Death Healer

The wolves started chasing her the moment she bolted.

Lily's heart pounded in her chest, a frantic drumbeat echoing by the entrance of the Dungeon. The cold air bit into her skin, but she barely felt it, her senses honed to razor–sharp focus. She rushed inside the Dungeon, fleeing from the pack of Wildsnow Wolves with their bared fangs and menacing growls already starting their hunt.

She glanced back, seeing the glint of moonlight on the ice and snow, creating an ethereal, dangerous beauty. The wolves were gaining ground, their paws thudding against the frozen earth in a relentless pursuit. In their midst, the Alpha Wildsnow Wolf loomed, a formidable presence that commanded both awe and terror. Its eyes, a piercing, bright blue, seemed to cut through the darkness as if shining their own light; they were fixated on her with predatory intent.

As she turned back to face the path ahead, Lily summoned the armor her father had gifted her. It materialized instantly, encasing her in a protective shell that felt reassuring in this ordeal. The metal clinked softly as she moved, a stark contrast to the muffled sounds of her pursuers.

The Dungeon's entrance chamber yawned before her like the mouth of some ancient beast, its darkness a void that promised both refuge and unknown dangers. Lily hesitated for a split second, weighing her options. The wolves were fast, too fast for her to outrun in the open. But here, in the tangled corridors of the inactive Dungeon, she could turn the tables.

She dashed into the darkness, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps. The sudden absence of light was disorienting, but Lily refused to light a torch. She knew it would only serve as a beacon for the wolves. Instead, she relied on her Sphere of Perception, a skill she had honed through countless hours of blindfolded training with Hadrian.

Her Sphere of Perception painted the world in hues of Mana – a sensory canvas that revealed the contours of the Dungeon. She could sense the rough–hewn walls, the occasional protruding rock, and the gradual descent of the floor.

They have great noses, but they can’t see this well.

Lily moved with grace, her steps light. The armor felt weightless, but she still used it to anchor her movements, turning potential clumsiness into measured strides. Each turn of the corridor was a decision made in the blink of an eye.

Behind her, the howls of the wolves suddenly grew more distant, their pursuit hampered by the lack of illumination. Lily couldn't help but feel a surge of triumph, but it was quickly tempered by the reality of her situation. She was alone in a Dungeon in the dark. Monsters much stronger than her were chasing her. And it would take only one Wildsnow Wolf to end her life, most likely.

The thought of her father and Hadrian fighting back home flickered in her mind. Were they safe? Were they dealing with monsters as scary as these ones? She pushed the worry aside, focusing on the task at hand. She needed to find the portal room.

According to her father, the Dungeon was straightforward in design, with no branching paths. It was a small mercy, one that she clung to as she navigated the darkness. The last room, he had said, would hold the portal. It was her only way out, her only hope.

The path twisted and turned, an endless labyrinth. However, Lily only grew more determined.

...

The Dungeon's silence was a stark contrast to the chaos of the chase, a brief quiet that was both unsettling and comforting. Lily embraced it, letting it envelop her as she continued her hurried journey.

Then, Lily’s pulse thundered in her ears as she could hear the savage pursuit behind her once again. She could almost feel the icy breath of the Wildsnow Wolves on her neck, their growls reverberating through the narrow, oppressive corridors of the Dungeon, where shadows clung like cobwebs and the air was thick with the scent of ancient secrets and lurking danger.

Once she reached a long, stretched-out corridor, she turned as she heard a sound too close to her. Even though it was complete darkness and the Sphere of Perception couldn’t reach that far, the magic from the Alpha lit up the corridor.

The Alpha Wildsnow Wolf, a menacing silhouette against the dim light filtering from a scythe of ice forming above its figure, led the pack from the back with a predatory grace. Its eyes, like shards of frozen sky, were fixed on Lily with a chilling intensity. As it howled – a bone–crushing sound that echoed off the stone walls – the other wolves, ahead of him and closing in on Lily, responded in kind.

Lily’s instincts screamed at her to run faster, to escape the jaws of death snapping at her heels. Her breath came in ragged gasps, her lungs burning with the exertion of her flight. The metal clinked softly with each movement as she ran for the corner.

