EFate: An MMO Story Chapter 64: Bleak Cave Barrow

The ladder, if you could call it that, was made of smoothly hewn clefts in the rock that provided purchase against the rough rock face.

To Eric's annoyance, acc.u.mulated moss and fungus made it difficult to maintain his grip. On more than one occasion his foot would hit a loose patch of moss, sending the moss skidding off of the rock along with his foot.

Grumbling to himself, Eric did his best to clear the ladder of obstructions as he lead the way downwards. After nearly a minute of this, a soft light came into view below.

Seeing this, Eric increased his speed, sending bits of moss and dirt flying downwards as he did his best to go at a speed just short of a controlled freefall.

Reaching the bottom, Eric moved smartly out of the way to allow Mark and Griffin to land. Mark landed smoothly, but jumped out of the way the moment he landed.

Looking at his friend questioningly, a sudden cry echoed from further up the ladder, reverberating through the small room they were standing in. As he watched, Eric winced as Griffin appeared, landing heavily in the s.p.a.ce Mark had just occupied.

"You okay bro?" Eric asked, bending down to give his friend a hand.

"Yeah I think so. Just lost my grip. Fairly sure something in one of the holes bit me," Griffin replied, inspecting his left hand for bitemarks.

"You guys seeing this?" Mark interjected, causing Eric and Griffin to look up.

Following Mark's gaze, Eric let out a low whistle. The room they were in was fairly small, not more than a couple meters in diameter. The light that he'd seen from above was being emitted from a handful of torches embedded in sconces on the wall.

Looking closer, Eric could see that the torches were similar to those he'd seen in Flen's hall. Magic crystals comprised the 'flame' of the torch, emitting a calm yet fiery glow that lit the room.

At the far end of the room was the object that had gotten Mark's attention. An enormous set of double doors was embedded in the stone. The metal gleamed with a burnished polish, looking well maintained despite the dust and dirt that had acc.u.mulated at the foot of the door.

Intricate designs covered much of the door. Squinting slightly, Eric could make out various humanoid figures wielding a variety of weapons, as well as dragons, wolves, large cats, and other figures that Eric couldn't quite identify.

"That's pretty d.a.m.n cool," Eric breathed.

Mark nodded, "You're telling me. What do you think it is?"

"If I had to guess? I'd say we just found our first dungeon," Eric said with a grin.

"Really? I'm kind of hoping it's just a treasure room," said Griffin, dusting himself off from the fall.

"I mean, dungeons are just really well guarded treasure rooms when you think about it," Eric supplied.

"I'd prefer the unguarded type right now. We're not in great shape after that battle with the Swordclaw," Griffin continued, pointing at his torn armour.

Eric's grin faded a little at this, most of his gear was in pretty bad shape. His armour's durability was approaching zero pretty quickly, his sword was only just above the fifty percent mark, and there was no point even mentioning his bow. On top of all that his health and mana were both still recovering, neither bar showing as a hundred percent full.

"How about we take a quick break. Recover our health and mana, check out our gear, all that stuff. Griffin you can try practicing that new skill of yours. Then we can see what's behind this door," Mark suggested.

Nodding in agreement, the trio sat down and began to recover. While Mark played with his new wolf pup, experimenting with the pet interface. Eric took a look at his event log, which had been glowing brightly ever since the fight with the Swordclaw.

Dismissing the damage and kill notifications, Eric was left with a surprisingly long list of skill levels and other notifications.

[Wind Dart has levelled up to Beginner 8]

[Wind Dart has levelled up to Beginner 9]

[Dashing Cut has levelled up to Apprentice 3]

[Your Leather Padded Armour has been critically damaged!]

[You have been stunned for 3s]

[You have been afflicted with Minor Bleed]

[Wind Dart has levelled up to Beginner 10!]

[You have levelled up to level 13! Stats have been updated]

Strength +1

Agility +1

Endurance +1

Magic Power +1

Mana +10

[Basic Wind Magic has reached Apprentice 3]

[You have levelled up to level 14! Stats have been updated]

Strength +1

Agility +1

Endurance +1

Magic Power +1

Mana +10

[Dashing Cut has levelled up to Apprentice 4]

[Basic Evasion has reached Apprentice 10!]

[Militia Swordsmanship has reached Apprentice 5]

[Basic Evasion has reached Journeyman 1]

[You have been healed by Fogs. Minor Bleed has been cleansed]

[Militia Swordsmanship has reached Apprentice 6]

[Guard has levelled up to Beginner 8]

[Swordclaw Lynx has used Disruptive Howl. You fail to resist]

[You have been silenced]

[You have been slowed]

[You have been confused]

[Your stats have been lowered by 40%]

[You are taking Sonic damage]

[Basic Archery has reached Apprentice 8]

[Basic Evasion has reached Journeyman 2]

[Fine Yew Longbow's durability has been reduced to zero]

[Fine Yew Longbow has been destroyed!]

