Demon Lords (World-Tree Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  “We probably won’t make it to Moonrise,” the Wanderer said, looking across the mud-covered valley and twisted trees.

  “Nobody asked you,” Grant muttered.

  “Why do you say that?” Arlen questioned.

  “I’ve never made it to Moonrise with less than six people alive by this point,” the Wanderer answered. “Not counting when I was alone.”

  “That makes no sense,” Grant said. “The three of us can’t make it, but you did by yourself?”

  “I was going all out then,” the masked man answered. “Although, it was still a tough fight by myself.”

  “All out?” Arlen said. “What do you mean?”

  The Wanderer paused and held up Song of Peace. “We’ve got company.”

  Arlen glanced at the trees and hills. “Where? I’m not Scanning anything.”

  “Glimmerclaws,” the masked man replied. “B-Class reptile monsters. They blend into the environment—Scanning them doesn’t work unless they’re already exposed. Their rough skin has high magic resistance, but my gun does okay against them.”

  “Well, where are they?” Grant asked, looking around.

  “One in cover behind that tree,” the Wanderer said, motioning with his gun. “Another in the mud twenty meters in front of us. Two on the hillside.”

  “You can see them?” Arlen asked.

  “My highest stat is Perception,” the Wanderer answered. “Not to mention, I know the signs to look for: Strangely dented grass, impressions in the mud, and that one’s gripping the tree with its claw. You can see the marks if you look closely.”

  “Then start blasting them!” Grant shouted.

  “No, we need to plan out our attack,” the Wanderer said. “Glimmerclaws like to set traps and wait for prey. If you start attacking, they’ll all spring into action. My gun can only one-hit-kill them if I get them in the eye or the bridge of the nose where their skull is weakest. That’s a tough shot, even for me. I can only fire once per second, so I’ll probably only kill one before they reach us. Assuming I land my shot.”

  “They’re that fast?” Arlen asked.

  “They’re normally very slow,” the Wanderer told the young man. “However, they have an ability that hugely increases their speed and offensive power in bursts. When they use that spell, their camouflage fails momentarily.”

  “So, the moment you gun one down, the others will rip us to shreds,” Grant noted, tightening his hands around his sword. “Can we retreat?”

  “Once they see you, they’re pretty much set on hunting you,” the Wanderer said. “And if we try to retreat the way we came, we’ll only get caught between glimmerclaws and spirit serpents.”

  “My brother can put up barriers for us,” Grant said. “I’ll hit one with Flamestrike, and you can gun one down. Do you have any spells useful for this situation?”

  “I have no spells,” the Wanderer replied.

  “You have nothing?” Grant asked. “Barriers? Healing? Mana attacks?”

  “I have my gun,” the masked man replied. “And a sword—if I must use one.”

  Grant sighed. “I’m getting real tired of your roleplaying crap. I don’t want my little brother torn to shreds. That’s the main reason I hired you, Wanderer.”

  “I’ve died before, and I’ll die again,” Arlen said, equipping a hardened-verasteel short sword and the Great Guardian’s Shield he had gotten for completing his Class Quest.

  “That’s a good attitude to have in these situations,” the Wanderer said. “Now, the moment you cast a barrier, they’ll attack. So, let’s ready ourselves on the count of three. Oh, and I suggest putting the barrier between us and the two on the hillside.”

  “Got it,” Arlen said, readying his spell.

  The Wanderer aimed his gun at the near-invisible outline of the monster behind the tree. He tried to make out the shape of its head as he prepared to take his shot. “One. Two. Three.” He pulled the trigger, and the lizard monster’s brains leapt out the back of its head.

  The other three glimmerclaws revealed themselves as their bodies glowed with green magic. All three rushed the players at superhuman speed, but Grant stopped one in its tracks with a spell that caused a fiery explosion.

  The remaining two raced down the hillside as Arlen raised a magic wall between the players and the monsters. However, the magic only slowed the monsters for half a second, then they tore through it with their glowing claws.

  The burned glimmerclaw reached Grant as he thrust his Breaker-charged sword forward. The beast tackled him to the ground, but the ex-Justiciar’s blade went through its chest. Its glowing teeth gnawed through verasteel plates and pierced his neck and shoulder.

