Chapter 1: The Dementher’s Door

The tunnels of Crystal Spider Cavern Dungeon were never dark, no matter the hour. The glowing blue Crubal Crystals that thrived along the cracks of the blackened cavern walls thrummed with the residual power of a long vanquished Dementher Gate. Beneath their ethereal, deceptively soothing glow, the long and winding, monster-carved burrows stretched deeper into the subterranean dungeon.

The cavern walls, with all their splendor and potent danger, appeared before Fallon’s blinking eyes. The Dementher Door that her familiar had opened from the safety of the Warlock’s bedroom burned like a freshly scorched brand hovering in the air behind her. The portal’s infernal red light washed the blue cave walls in an orange-amethyst glow before it flickered out with a smoky-red vapor that hissed as it trailed up towards the ceiling and the way back closed.

Dementher Active Skill—Dementher Door (Tier ↁ) A Dementher portal that allows the familiar and its Warlock Master to travel from one place to another as if opening a door between two rooms. Note: Best step through quickly, Warlock. Dementhers don’t like holding doors—for anyone.

Fallon shivered as the sudden shift in temperature from her previously warm bedroom to the damp, murky cold of the dungeon labyrinth seeped through her Dire Wolf Leather Armor. The smell of charred earth, sulfuric vapors from the portal, and residual decomposition of harvested monster remains were more than enough to snap her fully awake after three hours of precious sleep. The Warlock smacked and rubbed her arms for warmth as she paced and searched the tunnel on either side. “Asmodeus?”

While it was not Fallon’s first, technically illegal, visit to Highguard’s lowest dungeon, the Warlock always felt safer knowing her Dementher familiar was around to watch her back. Even Sentinels knew better than to enter a Dungeon alone without a minimum party of three experienced Delvers.

A Sentinel License and title were obtained after joining an official Sentinel Guild. On top of guild membership, the Guild Warden’s permission was also required before any Sentinel, regardless of rank, could set foot inside a guild-controlled dungeon.

A Minor C-Grade Dungeon like Crystal Spider Cavern could respawn its monster population every two days. Thanks to Asmodeus’s rather excellent spy abilities, Fallon had determined the day and hours of the first initial monster spawnings based on the date and time of the guild’s last clear.

‘I should have a good six hours before the next delving team comes through. Unfortunately, I also have to be at work in four hours.’

Fallon pulled a folded map from her inventory belt and double-checked her location as she examined the two tunnels before her. ‘The guild officers won’t notice if I take out a few weaker monsters along the side paths.’

The Warlock took a step towards her chosen destination, then paused as she glanced about once more, still detecting no sign of her Dementher familiar. “Asmodeus?” Fallon called out again as she anxiously rubbed the magical seal below her left collarbone that signified her bond to the Dementher.

A flicker of red flame appeared on the cavern path Fallon had chosen. The Warlock let out a soft sigh of relief and crossed her arms. Before her a small deer-like creature with six legs, a glowing red horn, wolf-like ears, and a long, scaled serpents tail materialized as it pranced forward to rub its curved horn against the leather guard protecting Fallon’s hip.

Dementher Active Buff — Familiar Ether Link (Tier ↁ) Through your sacred bond, your familiar grants you access to its mana pool. While the link remains active, your mana pool will refill whenever it hits 30%. Note: Your familiar must remain summoned and at your side in order for the effect to last. The link will be broken if your familiar should die or be unsummoned.

“Come,” Asmodeus commanded with an impatient flick of his serpent-like tail. “We haven’t got much time.”

“You’re telling me. Just when I find the time to squeeze in some monster hunting, the Paragon decides to call another early emergency meeting. The city has been dealing with a serious influx of Gate refugees lately which means more work for everyone. I just wish they wouldn't call us all in so early in the damn morning for a meeting only the Praefecti need to attend.”

“I do not make the rules of your world, Warlock. In my limited experience of service, I can only deduce that power begets suffering,” the Dementher replied sagely.

“That sounds about right,” Fallon grumbled as she flexed and shook out her hands. “Just keep me filled up on mana, and I’ll make this quick.” Through the black leather gloves she wore, the soft red glow of Asmodeus’s magic illuminated each of Fallon’s fingertips as the Warlock channeled the Dementher’s infernal powers from the mark on her chest to her fists.

Golden sparks crackled in the air above and below her outstretched hands as Fallon drew in a deep breath and focused on controlling the chaotic magic that connected the Warlock to her familiar, then activated her first spell.

