He’d gone through the Necromancy skills before, when he upgraded. But not the others; in fact, he hadn’t even known what the options were until he chose which power to upgrade. He focused. The system should tell him what upgrade options the other four class abilities had.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Curse Upgrade
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Mass Curse
</td>
<td>
The radius of a curse is expanded threefold, gaining full intensity in a three-meter radius and reduced intensity in a thirty-meter radius that scales with Power.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Slow Curse
</td>
<td>
In addition to reducing agility, the Curse slows the victim’s perception and movement by 20%, significantly hampering their combat ability.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Infectious Curse
</td>
<td>
Curses created with this power spread to those touched by the subject, and if the subject dies while cursed a new burst of curse energy spreads from the body to afflict those nearby.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Extended Curse
</td>
<td>
The Curse can now last roughly two hours, extended by Power.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Transformative Curse
</td>
<td>
The curse can alter the victim in some manner; the more extreme the alteration and stronger the victim, the shorter the duration. Fingers might merge together, eyes might seal shut, hair might fall out; this curse can be used in a variety of creative ways, but the more dramatic uses might not work at all unless the victim is substantially weaker than the user.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Stealth Upgrade
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Swift Stealth
</td>
<td>
Reduce the level of blur while moving.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Group Stealth
</td>
<td>
Extend your Stealth to up to four allies within ten meters.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Reflective Stealth
</td>
<td>
Your stealth field can be made reflective; this increases visibility dramatically but provides some protection from pure mana and light-based attacks
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Passive
</td>
<td>
You can simply leave ‘Stealth’ on, remaining invisible as you sleep or remain perfectly still, consuming no mana.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Assassin’s Strike Upgrade
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Lethal
</td>
<td>
+200% damage rather than +100% for the initial Assassin’s Strike
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Charged
</td>
<td>
Gain additional charges based on level of Assassin’s Strike, allowing it to be used more than once during the initial few seconds of combat
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Crippling
</td>
<td>
Virtually always significantly hinders the victim in some fashion so long as it does at least modest damage.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Swift
</td>
<td>
Gain a temporary boost to movement speed and reflexes while making the initial attack, +30% for up to three seconds.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Bullet(Bolt) with a Name
</td>
<td>
Charge a single projectile with a bonus to target a specific named enemy, gaining +25% damage against that opponent. Can be used with the same name only once per day, and the projectile can be charged up to 20 times, for a total of 500% improved damage. The bullet has a modest ability, which improves with each charge, to seek the target, and a vital area on the target.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Analysis
</td>
<td>
Your ‘Examine’ ability is much better at designating weaknesses in a victim, both to damage types and in terms of the best places to attack.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Dissolution
</td>
<td>
Victim’s struck by your Assassin’s Strike take the same amount of damage over the one minute following the initial strike.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Agonizing
</td>
<td>
The Assassin’s Strike fills the target with an unusually intense amount of pain until the injury it causes is healed; weaker-willed targets may be debilitated and helpless.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Pinning
</td>
<td>
When used with a melee weapon, the Assassin’s Strike can bind a victim to the spot where they stand, rendering them immobile unless they remove it, taking significantly more damage if not done slowly and carefully. Useless against flying targets or while using ranged weapons.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Tracking
</td>
<td>
Victims struck by a Tracking strike are visible by the user at a distance of up to ten miles for the next 24 hours.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Venom Upgrade
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Blinding
</td>
<td>
The venom renders victims unable to see with at least moderate exposure, permanently until healed.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Bleeding
</td>
<td>
The venom causes the victim’s wounds to bleed excessively and dramatically; injuries not rapidly healed or bandaged can cause bleedouts on most victims.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Confusing
</td>
<td>
The venom causes mental issues, rendering victims unable to think clearly or use most magical abilities.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Mist
</td>
<td>
The user can naturally emit a mist of his venom with a short radius, afflicting anyone who draws close, or slowly filling a room over time. Note that for venoms he is not immune to, this can cause dramatic problems.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Spraying
</td>
<td>
The range and area of effect of using Venom as a projectile is dramatically increased, to a 20 meter range cone.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Immunity
</td>
<td>
The user is immune to any type of venom they can create, even if wielded by someone else of greater level.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Grey stared at the options for a moment. Necromancy had him thinking that each power only had four upgrades, and then new ones unlocked at tier 5. But… it was pretty clear that most powers had more than that.
