The Demonic Games (Disgardium Book #7): LitRPG Series by Dan Sugralinov (iphone ebook reader TXT) 📗

I heard the footsteps through the wall. Damn it. How did that walking tank find me? I’d gotten far away, and gone into Stealth. I got the feeling that the labyrinth was somehow part of the creature, its eyes and sensory organs. Or did the beast have a skill that allowed it to home in on its prey?

I waited for the demon, then flew away again, thinking about where Despot’s power lay — he was slow and stupid, he couldn’t even catch up to me with Sloth’s Blessing! What if a full-fledged raid had walked in here instead of me? The boss wouldn’t have had the speed to take them down. They could just kite him until he dropped. And he was at level 531? Had they made this one boss so weak deliberately, and I’d just gotten lucky? No, that didn’t match the strategy of the Games. More likely that Despot just hadn’t shown his true power yet. He might explode with fire, like I did with Vindication when I felt danger. Or maybe he had some tricky and deadly enrage effect… Time would tell.

My spirit was recovering, my strength gaining, but it was still too big a risk to turn and fight. I needed to find an exit, to get out of there!

Hiding behind a turn, I went into Stealth and finally got what I wanted:

Stealth level increased: +1. Current level: 100.

 

Stealth rank I reached!

 

Stealth, level 1

 

Rank: I.

 

Chance to remain unnoticed by enemies at your level or below: 100%. You can move and remain hidden. When you attack an enemy undetected, you always deal double critical damage. You have a 1% chance to remain in Stealth when you go into combat. You have a 1% chance to detect an enemy who is using this ability.

 

I don’t know if the stream viewers liked my jig, but I danced with all my heart! And no wonder — now I could move without leaving Stealth, fly in it and level it up constantly. A hope flashed up — maybe I could get away from Despot for good, maybe he wouldn’t be able to track me now? I hid and was detected maybe half a minute later, barely dodging a deadly swing of his arm.

The cat-and-mouse games continued: fly away to what seemed like a good distance, go into Stealth, get detected, flee again, repeat. Although Despot knocked me out of Stealth each time, the skill leveled up successfully — the accelerated leveling in the Games helped, as did the level gap of over five hundred.

In my wanderings I explored 19% of the labyrinth, and when I saw a spacious hall on the map, of course I flew that way. My heart beat faster in anticipation of victory. The objects had no labels on my map, but I could already tell — it was the platform by the gates! I’d found the exit!

Darting into another narrow corridor, I stopped in the middle of a room with a dome-like ceiling. I looked around out of habit, expecting attacks from mobs, but there was nothing here either. The walls gave off a pulsing reddish light, but the gates were still black.

I began to hear Despot’s footsteps again, growing louder each time, and I rushed toward the gates, pushed on them…

…but all my efforts failed.

You cannot leave the dungeon! The seal has not been removed from the gates of level 531.

 

To leave the dungeon, you must defeat the boss of the floor.

Chapter 21. Tenderhearted Demon Fighter

I’M DONE FOR! was my first thought. Naturally, the seal was outside the gates. With the realization that there was no way to get out without defeating Despot, my scream of frustration echoed through the halls. Sure, I kind of knew it was coming to this, but I still held out hope to the end.

Fine. Couldn’t stay lucky all the time. Meister’s Escape Pentagram had saved me from the slaughter in the forest glade, and twice at that, first by pulling me out from beneath Destiny’s killshot and then by throwing me to what might be the only floor without mobs except 666. It seemed likely that my increased luck had something to do with all that.

But now I had to save myself. I survived my fight with Abaddon! What was this dumb Despot to me? The poor thing had already been chasing me for two hours, and hadn’t reached me. The trouble was, I could play hide-and-seek until the day ended, but as soon as I showed up tomorrow… I was sure the boss would be right next to me and would drop its halberd-like arms down on me in the very first second.

I kept running, constantly glancing at my spirit bar. Only a little left until it was fully restored, and once it filled up, I could take a risk…

As I flew into another corridor, I got an achievement before I could hide:

Unlocked event achievement: Explorer of Despot’s Labyrinth

 

You are the first to have explored over 25% of Despot’s Labyrinth.

 

Attention! This achievement is an event achievement, and is active only for the duration of the Demonic Games.

 

Reward: +10 perception.

I heard Despot’s tread around the corner, close. Still in Stealth, I flew further away and turned down a narrow corridor. There I looked at my battle resource bar again: almost full. Spirit flooded through my channels, demanding release. The moment of truth was here. Now to choose a good spot for the fight. A place where I had enough room to maneuver, and the more corridors, the better, just in case I had to run away.

By then, Cartography had leveled up so high that I could see everything on the map within two hundred yards. Glancing at the floor map, I noticed that there were two suitable spots nearby, and