[You have been healed by Fogs]

[Wind Dart has levelled up to Apprentice 1]

[Basic Evasion has reached Journeyman 3]

[Basic Arcane magic has reached Apprentice 7]

[Basic Wind Magic has reached Apprentice 4]

[Wind Dart has levelled up to Apprentice 2]

[You have learned: Multi-linked Wind Dart!]

[Basic Wind Magic has reached Apprentice 8]

[You have levelled up to level 15! Stats have been updated]

Strength +1

Agility +1

Endurance +1

Magic Power +1

Mana +10

[You are affected by mana rebound]

Closing the event log, Eric sat in stunned silence for a moment. Turning to Griffin, Eric struggled to find something to say, his mouth opening and closing noiselessly as he groped for the words.

"Did you guys get a ton of skill levels and level ups from that fight?"

"Uh, not sure. Lemme check," Griffin replied.

"I haven't checked yet. One sec," Mark echoed Griffin's response.

Eric watched as his friends opened their event logs, perusing their recent events as they checked their recent notifications.

Griffin was the first to react, his face contorting as he witnessed the enormous list of skillups and other notifications from their fight with the Swordclaw.

Mark's reaction was fairly subdued, simply raising an eyebrow as he read over the lines a few times. Griffin's reaction on the other hand was priceless, his mouth shooting open as his eyes scanned the event log over and over again as if to confirm it was real.

"That is a lot of skillups for a fight we didn't even really win," said Mark, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. I gained like twenty skill levels, and I managed to learn a new skill on top of the one that the Wolf Spirit gave me," Griffin added.

"Which skill did the Wolf Spirit give you anyways?" Eric asked curiously.

"Wild Strike. It allows me to double the power of my next attack in exchange for lowering my accuracy. There's a small catch though," said Griffin, trailing off slightly at the end.

"Oh?" Eric raised an eyebrow, "What's the catch?"

"I've got to howl to activate the power boost."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah what?" Mark echoed.

"Howl. Like the wolves do," Griffin sighed, "I might as well just show you."

Standing up, Griffin grabbed his sword, drawing it from its sheath. Taking a posture, he aimed at the wall, his sword raised high above his head.

Letting out a loud howl, Griffin swung his sword downwards. As it descended, Griffin's sword took on a slight glow, the blade cleaving through the empty air, leaving a trail in the air as if s.p.a.ce itself had been rent asunder by Griffin's attack.

Looking closer at the sword trail, Eric could just make out three distinct lines in the air, almost like the claw marks of a ghostly wolf. Glowing dimly, the sword trail began to fade as Griffin returned his sword to its sheath. Panting slightly, he made his way back over to where Eric and Mark were sitting.

"Alright that was pretty d.a.m.n cool," said Eric, flashing a thumbs up towards his friend.

"Yeah I almost regret getting Ulfir here. That skill is cool as f.u.c.k," echoed Mark.

Smiling, Griffin sat down once more, checking his status to see if his health and mana were finished recharging.

After another minute, Mark stood up, "I'm almost good to go. What about you guys?" Mark asked.

"My health is full, but my mana is still recovering. I went to zero with that last spell," said Eric, looking up from his skill list.

"I just need my mana to recover from using Wild Strike just now and I'll be good," Griffin chimed in.

Once the groups health and mana finished recovering, they approached the huge doors at the other end of the room. Pressing his hand against the door, a system message appeared in front of Eric.

[You have discovered the dungeon: Bleak Cave Barrow]

This is a five player dungeon intended for level 25+ players. It is advised that players prepare properly before entering this dungeon.

"Level 25? What's with all the higher level stuff in this cave?" Griffin grumbled.

"I mean, I just gained like four levels in that fight. So I'm all for high level stuff. Not sure we can clear an entire dungeon though," said Mark.

"Want me to scout it out?" Eric offered.

"Nah, we'll all go in together. You're not playing a rogue right now so it's a little dangerous to let you go in alone," said Mark.

"Are you guys sure we should enter? The death penalty might be low, but I'd still rather not die if I can help it. And will your pet be safe if we die Mark?" Griffin asked.

Pausing for a moment, Mark considered Griffin's words, "Ulfir will be fine yeah. The pet system says he'll reincarnate with me if he gets killed. But you do have a point about the dying thing."

"We don't need to go far. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out what's inside. See what we're up against so that we can properly prepare when we come back," said Eric.

"That's true. It's not like we have to try and clear the dungeon."

"So what's the plan then. Go in, check what type of enemies there are, then leave and head back to town?" Griffin asked.

"Pretty much. No point risking too much, even if it is a game," Mark replied.

"Sounds good. We good to go then?" Eric asked.

Seeing Mark and Griffin's nods of affirmation, Eric pushed on the doors. The creaking sound of old metal filled the room as the doors slowly swung open, revealing a stone pa.s.sageway leading deeper into the cave.