NOVEL NEXT 45 - Power Through
New Quest Received!
"Backstab" - Kill Noel Seraphi
Reward - 1,500xp
“Oh.” Lieze blinked as she looked over the notification, “Don’t mind if I do.”
As she raised a hand, blood pooled out from her Bag of Holding. Noel had taken her bold-faced lie seriously, and was beginning to move towards the undead horde with stave held in both hands. What better opportunity for Lieze to show her true colours than when her enemy’s back was turned? She already knew the girl’s precise HP - 110. A 3-litre [Blood Spike] would be more than enough to end her life. On their round trip to the hideout, Lieze and Drayya made certain to stock up on as much blood as possible for the battle.
“Gravewalkers… Horrors… Flesh Elementals - two of them…” Noel listed off the names with a practised inflection. It wasn’t her first time dealing with the undead, “We should be fine as long as we can keep moving. Once Stürm and Louanbona join the fray, we can-”
The remainder of her strategy was interrupted by a large spike being driven through her abdomen, before disintegrating into nothingness. Lieze would have loved to see the expression of terror on her face at the moment of release, but it was her duty to lift the burden of mortality quickly and without pain - in most cases, anyway. Noel fell to the grass like a puppet with its strings cut.
[Noel Seraphi Defeated]
40xp Rewarded
Quest "Backstab" Complete!
Reward - 1,500xp
Before either Stürm or Louanbona could discover their betrayal, Lieze and Drayya retreated towards the safe, not-at-all inviting embrace of the horde. Rot-stink corrupted the sweet countryside air as it followed along the winds. At the very rear of the troop, tucked behind a sluggish Flesh Elemental, was Marché.
“There you are.” He said, somewhat frustrated, “Do you have any idea how hard it is to coordinate this many thralls? I don’t quite have the expertise to give them orders all at once, you know.”
“Yes, yes. You’ve done a great job. You couldn’t have picked a better moment to move in.” Lieze greeted, “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“What I want to hear is whether I’m free to leave. I’ve barely had an hour of sleep in the past three days.”
“I think you’ve earned your rest.” She smirked, “We’ll take it from here.”
“Thank the Gods… good luck, then.” A smidge of the colour that had drained from Marché’s face was restored. He wasted no time vanishing into the treeline, Tonberg-bound, leaving the thralls masterless and disorganised.
“How many thralls can you manage at once?” Drayya asked.
“30?” Lieze paused, “-Or, just about 30, anyway.”
“30? I thought you were better than that.”
“Sod off, Drayya.”
Her lifelong peer chuckled. It was a dry, unpleasant sound, “Right… well, not to worry. I can take the rest. Once the battle’s simmered down, we can-”
“You!” The voice of Stürm demanded their shared attention, “What in the Dragon’s name have you done!? Noel!”
Seeing an irreplaceable comrade sprawled out on the grass triggered something instinctual in Stürm’s brain. Despite the Drake’s continued health, he didn’t think twice about abandoning Louanbona to fend for himself while sprinting towards Noel’s corpse. His expression was disbelieving. Betrayed. But it was just as quickly replaced with a look of seething anger.
“...So this is your game, is it?” He stared past the legions of Deathwalkers, straight into Lieze’s eyes, “Necromancers… I should have suspected something.”
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t put up too much of a fight.” Lieze replied, “Gathering new thralls is always a slow and mind-numbing process.”
“You witch…” Taking a stance, Stürm revealed barely an ounce of fear as he stood before the horde, “This isn’t the first time I’ve been forced to deal with your ilk… Gods willing, it won’t be the last, either.”
“Stay back, Lieze.” Drayya placed a cautionary hand on the girl’s shoulder, “I hope I don’t have to tell you how quickly this would be over if he manages to reach us.”
“Believe me, I don’t have any intentions of painting a target on my back…” She replied.
A necromancer’s strategy in direct conflict was so simple that a child could manage it. Thralls weren’t talented combatants by any stretch of the imagination, but attempting to break through their numbers was pure folly. That was, unless a priest was present. Therefore, most necromancers could afford to sit still while their legions won the battle for them, nestled deep within the most powerful of their forces.
“I suppose you think you’ve won…” Stürm grated his teeth, “-But I would need more than two hands to count the number of times I’ve resisted death’s embrace.”
Technique Observed (+10%)
Stürm’s MP - 0 / 20
Light collected in the would-be hero’s palm. Lieze could discern immediately that it was some form of holy magic. Preparing himself with a deep breath, Stürm slammed the light-bursting hand down on his blade. Curtains of blood dripped from the fine edge as the glow was transferred to his sword.
“A holy enchantment…” Drayya muttered under her breath, “Well, I suppose it was a little optimistic to hope that we’d be able to salvage most of these thralls.”
Stürm barrelled forward without hesitation, poised to clear the sea of undead in a single leap. Like all dogs of Tonberg, he had been tutored well in the art of slaying necromancers - kill the leader, and their thralls would become purposeless and static.
“Split up! Take one Flesh Elemental each!” Lieze ordered.
She wasn’t given the pleasure of hearing an answer. The two of them separated, causing the undead to split apart like a wound in the earth. With blade held high, Stürm leaped into the fray, sinking his blade through the brain of a sluggish Gravewalker with the ease of passing a knife through hot butter. The necromantic energies animating the thrall were forcibly evacuated by his holy enchantment, disintegrating its flesh as if burning the creature from within.
