Chương 84: Chapter 42

Heart of Lightning As we studied Zeus's near-cremated corpse, Rel looked rather pleased with himself. And I couldn't really blame him. The results of his spell had been electrifying. Maybe Zeus would've appreciated that pun, what with him being such a big fan of lightning. Unfortunately, he wasn't really in a position to offer feedback. It turns out it's pretty effective to give a fully charged Nature's Fury an entire sky crammed full of storm clouds to work with.

Add in the damage bonuses from Rel's wand and ring and you're onto a winning combination. Although I suppose it wouldn't really be considered a winning combination if you were the one on the receiving end. I knelt beside the corpse to see what loot Zeus had dropped. There was a single item. I read the description, feeling an equal mix of giddy excitement and bitter disappointment. It was incredible. But it was far better suited to Rel.

Heart of Lightning Absorbing the item grants the following bonuses: + 3 to all stats + 20% damage dealt by lightning spells + Grants the abilities: Flight Flight Lightning gathers around the caster, lifting them into the air and propelling them forward like a living thunderbolt. Speed of flight scales with intelligence. Control of flight scales with agility. I was feeling rather stupid about my earlier reluctance to train intelligence.

If I'd ignored Cave Man Pete's 'hit things as hard as possible' philosophy on training, I could be soaring through the skies right now. I also couldn't ignore the fact that taking an item that provided +20% damage to lightning spells would be incredibly selfish. I sighed. The item appeared in the palm of my hand – a glass orb about the size of an apple. Within it, a miniature storm raged, swirling grey clouds punctuated by blinding flashes of lightning.

"Pete," said Rel softly, "what's that?"

"Oh, nothing," I said. If I couldn't use the item, it only seemed fair that I got to fuck with Rel a little before giving it to him.

"It's some sort of bizarre paperweight. I guess Zeus was a big fan of outlandish office supplies. I feel a bit cheated, to be honest. You'd think a boss on Floor Eight would drop something a little more useful."

"A paperweight?" Rel snorted.

"That thing contains so much arcane energy that I'm surprised the glass can contain it." Arcane energy? I pulled my sunglasses from my inventory and slipped them on, mentally instructing the magical aura-detection function to activate. I regretted it immediately. You know how people always say to avoid looking directly at the sun? The same advice should be followed when examining items with outrageously potent arcane energy. It was like looking at the portal on Floor Seven all over again.

While I was swearing animatedly with my eyes clamped shut, Rel struck. He darted through the air and snatched the orb from my hand, the item instantly shrinking to fit in his paws.

"Oh, yes," he said.

"Oh, fucking yes." His voice was… disturbing. I won't elaborate further, but let's just say that speaking like that in any respectable establishment would've resulted in him being asked to leave. Possibly followed by a phone call to the police. I blinked rapidly, my vision slowly returning. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I was greeted by one of those sights that, despite being a little disturbing, you can't help but stare at. Rel was pushing the orb into his chest.

It wasn't a physical thing, though. As it touched his body, the glass dissolved into pure energy and flowed into him. As he absorbed more and more of the energy, lightning began to arc across his fur, and the brown of his eyes was replaced by electric blue. He laughed manically as the last of the power flowed into him. He rose slowly into the air, only stopping when he hovered several metres above the platform. All around us, lightning erupted from the clouds, almost as if in applause.

And then those glowing blue eyes fixed on me. I gulped and took a step back, raising my hands placatingly.

"What was it you called me earlier, Pete?" Rel said. His squeaky voice boomed and reverberated through the chamber.

"If I remember correctly, it was Guildmaster Furry Ball Sack. Now, that wasn't very nice, was it?" I cleared my throat.

"In my defence, it was very funny at the time." Rel tilted his head as he considered me.

"Do you know what else would be very funny?" he asked. The answer came not in words, but in the form of a bolt of lightning streaking towards me. I leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding it, and rolled to my feet.

"I…" I pushed off the glass, soaring into the air as another bolt struck the spot I'd been standing.

"Regret…" I dropped back to the platform, twisting awkwardly to avoid another.

"Nothing." And then one caught me square in the chest, sending me tumbling backwards. Okay. I regretted it a little bit. * After taking a break to eat – and, more importantly, give the self-repair function of my clothing time to do its thing – we walked down the tunnel to the final chamber. Well, I say we walked, but more accurately, I walked and Rel floated. He was clearly enjoying his new ability, at one point drifting backwards with his paws behind his head like he was dozing in an invisible hammock.