Was there a reason for that? And some of these abilities were… interesting. Fairly unique. Bullet with a Name seemed perfect for him; he could take a couple of bullets and name Golden Boy and Nightfire each morning, and when he finally ran into them, have an absolutely devastating alpha strike.
Who exactly came up with these powers? Was it… the system itself? The Committee? Were there actually an infinite, or much larger, variety, and he was only seeing some of the most common options?
He thought for a moment. He knew he could take powers from other classes. Was the real thing that the system could give him any power he could imagine… but he’d gain the most strength from taking similar ones, that meshed together?
What if he wanted to take a Fire Resistance power now?
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Elemental Resistance
</td>
<td>
This ability grants the user a minor resistance to most forms of elemental damage that scales with the user’s Endurance.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Fire Resistance
</td>
<td>
This ability grants the user a moderate resistance to heat and fire that scales with the user’s Endurance.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Okay. So he could do that. But there were mutagens that could do that for cheap; he might get enough Credits to do it after cleaning out the Militia.
What if he wanted to use Necromancy to create a defensive power. Would it let him do that?
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Undead Control(Skeletal Reinforcement)
</td>
<td>
A properly cleaned and prepared skeleton which has already been animated can be shaped and formed into animate armor that will assist in protecting the user and attacking his enemies, boosting the strength of his attacks if stronger than him, or possibly serving as additional arms to make extra attacks, hold shields or tools, or parry blows.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Undead Control(Soul Barrier)
</td>
<td>
The Necromancer has mastered using his control powers to ward away enemy Undead, either from himself or a designated area of his choice so long as he expends mana. Undead below his level cannot approach within 15 meters, and if already that close, will be forced to withdraw. Higher-level undead, especially sentient ones, will be able to resist this power, but will still feel compelled to try to leave.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Undead Animation(Death Wall)
</td>
<td>
A mass of corpses is bound together in an immobile wall of skeletons or flesh, forming a new Undead barricade that will attack anything that comes close, and block attacks, but is rooted to the spot. May be Empowered with ranged attack abilities, or Controlled to direct those attacks.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
…So what the system had showed him so far were just options. The most potent possible options, but the possibilities were almost as vast as he could imagine.
The key was to balance what would be easiest to get by spending credits, versus what he could upgrade more easily, and line it all up with either surviving long enough to kill Nightfire, keeping her from escaping a horde of undead, or killing her.
So, the next though; could he get a version of that Dimension Lock ability at this point? That one required level 21+ normally without an expensive mutagen; was there something else he could get now?
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Curse(Dimension Trap)
</td>
<td>
Create a cursed area in which dimensional travel does not function. Has the usual duration of curses, and will cease working the moment the victim leaves the area, and does not carry any of the other, normal, effects of a curse.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
…So. Vastly more limited. Best wait, especially if the military would help him level up rapidly. A ‘Tier 6’ curse might be far worse, or he could get that Assassin mutagen, or… yes. For now, he should focus on improving the things he had.