She forced herself to focus, drawing upon the training she had undergone with Hadrian. Exactly at that moment, the Alpha Wildsnow Wolf launched a sickle of ice at Lily. She felt a surge of adrenaline. Time seemed to slow as the attack entered her Sphere of Perception, and she ducked, feeling the razor–sharp edge of the projectile whisk past her head, a mere breath away from ending her life.

Rolling on the ground, she sprang back to her feet, her heart pounding in her chest. The narrow corridor stretched before her. She could feel the Alpha’s gaze upon her – a weight that threatened to crush her spirit.

Thankfully, her roll propelled her toward the next turn in the Dungeon, making her jump off the wall to turn at high speed. As she navigated the twisting corridors again, the howls of the wolves became a more distant echo and let her heave a sigh.

Thank goodness, she thought as she persevered forward. The chase had her heart in her mouth.

Now, she was probably midway through the Dungeon, and the dilapidated scenario started giving way to more intact remains.

In the embrace of the Dungeon’s gloom, Lily’s path was guided solely by her Sphere of Perception and the occasional ephemeral glow of the ice attacks from the Alpha Wildsnow Wolf, their transient light casting ghostly shadows onto the walls.

And so, she navigated the gauntlet of ancient traps. The corridor was a minefield of dangers long forgotten by time but not by the Dungeon. Lances, rusted by age, jutted out from the walls like skeletal fingers, reaching for her with a deadly embrace. Thorns, their tips poisoned by centuries of neglect, littered the ground, creating a carpet of barbed threats. She avoided each trap narrowly, either bending to the limits of her flexibility or sparingly using [Wraithform] when they were laid too thickly.

Around her, recesses decorated the walls; in there resided the giants of stone. The statues that lined her path were silent sentinels, their cold faces etched with the indifference of eternity. They loomed over her, towering figures of a forgotten past, their gazes fixed on the intruder in their midst. Yet, in the fleeting light of an ice sickle that hurtled past her, slicing through the darkness with its chilling luminescence, Lily caught a glimpse of something peculiar—a wall that seemed to react to her presence.

The wall, bathed momentarily in the icy light, appeared to shift in color when her hand brushed against it. It was as if her touch had awakened something within the stone, a chameleon–like reaction. But the luxury of curiosity was a price too steep in her desperate flight. She filed the anomaly away in her mind and kept running.

Her father’s words echoed in her memory, a reminder that the Dungeon, though dormant, still harbored secrets and dangers. It was a slumbering beast, and she was not interested in awakening it.

The Wildsnow Wolves were not scared by the obstacles that lay in their path. But even they, creatures of the wild, were not immune to the Dungeon’s treachery. Several fell victim to the traps that Lily so narrowly evaded, their whimpers of pain making her rejoice.

The air in the Dungeon was cold – a chill that seeped into her bones – but the heat of adrenaline kept her moving. Her breath formed misty clouds in the frigid air.

As she pushed forward, her mind was a whirlwind of strategies and plans. The portal room was her goal, the key to her escape from this subterranean nightmare.

Once again, in a fleeting moment of respite, as she slowed down to assess the layout of the room she was in, Lily’s fingers brushed against the coarse surface of the corridor walls, and she recoiled as a curious phenomenon unfolded. Where her hand had touched, the wall momentarily shifted in hue, glowing first, then darkening, as if responding to her presence. The brief reaction sent a shiver down her spine. The Dungeon was reacting to her somehow.

Then, the wolves started catching up as she had mostly gone through straight rooms.

The chase resumed with renewed fervor as the Alpha Wildsnow Wolf unleashed another volley of ice sickles. Lily’s agility was pushed to its limits as she dodged the deadly projectiles.

Amidst the chaos, an icy blade grazed her flank, a searing line of pain that jolted her forward. She stumbled, barely catching herself before tumbling to the ground. Her father’s armor had absorbed the brunt of the attack, saving her from a more grievous wound. Yet, the impact left her with a sharp pain in her side and, possibly, a few broken ribs protesting with every breath.

Wait, this room is too big! I’m close! Dad said that the room before the portal room was gigantic!

