Sylver Seeker

Chapter 128: David Meet

Sylver felt an odd pride as his copies figured out the shades weakness and took full advantage of it. They stood in a tight formation and were fast enough to shoot down any shade that was in the process of forming.

Shades lived and moved through shadows in a way that was difficult to explain. The best way to imagine it was to think of a shadow as a hole in reality, that connected this realm to another realm, where the shadows lived.

Except that wasnt quite right either, it would be more accurate to call the space where the shades resided as a mini realm. Using the metaphor of the book, Sylver and every living creature lived on the page, they were the words on the page.

A shade on the other hand lived inside the page. Not quite deep enough that it could go through the page and travel to a different realm, but deep enough that a person reading the book would be unable to see anything but the words on the page.

The mini realm within a page metaphor worked quite well for all the creatures that resided between realms, but shades were limited to the realm they were born in.

The point is that even when a shade is hidden inside a shadow it is both here, and not here. A sword would do little damage to a shade thats hidden inside a shadow.

But as Sylvers copies had figured out, a single lead bullet was all it took to wipe out 4 shades sharing a shadow before they even had a chance to materialize.

They also figured out that if they littered the floor and walls with enough bullets, the shades would be unable to materialize anywhere. Sylvers shadow was an exception to this rule, something his copies had picked up on immediately.

Sylvers robe spun him to the left as the blade-wielding creature once again swung at him and missed completely.

If not for the danger of a lucky bullet hitting him while he was in the form of smoke, Sylver wouldnt have bothered dodging, nobody in the room had so much as a drop of mana in their system, there was nothing they could do to him.

Well, they could cut off a piece of him, and then eat it or something, so not nothing nothing.

Not to mention the black shit that now covered the entire ceiling was like some sort of extremely potent glue and acid mixed into one and had already claimed Sylvers right boot. That his copies, and both the slow and giant rock fist creature, as well as the nimble blade-wielding creature, were completely immune to.

Sylver spun the other way as the creature slashed at him again, and for the hundredth time, missed.

To keep everyone on their toes, Sylver summoned a few bombs and threw them up into the air, to force his copies to run away, while Spring continued to try and chip away at the Shatterer while standing on a platform Sylver created via [Necrotic Mutilation].

[Solid Sam (Warrior+Warrior+Shatterer) 186][HP-17,103][MP-N/A]

At this rate, it will be dead in just under 9 hours. Sylver thought as Spring pierced the Shatterers head for the hundredth time and chipped away another 10 points of HP.

Sylvers robe flung him upwards for a moment, as the blade came at him horizontally and left another deep mark in the wall directly behind him.

Looks deep enough.

Sylver waited for that telling click clack the creature made before it released its blade arm, and dodged out of the way again.

With the black sticky acid everywhere, Sylver was confined to one particular spot near the wall. The spikes had a range of where they could extend their acid, and the Shatterer had been too preoccupied with Spring and the others to release any spikes near Sylver.

The Slicer waved its blade again, and as it scratched the wall, everyone inside the room froze in place as they heard a new noise.

Sylver looked back at the scratched-up wall, full of many cuts, to the point there were enough that the creature had dug to the other side.

A tiny trick of water dribbled out of the tiny hole the Slicer had created and very promptly froze in place.

Well, thats that then. Good fight, Sylver said, as he clapped his hands and brought everyone out of their trance.

He had hoped that there would be at least a little bit of praise or recognition from his copies, something along the lines of;

Thats why you were stalling! or, you think a bit of water will be enough to defeat us? and Sylvers personal favorite, right after you and what army, an extremely deluded: we still have the upper hand!

Sadly, Sylvers copies seemed to realize that he hadnt spent all this time making a hole in the wall for the fun of it, and quite frankly seemed understandably depressed and terrified.

Sylver lunged at the blade-wielding Slicer and used [Necrotic Mutilation] to block the area on its chest where it stored and charged the blade up before it released it. Sort of like a crossbow, the blade fired at the press of a button, but took a while to reload, and was quite useless during the reloading process.

Sylver was careful to stand directly in front of it, so it took all the bullets that were now being aimed solely at Sylver, as he grabbed the creature by the shoulder area, and flung it towards the sliced-up wall, which was now stuffed full of malleable explosives.

Sylver didnt bother trying to save his eardrums, it was easier to fix them afterward.

The sound of the explosion reverberated throughout the previously sealed-up room and made Sylver realize he had used a little bit too much explosive, as chunks and pieces of metal wall passed right through him and embedded themselves in the other side of the rooms walls and ceiling.