  Arlen blocked the clawed swipe of one glimmerclaw, but the second knocked his shield away. It went to swing again, but the Wanderer shot it through the bridge of its nose, killing it instantly. In a panic, Arlen swung his short sword, knocking back the other glimmerclaw, though the strike only left a shallow wound.

  The Wanderer swapped Song of Peace for a hardened-verasteel longsword and tackled the standing glimmerclaw to the ground. He sliced its throat, but it still had the strength to slash at him. Its claws struck his armor, causing the emblems on the metal to flash with light. The glimmerclaw tried for another attack, but it crumbled into dust mid-swing.

  “Help me!” Grant shouted as the last glimmerclaw gnawed on his arm. Once the beast’s green aura faded from its scales, the older brother finally overpowered and shoved it away.

  Arlen slashed through the creature as it turned invisible again. He saw the impression in the mud where it fell over and thrust his sword at that spot. Blood appeared on the blade, and the glimmerclaw became visible just before turning into dust.

  “Brother!” Arlen shouted, falling to his knees beside Grant. He equipped a mega-elixir and tried to make him drink it.

  “It’d be a waste,” Grant moaned, pushing away the bottle. “It got my neck good. I know when I’m beaten. Just take my loot and try to make it to Moonrise. The Wanderer will keep you safe. Isn’t that right?”

  The masked man nodded.

  Grant smirked at the Wanderer. “You know, Jessica has a theory about your identity. I thought it was nonsense, but after seeing you fight, I’m starting to think you’re—” The light left his eyes, and the ex-Justiciar crumbled to dust in his brother’s arms.

  Arlen sniffled and collected his brother’s item crystals. He stood from the mud and faced the Wanderer. “Really, who are you?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” the masked man said, continuing his walk through the muddy valley.

  “Then tell me what’s with those runes on your armor,” Arlen said. “Scan says they disable your Mana Shield. Why would you use them? I’m sure an upgraded Mana Shield is stronger than that.”

  “I don’t have a Mana Shield,” the Wanderer replied.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t have magic.”

  “That’s a lie. Everyone in the game has magic. You wouldn’t have lasted a single day without it.”

  “I had plenty of magic. I just don’t right now.”

  Arlen flashed a confused expression. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It makes perfect sense. At my full power, I’m too strong for these worlds. So, I have to restrain myself to gain levels easier.”

  “But how?”

  The masked man stopped in his tracks. He held his wrists together, and a dark shimmer raced across them in the outline of chains. “Scan it, and you’ll understand.”

  Arlen gaped at the chains. “You’re purposely cutting your levels in half and turning your magic against your own body? Doesn’t that hurt?”

  “It was uncomfortable at first.” The Wanderer put his hands back to his side, and the chains vanished. He continued his march through the muddy valley, Arlen trailing behind. “This spell puts a great deal of strain on my body, but it helps me level grind. The real downside is that I can’t use any spells except maybe a minuscule-
cost one here and there. It even disables my shield, and that’s why I use these weaker rune shields.”

  “Wait, so if you’re as strong as my brother with those cuffs on—” Arlen paused to do the math in his head. “Your stats must be close to two hundred. I’ve never even seen a player that strong. My brother did in the war, though. He talked about how superhuman they were. A single high-tier player could slaughter dozens or even hundreds of lesser men.”

  “Depends on their spells and overall skill.”

  “Did you fight in the war?”

  “I might’ve.”

  “Which side?”

  The Wanderer fell silent as they waded through deeper mud.

  “If you’re an ex-Justiciar, then you must’ve been a general, right? I would guess Bombardier Quinton, but his cannons are probably even deadlier than yours.”

  “I’m not Quinton, but I talked to him plenty after the war. He helped me build this hand cannon.”

  “If you’re still on good terms with him, then you probably fought against Lucas’s army, right?” When the masked man didn’t answer, Arlen smiled. “That’s alright, you don’t have to say. Don’t think I’ll hate you or something like that just because my brother was a Justiciar. He didn’t like a lot of what Lucas was doing, but he was too afraid to turn traitor. After the war, he even assisted the remaining moderator, Valery.”

