Mountain of the Immortals

Once Aphrodite was done giving her the same buffs she had cast on me, she gave her one additional buff before turning and casting it on me as well.

* * *

Name: Might

Type: Buff

Level: 3

Effect: Boosts Physical Attack by 15%

Time Left: 19 minutes 59 seconds

Description: The recipient’s muscles are infused with a staggering amount of mana, providing an extreme strength boost.

* * *

This was going to be the most important for both Artemis and me. If we were engaged in battle and not able to renew our buffs, this should be the last one to expire. Or at least so I thought until she cast one final buff on me and then Artemis.

* * *

Name: Fortitude

Type: Buff

Level: 3

Effect: Boosts Physical Defense by 15%

Time Left: 19 minutes 59 seconds

Description: A thick layer of mana envelops the recipient’s body, acting as a dampener for physical blows.

* * *

Thinking again about the order in which she’d cast the buffs, the defensive one being last made absolute sense. And what a boost this was. Fifteen percent against physical attacks might only be half of the Magic Defense boost I got from the Mana Barrier buff but this was much more versatile in the sense that this covered all non-magical damage, including things being hurled at us, damage from falling, or even the by-products of magical attacks. Magic Defense might protect me from the damage a fireball would cause since the ball of fire was magically created. However, the damage caused by the explosion would fall under Physical Damage, as would any cave-ins that might take place afterwards as a result.

The last question that came to mind was why she hadn’t cast any buffs on herself but right as I thought of it, she started casting a limited set on herself too. I guessed that the single buffer—and probably also healer—of the party would need to remain buffed longer than the rest of us for good reason, though I couldn’t help but think that this was more an act of selfishness on Aphrodite’s end rather than party tactics.

She finished her round of buffs with the Fluid Casting boost on herself again and I got to see how many fewer buffs she had compared to us. She had skipped right through the ones that boosted physical damage and had focused instead on the defensive ones.

“Okay, we’re ready to go now,” Aphrodite said finally, and gulped down a bit of water to soothe her throat after she'd just chanted dozens of incantations.

“This is amazing,” Artemis said, retrieving a different bow from her inventory, one that carried a deep red glow.

“What the hell is that?” I said, surprised to see such a heavily enchanted weapon. “All this time you’ve had a +16 bow?”

“It’s actually +17,” she said with pride. “It’s only C-grade, but it’s much better than any other bow I’ve seen so far. Take a look.”

* * *

Name: Bow of Artemis +17

Type: Bow

Rarity: C Grade

Physical Attack: 571

Magic Attack: 176

Special Ability: Defining Shot

Attack Speed: Slow

Durability: 12621/13200

Weight: 1880st.

Description: Once a normal C-grade bow, this majestic piece of warfare has been enchanted to levels few mortals or even gods have seen before. Breaking the +16 threshold, Artemis was able to change the bow’s original name and forever mark this world with her courageous presence. The bow’s previous characteristics were lost in time once it changed its name and manifested its unique ability. Once per day, the wielder of this weapon can unleash a devastating attack that has 100% chance of finding its target, ignores any shield, armor, or magical bonuses, and always strikes a critical hit.

* * *

“Are you crazy?” I almost yelled. “I get enchanting a +15 weapon to change its blue glow to the red that +16 weapons get, but why go further than that? It’s not worth the risk. Especially with such a unique skill.”

“I wanted to know what came next,” she retorted. “The red glow became thicker and deeper.”

“What if the weapon hadn’t been able to take the additional enchantment and broke. Then what?” I said.

Aphrodite moved between us. “We should not waste our buffs talking. I’ve just seen three bears coming out of that place.”

“These ones look even bigger than the one that attacked us earlier,” I said.

“They must have been corrupted for longer,” Artemis added.