One would have decapitated Sylver, had his body not been made entirely out of untouchable smoke.

Sylver landed on a piece of wall embedded in the ceiling, so as not to touch the acidic coating that came from the spikes, and watched as the water came in like a

Like a dam bursting open which was a perfect description for what was going on down below, because that was essentially exactly what was happening.

The water flooded in from the giant hole in the wall and washed away the somehow still alive Slicer, wasnt strong enough to move the Shatterer, but knocked all 6 copies down and hit them against the wall.

Sylver just watched and waited for a while, as everyone but the rock-like Shatterer was flung all over the place in the fast-moving water, before his robe released its hold on the piece of metal, and allowed him to drop down into the whirlpool of chaos down below.

The water became as still as a mirror as Sylver landed on it, and almost instantly turned into solid ice under his feet. With a single kick of the foot, the ice froze even more water, and trapped Sylvers 6 copies, and the Slicer, in rock-solid ice.

Sylver could see through the clear ice as the Shatterer standing at the bottom followed Sylver with his head, but didnt move a muscle other than that.

Almost casually, Sylver walked over the perfectly clear ice and with a wave of his hand froze the hole in the wall and stopped more water from coming inside.

The ice expanded out through the hole, like a bubble being blown up, so Sylver could walk out of the dungeon to see what was going on outside.

Sadly, Sylver wasnt able to see through the thick water that surrounded the ice and metallic room, and he could only see a few meters away from the ice bubble. Sylver considered sending a shade to be outside of the dungeon, but he didnt like the idea of losing another one.

Frankly speaking, it took more mana and effort than Sylver had estimated, to stop the ice from breaking and flooding the room with even more water.

Actually, why not? Im not going to drown, and I doubt Estus is still alive.

The ice shattered and water began to flood into the room again, avoiding Sylver as if there was an invisible barrier around him. The ice under his feet formed into stairs, and he walked down towards his 6 copies and was very careful when he moved them around so they were all standing the right way up. He melted the ice around their heads so that they were frozen only from the neck down.

[??? (Mage+Mage) 104][HP-N/A][MP-N/A]

Given that youre all still level 104, I take it youre the same copies as the ones I fought previously? And all mute, I take it? Sylver asked, and only got a silent emotionless stare as an answer.

As much as it pains me to say this, Im going to have to kill all of you. Its nothing personal, but I tried to make copies of myself in the past, and it never once worked out well. Im sure you understand, Sylver offered, as some of the [Necrotic Mutilation] wrapped around his arm slithered off it and moved over the ice and split up to touch all 6 copies.

Not that this changes anything, but you 6 were damn close to winning. If not for my very recently acquired trait, I never would have known how thin the wall was, and Im all but certain I would have died in here, Sylver lied, as the dark green liquid finished positioning itself around their heads. He wasnt sure but he thought he saw one of them almost smile at the words.

Everyone ready? On three. One,

[??? (Mage+Mage) Defeated!]

[??? (Mage+Mage) Defeated!]

[??? (Mage+Mage) Defeated!]

[??? (Mage+Mage) Defeated!]

[??? (Mage+Mage) Defeated!]

[??? (Mage+Mage) Defeated!]

[Necrotic Mutilation [F] (II) Proficiency increased to 21%!]

[Mirage [A] (III) Proficiency increased to 4%!]

Sylver surprised himself by the fact that hed managed to make [Necrotic Mutilation] snap their necks at the exact same time, down to the point Sylver could have sworn he only heard the sound of only 1 neck breaking.

Two, three, Sylver finished, as the ice moved their dead bodies towards him. After a few seconds of [Draining Blight] working over the worms in their system, Sylver stored all 6 one-armed,one-legged, one eyed, and mute copies into his [Bound Bones] storage. The guns were all out of ammo, but Sylver took the time to break all 6 of them, just to be safe.

[Draining Blight [B] (IV) Proficiency increased to 13%!]

It was almost a little ridiculous how intuitive [Advanced Water Manipulation] was, the ice and water moved almost faster than Sylver could think about moving it. Burned through mana unlike anything else he used, but Sylver had mana to spare right now.

The ice moved under his feet and more or less allowed him to slide towards the shaking and struggling Slicer monster. Sylver could see that it was desperately attempting to push its blade into its chest, but the [Necrotic Mutilation] hed placed there to clog it up, was still there and hadnt allowed it to charge its arm.

