The Bounty Hunter
Chapter 39: The Abandoned City of Faulk

November 30th, 2088

Terra’s POV

I am currently in a rather hellish looking landscape creatively known as the Infernal Plains fighting a group of 20 or so Devilish Hellfire Spider Monkeys.  They are 6-foot tall grotesque creatures with the right side of a dark red orangutan and the left side of a yellow tarantula.  The monkey half can conjure ominous purple fire with spots of green in it while the spider half shoots out bright orange webbing that is highly flammable and sticky. 

I am using magic to protect myself as I continual fired shining 9mm rounds into the group of horrors charging at me.  My pistols were silver with a dragon’s head located at the end of the barrels.  They were lit up brilliantly by the glow of the magical script inscribed on the barrels.  The script said: Fire and metal was our beginning, Fire and metal will be your end. 

Each time a shining round hit, a much larger hole appeared than the size of the bullet.  It was a wonderful enchantment that gave my guns a bigger punch in damage and stopping power comparable to a shotgun.  Soon I was surrounded by corpses which self-combusted and turned to ash. 

With the break in fighting, I took a look around my surroundings.  Instead of grass there were small fires everywhere and instead of trees there were these ominous looking sulfuric rock formations.  The sky was a dark red and the only thing that lived here were the Devilish Hellfire Spider Monkeys which feed on the sulfur.  This isolated area is tucked within a mountain range on the very southern tip of the Darkmoon Queendom.  No one else comes here due to the hostility of the environment and the complete absence of harvestable materials.  Except for me I suppose. 

It’s been 11 days since Erilom’s request and I have decided to make some additional preparations for the job.  Her offering a 1000 gold coin bounty means that this Ine is crafty for a minor wizard.  If it took that battle junkie Kovart to fend him off, it’s safe to say that I may be forced to use magic in this confrontation unless I take precautions.  Enemy wizards are automatically a threat level 10 or higher and I’ll be in at a disadvantage since I have to also protect Erilom. 

Honestly, I would prefer if she died but then I wouldn’t be able to collect the reward.  So to increase my chances of success without using magic I have come here in an attempt to evolve Demon, who has transformed into an inert state after Veronica’s rescue.  Having a more powerful familiar would be truly invaluable. 

Demons are a type of Spirit and a Spirit is the magical personification of an aspect or object in the material world.  For example, an undine is the magical personification of water, while a brownie is the magical personification of a home.  Spirits are naturally created in this world when mana aggregates due to chance or circumstance.  Wild spirits are not always friendly and can sometimes be bigger threats than monsters.  Mana is very fickle and many odd things could cause the birth of a spirit.  Spirits can be summoned and can enter into contracts with people, although this is uncommon.

Spirits can also be created artificially by wizards and those are called familiars.  Strength and growth potential are drastically reduced, but absolute loyalty is acquired when creating spirits artificially. Wizards are limited to using familiars as spies or personal servants due to their low strength.

Demons are the magical personification of negative emotions and desires.  I made Demon by extracting the negative emotions from myself 3 years ago.  It was the most basic of spirits that acted based off of instinct with no intelligence to speak of.  But since it was my familiar, I had its unwavering loyalty and could control it like my own limbs.  Its strength is much higher compared to normal familiars because I nurtured it using the elven bitch’s life force for 3 years. 

After feeding off of so many corpses and their negative emotions, Demon had a spontaneous change occur to it and it became inert in order to adjust.  This almost never happens for familiars, so I was excited when I figured out what had occurred.  It has completed adjustment and could be awaken whenever I want, but I plan to strengthen it further before allowing it to rematerialize once more. 

I spent the next few hours walking through these plains until I came to the mountains in the distance.  I was tired and covered with ash and blood.  Devilish Hellfire Spider Monkeys had constantly assaulted me during the journey, making it take far longer than it should have.  Thankfully it’s the weekend and my parents are gone due to work so I have time to spare.  “Finally made it.” I muttered as I looked towards the decrepit tunnel entrance located here.  This small unassuming entrance and what laid beyond was the entire reason I was here in this forsaken place.

Dark, foreboding and vast.  Those words best describe the ruined dwarven city-state of Faulk that lies beneath the surface of the Infernal Plains.  It is a maze-like place with traps throughout its corridors, storage rooms still filled with items, and the souls of its dead citizens wander the halls as undead.  In other words, it’s a dungeon. 