Warlock Active Skill — Aura of Dissonance (Tier I) The Dungeon’s denizens no longer automatically recognize you as an intruder. Unintelligent monsters will not aggro unless you come within striking distance. This skill has no effect on intelligent or humanoid monsters. Note: Aura of Dissonance will not prevent monsters from seeing, hearing, smelling, or identifying you as food—so go easy on the aftershave, watch your step, and remember to exercise proper hygiene regularly. Additionally, spells, traps, and special attacks will temporarily break this effect, so pick your openings with care.

“You should have activated that sooner,” Asmodeus chirped as two crow-like wings sprouted from his back. “Three burrowers are headed towards you. Do you need me to light up their locations, Warlock?”

“No, I got this,” Fallon answered confidently as the Dementher flapped his stubby wings and hovered safely above the ground. “Infernal Gaze!”

Warlock Active Skill—Infernal Gaze (Tier I) Through a shared bond with your familiar, you now see the world through the crimson flame of the Dementher. All combat information on Dungeon and Gate monsters below the rank of your familiar will become visible. All Dungeon and Gate monsters below the rank of your familiar will be unable to hide or conceal their presence no matter what skill they have active. Note: All other non-monster targets must be of equal rank to the Warlock’s current rank or lower for their combat skills to be visible. Targets one Rank above will provide limited combat information. Targets two ranks above or higher will provide even less information.

Fallon blinked slowly as her vision adjusted. The hot red glow of three wriggling mounds of flesh, roughly the size of large feral cats, were burrowing towards her beneath the dungeon floor. Above the target’s heads, three small transparent information plates flickered into focus.

Monster—Gromulus Larva. Rank (E). Level (10).

Health: 354/354.

Monster—Gromulus Larva. Rank (E). Level (13).

Health: 470/470.

Monster—Gromulus Larva. Rank (E). Level (14).

Health: 517/517.

Fallon glanced over the monster’s stat information with disinterest and sighed as an additional box with even more detailed information presented itself above.

Monster Information: Gromulus Larva are a species of monster native to all Dementher Dungeons and Gates. They prefer to burrow underground, where they stalk any unsuspecting prey they can isolate and corner. Gromulus Larva often group into clusters of two to five to increase the success of their hunt.

The Warlock quickly dismissed all information screens with a mental nudge and wrinkled her nose in anticipation of the stench these corpse scavengers carried. Her topaz-blue eyes shifted away from the grub-like burrowers towards the distracting glowing red veins of Dementher ether that coursed behind the walls of the Dungeon. The lines of infernal power pulsated against the pale blue glow of the Crubal Crystals that fed off of and purified the tainted ether.

Fallon wondered—not for the first time—what Asmodeus’s world, the realm of Dementher’s called Ancienter, looked like. The Warlock quickly shook her head and refocused on the task at hand as golden-red sparks danced around her right hand and fingers. “Cursed Body!”

Warlock Active Skill—Cursed Body (Tier I) Inflicts a curse that will temporarily paralyze and restrict all movement on selected targets. Length of paralysis is determined by the difference in level and rank between the Warlock and their target. Note: Targets one rank above the Warlock have a 50% chance to ignore the effect of Cursed Body. Targets more than two ranks above the Warlock will not be affected.

The Gromulus closest to Fallon twitched as it came to an abrupt halt while its companions burrowed forward stubbornly, still focused on the Warlock. A quick repetition of the skill soon locked all three in place.

“And you even lined up nicely for me,” Fallon observed with a wry smile before casting her second combat skill, “Warlock’s Wrath.”

Warlock Active Skill—Warlock’s Wrath (Tier I) A Short Charge Skill that inflicts 8% Hex damage (x4) to the target and applies [Devastation]. Damage is further increased by 2% for every beneficial status skill active on the target. Status Effect—Devestation Reduces all Physical Defenses by 6% for 3 minutes.

Gromulus has received 28 damage from [Warlock's Wrath].

[Warlock’s Wrath] has inflicted [Devastation] to Gromulus.

Gromulus has received 38 damage from [Warlock's Wrath].

[Warlock’s Wrath] has inflicted [Devastation] to Gromulus.

Gromulus has received 41 damage from [Warlock's Wrath].

[Warlock’s Wrath] has inflicted [Devastation] to Gromulus.

