Underdog Series

Eric was born in a world governed by the Great System, in the family of Aren Bergman, a respected miner from Orchus. But the joy of gaining a son was overshadowed by the newborn's terrible affliction. Eric was completely nulled-level zero and no characteristics points. The only things keeping him from dying were his tiny base supplies of "life" and "energy." The medicine woman who delivered Eric believes this to be the work of the evil spirit Bug. Due to the peculiar laws of the Great System, Eric cannot use experience essences or characteristics tablets, so he risks having to spend his whole life confined to a bed. But his father finds a solution. He takes out a large bank loan and goes to the capital where he buys a few artifacts of the Ancients on the black market, which have no level restriction. Despite having the artifacts, Eric is still very feeble and everyone in town thinks him a freak. But at least he can move on his own and that gives the Bergmans hope. But alas, it isn't for long. On Eric's fourteenth birthday, his father and mother die in a mining accident. The bank takes their house, and Eric is left with no choice but to work off the remaining debt in the Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains. And so begins the story of a nulled boy's struggle to survive . . .

Eric nació en un mundo gobernado por el Gran Sistema, en la familia de Aren Bergman, un respetado minero de Orhus. Este alegre acontecimiento en la familia Bergman se ensombreció por una terrible enfermedad del recién nacido. Eric era totalmente nulo —de nivel cero y sin puntos de características—. Y lo único que le mantenían vivo eran las pequeñas fuentes de “vida” y de “energía”. La curandera que se ocupó del parto creyó que lo que pasó había sido por un truco del espíritu maligno llamado Bug. El “nulo” Eric no podía utilizar las esencias de experiencia y las tablas de características debido a las leyes peculiares del Gran Sistema, por lo que se arriesgaba a pasar toda su vida confinado a estar en cama. Sin embargo, su padre encontró una solución. Tomó un enorme préstamo en el banco y se fue a la capital a comprar en el mercado negro los artefactos de los Antiguos, los cuales no poseían limitaciones de nivel. A pesar de la existencia de estos artefactos, Eric seguía estando muy débil y para todos los de su alrededor continuaba siendo un bicho raro. No obstante, él ya podía moverse por su cuenta, y eso les dio esperanza a los Bergman. Pero, desgraciadamente, no por mucho tiempo… Cuando Eric cumplió catorce años, sus padres fallecieron en una mina. El banco se quedó con su casa y envió a Eric a trabajar en las Mazmorras de las Montañas Torcidas para pagar el resto de la deuda. Y así fue como comenzó la lucha del niño “nulo” por su supervivencia...

Eric has survived where people much stronger than him have found their deaths. And not just that: he's managed to activate his magic supply, tame one of the most dangerous dungeon monsters, find the ancient city of monster hunters, and rescue Jay, the girl abandoned by the scouts in Gulper's lair. He left the Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains behind him. Now his path leads him to Orchus, where our freshly-minted mage intends to finally free himself of his debt-repayment oath. But as soon as Eric and Jay descend into the valley, they discover that the local barons have been attacked by young Corwin's men who have swept through their neighbors' estates, pillaging and plundering. This makes Eric's task all the more difficult: he has to return to his home city without ending up in his enemies' clutches. You'd think his natural cautiousness and the acute instincts of his pet Gorgie would make this journey a walk in the park-but fickle Lady Luck has her own ideas . . . Once again Eric is being pulled into a bloody vortex of dangers.

Eric Bergman used to be treated like an outcast, cripple, and freak. Some pitied him, others squirmed in his presence, while others still mocked him to his face. He himself even thought he was born cursed by the gods. But bit by bit, all that changed. That which was once considered a flaw or defect transformed into an advantage. And Eric slowly learned to use it to his benefit. Eric and his friends escape Master Chi's Hive, journey over the orcish steppe and through the Stone Forest, which tempers them and makes them a lot stronger. During his travels, Eric discovers that his elder brother never went to the Wastes, and that his parents were lied to about what happened to him. Eric promises himself to uncover the truth about his long lost brother. Beyond that, the more he encounters the grim heritage of the Order of Monster Hunters, the more he realizes just how perilous a game the foxman has drawn him into. Moving through the borderlands toward his home city no more than a few days ahead of the orcish Horde, Eric still has yet to guess that his adventure is just getting started.

Eric ha sobrevivido donde personas mucho más fuertes que él han encontrado su muerte. Y no solo eso: logró activar su suministro mágico, domesticar a uno de los monstruos de mazmorra más peligrosos, encontrar la antigua ciudad de los cazadores de monstruos y rescatar a Jay, la niña abandonada por los exploradores en la guarida de Gulper. Dejó las Mazmorras de las Montañas Torcidas detrás de él. Ahora su camino lo lleva a Orchus, donde nuestro mago recién acuñado tiene la intención de finalmente liberarse de su juramento de pago de deudas. Pero tan pronto como Eric y Jay descienden al valle, descubren que los barones locales han sido atacados por los hombres del joven Corwin que han arrasado las propiedades de sus vecinos, saqueando y saqueando. Esto hace que la tarea de Eric sea aún más difícil: tiene que regresar a su ciudad natal sin terminar en las garras de sus enemigos. Uno pensaría que su cautela natural y los agudos instintos de su mascota Gorgie harían de este viaje un paseo por el parque, pero la voluble Lady Luck tiene sus propias ideas. . . Una vez más, Eric se ve arrastrado a un vórtice sangriento de peligros.