Was there any other sort of ‘Empower Undead’ ability, that would let him… copy abilities? Or enhance ones that were there? He had tons of Fire-Ant bodies. There had to be some way for him to augment their fire resistance, or give it to something else.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Advanced Empower Undead(Unavailable; Tier 6+, Lvl 21+)
</td>
<td>
The user is able to ‘learn’ unique traits of Undead they create, and pass them on to new Undead, allowing them to create steadily more capable and versatile undead. Creating an undead Ice Wraith, for example, will allow the user to create Undead with Frost Resistance, Flight, and Icy Touch abilities going forward, so long as the new creature is compatible; fire and ice, abilities, for example, generally are not.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Animation Merge
</td>
<td>
The user can take two corpses and merge them together into a single Undead during the animation process, giving the resulting creature both strengths and weaknesses of the two; generally somewhat improving each such trait. The result is usually higher-level than either corpse, but typically not directly additive; a level 4 Spider and a level 2 Rat might create a level 5 Abomination, and two level 10 Spiders might create a level 12 Abomination. Since both entities had unusual climbing abilities, the Abomination would then have somewhat better climbing abilities than either.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Well then. That would be… interesting. He could merge multiple Fire-Ants into a single abomination. Which… would in theory then have better fire resistance than one would on its own.
And even after he got high enough level to get the better version of Empower Undead, he could easily see uses for merging multiple smaller Undead together.
Animation Merge was a winner. And if it was going to keep escalating how many Undead he could control, and how strong they were? So was Power. Time to focus on it for a bit.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Nathan Grey
</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Serpentfolk(Human)
Hand of Death(Hybrid)
</td>
<td>
11
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Strength
</td>
<td>
18
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Endurance
</td>
<td>
22
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Stamina
</td>
<td>
31
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Agility
</td>
<td>
28
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Mind
</td>
<td>
28
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Power
</td>
<td>
28
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Abilities
</td>
<td>
Intimidating Shout(Insects, Rats, Humans, Minoans), Undead Animation 3(Empowered Undead, Merge), Undead Control 3(Horde, Awareness), Curse 1, Venom Magic 1(S), Stealth 1, Assassin’s Strike 1, Store Kiosk, Extradimensional Shard(Village)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Skills
</td>
<td>
Minor(Melee Weapons, Persuasion, Automotive Repair, Command) Moderate(Survival, Sales, Mana Manipulation, Examine), Expert( Ranged Weapons)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Titles
</td>
<td>
Insect Slayer III, Rat Slayer II, Human Slayer, Minoan Slayer, Ranged Slayer II, Vehicle Slayer(Front-Runner), Looter, Field Commander, Bounty Hunter
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Boons
</td>
<td>
None
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
After checking his status, he blinked. Bounty Hunter? What was that? He hadn’t recalled getting that notification.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Bounty Hunter: Access to the local Bounty Board acquired. You will receive notifications if a subject with a Bounty enters your area, or a new Bounty is issued.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
That was… information, at least.
He decided to ignore it for now. He had an enormous pile of Ants to loot, more to animate, two Militia members who may or may not still be alive inside the extradimensional shard…. And one more tool in the arsenal to use against Nightfire and Golden Boy when the time came.
Perhaps the best way to go would be to take human zombies, merge them with fire-ants to make them fire resistant, and give them a rifle? Certainly seemed like a good option. Or…. he could even soak the whole mess in a flame retardant chemical! Cover them in asbestos foam, or…. Well. That was for later. For now… more work to do.
***
Roughly half an hour into his sorting, his work was interrupted as strangers arrived; possibly another group from the same club, judging by the fact that two of them had identical halberds, and they were wearing heavier ant-chitin armor.
There were four of them; all armored, all with rifles or shotguns at the ready, slowly approaching… as Grey clambered back out of the tunnel, and looked out at them. They’d only seen one of his undead so far, that he could tell… he ordered the others to remain in the tunnel where they’d been digging for corpses to add to the pile, and had the one active one start approaching him, in what looked to be an aggressive manner… and then shot it with the Kinetic setting of the Multi-rifle; twice.
As the group approached the armored truck, and the enormous pile of dead ants which… he’d now removed over a thousand bodies which were intact enough to be re-animated…. He waved the rifle in the air…. And then pointed it at the ground.
“G’day there, gentlemen. Were you friends of this group?”
The group surveyed the scene…. None of them pointed weapons at him, though they certainly felt tense.
One of them stepped closer to the edge, looking around… “....Yes. They were part of the Burning Rivers. We were all in the same… LARP group… before this.”