Fallon blinked as a stream of combat information played out behind her eyes that left a distracting buzzing sound in her ears. Unlike information obtained through [Infernal Gaze], combat data naturally populated itself. These somewhat intrusive messages were mentally conveyed to those with Classes obtained from a Gate Nucleus.

As far as Fallon knew, information screens and combat data were connected to the same mysterious Ether Magic that granted special abilities and repopulated Dungeons with monsters. While individual skills like [Infernal Gaze] could be controlled to some extent, Sentinels and Delvers were forced to learn how to tune out the background noise of combat messages, or just live with it.

“I keep telling you that you don’t have to say the skills aloud after reaching D-Rank,” Asmodeus reminded Fallon with a long-suffering sigh as the Warlock continued to cast the Hex skill on all three paralyzed targets. “It’s embarrassing to watch you hamstring yourself like that.”

“Maybe I just like the way they sound?” Fallon growled as she rolled her shoulders and flexed her hands. “It has been a while since I last got to use them.”

“You can’t be serious—” The Dementher rolled its abyssal black eyes with another dramatic sigh.

The Warlock ignored him and focused her topaz-blue eyes on the flickering red glow of the Gromulus Larva that indicated they were still receiving damage. When the last pulse of Dementher magic flared and died, Fallon assessed the larva’s health status again.

Monster—Gromulus Larva. Rank (E). Level (10).

Health: 242/354.

Status Effect: [Devastation].

Monster—Gromulus Larva. Rank (E). Level (13).

Health: 318/470.

Status Effect: [Devastation].

Monster—Gromulus Larva. Rank (E). Level (14).

Health: 353/517.

Status Effect: [Devastation].

‘This is going to take forever.’ Fallon raised her hand and cast another round of [Warlock’s Wrath], then watched as the Gromulus Larva writhed in agony. “You know, this would go a lot faster if my familiar helped finish them off,” the Warlock quipped with a pointed look at the Dementher, who had settled down near a cluster of black mushrooms surrounded by glowing red spores.

“How do you expect to level up effectively if I do all the work?” Asmodeus deflected as he knocked a mushroom free with his cloven hoof. He gobbled the fungi up quickly, only pausing long enough to scratch the burnt umber fur between his neck and shoulder with a back foot in an oddly dog-like behavior.

“Yes, I know,” Fallon growled, “but Gromulus are boring, gross, and don’t even drop monster fragments. Can’t we just skip ahead to the Crystal Spiderlings?”

“Maybe if you had activated your aura skill sooner, you wouldn’t have to deal with these dungeon scrutas,” Asmodeus fired back without an ounce of sympathy. “Finish what you started, Warlock.”

Fallon grimaced beneath his patronizing tone. “Alright! I got it! I’ll finish them off.” She pulled a short sword from its sheath on her belt then trudged forward impatiently.

Weapon—Jabal Short Sword. Grade (C). Quality (Common) Forged from Ore mined from Jabal Mountain. A short sword that deals 22% physical damage to the target. Note: While everyone can wield a weapon of any grade, a 10% penalty will be deducted from physical damage for each difference in rank.

The Warlock raised the C-grade Jabal Sword above the first flashing monster six inches beneath the cavern floor. [Infernal Gaze] helped pinpoint the exact location of the larva’s pear-shaped brain. Fallon settled her feet on either side of the paralyzed monster, then drove her weapon down through its head with a grunt. The Jabal Sword severed earth, flesh, and organ with a satisfying squelch.

Critical Hit!

Gromulus has received 56 damage from [Jabal Short Sword].

You have slain Gromulus Larva, level 13. The monster was one rank below your current rank. Experience gained has been reduced by 50%. You have obtained 115 experience points.

With a quick twist and yank, Fallon pulled the blade free and recoiled as the rancid smell of putrid flesh leaked up through the hole in the ground. “Gaios Piss! Not only do they stink, but they give me a penalty in experience now!” Fallon choked out as she reeled back and yanked up the black Silki Cotton Scarf around her neck to cover her nose and mouth.

Asmodeus rolled his eyes and moved on to snack on another cluster of Black Widow Mushrooms.

Receiving no sympathy from her familiar, Fallon noticed the last flare of [Warlock’s Wrath] finish on the final two Gromulus. The Warlock hefted her sword again, located the brain on the level 10 larva, and drove the blade down for a single killing blow.

Critical Hit!

Gromulus has received 43 damage from [Jabal Short Sword].

