NOVEL WEB Unrelenting
It soon turned into a game of death tag. Ben skittered around the room with four ancient corpses at his tail. He sweated bullets, trying to dodge their attempts to cleave him in two while he threw [Sunfire] at the blasted things.
Ben opted for a slash-and-run tactic with his [Bound Sword]. While he wasn't confident in facing them up close, staggering them with Sunfire gave him the necessary opportunity to hack at their heads safely.
The Bound Sword was weightless, as it was just a projection of the daedric spirits. Added to that, the {Mystic Binding} perk allowed Ben to manifest its abilities depending on his strength, giving Ben a significant boost in speed and lethality.
While the draugr weren't too slow themselves, they were no match for Ben, who moved nimbly without getting weighed down by weapons or armour. He tried using [Conjure Familiar] to distract some of them, but it proved to be a waste of Magicka as the draugr made quick work of the poor spectral wolf.
Ben didn't dare conjure an Atronach or a Boneman, as he hadn't summoned them before, and he would only end up reinforcing his enemies if something went wrong now.
After several minutes of intense cardio, Ben slashed at the final draugr, separating its unsightly mug from its shrivelled-up corpse.
"Huf Huf, I-I should probably start doing regular cardio," he said. Ben hadn't felt out of breath in a long time. His stamina had long surpassed normal human or even wizard standards, and hence he hadn't felt the need to put extra work into it.
'It would increase as I levelled up anyway,' he had thought until now.
He looked at the large door at the end of the antechamber. It was quite familiar, as he had seen it countless times in the game. It had three large concentric dials, but unlike the game, which only had three symbols per dial, here there were nine different dials, one for each Nordic totem.
"It means that there are 729 possible combinations to open this doorway, as compared to just 27 possible combinations used in the game. The reality is a cruel bitch, just as always."
Ben occupied his thoughts with some math while he regained his breath and recovered his Magicka. He was slowly turning into a true Ravenclaw.
Before moving any further, Ben had a difficult choice in front of him. He could continue his legendary, no armour, loincloth run, or he could swallow his pride and his disgust to further advance on his grave robbing career by stripping the dismembered draugr for armour.
And indeed, he hath elected to despoil the deceased draugr, demonstrating a lack of honour and a dearth of self-respect that rendereth him repugnant in his own right.
Verily, I do jest, for though he may be deemed a shameless and disreputable cur, he doth not possess the loathsome characteristics requisite to don the foul armour of a putrefying corpse.
Ahm-Ben retrieved The Golden Claw from his [Storage], the precious artefact glinting in the dim light of the underground chamber. He approached the imposing stone door that stood before him and rotated its three dials until they matched the pattern on the claw.
With a deep breath, he placed the dragon claw in the indent at the centre of the door and turned it clockwise. The door made rumbling sounds and slowly receded under the ground, revealing stone steps that led him to a massive cavern.
As he stepped inside, Ben was struck by the mystical aura that permeated the cavern. Waterfalls cascaded from the back and sides of the cave, creating a soothing melody that filled his ears. In the centre of the cave stood an altar with a curved wall on it.
Despite the enchanting beauty of his surroundings, Ben's attention was immediately drawn to the wall of the altar. He felt a magnetic pull towards it, as if something within the words etched onto its surface was calling out to him.
Ben walked across a small bridge over the raging stream of water and began to climb the stairs of the altar, his eyes glued to the wall. As he approached, he could hear a thumping rumble that seemed to permeate through the air and reverberate through his entire being, enveloping him in a trance-like state.
For a moment, Ben was lost in the sensation, the power of the wall overwhelming him, until,
"FUS RO DAH"
"A deep, thundering voice bellowed through the chamber, flinging Ben off his feet and sending him hurtling down the steps. He landed with a painful thud at the edge of the raging stream, dazed and disoriented.
Struggling to regain his senses, Ben looked back up at the altar. Emerging from a half-opened sarcophagus was a menacing figure - a draugr with sickly grey skin and armour etched with intricate runes. Its glowing eyes shone blue through a long-horned helmet, and in its hand it held an ancient Nordic longsword, its sharp edge glowing with a chilling blue light. As the draugr began to charge down the steps towards him, Ben's heart raced with fear for the first time.
Skipping over multiple steps in a single bound, the draugr lunged with its sword held high. Ben barely had time to cast a spell or even stand, but he managed to summon the [Bound sword] just in time. The draugr's sword came down with a deafening clang, leaving a trail of frost that froze the air. Ben gritted his teeth as he poured all his strength behind the sword, the ancient longsword stopped just a few inches away from his face.
"Kren sosaal!" The draugr's scream echoed off the mossy walls of the ancient tomb, filling the air with an eerie resonance.
"Yeah, we'll see about that," Ben said with gritted teeth, his muscles tensing as he pushed with all his might to force the draugr back.
With a flick of his wrist, he shot a ball of [Sunfire] at the draugr and charged forward, his blade at the ready. The draugr staggered back, as its flesh sizzled at contact with the holy fire but it quickly recovered. Ben saw its chest expand as it pulled air into its rotten lungs, but he didn't stop.
"FUS RO DAH," it shouted again, but this time he was ready.
Ben cast a [Steadfast Ward] with his left hand, the ethereal ward flickered as it absorbed most of the shout; the remaining force could only slow him down a little. As the echoes of the shout faded away, he was already in front of the draugr.
With a swift strike, Ben's blade ran across the draugr's shrivelled neck, separating its head from its body. The sickly smell of decay filled his nostrils as the draugr's lifeless body crumpled to the ground, the blue glow of its sword fading away. Ben took a deep breath, the adrenaline still pumping through his veins as he scanned the tomb for any more enemies.