From the voice, this one sounded feminine; though with the armor, and the helmet, he couldn’t be sure. They seem to have made some decent fake medieval-style plate mail out of pieces of black ant chitin.
She hefted the halberd she bore over her shoulder and stared at Grey through the slits of her helmet. “What happened here?”
Grey glanced around. “When I arrived, they were being killed by ants. Looked like they were using this armored truck to crush them, and they fell in one of the holes. They shot them til they ran out of ammo, then switched to pole-arms and got rushed. By the time I showed up, it was already over. I used my Multi-Rifle…” He patted the alien weapon.
“Cleared out the ones around the truck. Found five dead, four on top of the truck, one inside. Don’t actually need the weapons, and definitely not the wallets; if you’re willing to take an oath you’ll give them to next-of-kin, I’ll hand those over.”
He grimaced and looked up at her. “One of them was still swinging as I showed up… only had one good arm left, but doing his best. They fought til the end.”
She focused on Grey, after surveying the scene… and nodded. “They called us when the truck fell into the pit. We told them we were an hour out… they said they didn’t have the ammo to make it that long. They said one of them was still inside the truck, though. Any idea how they got in?”
He thought about it for a moment. “...Doesn’t make much sense, actually. The driver’s-side door was already open when I got into the hole, but the passenger-side door was unlocked. These things are damn sturdy even without being upgraded, not sure how the ants got it open without chewing the whole thing apart.”
One of the others stepped up, set his hand on the first woman’s shoulder. “Jane. They said they had to break the door lock on the driver’s side to get into it at the junkyard. They didn’t have the door key, just the ignition key.”
Jane, apparently, sighed. “Well, fuck. Would’ve felt better if I had someone to blame and kill, instead of just some scavenger picking over the corpses. Fine. I swear on the System that if you give me their wallets I will do my best to ensure they get to the families involved, if any survive.”
Grey nodded; and after a moment, laid out five mostly identical wallets; one labeled ‘BAMF’ in hot pink, while the others were generic black leather.
She looked at them… hesitating over one of the four identical ones… and picked them up, letting them all vanish into her own storage.
“Not the guns? Honestly, I’ve got one with infinite ammo, if you don’t have some next-of-kin who want them, I’d just sell them at the system kiosk. I’m not really interested in their stuff, just the ants.”
Obviously he was interested in selling their stuff for credits. But appearing to have as little greed as possible would be beneficial.
Jane sighed. “No, no. You go ahead and keep them. Any problems with us taking the truck?”
Grey studied it. “Not my truck, not my problems. You have a way to get it out?”
One of the others stepped up to the edge; and raised his arms. After a few seconds, the dirt formed a neat, smooth ramp…. And started to condense. Visibly packing itself down.
“Well, thats a yes. Would you be willing to use that to open a path to the Queen’s chamber? Crawling back and forth is an absolute pain.”
And would’ve been suicide. He hadn’t actually been in there; only the zombies had.
The earthshaping man gave a nod. “Sure. You already killed her?”
“Yup. Finished off the whole nest. Used poison and a Mana Rifle. Your friends had already done most of the work, though. I had… maybe a couple hundred left, at most, and the Queen herself.”
He guided the man over to where the Queen’s nest was; he couldn’t loot through his Undead, so it would save him a trip crawling through the tunnels; and showed them the picture of their friends at the end, of the mass pile of ant corpses covering them before he’d gotten started.
When they were gone, he took the last mostly intact corpse… the Fire Ant Queen… and dumped it into the Village.
He paused for a moment, observing the shard to see if he could spot… Ahh.
Two Militia men. One of them still alive, missing a leg, hiding atop a rooftop; asleep. The other, in pieces. The survivor appeared to have tied his pants leg into a knot around the stump that ended mid-thigh, and had managed to avoid being torn apart by the ants… so far.
Perfect. He could kill the man with something that didn’t leave much of a mark, and use him as a trojan horse against his allies. One crutch, or perhaps reattach the severed leg, and however big a bomb he could improvise.