Free The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4) by Aleron Kong Page B

shark-like teeth, but one mouth was human sized and was lined with full red pouting lips.  Somehow the normal mouth was what really filled Richter with revulsion. 
    He only got a look at it for second because it quickly scooted farther back into the cave and beyond the range of his Flame I spell.  Richter immediately lost sight of it, and the screams quieted after a few seconds.  Except for the whoosh of his Fire spell and his own harsh breathing, there wasn’t another sound to be heard once it disappeared into the dark.  Just great, Richter thought, this thing is a fucking ninja!  He screamed defiance at it for a second and maintained his fire attack, but then cut it off and sprinted in the opposite direction. 
    As Richter ran, he started casting buffs.  Minor Life Armor I, Minor Life Aura, Haste I, and Barkskin I.  He even cast Courage I, though he couldn’t tell if it had an effect.  He was still scared shitless by what he had just seen.  That thing had been huge, and he was pretty sure one of those eyes had winked at him! 
    As he sprinted away, he aimed his run towards an area that seemed to have a greater concentration of his Far Light I balls clustered together, reasoning that had to be the direction he had been thrown from.  It also coincided with the section of the map where the cave entrance was.  Luckily, it was roughly opposite of the direction that the aberration had skittered off in.  Richter intellectually understood that didn’t mean it wasn’t still following him in the dark or even that it hadn’t managed to get ahead of him, but seeing as how he was running for his life from a giant tentacle monster, it really didn’t seem like the time for deep thoughts! 
    It didn’t take more than a few seconds to cast his buffs and after that he just cast Far Light I in all directions again until he reached the portion of wall that was already festooned with his balls of light.  His breath was still coming fast and short and his heart thudded forcefully in his chest.  He quickly turned around, placing his back to the wall, and drew his new sword.  It gleamed green in the light of Richter’s balls of light.  He looked out over the cavern, searching for the aberration.
    The first thing that struck Richter was the strangeness of the cavern he was in.  The ceiling was only twenty feet directly above his head, but in front of him, the cave became a warren of holes and short tunnels.  To Richter, it looked like staring into a block of Swiss cheese.  There was even a four-foot hole leading directly up into the ceiling only a few feet from where he was standing.  Richter quailed internally when he realized he was standing in a three-dimensional maze.  He could only hope that he had run in the right direction and that he could find the way out.  It was now abundantly clear why the position of the Far Light I balls was so confusing. 
    Richter looked around, searching for the midnight black body of his attacker, but he didn’t see anything.  He shot out a few more balls of Far Light I, but each ball of light only illuminated the space around it for a few feet.  The oil-colored body of his enemy could be in any of the seemingly endless shadows that were in front of him.  Richter looked to either side, trying to find the entrance to the chamber.  He sidled a bit to the left, but then whipped his head back to the right, fearing to be attacked from the darkness again. 
    Richter took stock of his situation.  Just like when he had been confronted with a difficult situation on Earth, he remembered the wisdom of Frank Herbert, “Fear is the mind killer, I will face my fear.  I will let it pass through me.”  Richter took a deep breath and steadied himself.  With his short sword held before him, he faced the facts.
    Fact, a monster wanted his life.
    Fact, if he didn’t escape, he would have to fight for his life.
    Fact, it was bigger than him.
    Richter’s fear faded as he forced his mind to