The two days it took to reach the location of the second artifact were a tense, suffocating journey through the heart of Zone C. The perpetual twilight of the forest deepened here, the canopy of bruised-purple leaves so thick that it felt like we were walking along the bottom of a deep, dark ocean. Strange, bioluminescent fungi pulsed with a soft, sickly light on the trunks of ancient trees, casting our faces in eerie, shifting colors. The air was cool and damp, heavy with the smell of decay and wet earth. There was a palpable sense of being watched, not by monsters that would charge and attack, but by something older, more patient, and infinitely more sinister.
My team walked in a tight, disciplined formation, the memory of the orc battle still fresh in their minds. The easy camaraderie of our first days was long dead, replaced by a weary, professional tension. They trusted my commands, but they no longer trusted the world, or perhaps, even each other. The rivalry between Erica and Lana was a constant, simmering pot threatening to boil over. Lana, true to her nature, was a constant presence at my side, her conversation a dizzying mix of playful flirtation, dark humor, and thinly veiled threats aimed at anyone else who got too close. Erica, in response, had become a silent storm. She walked on my other side, her face a mask of cold fury, her hands often sparking with embers of contained rage whenever Lana's laughter rang out too close to my ear. It was exhausting, but it kept them focused on me, and that was exactly what I wanted.
Talia was a ghost, her movements silent, her new daggers a constant, deadly promise. Edgar, my loyal, oblivious lamb, walked near the back, his eyes constantly scanning our surroundings, his trust in me so absolute it was almost pitiable. He believed he was a valued member of a team of heroes. He had no idea he was simply a resource I was allowing to mature before the harvest.
After two days of this oppressive quiet, the map led us to the edge of a cliff. Below us lay a vast, sunken caldera, a massive bowl carved into the earth. At its center, shrouded in a thick, rolling mist, was a colossal, subterranean lake. The water was as black and still as polished obsidian, reflecting no light. In the very center of this dark mirror, a small, crumbling island rose from the depths, crowned by the ruins of what looked like a single, ornate stone pagoda. That was our destination.
"The Ring of the Maelstrom," I said, my voice echoing slightly in the vast, silent space. "It's in that pagoda."
"How do we get there?" Eric asked, peering over the edge. "We can't climb down, and even if we could, we can't swim that."
"There's a path," Talia noted, pointing with the tip of one of her new daggers. "There. A causeway, just beneath the surface."
She was right. A narrow, winding stone path, slick with moss and age, snaked its way from the base of the cliff out toward the central island. It was almost completely submerged, with only the highest points breaking the surface of the black water.
As we descended into the caldera, the air grew colder, the smell of rot and stagnant water intensifying. The moment our boots touched the first stone of the causeway, the lake came alive. The still, black surface began to ripple, then churn. Shapes moved beneath the water, large, fast, and utterly silent.
"Edgar," I commanded.
"Abyssal Lurkers!" he yelped, his voice cracking as a massive, reptilian head surfaced fifty feet away, its six luminous green eyes fixing on us. "Rank C! Extremely high agility in water, armored hide! They attack with harpoon-like tongues and can drag their prey under to drown and crush them! They're… they're ambush predators!"
As if on cue, a dozen more heads broke the surface, their collective gaze turning the water into a field of glowing, malevolent emeralds. They weren't attacking. They were waiting. They knew the causeway was a bottleneck, a perfect kill zone.
"We can't fight them in the water," Edgar stated, his hand gripping his sword. "They have every advantage."
"We won't fight them on their terms," I said, my mind already several steps ahead, the pieces of my manipulation falling perfectly into place. "We will fight them on mine."
I turned to the team, my face a mask of grim, reluctant determination. "A direct assault is suicide. They will pick us off one by one. We need a distraction. A massive, sustained distraction on one side of the lake, something that will draw the attention of the entire nest. While they are occupied, a small, fast retrieval team will make a dash for the pagoda along the causeway."
"I can do it," Erica said immediately, her hands already glowing with fire. "A massive fireball will get their attention."
"No," I countered, shaking my head. "Your fire is powerful, but it's an explosion. A momentary flash. We need something continuous, something that churns the water and creates a constant threat they can't ignore. Lana?"
She spun her staff. "I can smash the water, make some big splashes."
"Also not enough," I said dismissively. "It won't hold their attention. My puppets are useless here; they'd be dragged under in seconds." I paused, letting the weight of our predicament settle over them. I let them feel the hopelessness, the lack of options. Then, I played my card.
"The ring," I said, my voice heavy with feigned reluctance. "The Ring of the Maelstrom. Its power is to create a water whirlpool. It's the perfect tool for the job. It's the only tool for the job."