"This is the life," he said with a satisfied sigh.

"Obliterating enemies, learning new spells, and spending time with my friend." I raised an eyebrow at that last one, my thoughts drifting back to what 'spending time with my friend' had looked like an hour ago. I suppose that's the thing about friendship. Sometimes you share laughs and good memories. Sometimes you get electrocuted for calling someone Guildmaster Furry Ball Sack. As we stepped… Fuck. As I stepped into the next chamber, I couldn't help but notice a theme developing. Pyroth and his lava and flame.

Zeus and his clouds and lightning. And now the third chamber of… Snow and ice. We were immediately plunged into the heart of a raging blizzard, snow falling so thickly it was difficult to see more than thirty metres. Everything beyond that vanished behind a curtain of white, making it impossible to judge the true size of the chamber. Only the top layer of snow was still powdery; the stuff beneath had frozen solid and was firm enough to walk on. Even so, my feet sank several inches with each step.

Rel had received his flight ability at the ideal time. I can't imagine he'd have enjoyed trudging through the snow. The whole thing once again made me very grateful for my durability. I was dressed entirely inappropriately for the conditions. My outfit may have been incredibly stylish and functional, but it was hardly suitable for an arctic expedition. Earth Pete would have been reduced to a human icicle within minutes. Current Pete? I felt the cold no more than I had the blistering heat in Pyroth's chamber.

I guess I was now a badass with nothing to fear from the elements. We quickly learned there was one major difference between this chamber and the previous two. This boss had minions. You're probably wondering how we came to learn this. Perhaps through a polite and respectful diplomatic exchange? Or better yet, an invitation to meet their boss for a casual chat over tea and cake? Nope. An enormous, furry fist crashed into the side of my face. With the snow falling so heavily, I didn't see it coming.

I felt my jaw creak as I went hurtling through the air. I slammed into the ground in an explosion of snow. It filled my mouth and nose, and I started to panic as I tried to rise to my feet. Death by suffocating in the snow was not how I wanted my story to end. I'd never live it down. A foot slammed into my side, sweeping me off the ground and sending me tumbling through the air. Before I'd even landed, fists and feet were raining down. You have gained 1 durability.

Current durability: 39 Believe it or not, it's difficult to get a good look at things when you're having the shit kicked out of you in the middle of a blizzard, but I did catch a few glimpses of my attackers. Huge, lumbering creatures covered in a thick coat of white fur. Now, some of the things I'd experienced in the Trial Zone had been pretty damn bizarre. But this? This was definitely up there. I was being jumped. By a gang of yetis.

Part of me was tempted to let them wear themselves out and see what they'd do next. I really, really hoped they'd start rifling through my pockets, snatch the inventory pouch from my belt, and then run the fuck away. If I ever made it back to Earth, it'd make an amazing story.

'Oh, yeah. There was this one time I was walking through a blizzard and got jumped and mugged by yetis. Good times.' But, alas, we had things to be getting on with. As one of the furry legs blurred towards me, my hand shot out and latched onto it. I squeezed, my fingers tearing into the flesh. I ripped a great chunk out of its leg. The creature's pained shrieks seemed to have a sobering effect on the rest of its crew.

It pierced the cloud of bloodlust that had apparently fallen over their minds, and they took a hesitant step back. Their beady eyes, blue like chips of ice, darted between the chunk of yeti flesh dripping blood down my arm and their buddy thrashing wildly in the snow. And then the lightning began to fall. Upon seeing the yeti try to rearrange my face, Rel had floated higher into the air, giving himself a safe front-row seat to the show. The show being me getting kicked around like a football.

Apparently satisfied that he'd seen enough, he joined the party. After the first bolt of lightning struck, I saw some rather confused and terrified yetis slowly turn their heads upwards. I tried to imagine how it would look from their point of view. A small creature hovers in the air, lightning crackling across its fur. Its lips curl into a savage grin, its eyes an electric blue. It raises both arms, miniature bolts of seething lightning appearing in each paw. They ran. Fast.

"Get up, Pete!" Rel shouted, roaring to be heard over the howling wind.

"They might lead us to their boss." I hopped to my feet, tossed the chunk of yeti into the snow, wiped my bloodstained hand on my trousers, and set off in pursuit.