With the portal room within reach, desperation and determination mingled in Lily’s heart. She reached into the Aurum Ring, summoning the amulet that was her beacon of hope, the key to escape this subterranean hell. But as the amulet materialized in her hand, a searing agony unlike any other lashed out.

The amulet turned against her, burning her flesh with an intensity that stole the air from her lungs. Lily’s scream echoed through the corridors, a sound of pain and betrayal that resonated off the cold, stone walls. The pain was so intense, so all–consuming, that for a moment, her surroundings faded into insignificance, making her stumble.

Panic gripped her heart as she hastily returned the amulet to the safety of the Aurum Ring, her hand trembling from the unexpected assault as she summoned the Wand of Major Healing she had used after killing Manul—but she exhausted its reserves to heal the damage. The skin where the amulet had touched was charred and blistering.

As she fled, a dreadful realization dawned on her.

Is the amulet cursed? Or, more terrifyingly, am I cursed?

Despite the agony and the fear that clawed at her soul, Lily’s resolve did not waver.

It doesn’t matter. I can heal myself with the Wand. I’ll just take it out once I’m in the room.

She had come too far to succumb to this.

Suddenly, ahead lay the portal room.

For a fleeting moment, Lily believed she had evaded her relentless pursuers as she stumbled into the chamber housing the structure of the ancient portal. Her heart raced with a mix of relief and anticipation. The heavy stone door groaned shut behind her, rolling on itself and sealing off the corridors of the Dungeon and, she hoped, the ferocious pack of Wildsnow Wolves.

“Damn,” she breathed raggedly, holding herself up on her knees as she tried to calm down. "That was... close.”

Lily’s chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, the cold air stinging her lungs. She allowed herself a brief moment to relish the silence.

Suddenly, torches flared to life along the walls, their flickering flames casting dancing shadows and revealing the grandeur of the chamber. It was a vast space; the ceiling disappeared into darkness, and the walls were adorned with intricate carvings that spoke of a forgotten era. Dominating the room were two colossal statues, one brandishing a sword and the other an axe, their stone gazes imposing and solemn. Around them, a veritable army of minor statues stood straight and so realistic that it looked like they were about to engage in battle at any moment.

However, Lily’s relief was short-lived. A low, menacing growl echoed through the chamber, shattering the illusion of safety. Her blood ran cold as she slowly turned, her eyes widening in horror. There, just inside the room, its massive form barely fitting through the door, stood a Wildsnow Wolf. Its blue eyes glinted in the torchlight, fixed on her with predatory focus.

How?! I didn’t see it! Was I that distracted?!

The wolf’s fur was a pristine white, standing out starkly against the dark stone floor, and its muscular body was coiled, ready to strike.

It’s not the Alpha, but I still can’t... well, it doesn’t matter whether I can or cannot. The problem is, I don’t see any socket for the amulet. But I need to do this.

Lily’s mind raced. She had hoped to find a moment’s respite, to gather her strength and plan her departure. Instead, this was a deadly game of predator and prey, in which she was dangerously outmatched.

The air between them was thick with tension, resonating with primal energy. Lily knew she was facing a creature many levels above her, a natural–born killer honed by the unforgiving laws of the wild. Yet, she stood her ground.

Her hands instinctively balled up and were raised. The lessons and skills she had honed with Hadrian flooded her mind, a catalogue of strategies and tactics that she rapidly sifted through.

“I don’t even have a level, you bastard,” she growled at the wolf as the beast circled her. She started moving in the same pattern, slowly breathing in and out.

And if I use Hadrian’s scroll, I’ll get buried alive in here.

As they sized each other up, the room seemed to shrink, the shadows cast by the torches and statues converging into a claustrophobic arena. Lily felt the weight of history bearing down on her, the eyes of the stone sentinels watching, judging, as if the very stones of the Dungeon were alive with anticipation.

In the dim, shadowed chamber of the Dungeon, Lily readied herself for battle. The torchlight cast a spectral glow over the room, turning the lone Wildsnow Wolf before her into a haunting figure of pale fur and gleaming teeth. Its low snarl echoed ominously – a menacing presence in the ancient hall.

The standoff was brief but intense, a moment suspended in time. Then, with a suddenness that left no room for doubt, the wolf lunged.