  “I know. I wouldn’t have accepted this job if I thought your brother was a bad guy. A lot of people made terrible choices under Lucas’s rule. I’ve discovered many of them regret it. The best thing for everyone to do is keep moving forward.”

  The Wanderer’s eyes fell on the plateau in the distance where the Jump Gate awaited. A single steep walkway curved up the side of the slope, but a river of mud surrounded the plateau in all directions. Everywhere he looked, he saw large bones jutting from the mud.

  “So, that World Boss is here, right?” Arlen asked.

  “Yep,” the Wanderer replied, slowing to a stop.

  “Shouldn’t we make a run for the Jump Gate?”

  “The mud will slow us down too much. We can’t defeat the World Boss like we are, so you’ll have to run for the Jump Gate while I distract it. Take this Agility Potion. It’ll give you fifteen levels for ten minutes.” The Wanderer handed the young man a bottle.

  Arlen drank the potion, and then used most of his mana to cast a shield buff over himself. “Can you really hold this boss off by yourself? The plan was for the party to use potions and shields, and then we’d rush for the Jump Gate together. With only the two of us, the chances of making it are pretty much nonexistent.”

  “I suppose I’ll have to go all out,” the Wanderer replied, holding his arms together to make the chains reappear. His arms tensed, and the chains glowed with light, becoming more solid. He pulled his fists away from each other, and the dark lines shattered. A shockwave ran from the Wanderer’s body as his levels doubled, and he swapped his rune armor for hardened-verasteel. He reached for his face and removed his mask.

  “You’re—” Arlen paused. “Vincent the Eldritch?”

  “I was,” the man replied. “Now, I’m Vincent the Wanderer.”

  The valley trembled, and all the large bones vibrated. Hundreds of smaller bones floated from the mud and connected around a massive rib cage. Then larger pieces dragged themselves through the mud as the World Boss’s towering body formed.

  “Let’s see what form it’s taking this time,” Vincent said, Scanning the World Boss.

  [Complete Form] Cryark the Grim (World Boss) – Monster Class: A | Ageless | Sex: None | Respawn Time: One In-Game Month | Personality: Territorial

  “Well, that’s not good,” Vincent said, watching the bones fly overhead as Cryark grew taller and stronger. “There was an eighty percent chance we’d go up against his Incomplete Form. I’m not sure I can beat him like this. Arlen, you better start running.”

  Vincent cast Zero Field.

  Zero Field (Mage Only | Upgraded) – Mana Usage: Varies | Generates a zero-frequency field that can move objects. Larger or more powerful targets (such as spells or players) require significantly more mana to affect. | Upgrade – Extended Range: Zero-frequency fields can be extended farther away from the user without losing mana efficiency over the distance.

  He used Zero Field to carve a pathway through the mud that extended to the plateau. The younger man sprinted in that direction, but one of Cryark’s newly formed arms reached for him. Vincent equipped Song of Peace and fired through two of the three claws, halting the boss’s hand before it reached Arlen.

  As the last of the bones merged together, Cryark took the shape of a several-story-tall behemoth that walked on four clawed legs. It had eight long arms protruding from its back, and the skinny limbs had multiple joints, allowing them to reach halfway across the valley. Cryark’s horned, beetle-like face had glowing orbs in its eye sockets. Four similar orbs appeared under its ribcage, and one more formed between the thickest bones in each leg.

  Vincent aimed for the eyes first. His first shot struck an orb and cracked it, but he knew it would take more than that to shatter them. The World Boss roared and stomped through the mud toward him, but Cryark moved slowly. Its arms reached him first, and Vincent knocked two away with Zero Field.

  He fired on the same orb again, blowing it to pieces. As Cryark roared and shook in pain, Vincent eyed Arlen hurrying up the steep trail to the Jump Gate. He smiled, and then took another shot at the second eye, cracking the sphere.

  Cryark lowered its head and charged forward. The entire valley shook with its steps, and the World Boss completed filled Vincent’s field of view as it neared.

  Vincent raised his off-hand and cast Black Cinder at Cryark’s legs.

  Black Cinder (Mage Only | Upgraded) – Mana Usage: High | Releases a wave of void embers from the user’s palm. | Upgrade – Tempest: The user can spend a medium amount of mana to control the direction of the cinders.

