《My Necromancer is a Lich》 Chapter 1: So Im a Skeleton, So What? ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± A young, feminine voice called from a void of pitch black darkness. Not gonna lie, she sounded pretty cute. But as any true man knows, the cuter she sounds without showing her face, the uglier she be. ¡°Unshackled by mortal shell¡­undaunted by sword or spell¡­¡± Despite my reluctance, I still felt myself being drawn towards her melodious voice. I always was a sucker for a woman with a nice set of lungs on her. ¡°Hear my plea and be bound unto me!¡± Before I could tell the girl in the darkness that I was a free man and didn¡¯t believe in marriage, the darkness receded from my vision. One moment I was standing within darkness, the next I was laying on a cold floor, staring up at a large amount of stalactites all pointed towards me. The sudden change in point of view gave my brain quite the fucking as I felt my mind slowly recover from a strange onset of what I guessed was vertigo. Various lights flickered in the corner of my vision as I shook my head in an attempt to clear shake off my groggy mind. The only thought in my mind was that I had to get up and away from these pointy rocks overhead. Ever since I was a child, I hated going on field trips into various caves such as the one I currently found myself in for some inexplicable reason. Always had the haunting feeling that one of them would break off and fall on top of me. ¡°Stop laying on the floor and help me you worthless skeleton!¡± The previously melodious voice turned harsh and demanding. Women, am I right fellas? ¡°Skeleton?¡± The hell was she talking about? I mean, I was a bit skinny, but that doesn¡¯t give her the right to give me such a hurtful nickname. Ah well, no point laying around if she was going to keep hollering at me. With a grunt, I shifted my weight to pull myself up from the floor only to stare at my arm in shock. ¡°Huh¡­thats new.¡± My eyes affixed upon the bleached bones of my arm as my mind halted any and all rational operations. ¡°Were my bones always so¡­visible? What the hell is this?¡± I jumped to my feet and glanced about at my body. Everywhere I looked was bone, bone, bone! Finger bones, leg bones, feet bones, and if I had a mirror I¡¯m sure I¡¯d see that I had head bones too! Dreading the worst, I looked down at the goods only to see my worst fears realized. ¡°I want to die¡­¡± I murmured as I stared at the empty space around my pelvis. ¡°Then die for me!¡± The voice from before shouted as a flash of black cloth rushed past me. I couldn¡¯t even utter a sigh as I reluctantly looked towards what the girl was running from. ¡°What the fuck is that?!¡± I yelled as a giant furred monster the size of a Pit-bull with the words ¡®Level 1 Cave Rat¡¯ clearly hovering over it¡¯s head stared at me with a furious snarl. Before I could react, it lunged at me with it¡¯s large yellow fangs. I¡¯m not ashamed to admit that at that moment, I was glad that I lacked my goods. Because the scream that I unleashed at that moment was far from manly. And I¡¯d have probably pissed myself too. [You have acquired the trait [Novice Dark Magic (Rank I)]] [By successfully channeling the dark powers of the Plane of Death, you have taken your first steps down the road of Death and Decay] [You have learned the spell [Banshee¡¯s Wail]] [Cost: 10 Mana] [Deals 10 Dark Damage to your foe and stuns them for 4 seconds.] ¡°What the fu-¡± Newton¡¯s first law remained a universal constant as the Pit-bull sized rat crashed right into me despite the clear lack of mental presence in it¡¯s eyes. As I clattered to the ground from the flying tackle, the pop-ups that obstructed my view quickly dissipated, only to be replaced with another. [You take 5 physical damage] The all too close sound of a giant rat growling on top of me ended all previous rational thought. ¡°Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!¡± My fists flew in a flurry causing pop-ups of ¡®you¡¯ve done x physical damage¡¯ to fill my vision. ¡°I don¡¯t like this! I don¡¯t like this at all!¡± My voice cracked as the rat¡¯s faculties returned. Harsh eyes glared at me as it bit down onto my right wrist bone. Once more, I screeched out, this time in pain rather than fear, causing whatever this ¡®Banshee¡¯s Wail¡¯ thing was to activate once more, stunning the rat. This time I pushed the beast off of me and rolled away in the opposite direction, searching about for anything to use in defense. Unfortunately, all I had at hand was dirt and small stones. ¡°Right then, I¡¯ll use some dirt to blind it and then run!¡± Plan firmly in mind, I grasped a handful of dirt only to watch my plan fall to pieces as every grain of dirt fell through the gaps between my finger bones. ¡°Bullshit! This is bullshit!¡± I shook my head and looked towards the rat and watched it break out of the stun. With a hiss, the murderous mouse turned towards me with bristling fur. ¡°You want some of this, bitch? Come get some!¡± I yelled while beating my chest with a clenched fist like a feral gorilla. Once more, the rat leapt towards me with it¡¯s mouth open to bite. But this time, I was ready. And I was pissed. ¡°Fuck you!