You have slain Gromulus Larva, level 10. The monster was one rank below your current rank. Experience gained has been reduced by 50%. You have obtained 93 experience points.

The Warlock’s shoulders slumped in resignation. “Two scrutas down, one more to go.”

‘Perhaps using skills would be quicker at this rate—at least my arms won’t be tired out for the rest of the day.’

A shower of earth sprayed against Fallon’s Reinforced Dire Wolf Leather Boots as the ground behind the Warlock erupted. She spun, sword spinning in a smooth arch towards the dungeon floor where it clanged against a mound of rippling, jagged teeth aimed at the Warlock’s right leg.

Monster Skill—Infected Bite [Infected Bite] deals 6% damage to target and inflicts [Disease]. Targets effected by [Disease] receive 3% damage to health x3.

6% of [Infected Bite] was blocked by Jabal Short Sword. Durability reduced by 6. Jabal Short Sword durability is at 99/105.

Warlock received 0 damage from [Infected Bite].

The Gromulus’s swollen, sightless, corpse-colored head quivered behind the gaping mouth of teeth as the larva gnashed furiously against the blade that had stopped its attack. For a monster of its size, the Gromulus contained a surprising amount of strength. Fallon could feel the ground beneath her feet shift as the larva leveraged its still buried lower body and thrust upwards towards the Warlock, ignoring the blade pried between its dripping fangs.

‘That’s an unintelligent monster for you.’ Fallon thought and shuddered as she recalled her first time facing off against a much weaker Gromulus Maggot. ‘Just as ugly, but at least they couldn’t move.’

“Hungry, huh?” The Warlock taunted through gritted teeth as she raised her left hand and snapped her fingers. Sparks of red and gold showered down over the monster’s head as the flesh-eating larva’s body hissed and shuddered.

Warlock Active Skill—Reprisal (Tier I) An Affliction skill that boils the blood of the affected target and inflicts 15% damage. If the target is below 50% health, then [Reprisal]’s damage is automatically doubled. Note: [Reprisal] requires the Warlock to come in physical contact with the target. However, this affliction can also be transferred through melee or ranged weapons.

Gromulus has received 78 damage from [Reprisal].

You have slain Gromulus Larva, level 14. The monster is one rank below your current rank. Experience gained has been reduced by 50%. You have obtained 123 experience points.

The larva’s fangs screeched as they slid down the edge of Fallon’s sword. The monster’s face melted away as it disintegrated into a vile pile of bubbling flesh and putrefied vapor that spread out across the dungeon tunnel floor.

“Augh—that’s just—” Fallon leapt back and pressed her already covered face against her left arm as she tried to breathe, “—by the three moons—that fucking smell! This is why I hate grinding Scrutas!”

“If you had been paying more attention, you would have killed all three before they breached the surface,” Asmodeus replied apathetically as he eyed the bubbling puddle of flesh and then spat out the mushroom in his mouth. “And now you’ve ruined my appetite.”

“If you fought alongside me like you’re supposed to, Familiar, we could easily take another tunnel with some D-Ranked monsters and maybe even Cyren herself!”

“You’re not ready for a C-Rank boss, not even a minor one, Warlock!”

Fallon dropped her arm and cringed as her scarf fell with it. The Warlock blew against her short blonde hair impatiently as she dragged the cotton material back into place. “I won’t be ready for a long while yet at the pace you hold me to, Asmodeus.”

“I have already gotten you to D-rank. Be grateful, Warlock.” The Dementher flicked his red wolf ears in a gesture of dismissal as he trotted past the two steaming holes and melted remains. “Come on then. I’m in the mood for some crunchy spider legs.”

“I thought you lost your appetite?” Fallon muttered, then flicked her sword to shake off the lingering larva saliva. “At least Spiderlings have good drops and experience!” The Warlock slid her left hand into a pocket to pull out a mirror that she used with [Infernal Gaze] to assess her own progress.

Fallon Gaumond. Nucleus (Ingenium). Class (Warlock). Rank (D). Level (24). Warlock Fallon. Health: 2239/2239. Mana: 628/895. Experience till next level: 13,607/104,675. Status Effects: [Aura of Dissonance], [Familiar’s Ether Link], and [Infernal Gaze].

‘Yeah, this is going to take a while,’ Fallon sighed as she closed the compact mirror and returned it to her pocket. ‘Not like I have a choice though since Dad won’t let me join the guild.’

“I just need to get stronger before Dad or the Paragon figure out what I’ve been up to.”