A Eric Bergman le solían tratar como a un marginado, un tullido y un bicho. Algunos se compadecían de él, otros se retorcían en su presencia, mientras que otros aún se burlaban de él. Él mismo incluso pensaba que había nacido maldito por los dioses. Pero poco a poco, todo eso cambió. Lo que una vez fue considerado un defecto o fallo, se transformó en una ventaja. Y Eric aprendió lentamente a usarlo en su beneficio. Eric y sus amigos escapan de la Colmena del Maestro Chi, viajan sobre la estepa de los orcos y a través del Bosque de Piedras, haciéndoles todo eso más fuertes. Durante sus viajes, Eric descubre que su hermano mayor nunca fue a los Páramos, y que a sus padres les mintieron sobre lo que realmente le pasó. Eric se promete a sí mismo descubrir la verdad sobre su hermano perdido. Más allá de eso, cuanto más se encuentra con la sombría herencia de la Orden de Cazadores de Monstruos, más se da cuenta de lo peligroso que es el juego en el que el hombre-zorro lo ha metido. Avanzando a través de las tierras fronterizas hacia su ciudad natal, a pocos días de la Horda de Orcos, Eric aún no sabe que su aventura acaba de empezar.

After sealing the otherworldly portal, Eric becomes a Magister of the order of monster hunters. From now on, as head of the once mighty organization, he gains power over all its riches. But Eric is aware that he won't be able do it on his own. And reviving what is popularly referred to as "the dead order" won't be enough. He also has to assert its right to exist because its ancient enemy is on the lookout! Very soon the Steel King will realize that his plan to get back the Crown, a most powerful artifact and symbol of the royal dynasty's authority, has failed. Need it be said who will suffer all his wrath? Eric realizes a great battle is coming, one like those described in the ancient chronicles. He also realizes that in the upcoming showdown he will need loyal and powerful helpers at his side. And thus, after defying Darkness, Eric's path takes him to the Undermountain Kingdom of the Gnomes. According to ancient legends and tales, that is where he will find Gramner the Fourarmed and convince the great blacksmith to perform the hatching ritual in the Forge of the True Flame.

After wiping out the drak nest, Eric finds himself now also in a trap. In order to avoid dying in a cave-in, he activates the manuscript he received for defeating the Lady of the Anomaly. A portal then whisks Eric away to the lookout point atop the mysterious Citadel of Chaos. The entrance to the Citadel is guarded by the Gatekeeper, a huge troll encased head to toe in a suit of plate armor. Thanks to his Friend of the Trolls amulet, Eric manages to avoid fighting him and passes the Gatekeeper's first test and can enter the Citadel of Chaos to partake in its mysteries. Eric isn't interested in its mysteries though and he tells the troll as much directly. He even goes so far as to say he would rather just go on his merry way and leave the Citadel. But the Gatekeeper informs Eric that he will not be able to leave quite so easily because now that he has activated the manuscript, he must undergo a test known as Unity with Chaos! What if Eric is able to pass the test? Will Chaos grant him power?

The skies of the Dark Continent teem with ravening beasts. Thousands of refugees are at the gates of Foreston seeking salvation from a mysterious scourge. The Wastes are infested with herds of bloodthirsty necromorphs that devour every living thing in their path. A Dark Gateway has opened in the Stone Forest, allowing a horde of otherworldly monsters to come flooding through. Adversaries from time immemorial are gathering armies and amassing forces. Ancient enemies are forming alliances. The world of the Great System stands once again on the precipice of change. A new war is coming.

The battle with the horde of necromorphs is lost. Foreston has been overrun by Dark fiends. The foxfolk have been forced to abandon their homes and seek salvation on the far side of Narrow Lake. Its main city lost, the Order of Monster Hunters finds itself on the brink of destruction. And now deprived of their chief ally, the gnomes are left all alone to take on the army of the Steel King. Eric's attempts to halt his foe's advance have all come to naught-Alrak the Heartless and the other Dark primordials are simply too powerful. To cover his friends' retreat, Eric makes use of forbidden magic, for which the Great System strips him of his rank as magister and declares him an apostate. In spite of the crushing defeat and grievous wound, Eric's will is not yet broken. And although he has become a renegade in the eyes of yesterday's friends and allies, Eric will keep up the fight against Darkness!