Seeds of Discordia

Liam and the others walked into the main room they had continuously walked to after each EFM fight. They rested in the last EFM room for thirty minutes before pulling the final lever that had appeared in the back of the room.

They didn’t need to know which door opened since the only one they had not entered yet was on the top floor.

After making their way to the top floor, Liam looked at the Hieroglyphics.

The first set of pictures placed showed a man standing on a balcony staring down at a group of people.

This man wore a brown and red stripped hat-like thing that covered majority of his head and ran back to his shoulders. He had a white kilt and golden rings along his arms and ankles. In one hand was a scepter with a snake head on it. The man in the picture really didn’t wear much, Liam noticed.

The outfit reminded Liam of that the old Egyptian pharaohs wore.

The next picture showed the same man pointing his scepter at a group of monsters that stood in front of a group of soldiers.

The one after that showed the same man in the same pose, but this time instead of a group of monsters it was a horde of undead.

The final picture showed the man laying with his arms crossed and eyes closed inside a container. A group of undead surrounded the container.

“Well, that’s not ominous or anything,” Liam muttered.

“What up?” Mercer asked, dragging Liam out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” Liam asked as he turned his head to see the others staring at him. “Oh, I was just thinking that the Floor boss might be the man who ruled over the Askith before it fell.”

“Oh?” Avery said with some interest. “What makes you think that?”

Liam pointed to the man as he explained, “Back in my world there’s history of a country called Egypt. He resembles a ruler from that country called a Pharoh. The hat he is wearing looks a lot like a Nemes which is meant for the Pharoh to wear. Since these hieroglyphs showcase this man, I believe he is the one we’re going to have to fight.”

“Interesting,” Mercer muttered before looking at Roman and Blair who peered into the hallway. “How does it look?”

“No signs of any movement nor any sounds so there’s no possibility of monsters on the path to the Floor Boss room,” Roman stated.

“Good,” Mercer nodded. He looked back at Liam and questioned, “Shall we proceed then?”

Liam nodded back agreeing. “Yes. Let’s finish this floor.”

 

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The walk down the hall didn’t take long. It was a straight shot to a massive, opened room.

Before entering the room, Liam stopped the group so they could look inside.

This one was bigger in length, height and width than the others. The details and decorations within this room were better than the last few rooms they went to when facing the EFMs.

While the floor tiles and the walls were made of the same stone, there were designs to them. Pictures of snakes, birds, dogs, and other animals ran along the top part of the walls that ran across both sides of the room. Yooperlite Stones were spread out throughout the room along the walls.

A walkway pushed out around the mid part of the walls on both sides. Four fancy looking coffins stood against the right and left wall with pictures of a person on each side. Another four fancy looking coffins laid down in front of them.

On the floor level Liam and the others stood on, close to the walls, were two rows of ten normal looking coffins.

After looking at them, Liam faced forward. He followed the long red carpet that ran to the other side of the room, up the five step staircase, and stopped in front of a raised platform that held what looked like a sarcophagus.

Behind the sarcophagus against the back wall were several pockets with jars of different shapes.

That must be where the Final Boss of this floor is. Liam thought as he looked back at the other coffins.

“Everyone…lets prepare now before we enter,” Liam started. “I feel like this one is going to be one hell of a fight.”

The others nodded.

Artem pulled out his colored buff bars and handed everyone one.

As the others ate their buff snacks and prepared in their own way, Liam summoned his Shadow Hand.

He decided to deactivate it when they took their break earlier and he started to regret that he did as it took a few tries to activate it again.

After finally being able to activate it he looked at his mana bar and decided to let it refill on its own instead of using a potion since it only went down a few points.

He looked at the others who were staring at the room with a serious expression.

He could see how nervous they were by the way their bodies were tense.

“It’s good to be cautious before a fight, but being too tense will hinder your movements,” Liam stated as they turned to look at him. “We’ve made it this far, let’s see it through to the end.”

Liam watched as their bodies relaxed a bit, but not too much.

They all smiled and nodded in agreement before turning back to the open room.

“Let’s do this,” Mercer stated as they entered the room.

Artem and Blair walked in the front, slightly spread out as Avery walked behind Artem on the left side and Roman walked closely behind Blair on the right.

Liam walked in the middle of the group as he scanned the area for any movement.