* * *

Name: Brown Bear (Corrupted - Evolved)

Type: Beast

Level: 32

Disposition: Aggressive

HP: 2753/668

Physical Attack : 128

Magic Attack: 85

Speed: 158

Attack Range: Melee

XP: 3504

Description: A malevolent force has plagued this brown bear, providing it with an excess of life even though it should have been long dead. The bear has been feeding off the corruption for long enough that its original form evolved into a superlative perversion of life, providing it with additional limbs that had been lost in the process of generational evolution, making it stronger and faster. This particular form of corruption differs from other methods of creating undead as it fills the body of the corrupted with immense amounts of life force without healing their injuries.

* * *

The bears had an extra pair of arms and their fangs and claws were almost comically large and blackened. These ones didn’t look like they had any injuries but rather, judging by the color of their fur, they would probably have died of old age had it not been for this corruption pumping them full of excessive life energy.

“Here’s the plan,” I said. “I charge at one of them and Aphrodite pins another of them to the ground. Artemis helps me take down the first before... Artemis?”

I turned to see the red glow of her bow illuminating the side of a tree as she positioned herself to attack. Before I was even able to grab her attention, she’d nocked an arrow and loosed it with incredible speed and precision. The arrow went flying straight into one of the beasts’ eyes.

I rushed forward, expecting the bear to roar in anger but it had no immediate reaction. Only when another arrow lodged itself in the second bear’s head did the first one start toppling to the ground. The last remaining beast, confused as to why its partners had fallen, stepped back into the dark opening of the cavern behind it as I charged at it.

“Don’t let it warn anything else!” I mentally shouted in the guild chat.

Artemis moved between the trees, trying to get a better view of the remaining enemy while I continued to run as fast as I could toward it. Luckily, the beast hadn’t made any growling sounds yet, but if any other corrupted creatures saw it running back into the cavern, it would definitely raise alarm bells. It would make things so much easier for us if we could stay stealthy as long as possible.

Before the bear completely disappeared into the darkness, the now familiar glowing vines of Aphrodite’s spell sprang out of the ground and enveloped its legs. The beast was caught unawares and pulled at the vines with all its might as it tried to continue forward. Once it comprehended its predicament, its movements slowed and took in a deep breath, readying for what would have been the most terrifying and alarming roar of its ‘life’, had it not been for my spear running through its back and straight out of its mouth.

I retrieved my weapon and swiped it with force to get rid of the coat of dark gray sludge from the beast’s innards.

“You should have waited,” I said in the guild chat, looking furiously in Artemis’s direction.

“You’re the leader of the guild,” she retorted mentally, “not of this hunt.”

“Let’s get a move on,” Aphrodite whispered.

We both nodded, agreeing to postpone the argument for now.

After I took another couple of steps, a new notification appeared in front of my eyes.

* * *

You have entered the Life Transcendence Dungeon.

This is a level 60 dungeon.

* * *

“What’s a level sixty dungeon doing here?”, I asked Artemis. “If you think I feel any obligation to risk my life just because you tricked us into agreeing to do this, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“I had no idea,” she replied immediately, looking alternately at me and Aphrodite. “I thought it might have been hard to do it myself but I never thought there’d be something so strong down here.”

“You mean you never even did any reconnaissance?” I asked, still finding it hard to believe her. “You just killed whatever came out?”

“Not even that,” she hurried to answer. “I knew that monsters sometimes emerged from here, but that’s what the beasts told me… what they communicated to me. They all said this place was bad and that I should keep away from it. Which is why I knew this was the entrance. But I never came this close, out of fear of provoking whatever’s in here.”

I looked at Aphrodite, who seemed to be examining every small change in Artemis’s expression.

“You have to believe me,” the huntress urged, raising her voice a little and causing it to travel down the long dark corridor.

“I do, damn it,” I said, after Aphrodite nodded at me. “I’m just not ecstatic about getting more than what we bargained for.”

“Well, we’re here now,” Aphrodite said, continuing the conversation mentally in our guild chat, “so we might as well move fast.”

“Alright,” I said. “Since this is a high-level dungeon, I’m now leading this hunt. Anybody got a problem with that?”

When neither of them offered a reply, I pointed forward and started heading down the dark, cold, and damp slope into the corrupted heart of Mount Olympus.