Sylver watched as the ice became slush near the thing Sylver chose to interpret as a head. He got one of the nameless men from earlier out of his [Bound Bones] storage, and turned them into more [Necrotic Mutilation]liquid. The now defenseless creature struggled, but it was an archer with a snapped bowstring, it was only dangerous if Sylver was careless and did something stupid.

As a precaution he kept his distance, as the [Necrotic Mutilation] slithered through the hole in the ice Sylver had created, and slowly but surely, sliced and tore open the creatures face, and forced its way inside of its body through the hole it was making.

Sylver filled the hole with some water, and worked in tandem with [Necrotic Mutilation] to have the water freeze and thaw in rapid succession, each time expanding the hole a little bigger and tearing the monster further apart. He was a little surprised at how much he had to break it apart, before he received the notification, hed all but split the thing into two separate pieces. He stored it away into his [Bound Bones] storage.

[Solid Sam (Rogue+Rogue+Slicer) Defeated!][Due to defeating an enemy 50 levels above you, additional experience will be awarded!]

[Swamp Lord] has reached level 2!+5AP

[2 perks available for [Necromancer]]

Sylver was carried down towards the creature standing at the very bottom of the now completely flooded room, there was a tiny amount of air trapped at the very top, but other than that it was nothing but ice and water.

Sylver waved his hand towards the monster and watched as it just stood there as the ice formed all around it, and completely encased everything, save for the head.

Sylver decided the lack of reaction meant the parasites controlling it wanted to talk.

Offer of talking still stands. Because otherwise, when that door opens, Im just going to have this giant mass of water come with me, and literally anything that doesnt have magic is going to be encased just like this, and then Ill figure out a way to kill it, Sylver explained, as [Necrotic Mutilation] flowed down through the ice-cold water, and slowly started to wrap itself around the Shatterers head area.

Sylver waited until the green black liquid was in place, and healed a few of the shade while he was at it.

Sadly, the motionless creature just stood perfectly still and stared him right in the eyes.

Your loss. I rarely try to negotiate with something that tried to kill me. Im a very good friend to have. And a very dangerous enemy, Sylver offered, but got nothing but silence in return. Even the worms coming out through the tiny gaps in its armor had stopped wriggling.

Sylver snapped his fingers and a tall icicle formed in the water directly above the monster. The tip was serrated, and had little channels for the [Necrotic Mutilation] to come through when it ripped into the monster.

It floated upwards for a few meters, before it started to spin, and slowly but surely the giant cone shaped piece of ice gained speed. Sylver kept his distance from the motionless Shatterer, and just watched it as it was about to be executed.

The giant icicle came down so quickly that it sent a wave through the water, and made Sylvers bubble of air wiggle around, before he got a hold of it. The tip disappeared into the head, and continued to move downward, and into the creatures body.

[Solid Sam (Warrior+Warrior+Shatterer) Defeated!][Due to defeating an enemy 70 levels above you, additional experience will be awarded!]

[Swamp Lord] has reached level 3!+5AP

[2 perks available for [Necromancer]]

Have I calmed down enough that I can trust myself to distribute my points?

Sylver closed both eyes for a few moments, as [Draining Blight] entered inside the creature, through the giant water-filled hole in the top of its body, and killed all the worms inside.

Oddly enough they werent immune to the skill anymore, but Sylver didnt know what changed, other than the fact that the monster was dead.

Maybe a skill or perk or something? Sylver thought as he reached out towards the creature, and willed the water to move it towards his hand to store away in [Bound Bones].

As the monster disappeared, Sylver was glad he hadnt started trying to think about how to allocate his AP, because if he was pissed off before, which was a huge understatement on its own, now he was a word that didnt translate into Eirish, but was a close relative of enraged.

He didnt need to open his eyes, because he knew exactly what had happened.

But even as he stood there, on solid ground instead of ice, a small, miniscule, part of Sylver, wanted to believe that hed simply used the trait too much, and would now have to wait a few hours before using it again, or something along those lines.

When Sylver opened his eyes and saw that he was in an entirely different room, without so much as a drop of water anywhere nearby, he felt a growl forming in his throat.

Sylver took a very long and very deep breath, and-

You think you can fucking kill me! Sylver shouted, as he sprinted towards the door behind him and coated one of his daggers in [Necrotic Mutilation] as he slashed at the hard metal.

Youre an insignificant, third-rate, feckless, worthless excuse for a dungeon! Sylver shouted while he repeated the exact same motion with his dagger and made the scratch in the wall ever so slightly deeper with each cut.