Taking up the rear, Ariyana walked on the left side while Mercer was on the right, his violin out and ready.

After everyone entered the room nothing happened. Being cautious, they slowly walked in more.

As soon as the group made it to the middle of the room, a loud thump echoed in the air.

The group turned around to see the opened door was suddenly closed.

A deep raspy laugh danced in the air, making the group go into a defensive stance while looking around the room.

“Welcome invaders,” the deep raspy voice said, filling the air. “And congratulations on making it this far. However, all your efforts were in vain the moment you stepped into my lair.”

Liam looked desperately for the source of the voice. The sound of the voice didn’t seem like it was coming from any specific spot as it reverberated around them.

“We proud Askith people may have fallen due to an evil devil worshiper’s lies, but even in death we are still strong and proud,” the voice continued. “Rise my servants! Rise and push back the intruders!”

Shortly after the voice shouted the order twenty coffins, ten on one side and ten on the other, on the bottom floor closest to the door they came in and started shaking.

The wooden lids shattered as Skeleton Warriors emerged from them. Their angry clattering skulls stared at the group with hatred as they got out and started making their way to the group with a rusty sword in hand.

“What’s the plan Liam?” Mercer asked.

Liam assessed them.

 

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“Skeleton Warrior. 200/200 HP. 0/0 MP.”

---

 

“Their health is higher than the ones we fought yesterday, but they are still manageable,” Liam started. “For now, don’t waste mana giving out buffs yet. Blair, Roman, and Mercer take the right side. The rest of us will take the left side.”

“Got it!” The others affirmed as they split up and took on the groups they were assigned to.

Artem lifted his shield up and charged the group of Skeleton Warriors. Without slowing or stopping, he ran as fast as he could and rammed his shield in.

The force of the collision was enough to send one of them flying into four others. This made the five undead creatures fall to the ground.

Avery and Ariyana rushed over and started attacking the five fallen creatures with Artem.

Liam ran towards the other five that Artem didn’t hit and nicked his daggers against their rib cages to grab their attention.

Liam’s Shadow Hand added in more damage as it trailed behind his right hand’s movements.

The five Skeleton Warriors tried swinging their swords at Liam whenever he stopped for a moment but missed as he ducked and dodged between their attacks.

Liam felt good as he moved about using guerilla warfare tactics within the group of skeletons.

Liam kept chipping away at their health, while maintaining the agility and speed to not only attack, but dodge any strike coming his way. His damage wasn’t great due to using daggers instead of blunt weapons, but he was still doing enough to bring their health down.

A smile grew on Liam’s face as he continued his dance of duck, dive, dodge, and attack. As he started to lose himself in this, a moment brought his fun to an end. His foot slid, causing him to fall to his side.

“Shit,” Liam cursed before looking up.

The closest Skeleton Warrior had his rusty sword already up in the air and was about to strike.

As the creature moved its arms to attack, a mace suddenly crashed into its skull, making it explode.

“Taking a nap?” Artem asked teasingly as he smiled down at Liam.

Liam gave a slight chuckle as he looked back at Artem. “Oh yeah, decided to take it easy while waiting for you.”

Artem shook his head before turning back around, raising his shield up to block the two incoming strikes from two Skeleton Warriors.

After Artem successfully blocked their attacks, Ariyana and Avery appeared behind the creatures and landed fast multiple strikes against them, causing them to die.

“You going to get up any time soon sleeping beauty?” Ariyana smirked.

“If I have to clean up after you anymore, I’m going to start charging you food on top of the drinks you owe me,” Avery stated.

“Oooo, that’s a grand idea,” Ariyana said joining in on Avery’s fun.

“Very funny,” Liam stated as he stood back up. “You try keeping aggro on five of them without trying to get hit.”

“I could do it,” Avery smirked. “Probably better than you.”

Liam shook his head at Avery’s comment. “I’ll let you beli…”

Before Liam could finish, Artem slammed a mace against a skeleton making it crumble to scattered bones.

“While you two are playing your games I’m finishing off these guys. So, I think its me who deserves to be treated,” Artem commented as he turned towards them. “That was the last one on our side.”

“Sorry about that man,” Liam apologized.

“It’s all good,” Artem said as he shook his head. “You got them down just enough that a blunt attack or two was enough to kill them.”

Liam let out a chuckle before looking at the others on the other side.

