III

EXP EARNED!

+2 STR

+3 PER

+3 DEX

+2 AGL

His body acclimatised to his new stats, and he let the shadow wraith feast on the corpses. No changes to its level but he did gain some items.

TROLL BONE X3

TROLL HEART X1

TROLL CLUB X2

They settled into his storage space, and he continued heading inland. The woods were filled with monsters and some skittered at his presence while few others attacked him. He had not come across anymore trolls, but two large foxes tried to ambush him. He killed them and while he received small exp for it. He did not gain any stats or levels.

FOX FUR X2

FOX MEAT X2

He took those too; he did not know how long he was going to be alone, and it was not sensible to not pick up anything that could be a meal. But the woods were free of people, and he made up his mind that the lost gate had been locked from the inside, so nobody had been inside it for many years. He did not know how long but he had been walking through the woods for hours and even now as he pushed through, he could not find any tracks or beaten paths. So, nobody had been here in a long time. Even now he could feel the ancient feeling of the woods. It hung in the air, he felt it when he breathed in. it had been a long time since someone had been here, and he could tell as such.

Through the branches above he could see that the evening was fast approaching, he needed to make camp soon, sooner rather than later at that. He searched for another hour but found nothing, but more trees and it got darker and darker till the night was all that enveloped him, it was a moonless sky too, so things were eery, but his eyes did their job, and he could see the small Mana in the plants and trees around him and used it to map his journey.

KEEN SENSES!

EXP EARNED

He smiled at that, continued use accrued exp and his eyes were saving him once again. No howls or cries could be heard in the woods this time. He continued inward and before long he came across a camp. The Mana signatures inside told him they were monsters, and he did not wait for them to figure out who he was.

He slipped into the camp, a cauldron sat atop the central fire and a monster covered in tattered rags of what had once been a cloak stirred what was inside. It smelled foul, but he took no chances. He slipped up behind it and driving his sword through the back of its neck the monster died without a whimper. He let the body slip into the cauldron.

HAG KILLED

HAG CORE X1

The cauldron broiled and bubbled loudly as it seemed to consume the hag and then it did something Jazmel was not prepared for. It roared. The cauldron roared and from the bottom of it, legs sprouted as it stood in the hot coals beneath its base. It rammed its body into Jazmel sending him flying.

He could smell burning flesh and looking down he saw it was his own. The hot cauldron had scorched him. He rose before others reached him, a screech sounded and as he got to his feet; he sighed. Fiends bounded into the camp towards him, under the command of the walking cauldron.

He cut a bloody swathe through them, he remembered his title and for that reason his attacks struck harder and faster. The notifications were popping up, but he did not have the time to look. He was focused on what to do about the cauldron. It roared at him and stamped, defiantly. It was not quick enough to chase him, but he also had no way of defeating it. Jazmel left and ran back into the woods, battered more so his pride. The system had rewarded him still and he looked at his stats again.

DING!

EXP EARNED

+2 PER

+3 AGL

+1 DEX

He smiled, hunting alone was really helping and he could feel it within his bones. He had not levelled up again yet, but he could feel it coming. Jazmel moved forward in the dark of the night and before long fiends ambushed him. They had seen his Mana much like he had seen theirs and the fight soon began.

Flight of the blue kite!

He screamed, and the Mana leapt from within him, to the tip of his blade. Scores were struck by the Mana bird and those closest were shattered. Imploding from the force of his Mana and they struck the bodies behind in debris. But the fiends never cared and soon they were crowding him. He centred himself with his sword and the dance began.

He struck with his sword, slashing, and slicing any that got close. But he was not without his own marks. For every strike he managed, three or four caught him. A clawed hand struck his rib cage. Something nipped at his back. He felt his Mana being leeched and not wanting to be swarmed he did his best.

Slash!!

he yelled and swinging his katana around his head with all his Mana, he slaughtered them. they died, imploding as he struck out. He was wrought. Empty of Mana and he felt the part of him that seemed to keep Mana empty. He chugged down a single bottle and felt it settle and let it run around his body while he recovered his breath.

The system chimed in, his companion always.

DING!

100 FIENDS KILLED

…

MANA BOOST

TITLE CHANGED

FIEND BANE, 20% DAMAGE AGAINST ALL UNDEAD

+5 PER

+8 INT

He sighed as he felt his stats settle and his body slowly began to recover. He needed to level up his Vitality and Endurance. They were beginning to lag.

SHADOW WRAITH HUNGERS

He watched as his shadow, darker than the shadows of the night, pulled the corpses and remains of the fiends into its recesses. He felt the shadow wraith grow a little more and his storage space grew full.

STORAGE SPACE FULL

2X COLD IRON ORE

BRANCH OF A TREE

SEED OF MIRETE

SHADOW WRAITH

TIER III ZHENG CORPSE

THUNDERBIRD FEATHER

HIGH DRAGON BLOOD

100X GIANT SERPENT KILLED

34X GREAT SERPENT SKINS COLLECTED

25X GREAT SERPENT CORPSES COLLECTED

42X GREAT SERPENT FANGS COLLECTED

17X GREAT SERPENT GLANDS COLLECTED

RUSTED HELM COLLECTED

X3 RUSTED GREAVES COLLECTED

2/3 PIECES OF THE PLAQUE

5X HEALTH POTIONS

5X STAMINA POTIONS

1X ANTIDOTE POTION

TROLL BONE X3

TROLL HEART X1

TROLL CLUB X2

FOX FUR X2

FOX MEAT X2

HAG CORE X1

HAG RAGS X1

FIEND BONE X30

GREATER FIEND BONE X13

FIEND CORE X29

GREATER FIEND CORE X6

FIEND CORPSE X12

GREATER FIEND CORPSE X4

Jazmel was able to carry 150 different items in this bag, he knew that much. But now he was considering if there was a weight limit on these items. They did not make up 150, but he wondered if there was a limit to how much he could carry. There was nothing to tie the bodies that were left up with and drag them along. So instead, he left them but figured he would find something to do regarding this issue sooner rather than later.