Last night's chapter. I will write today after dinner, and I added a Seraphim chapter to Sunday to make up for only 3 last week (so 5 this week). about 12 chapters left in book 10... can't believe how fast these things go

Chapter 585: Confrontation

An earth pulse told me the thin stone wall also had a dense aetheric signature, likely a force barrier made with the air affinity. I ignored it for now and turned to face the passage. Two apex illusion essences appeared in my hand, confirming my dimensional space was not compromised. I still suspected the dungeon had plans to make this difficult for me. Especially if this was the final room on the floor. Was there even a fourth level to the Shimmering Labyrinth?

I put the first illusion essence in my mouth, not caring that I wouldn’t be able to get the maximum benefit from it since I had consumed a water essence about twelve hours ago. I wasn’t even focused on the essence working through my body and pooling in my aether core as I was waiting for the trap to be sprung. As soon as the aetheric euphoria passed, I immediately put the second in my mouth. The doppelgängers would be irate that they were now helping me.

I could feel my channels were too exhausted to utilize all the possible aether, but my aether sight increased in clarity from about forty feet to sixty feet. I considered doing the same with the earth essences I had stockpiled, but held off. I looked back at the sealed passage before starting to walk down the passage. The feedback of raw mithril from earth speak was like a blinding bright light. Gold and silver just appeared as higher densities than rock. Mithril resonated so much with each earth pulse that it lit up. I hoped I wasn’t tainting it with the earth affinity. I didn’t think that was the case, but I would only be certain after I gave it to Hephaestus.

After fifty feet, I paused and looked back again. The passage kept going well beyond my sight, but I was getting further away from an easy retreat. I set an anchor for a teleport near the door and held the anchor as I continued deeper into the corridor. When I encountered a substantial mithril pocket deep in the wall, I stopped and moved the few ounces of the precious metal to my space. I immediately felt the presence of the dungeon on me, and this time it didn’t leave as it continued to tickle my senses. Hephaestus wanted at least a pound of raw mithril, and I estimated I had a third of what I needed. Should I just collect all the smaller deposits and not look for larger ones? This passage was definitely taking me somewhere.

A pin prick of light appeared in the distance—the far distance. How big was this room, and why hadn’t anything attacked me yet? The light was getting brighter, so maybe this was the monster for this room. I quickly took two more small deposits of mithril in case I had to retreat, and I prepared for the impending encounter. I stepped back, realizing it was not in fact a light, but a highly concentrated amount of aether that my magical vision was picking up.

It was blurry from the distance, but something that bright had to be dangerous. I teleported the two hundred feet back to where I had entered the room, planning to regroup with the others. Rather than push the stone and air magic into my space, I outlined a narrow passage just to the right of it, thinking I was outsmarting the dungeon.

When I shifted and closed my dimensional space, I was met with a loud blast and concussive explosion. I was thrown back from the wall, rolling down the corridor. I had been lucky there hadn’t been a wall behind me as I wasn’t wearing a helm.

I tried to move, and it felt like I had just had Ginger kick me in the chest. I was dazed, struggling to get to my feet in the darkness. My aether shield amulet was a bunch of broken fragments on my chest. My elven mithril chain might and earth drake bracers might have saved me from more severe injury. Both artifacts helped spread out impacts across my body. My aether had bottomed out, and that meant I no longer had any aether to see in the magical darkness.

I knew from experience what had caused the backlash. It was from trying to put another dimensional space inside my own, but there had been no clues from the earth speak feedback. I wanted to laugh, but I knew it would hurt too much. The dungeon had laid the perfect trap for me. I should have realized it when it focused on me after I stole the mithril with my dimensional space—it was waiting in anticipation.

My hand fumbled with my belt pouch and produced an aether restorative. The dungeon was still watching me, and it felt like it was anticipating something. As the aether flooded my system, I healed my concussion first to clear my mind. The light! It was much closer now and in the shape of a man. I drew magebane and continued to heal myself. Nothing was broken, but there were two dislocated ribs that popped back into place, and I had extensive bruising.

I was cornered, but I had a number of tricks still at my disposal. The man reached the edge of my vision and began to come into focus as he walked purposely forward. I was fairly certain the aetheric glow was a powerful aether shield around his body, as it looked like an glowing aura. The man—no elf—was tall with sharp angular features. He wore a polished cuirass that shone brightly under my aether sight, and I could see an elven chain around his collar. Ornate pauldrons and greaves with golden reliefs protected his limbs. His open-faced helm matched the glorious armor and had two short wings above the ears. Displayed proudly on his cuirass was an elven hearth tree—the symbol for Caelorian nobility.