  Vincent used the Tempest upgrade to guide the cinders through Cryark’s front knees, and then he curved the spell upward at the boss’s ribcage. The behemoth monster’s legs cracked, and it collapsed in front of the player. It slammed into the ground, shaking the valley and sending forth a wave of mud.

  The Ranger split the wave of mud around himself with Zero Field. He aimed his hand cannon at Cryark’s eye again and destroyed the second sphere. He wasn’t quite sure how many orbs Black Cinder had destroyed, but he didn’t have time to think about it as the boss’s six claws reached for him.

  Vincent knocked away the first claw with Zero Field and sidestepped the second. He shot the third with Void Gun, shattering the limb with a bolt of negative energy that could eat through almost anything. He knocked back the fourth with a shot from Song of Peace, and then he leapt past the fifth and sixth arms. Vincent landed on the World Boss’s lowered head and raced across its back while drinking a mega-ether.

  Cryark roared and flexed its body. The bones in its ribcage flashed with magic and then cracked, sending spikes in every direction. Vincent’s Gravity Shield slowed the ones heading toward him, but the impact knocked him off the World Boss’s back. One claw grabbed him in midair and flung him around, smashing him into the mud and a nearby tree.

  The impact splintered the tree, toppling it, and shattered several of Vincent’s hardened-verasteel plates. Cryark’s horns rippled with magic, and then the World Boss slammed the man against its boney forehead.

  Pieces of hardened-verasteel soared in all directions, and Vincent flew from Cryark’s grasp. He smashed through several trees before losing momentum and landing on a hillside. Most of the bones in his body felt broken, and he struggled to equip and drink a mega-elixir.

  Cryark glowed with magic as spikes protruded across the front of its body.

  The half-empty bottle fell from Vincent’s hand. “Ah, dang.”

  A hundred glowing spikes fired at once, tearing apart the hillside, the trees, and Vincent.

  You’ve died. Respawning at
Daiglass 0167.3076.0775.0729…

  The dark, twisted landscape of Eramar loaded around Vincent, including the buildings he and his teammates had built years ago.

  Huh? he wondered, peering at the Dead-World. Why’d I spawn on Eramar? After a few seconds of thinking, he remembered seeing something a few years back on the Jiminy World Cricket’s guild page about a team going there to train. They must’ve brought the daiglass shard to respawn here.

  Vincent touched the daiglass shard to take items from storage, including one of his six remaining copies of Song of Peace. After putting the Soulbound World Core into his new gun, he walked down the slope toward his old home. The sound of metal striking metal rang from Quinn’s building, and a quick peek in the window revealed River as she chopped at verasteel training dummies with a sword.

  Vincent grinned, thinking of a prank to pull on his oldest friend’s granddaughter. He equipped his mask and Song of Peace before casting a spell over his arms.

  Mysterious Mask (Soulbound) – An orosteel mask traded from a strange traveler. | Low-Tier Disguise: Other players won’t be able to see the name or levels of whoever wears this mask.

  Debuff Chains – Mana Usage: High | Creates chains made from negative energy that turns a player’s power against themselves. Until the player breaks the chains, their levels are effectively halved, and spell-casting is limited. This spell also disables the player’s shield.

  Vincent swapped his attire for a new set of rune armor and then equipped a Darkstalker cloak over it to make him look like a shadow. He kept his hood lowered, however, so River would see his mask.

  The hardened-verasteel door creaked as Vincent opened it. River’s head jerked to see the intruder, and the masked man took his first shot. He aimed for the dummy and blew it to pieces with a shockwave that knocked River to the ground. The woman rolled, jumped to her feet, and took cover behind another dummy.

  “What the heck are you?” River shouted. “A player? A monster?”

  Vincent fired on her hiding place, and the young woman leapt away as the dummy exploded. The masked man replied with wicked laughter. “I am Death.”

  River zigzagged between dummies and equipped her Brave Warrior’s Sword. She charged at the masked intruder, but he shot the ground in front of her feet and sent her tumbling through the explosive force. River caught herself mid-roll, leapt forward, and slashed through Vincent’s cloak. His armor flashed with rune magic, but he knew it couldn’t take another strike like that.