“I should have realised something was amiss from the beginning!” Loosening his blade from the corpse, Stürm twisted his body and followed through with a crescent slash, decapitating another Gravewalker approaching him from the rear, “But no matter… you’ve made a fatal mistake revealing yourselves so soon! Don’t think for a second that any of these weaklings will be a match for me!”
Lieze squinted her eyes to get a better look at Stürm’s status.
Amadeus Cronley
Level 27 Fighter
HP: 300 / 3,001 MP: 0 / 20
BODY - 23 / MIND - 1 / SOUL - 3
Only a few well-placed blows would be needed to put him down. Easier said than done, considering any thrall foolish enough to approach him would be cut down in an instant. Trying to overwhelm him with numbers would only increase the number of casualties. Thankfully, Lieze had hatched a plan.
“The Drake…” Moving as one with her thralls, she looked over her shoulder. Louanbona was still alive, attempting to buy as much time as possible for Stürm to deal with the undead horde. His continued survival was an important step. Lieze didn’t fancy juggling both Stürm and the Drake’s attention at once.
At her command, Lieze’s thralls began a slow march towards the Drake’s position, maintaining a loose but tight formation to waste as much of Stürm’s time as possible. Naturally, he had decided to chase after the smaller of the two groups. Drayya, meanwhile, maintained a consistent distance to the rear, hovering her own thralls just outside of Stürm’s attack range to keep the man on his toes.
Lieze was delighted to find herself stepping into an ankle-height puddle of blood as she retreated. The battle with the Drake had spilled gallons across the clearing. With the beast so close by, it didn’t come as a surprise to Lieze when a lash from its tail tore into her formation, sending chunks of rotten flesh into the air as Gravewalkers were torn apart by the impact. Stürm took the opportunity to advance on the weakened segment, intent on clearing a path towards Lieze as quickly as possible.
Her fingers twitched. Visions of the sickly, creeping Blackbriar assaulted her mind. She was preparing a [Blood Spike], but for once, wasn’t making use of the blood in her Bag of Holding. As she moved through the scarlet remnants of the battle, gallons upon gallons of blood rose into the air, forming into a lance large enough to cut a horse clean in half.
Of course, this didn’t go unnoticed by Stürm, who abated in his slaughter of the undead to prepare for the incoming attack. Trapped between twin formations of Gravewalkers, he was forced to keep moving while the spike twisted in the air, ready to lunge forward at any moment.
“Fighting while using the corpses of the innocent as a shield…” He muttered, “Have you no shame? Can’t you see that the Order has corrupted your mind?”
“How very noble, coming from the man who would have gladly led 30 men to their deaths.” Lieze rebuked, “The 3 fools you allowed to tag along for this hunt are dead by your grace, and yet the only death that enrages you is one that wasn’t even your own fault? You have as much consideration for the so-called ‘beauty’ of life as any necromancer.”
“Be silent! You’re playing for time!” Stürm’s grip tightened, “You underestimated us, and now you’re paying the price for it! I’ll take great pleasure in delivering your head to His Majesty!”
Lieze’s expression was fearless as Stürm stepped towards her. She had no right to appear so confident. No matter the size of her [Blood Spike], she was convinced that he had the reflexes to dodge it. Shambling Gravewalkers fell like soldiers of glass before Stürm’s holy blade, closing the distance between himself and Lieze. A look of triumphant superiority beamed from his face as she stood behind a Flesh Elemental for cover.
“Noel will live. The Church will gladly resurrect her, if I present evidence of your meddling.” He declared, “The morbid ‘dream’ of the Order is over. The Gildwyrm shall deliver us from evil as many times as it takes.”
“If only you knew the truth…” Lieze smirked.
Her [Blood Spike] fell towards the would-be hero. As expected, Stürm sidestepped the attack without much trouble at all, seizing the opportunity to rush forward and bring the battle to a close. Even so, Lieze’s confidence remained high. It was only upon noticing the proud look on her face that Stürm’s senses enlightened him to the sound of something tearing through the air behind him.
No matter how accomplished of a warrior he was, a man could only move so fast. As he leaped to the side, a second [Blood Spike] tore through his midsection, eliciting a conjoined cry of pain and surprise. Normally, such a weak attack wouldn’t have made him flinch, but the Drake had sapped his reserve of strength.
Stürm’s HP - 0 / 3,001
There was no time for inspiring last words or a final rebellion against death. All the privileges of a hero were stolen from him in that moment. The one called Stürm died with a horrible croak, blood pouring from his mouth. It was the kind of mundane, honourless death a man like him deserved.
Quest "Hero Killer" Complete!
Reward - 3,400xp
Level Up!
You are now level [20]
HP + 5 MP + 50
MIND + 1
Milestone Reached!
Necromancy (lvl. 2) has been replaced with Greater Necromancy (lvl. 1)
Description - Use 60MP to reanimate a creature of level 40 or below. The creature's level as an undead thrall equals 1.5x its original level, rounded down. You can maintain a number of thralls equal to 2x your level, rounded down.
Necromantic Alchemy (lvl. 3) has been upgraded to Necromantic Alchemy (lvl. 4)
Enhancements Learned - [Madness]
Unique Undead Learned - [Briarknight]
“Lieze!” Drayya shouted, “What are you staring off into space for!? We still have Louanbona to deal with!”
“Uh- right…” Recalling the perilous situation she was in, Lieze quickly dismissed the slew of notifications appearing in front of her face, “Of course…”