He was able to see Blair swing her rock-like scaled battle axe into the last Skeleton Warrior, shattering it.

The group made their way back to the middle, a small bit of sweat rolled down their foreheads.

They looked around to see if there were any more they had missed, but there weren’t any signs of movement.

“It seems that you fools are somewhat capable,” the raspy voice started back up. “It was my fault for thinking mere servants were enough. Wake up minions. Your master requires your services. Kill these intruders!”

The rest of the coffins on the lower level started to shake, making the others get ready for the next wave of monster attacks.

As these Undead creatures started to destroy their lids, something caught the corner of Liam’s eye.

At the far end of the room on the second layer close to the wall, one of the fancy looking coffin lids started to slide open. Liam turned his head around to see one on that side was moving as well.

The Undead on the ground level were not just skeletons. Rotted Zombies with some Skeleton Warriors came out of the rest of the coffins.

 

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“Rotted Zombie. 190/190 HP. 0/0 MP.”

“Skeleton Warrior. 200/200 HP. 0/0 MP.”

---

 

Liam turned his gaze to the fancy coffin that had opened on his side and watched as a being covered in armor sat up.

Liam assessed the creature.

 

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“Elite Skeleton Soldier. 2,000/2,000 HP. 0/0 MP.”

---

 

“Same plan as last time?” Blair questioned as she gripped her weapon tightly.

Liam thought over what they could do. They could do the same thing they did as last time since Rotted Zombies were added into the mix, but those Elite Skeleton Soldiers were a pain to deal with thanks to their armor.

No, we can’t do the same as last time. It would be too tiring if I tried to distract some while the others try killing the rest as fast as they can. Liam thought. Trying to kill everything too quickly can lead to possible injuries or even worse…death.

As he continued to think of something the two Elite Skeleton Soldiers were able to drop down.

“Liam…,” Roman started as he opened and closed his fists.

If that’s the case then crowd control is our only option. Liam thought as he began formulating a plan.

After he devised one he swiftly shouted, “New plan. You guys try to take one side. Blair, use Gravitational Force increase on as many as you can. Mercer, focus on the Rotted Zombies, while Ariyana, Avery, and Roman attack how you see fit. Remember though that magic is the best way to deal with those Elite Skeleton Soldiers.”

“What are you going to do?” Mercer asked as he looked at Liam.

“I’m going to try and slow down this side as much as I can with my gravity and shadow crowd control abilities,” Liam stated. “If I need help or have any issues I’ll let you know, but focus on trying to take down as many as you can as fast as you can without getting hurt.”

“Roger,” the others stated before rushing towards the group on the left side of the room.

Liam cracked his neck as he muttered, “Alright, let’s try and not get ourselves killed here Liam.”

Liam looked at the eleven monsters that stood before him.

The monsters were spread out. Some of them stared at him while the rest looked at his group behind him.

I’ll need to get all of their attention on me and round them up. Liam thought as he stared at them.

He gave a quick glance at his stamina bar and saw it was a little over half.

I’ll need to do this quick, so I don’t use up all my stamina. Liam thought to himself before running in.

He struck the first Skeleton Warrior that was closest to him with his right dagger. He then pushed off his legs backwards, spun, and hit the rotted Zombie.

He continued to run in and out between each of the Rotted Zombies and Skeleton Warriors. His Shadow Hand hitting each creature a second time as he moved about.

Each hit made the Undead creatures focus their attention on him as he went for the last Skeleton Warrior.

However, before he could reach that creature, Liam’s Danger Sense flared up his whole right side.

Liam stopped dead in his tracks as a two handed sword swung down right in front of him.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Liam cursed as he jumped backwards to dodge a powerful diagonal swing going up after the blade hit the ground.

Liam glared at the Elite Skeleton Soldier who was staring back at him.

Before Liam could say anything, he felt his Danger sense light back up over his whole back, causing him to turn his back to miss two downward swings from a couple of Skeleton Warriors.

After dodging that, he felt a hand grab his right arm and another on his left.

He yanked as hard as he could to get out of the grips the Rotted Zombies had on him before they could bite him.

He then took a step back and noticed he was surrounded by all eleven Undead creatures.

Panting a bit, Liam turned his head to see that even the Elite was closing in on him.

Alright. This should work. Liam thought as he waited for the creatures to take a couple more steps in.