Dungeons like from RPGs don’t exist in this world, but this place’s unique set of circumstances make it the one exception.  I had my suspicions about the place when I read about it in an old history book, but now without a doubt I know it is a dungeon.  I am walking down the steps with a conjured ball of light providing illumination of my immediate surroundings.  Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

And now I have run into my first opponent: a skeleton.  Its bone was bleached white and it had a rusted pickax with which it attacked me.  I was about to draw my rhomphaia, but the corridor is kind of narrow for a polearm.  I then was going to switch to my ninjato, but slashing and piercing is not that effective on a skeleton.  Pistols then, no, ammo is finite and I should not waste it on shooting in the dark against a smaller target like a dwarf skeleton.  I dodged the pickax with a casual back step and then lunged forward and blew away the skeleton with a single punch.  Ok, I guess will have to use martial arts from now on. 

As the skeleton crumbled, the soul of the skeleton rose up and was about to fade into the darkness but instead was absorbed by a small black skull-shaped sapphire that I had prepared.  An important thing to clarify is that the soul, which is the source of life, is different from a spirit, so there is no such thing as the spirit of the dead.  The soul is eternal and whether I gather it for energy or it fades on its own it will return to the cycle of reincarnation.  The memories of the body that the soul inhabited are absorbed by it once it reincarnates and they are superficially forgotten. 

The undead rise when the soul either lingers in the dead body or is called back to it.  Reasons for this occurrence are many and unknown.  Some wandering souls even manifest without a corpse.  This ghost assaulting me right now is a classic example.  The featureless and transparent dwarf struck its arms out at me as I continually dodged.  I didn’t bother trying to attack or block it physically, I simply held out my soul sapphire and sucked it right in.  Although free souls that are not tied to a physical form are ethereal and thus immune to basic physical attacks, they are extremely vulnerable to magic. 

*Whoosh* *Whoosh* *Clang* *Clang* As I turned into this narrow corridor, a trap activated and caused two crossbows to fire.  I barely dodged it by leaning back so far that my head was nearly touched the ground.  Phew, that was close.  During the glory days of Faulk it was known as the “City of Contraptions”.  To protect itself from its enemies they created all kinds of elaborate traps that they could arm at a moment’s notice. 

While the majority of them were already activated by the wandering undead, there were still more than enough to kill me.  It was also part of the reason no one ever tried to loot the place.  The city’s location in an isolated and hostile environment, the undead roaming the ruins and the many traps all combine to ward away explorers and mercenaries.  So that’s why this store room I have entered is still filled with various metal ores and other valuables. 

It is times like these that I dearly wished that I could develop an item box magic.  It’s not that I haven’t tried many times to develop one, it’s just that it is impossible for me.  The idea of a personal sub-space for storage is great, but such an advanced sci-fi concept that I don’t fully understand makes it impossible for me to translate it into usable magic.  The mana cost for it is way beyond me.  Magic can do anything, but if the caster doesn’t understand what they’re trying to do the magic costs far more mana to use. 

I have a larger mana pool than the average wizard, but it’s not anywhere close to cheat level and thus an item box is beyond me.  But I have come prepared for this!  Before I left I had placed a teleportation circle within the spacious storeroom at the 9 Lives Trading Outpost.  So I just have to draw a circle here and transport the items.  It’s troublesome and somewhat time consuming, but it is far better than leaving behind this loot! 

And so that is how my exploration went, I continued gathering souls and looting everything I could see.  But soon I came to the heart of the city-state and to my final destination.  There stood a decrepit palace which still had some lingering traces of its former grandeur.  And echoing from deep within one could hear wails of regret, screams of agony, cackles of madness, and shouts of rage.  In the throne room of this cursed palace was my target, the so-called boss of this dungeon.  The excitement and nervousness for the battle to come made my heart beat faster. 

The concept of a Hero as depicted in manga and anime does not exist in this world.  There is no summoning ceremony nor is there a title awarded to the exemplary.  But according to ancient history there was one place that prospered solely due to the work of one woman.  She slayed the monsters and evil spirits that had tormented them for ages and led them to a golden era. 

She was a champion who slaughtered invading armies and was said to have been blessed by Adligo himself.  But then one day she betrayed the people she swore to protect, annihilating the entire city-state by herself.  The savior turned into the destroyer and the darkness in her heart consumed her and the city, leaving no place for the dead to rest.  The legend of the Fallen Hero was born and it was due to her that “Heroes” have no place in this world.

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