The Demonic Games (Disgardium Book #7): LitRPG Series, Dan Sugralinov [the read aloud family TXT] 📗

woman, hahaha! Anyway, she and I have decided to have ourselves another honeymoon while we have the chance, and I missed the first day. Looks like I made the right choice. I watched the highlights and saw enough to know that Scyth is a waste of skin.

 

There were comments of support for me too. I was praised for escaping the graveyard, for catching Destiny’s group unawares, for trying to fight the Alpha. But all those had so many downvotes that they were at the top of a different leaderboard — of the lowest rated comments.

As I drifted off, I remembered that I wanted to learn the source of my new perk. I opened Scyth’s profile through my comm and found my assumption was correct.

Unlocked achievement Ordeal!

 

It’s not every day you make it through a divine trial by fire. Only the survivor is considered worthy. But the reward is generous too! The gods drew lots for the right to gift you their blessing. Rindzin, Ruler of Dragons, was the winner.

 

Reward: Rindzin’s Ghostly Talon perk.

 

And that’s when it hit me.

Chapter 9. Ghastly Howl

THE SECOND DAY of the Demonic Games began for me at the bottom of the Pitfall. I felt better, inspired and ready to level up Meditation and then test out a couple of ideas. Like Uncle Nick would have said, I was full of barely restrained optimism.

And here’s why. In greater Dis, Unarmed Combat leveled up in battle against equal or stronger enemies with each successful strike. In the Cursed Chasm, this principle had changed: the combat skill’s progress didn’t depend on landing hits, but on the damage dealt when they landed. This made sense, because there were no penalties for accuracy due to level differences. A level one contestant could theoretically deal damage even to the level 666 final boss, even if only to its armor. Any smart damage-dealer could set up behind, for example, the level 300 boss and keep dealing damage to it while the tank held the aggro. With the mechanics of big Dis, anyone who did that would have leveled up his battle skill by several ranks, considering the difference in levels.

That was what I remembered when I read the text of the Ordeal achievement. Rindzin’s Ghostly Talon scaled based on the opponent’s level! I could attack melee bosses under Clarity, then quickly get away with Flight. All I needed now was a training dummy.

But all my great ideas, as they seemed to me, collapsed when I saw the new debuff I was getting for the rank of worst player of day one:

Paralysis

 

You are paralyzed.

 

The debuff activated as soon as I logged in. As I fell to the floor of the Pitfall like a rag doll, a great many curse words came to mind, but I could say none of them. The Paralysis was total. At least my lungs still worked and my heart was still beating. Thanks, viewers! Thanks, Snowstorm!

First, panic overtook me; this meant I was easy prey even for Meister the jeweler! But common sense prevailed. Flight!

A bathtub could have flown with more elegance than my limp body. The force of attraction did its magic — I soared upwards, a ragdoll, twisted, my limbs and head hanging. Even my face was slack. I looked like Trixie when he was thinking hard. My tongue hung out and I started drooling — now the resemblance was definitely there.

A second disaster followed the first — Meditation wasn’t working! It turned out I couldn’t just up and start training it! I had to be in the right pose! Bastards, I thought. The insult brought scant satisfaction. What now?

Fly into the sky and hide there until tomorrow? Or…

An idea came to me and demanded testing. All the contestants had left their characters in the tavern yesterday, in their private rooms. You could log out outside, but spending the night in a bed gave you a one-hour buff to experience. Nobody would have neglected that. So by the time I reached floor 50, there wasn’t anyone in the Pitfall yet.

I froze before the gates. It took a long time to spin my body just right to touch the seal with my wrist. Once I managed it, my hand arranged itself correctly, my palm placed itself… A piercing pain shot through me, even stronger than yesterday.

Resilience level increased: +4. Current level: 7.

 

Glancing at my health bar, I let out a sigh of relief. It worked! The seal didn’t take 50%, but 48%. I still had questions about how the seals’ damage was calculated, but that didn’t dampen my mood.

Although I didn’t have long to celebrate; the gates were open, it was time to go. But wait…

Peering into the dusky gloom beyond the gates, I saw nothing. Two lanterns burned green on the wall by the entrance. I flew closer, stopping on the threshold. My head fell to my chest and my view dropped to the floor before me, and then something started pulling me inside. Turning my body, I shot away.

“Y-o-o-o-u-u-u!”

“M-o-o-r-r-r-t-a-a-l!

“Mi-i-i-ine!”

“O-o-u-u-u-r-r-s!”

The three voiced hissed behind me. I couldn’t see a damn thing because my head was lolling like a bobblehead, but the situation was dire: three blades of an unknown weapon pierced into my back at once. Turning, I saw harpoons on green energy chains, their ends held by three bosses:

First Companion, Demon, level 50 Gate Guardian

 

Dungeon Boss.

 

Second Companion, Demon, level 50 Gate Guardian

 

Dungeon Boss.

 

Third Companion, Demon, level 50 Gate Guardian

 

Dungeon Boss.

 

“Come he-e-e-e-r-r-e!” all the Companions groaned in unison.

This looked bad. My health wasn’t dropping, but it was just a matter of time — until the bosses dragged me in, across the threshold of the gates.

“He-er-rre!”

“No-o-oow!”

“Foo-oo-ood!”

The hissing grew louder, the voices got more