Talia's eyes lit up. "That's brilliant, Dante! I can use it! Or Edgar!"
I looked at her, my expression one of deep, sorrowful regret. "You can't," I said softly. "The artifact description says it consumes the wearer's mana to sustain the whirlpool. A lot of mana. A non-combatant like you or Edgar… you'd be drained in seconds. The maelstrom would collapse before the retrieval team was even halfway there." I looked around at my team, at their strong but limited fighters. "I have the largest mana pool. It's the only way. It has to be me."
I let the implication hang in the air. I, their leader, would have to take on the most dangerous role. I would have to wield the very artifact we were trying to retrieve, exhaust my own power, and leave myself completely vulnerable, all so they could succeed. It was the perfect picture of a self-sacrificing hero.
Edgar looked at me with shining eyes, his chest swelling with admiration for my noble sacrifice. Erica and Lana both looked fiercely protective, ready to argue, to offer themselves in my place, but they knew I was right. My logic was flawless.
"It's settled," I said, cutting off any potential arguments. "I will create the distraction. Talia, Lana, Erica, you are the retrieval team. Talia, you are the fastest. You grab the relic. Lana and Erica, you are her shield. Protect her at all costs. Everyone else, you form a defensive perimeter here. Protect me while I am channeling."
I walked to the edge of the causeway, my team parting before me. I looked out at the dark, churning water. "Let's begin."
I focused my will, not on my puppets, but on the raw mana within me. I poured it out, not as a weapon, but as a lure. "Here, you monsters!" I yelled, my voice echoing across the caldera. "Come and get me!"
The Lurkers, drawn by the massive spike of energy, began to converge on my position. As they drew near, I gave the signal. "Now!"
The retrieval team shot off like a bullet down the causeway. At the same instant, I focused on the water fifty yards to my left. I imagined a vortex, a swirling, churning wound in the fabric of the lake. I didn't have the ring yet, so I had to use my own raw power, a massive, inefficient drain that sold the lie of my impending exhaustion. The water began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster, forming a deep, gurgling whirlpool that began to pull at the surrounding water with immense force.
The Lurkers, confused and enraged by this unnatural phenomenon, turned their attention to it. Their predatory instincts screamed at them that this churning vortex was a threat, a danger far greater than the small figures running across the causeway.
The girls were magnificent. Lana used her staff as a vaulting pole, launching herself over broken sections of the path. Erica fired small, precise firebolts, not to kill, but to startle any Lurker that got too close. And Talia… Talia was a blur, her feet seeming to float over the slick stones, her new daggers held in a reverse grip, ready for any threat.
They reached the pagoda. Inside, on a pedestal, was not one, but two items. The Ring of the Maelstrom, a simple silver band with a single, sapphire-blue gem, and a small, leather-bound bracer. Talia didn't hesitate. She snatched them both.
"We have them!" she yelled.
"Fall back!" I commanded.
As they began their retreat, I made my performance convincing. I let out a loud, pained groan, stumbling to one knee. "I can't… hold it… much longer!" I gasped, letting a trickle of blood from my nose for dramatic effect.
The whirlpool faltered, and the Lurkers, sensing their chance, turned their attention back to the causeway. But it was too late. The girls were already halfway back. They sprinted the rest of the way, reaching the safety of the cliff base just as I let the whirlpool collapse completely.
We were victorious. Talia handed me the ring and the bracer. The bracer was a simple Guardian's Vambrace, an item that slightly increased defensive capabilities. A useful, but minor, prize. I handed it to Edgar. "For your bravery," I said. He accepted it with a look of pure, unadulterated devotion.
Then, I looked at the ring. The Ring of the Maelstrom. I slid it onto my finger. A cool, soothing energy flowed into me. I could feel its power, the way it connected to my mana, ready to turn my will into a churning vortex.
"Dante, are you alright?" Erica asked, rushing to my side.
"I'm… exhausted," I breathed, leaning heavily on her for support. "The mana drain… it was more than I expected."
They all looked at me with a mixture of awe and deep concern. Their leader had sacrificed his own strength for their success. He had faced down a nest of monsters and won them a powerful artifact.
I leaned on Erica, letting her and Lana guide me away from the lake, my expression one of heroic fatigue. But inside, I was laughing. The truth was, creating the maelstrom with my own vast mana pool had been trivial. The ring's consumption rate was easily manageable. I had barely broken a sweat.
I now possessed an incredibly powerful defensive artifact, a tool that could protect me from almost any physical assault. And no one would ever question why I was the one to keep it. They had been manipulated into giving me exactly what I wanted, and they now revered me for the "sacrifice" I had made. The harvest, once again, was all mine.