After the monsters did, Liam spun around and faced the Elite Skeleton Solider. He looked around it and found what he was looking for.

The Elite Skeleton Soldier brought his sword up over his head and swung down as hard as he could. As the sword came down over Liam’s head, Liam’s body suddenly dispersed into black smoke.

Confused, the monsters stared at where Liam had once stood.

 That confusion lasted for a brief moment as they heard someone chanting behind the Elite Skeleton Soldier.

They turned to see Liam with his Shadow Moon Blade dagger pointing at them as he finished chanting, “Remind them why they should fear their own Shadow. Grasp of the Shadows!”

 Shadows quivered underneath the group before black shadowy tendrils shot up, wrapping around each individual creature.

Without waiting, Liam started chanting again. “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Bring the Force down upon my enemy slowing its movements. Gravitational Force Increase!”

Liam watched as the bodies of each creature trapped in his web of shadows hunch over. The pressure of the gravity pushing down on them caused them to stop trying to break free as they struggled to keep standing.

Liam let out a breath of air.

“Thank god these became AOE spells after reaching level ten,” Liam muttered to himself.

He then looked at his mana bar and saw it had only gone down a bit.

“Alright, let’s test some things out shall we,” Liam stated with a wicked grin.

Liam pointed his Shadow Moon Blade dagger once more and chanted, “Shadows coalescing, head my call and come forth. Manifest mediums that will serve to unleash your wave of power. Swarm together and into your target. Go forth and unleash your power. Shadow Swarm!”

Liam watched as five raven-black orbs formed around the tip of his dagger. After the chant was finished they floated outwards above the group. In a circle hovering over the creatures, shadowy energy started to escape each orb and strike through each creature.

A slew of battle notifications appeared in front of Liam letting him know how much damage each creature was taking.

Since the attack split and attacked each creature as much as it could before finishing, the amount wasn’t a lot. However, this wasn’t the only thing Liam wanted to test out.

After the five orbs puffed out, Liam lifted his Moon Shadow Blade dagger and started chanting, “O Moon, majestic and beautiful. I call upon thee to show how painful you can be. Manifest mediums that will serve to unleash your wave of power. Swarm together and into your target. Go forth and unleash your power. Lunar Swarm!”

After Liam finished the chant, five dark orbs formed around the tip of his dagger. A pale light suddenly shone from the dagger and seeped into the orbs, draining the dark color and replacing it with the pale white color.

Like the orbs from the Shadow Swarm ability the five took the same spot over the group and started its onslaught. Instead of the energy snaking around the air like wisps, the energy from the orb shot out like beams.

New battle notifications appeared in front of Liam letting him know of the damage and additional damage. Before the Lunar swarm finished bright lights suddenly flashed over the Skeleton Warriors and Rotted Zombies. Each of these creatures were suddenly engulfed in a bright pale light, disintegrating within seconds.

After the lights disappeared, Liam stared at the area in front of him, surprised and happy at the same time.

The only creature still standing before him was the Elite Skeleton Soldier.

So special effects apply to mobs as well. Liam thought as a smile contained with excitement growing on his face. This is a great thing to know.

Trying to reign in his excitement from his new discovery, Liam looked at the health of the Elite Skeleton Soldier in front of him. He still had a quarter of health left, the shadowy tendrils that trapped it all gone.

“Let’s finish you off then,” Liam stated as he watched the creature struggle to stand back up.

Liam once again Lifted his Moon Shadow Blade dagger and chanted, “O Moon, majestic and beautiful. I call upon thee to show how painful you can be. Bestow this orb with your radiance and allow it to fly true. Lunar Orb!”

Two lunar orbs formed after he finished chanting and shot towards the chest of the creature.

After both collided and caused damage, the body of the creature suddenly lit up in a pale light and disintegrated the body.

Liam felt good. Not only was he able to learn that special effects can work on mob creatures, but he was able to take on this entire group of monsters by himself.

Maybe I’m not as weak as I thou… Liam started to think until he felt a sudden sharp pain pierce his eyes.

He brought both hands up to cover his eyes as he let out a grunt.

After the pain had dulled a bit, Liam moved his hands away from his eyes and blinked. After blinking a few times his eyes widened.

Although it was faint, around the outside of his peripherals, his sight had clouded a bit.

“What the fuck,” Liam said, shocked and a little frightened.