Princess & Cyberserk

Unusual Dungeon Monsters

Tom understood his friend's doubts and used the chat line.

"We'll get a chance to leave this location. It's good for the Black Flame group. It might be good for you, too," the clone wrote.

"Good. It makes a difference. I accept the quest," the young man agreed.

Dan accepted the quest and immediately turned toward the vampire.

"Lord Drarred, I am ready to go through this challenge with you," Dan nodded toward the portal.

"Then we have no time to waste. Let's go to the dungeon and I'll look at your clone's abilities," smiled the vampire.

"Are you sure you don't need to make preparations? It seemed to me that you were ready to go through the second Well. If we succeed, you will have that opportunity," the clone said.

"My power and my knowledge are what is always with me. Now I want to see your abilities," grinned the patriarch.

Dan did not argue with the ancient vampire. This creature had lived for several hundred years and knew his needs perfectly well. The young man approached the portal and saw no announcements or invitations from the game system. It was strange. But Dan didn't wonder much and stepped into the gray blur of the portal.

He found himself in an ordinary corridor. This corridor was no different from the ones in the castle. Magical lights shone on the stone walls. The corridor was wide enough for three adventurers to pass through. Ahead, the young man immediately spotted the first monster. The figure was a bit unusual. It was a man. Dan saw that the figure of the dungeon guard noticed the guests and made the first steps in their direction.

Tom's reaction was calm and tested by hundreds of dungeon walks. The clone immediately applied invisibility and quickly walked toward the threat. He saw that the monster was not human. It was a vampire! An ordinary vampire in light armor was covered by the mage's cloak. In the vampire's hand appeared the long sword favored by these creatures. The sword had a long and narrow blade and allowed for great skill in fencing. Vampires treated sword fighting as a true art discipline. They despised the crude skills of orcs and gnomes who used heavy axes.

Tom took a step behind the vampire's back and immediately struck his opponent. The Rage of Ars skill stained the blade of the sword scarlet. A precise blow pierced the monster's neck. The vampire couldn't stay on his feet and fell facedown. Tom immediately jumped up to his opponent and began to strike with magic. He used the most important skills that needed to be developed first. The Cut of Kornelius and Rabies was very important. The Cut of Kornelius dealt the most damage and was part of Master Kornelius' entire swordsmanship complex. Rabies had a different kind of value.

[Rabies. Increases damage by 100%. Ignores the opponent's defense. Decreases the defense by 25%. Cooldown: 1 minute]

Tom managed to make only two blows and saw that his opponent was dead. He immediately threw his sword to the floor. It was the old tried-and-true signal for Dan. The young man instantly understood everything and was ready to renew his Phantom skill.

A clone figure appeared next to Dan and the clone immediately went forward to arm himself and look at the trophies. The trophies turned out to be the usual ones. The coin pouch had 1,000 gold coins. A vampire sword was left on the hallway floor.

"Dan, that's a good regular sword for level 39. I think we'll need it when we meet the big boss of this dungeon," Tom said.

"We won't leave the trophies lying on the floor anyway," Dan smiled. "Lord Drarred, do you mind? In the final exploration of this place, we will divide the trophies fairly."

"I am not interested in trophies. I am interested in other things. Now, do you see why I couldn't summon my relatives to explore this place?"

Tom nodded his head and walked forward. He had drawn his conclusions and those conclusions would not please the old vampire.

Dan froze in confusion. He couldn't make sense of the vampire's words. Then the young man thought that the vampire nation had not invented cybernetics and had never played video games! It was common for Dan to encounter a monster in the form of a human in a game. Destroying in-game bandits and other villains is not murder. It had nothing to do with morality or law at all. But the old vampire saw the vampires in this dungeon as members of his own kind! Dan shook his head and thought that things might not be easy! Those vampires guarding the way to the second well might indeed be part of the vampire bloodline! But that didn't bother the young man. He was ready to destroy both vampires and elves and any other inhabitants of this world. They were all immortal! And even the monsters in the dungeons would be reborn after a while.

The young man picked up the pouch of gold coins and put it in his inventory. He also picked up the sword. The main boss might be too strong and it would take many swords for Tom to finally destroy the enemy.

Suddenly Dan Raven realized an important aspect of their situation.

"Lord Drarred, you are a vampire. It took me several days to get through the tower of destiny. I have had a supply of food for several days. What I mean to say is that I will not give you my blood. It seems unacceptable to me," the young man frankly admitted.

Tom, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned toward the two companions. He clearly showed that he was ready to defend the young man's interests with a weapon. The vampire patriarch laughed.

"Even on my way to the Well, I will not break the laws of my kind. Boy, you have another vampire's mark on you. This is a delicate moment. Don't worry, I won't die of hunger. I have an excellent and large blood supply. Go ahead, clone! There is no enmity between us, and there will be no enmity between us! I wanted to use your powers. It's clear to me now that I made an excellent and correct choice. The rumors are true, and they suit me fine. You are two savages with strange and powerful forces. You don't care about our traditions and are willing to break any law to get your gain," the vampire nodded his head toward the corridor. "Go ahead, and don't worry about your master's safety. Not in this place and not now."

"Now that didn't sound good," muttered the clone. "With all due respect, patriarch of the Draco clan, I have no desire to insult you."

The vampire laughed with evident pleasure.

"I know how to deal with insults. We will surely consider this matter before we part ways. Go ahead and kill those who block our way!" Drarred wagged his finger in the direction of the clone.

Tom bowed to the vampire lord and went forward at a fast pace. The first information about the opponents was received. The vampires proved not to be formidable opponents. In any case, they posed no danger as long as the adventurers met only one opponent. A group of monsters is always a great danger. But the clone was confident that he could handle a group of three vampires as well. Dan would be able to use magic and weaken the enemies. It is always possible to summon brave hobbits to draw the enemies away from Dan. The main idea of going through any dungeon was clear from the very first steps through this world. Dan Raven must survive! Only a living Dan was the basis of both Tom and the hobbits' existence.

The clone spotted a new adversary ahead and sped up his pace. Tom didn't want to spend several days wandering the corridors. It was boring and not interesting.

Tom employed the old tactic of quickly destroying the monster. He sneaked up on the enemy from behind and struck hard. The power of the patron's skill always knocked the enemy down. Tom saw the weaknesses of vampires well. They had good defense. But the clone struck in places in the body that had no protection. One precise and powerful jab of the blade dealt tremendous damage and knocked the enemy to the ground. Then the clone could finish off the enemy with his normal skills. Tom didn't have to worry about the fact that he had no defense. His modest life reserve didn't matter. He was summoned to strike a few blows and come back to life again at Dan's request.

Soon the friends received information about this breed of monster.

[Vampire.

Level: 39.

Life: 3900.

Damage: 50-75.

Defense: 200.] 

The excellent defense came as an unpleasant surprise to players. But on the other hand, vampires' attacking abilities were not threatening.

Vampires had two directions in their development. The clone destroyed warriors and mages quickly and quietly with equal success. All warriors had the skill to strike hard, which had the ability Vampirism. A vampire could restore his health when he dealt damage. Mages also combined increased damage with the ability to restore their health. Suddenly the dungeon pleased players with new features. Dan began to pick up scrolls with the skills of this type of opponent. Blood magic skills and a few warrior techniques proved to be valuable trophies. Dan had always had a respect for all the techniques that pertained to Vampirism.

Lord Drarred walked beside the young man and did not show his mood. He was silent and calmly watched as the two humans destroyed other vampires. The trophies were of no interest to him. The patriarch was glad he had the opportunity to leave this world.