Do you have any idea who youre messing with? Sylver asked rhetorically, as Fen materialized next to him, and started to scratch the same cut in the wall, in perfect tandem with Sylver. Sylver coated the shades sword with [Necrotic Mutilation]and used some of his mana to make the feather-wearing fencer stronger and faster.

If you knew who I am you would have teleported me to the exit the fucking moment I tried to step foot inside! You would have presented your fucking core to me and begged for mercy if you had any semblance of an idea as to who the fuck youre dealing with! Sylver shouted, as Reg appeared on his right and he empowered the shade the same way he had Fen.

Sylver left the door to the two shades and slashed his right hands wrist open and used his finger to draw on the perfectly flat and squeaky clean floor with his blood.

Making sure he knows his place, Sylver quoted while looking down at the sigils he was drawing, put me in my place? Me? Pretending to be a mage? Me? Overinflated pride? My pride is exactly how big it should be for a mage of my caliber, how fucking dare you talk to me that way! Sylver yelled, as the glow emanating from Fen and Reg was now bright enough to illuminate the floor Sylver was drawing on.

Wasted his fucking time, I- Sylvers framework on the floor crackled with bright yellow lightning for a moment, as he looked up and saw that the metal wall was making a different sound, almost as if it was hollow.

You like that? I extended my hand to you in friendship and you dare reject me? Me? I will unravel your curse like its a fucking cheap piece of rope! Sylver shouted, as the framework on the floor made a popping noise, before it exploded with bright yellow lightning.

Go on then, teleport me! Go ahead, try it again! You must think youre so clever, teleporting people from one danger to another, what a genius plan, surely there isnt someone out there who knows how to bind his fucking physical from to a single fucking spot and make any kind of teleportation fucking impossible? Whats your plan for that? Sylver asked, as Fen and Reg sped up slightly, as they felt the metallic door just about to break.

I can feel your soul you know! Ill track you down, Ill find you, no matter how deep I have to go, or how many monsters I have to tear my way through. How about I turn your curse on you! Ill do it quietly, you wont even notice, but then Ill touch one of your infested monsters, and youll fucking wish you were dead from how much it will hurt! Sylver shouted into the empty room, while he spun in place and looked around as the shades continued to cut into the sealed door.

You wanted to piss me off? In that case hats fucking off to you, you fucking did it! Ive been keeping in since the very moment I came here! Go ahead, give it your best shot! Throw it all at me, everything, absolutely everything youve got! Let me guess, this room doesnt have any water anywhere? Well then youve got nothing to fear, send in the very best youve got! You sackless shit! Sylver goaded, as the framework on the floor started to look like a bonfire from how much sheer force it was resisting right now.

And another thing! I Sylver stopped talking as he felt something happen to the floor beneath his feet. Fen and Reg both disappeared into his shadow, and Sylver got into a defensive stance, as the framework on the floor stopped glowing and only the light from the ceiling illuminated the large room.

Sylver felt another thud in the floor, then another, and another, all the while he just waited for something to happen.

He wasnt sure how well his Ive lost my god damned mind act worked, but clearly something was happening.

Truth be told, Sylver really had lost it for a second or two, but he was fine now.

Well, not fine fine, but good enough given the circumstances.

He was at an acceptable level of frothing at the mouth pissed off, and if the way the feeling in the floor felt more and more like giant footsteps, was about to have something to let out a tiny bit of his anger on. Killing his copies quite honestly just added to his anger, since he had to deprive this realm of 6 incredibly handsome faces.

Sylver turned towards where he felt the giant footsteps were coming from, and saw that one of the previously closed doors was wide open now.

A just a mess of tentacles forced its way through the narrow door, and regained its form in the middle of the room. It was big enough that it pretty much took up half of the room. Not to mention all the tentacles that were wildly flailing around all over the place.

There were eyes everywhere, along with circular mouths, and random human limbs sticking out every now and then, twitching arms and legs, all covered in a thin layer of clear mucus.

[Sam A El (Warrior+Warrior+Warrior+Warrior+Warrior+Warrior+Warrior+Warrior) 240][HP-N/A][MP-N/A]

Its for the better I cant see how much HP Im going to have to chew through. Would have been incredibly demoralizing, Sylver thought, as Fen and Reg appeared near the door and got back to trying to hack through it, while Sylver just stared up at the giant mass of wriggling shit and tried to piece together a plan of action.

So far the best that came to mind was to run.