I didn’t have to guess who this was because he carried a thick black spear with a black leaf tip. He stopped confidently forty feet from me. “I have been waiting a long time for this, human,” he said in crisp elvish.

“A long time for what?” I asked naively.

“A chance to kill another piece of Telhian trash,” he said unperturbed.

“Oh, that is a relief! I am not Telhian. In fact, my girlfriend is an elf, and we have a son,” I said, relaxing magebane slightly to appear slightly less combative.

His steely gray eyes focused on me. “Don’t lie. I was told you wore the Empire’s red armor the first time you entered the Shimmering Labyrinth, and if you tell the truth that you have despoiled an elven woman, it is even more of a reason for you to die.” His tone was so even, so conversational that it was chilling.

I don’t think anything I said could change the king’s mind, but I latched onto one detail. “The dungeon told you I was coming here?” I asked, stalling.

He only gave a short nod as he raised the spear. That fucker Alhur probably knew this was going to happen! “Wait! Do you know what is happening on the surface? Do you know why I am here?” I said stalling. I was actually weighing my chances against this elf, and I didn’t like them at the moment. He was wearing multiple artifacts, and I knew how deadly Heartseeker was.

“You are here to pillage the dungeon for your Empire,” he said succinctly, taking a step forward.

“I am not part of the Empire. The demons have returned. They are trying to open a World Gate to their home world, and I am trying to stop them,” I countered, causing him to pause.

“Every word out of a human’s mouth is a lie. And it matters not. My people are dead because of the humans. I kill you, and then I will be allowed eternity to spend with my queen,” the elf declared.

My heart raced. As a warrior, you developed an instinct when you knew you outmatched. Even though we had not crossed weapons yet, that was how I felt. “Isn’t this against the dungeon pact? The dungeon is doing everything it can to kill me—sending you after me,” I said, stepping back.

“You know nothing of the pact, human,” the elven king growled.

“Then tell me,” I said, trying to put on a friendly smile. All the preparations I could think of were done for the inevitable fight, and there was no more reason to delay, but information was always welcome.

“My grandfather was one of the group who tricked the dungeons into the pact and serving us. As long as a single titan lives, they are compelled to challenge those who enter to make them stronger to fight the titans. They can do so in whatever manner they choose within the framework set forth,” he said gratingly.

“And if all the titans perish?” I asked.

The elf arched his brow, his lip curled slightly. “Then the pact is complete, and the dungeons are no longer required to abide by it. You are not as stupid as you look.” That answered the question of why the Titans had not been exterminated at the end of the war and why they were allowed to reside on Mount Olympia.

“How did you let yourself get chained to this dungeon?” I asked.

His implacable face suddenly showed anger as his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed, “Enough talk!” He launched himself with blinding speed assisted by magic. Even as he entered the envelope of my thicken air spell, he barely slowed. I used my teleport anchor to appear sixty feet further into the passage. Heartseeker cut the air with a splitting crack where I had stood a second before.

My replica of Heartseeker appeared in my hand as I faced the elven king. His eyes showed rage, “You are the one who dared! Your death is inevitable, human! That weapon will not save you, and I will destroy that counterfeit.”

I could feel a pull on the shaft of the spear in my hands. It wanted to be reunited with its true owner—at least that was how it felt. I felt a little betrayed by the runic weapon that I had carried for four years. “Can’t we just talk a little more?” I asked, glibly, trying to anger him to show more of his cards. I was certain the speed he demonstrated was from a spell form, and I could dissipate it with aether disruption, but I wanted to keep that card hidden until I knew I could get a killing blow. I wasn’t even sure Heartseeker could cut mithril chain yet, and that meant I would need to deplete his aether shield and the only exposed vitals he had—his neck.

“You are too afraid to cross spears with me,” he goaded me. “All you have is a replica, but it is still bound to me! You cannot unlock the true potential of that weapon forged by the greatest elven artificers.”

“Fine, let’s dance!”

© Copyrighted 2024-2026 by AlwaysRollsAOne

No permission is granted to translate, copy, or repost this original work of fiction. If you're reading this outside my Patreon, it has been stolen without my consent and infringes on DMCA rights. Remember, this work is the result of my creative effort and is protected by copyright law. Removing or changing this notice indicates you're aware of the DMCA violation. No permission is given to use my original work for AI training.