¡± I yelled and unleashed my signature right hook that had once knocked my older brother unconscious. Hard bone met sharp fangs as my fist sank into the mouth of the rat. Pain erupted through my hand as I watched the rat sail backwards into the wall of the cave as blood squirted from it¡¯s mouth. [You take 10 physical damage] [You deal 30 physical damage] [You have slain a level 1 Cave Rat] [You have acquired the trait [Novice Unarmed Fighting (Rank I)]] [By successfully defeating a foe using your fists, you have taken the first steps on your path of unarmed fighting] I didn¡¯t know if a skeleton needed to breath or not, but I was panting something fierce as I stared at the newly deceased rat. Of course, it didn¡¯t end there. One moment the rat was lying on the floor in an unmoving manner, as any good dead rat should. The next, it disappeared in a flash leaving behind a small bundle of fur and a tiny clear crystal. ¡°Right. Because what the fuck else would happen?¡± I forced out a sigh of defeat, ¡°What the hell did I do to wind up in a place like this¡­¡± ¡°Is it dead?¡± The voice from earlier asked cautiously from nearby. The rustling of cloth drew my attention as a young woman wearing black robes that obscured her features stepped out from behind a pair of large stalagmites.Long black hair had been tied into a ponytail that reachedwell below her shoulders. Her pale skin accented her choice in attire quite nicely, and her glaring violet eyes only added to her appeal. Though she was rather lacking in the bust area. Definitely an A-cup. ¡°Its rude to stare you know.¡± She huffed. ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve been called an asshole before.¡± I shrugged in response as I kept appraising her with a critical eye. Normally, I¡¯d peg her as a six, but the way she glared tickled my fancy, so I bumped her up to a seven. Like the cave rat, bold letters hovered over her head, clearly stating the name ¡®Cythia Du Etrisn¡¯ and underneath her name were the words ¡®Level 1 Necromancer¡¯. ¡°Curious¡­¡± I mumbled as I rubbed my bony chin in thought. ¡°By the way, rat¡¯s dead.¡± Sudden joy took hold as she dashed over to the meager pile of junk laying on the floor where the rat had died. ¡°Yes! A high quality rat pelt and a minor magic shard!¡± The girl squealed as she picked up the rat¡¯s hide and clear crystal. Hey if she wanted to pick up rat droppings, who was I to stop her? With a quick clenching of her fist, the crystal shattered and a very muted glow surrounded her body for a brief moment. As the glow faded, a new pop-up appeared before my eyes. [You have gained 10 experience] ¡°I don¡¯t like this. I don¡¯t like this at all.¡± I whispered as the screen quickly faded. I rubbed my skull with my fingers in an attempt to massage my temples, hoping for some sort of relief. It gave none. ¡°Please God let this be a bad dream¡­¡± ¡°Hey, come on! We¡¯ve got more rats to kill!¡± The girl exclaimed as she tapped the ground with her foot impatiently. ¡°We don¡¯t have all day so hurry up!¡± ¡°Kill your own damn rats!¡± I shouted as I turned away from her and walked in the opposite direction. Ain¡¯t no way I¡¯m fighting more of those nightmare-inducing fuckers. ¡°Obey me! I order you to follow me!¡± She yelled, sending her voice echoing deeper into the torch-lit caverns. Without missing a beat I stopped, turned around, gave her the finger, and returned to walking in the direction that I assumed to be the exit. Enraged huffing and rapid footsteps sounded behind me as the girl crossed in front of me. Her angry visage somewhat marred by the fact that she had to look upwards to meet my eyes, as I was a little over a head taller than her. ¡°Why won¡¯t you obey my orders? I am your master! You should follow my every word without a second thought!¡± ¡°Listen toots, I don¡¯t take shit from nobody. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯m off to find an old priest and a young priest for a much needed exorcism.¡± Her once angry demeanor quickly changed to one of shock as I pushed past her and followed the torches that had been evenly placed along the walls of the cavern. ¡°Sure is nice that someone decided to put up all these torches,¡± I muttered in appreciation of the person who had such great foresight, ¡°makes traversing this place much less harrowing than how my usual field trips went.¡± Distant memories of slipping on wet rocks and falling into dark pools of water entered my mind, which I quickly shook away. ¡°¡­The dungeon places them automatically.¡± A meek voice uttered behind me. A quick glance behind me revealed Cythia following me with her head turned downward. ¡°Why are you following me?¡± I demanded as I stopped and turned to face her. ¡°Because I can¡¯t kill any dungeon monsters without you!¡± She shouted, clearly distraught. Not that I cared. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I wasted my only Spell Slot on Summon Skeleton only to wind up with you¡­¡± she sighed in defeat, ¡°I should have learned Death Bolt like I originally wanted¡­¡± ¡°Listen toots¡­do you mind if I call you toots?¡± She nodded firmly. ¡°Too bad.¡± A brief look of frustration crossed her face which tugged at the void of nothing within my empty chest cavity. ¡°I have no idea what you mean by ¡®Spell Slots¡¯. All these weird pop-up screens are freaking me right the hell out. And above all, the fact that you¡¯re following me so closely is rather creepy.¡± As if suddenly aware of her distance, Cythia retreated a pace back. ¡°Much better.¡± I nodded. ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know what Spell Slots are?¡± She asked genuinely curious. ¡°Every follower of the magical arts has a natural limit to their abilities. As a level one Necromancer, I only have one slot. So I learned Summon Skeleton so that I would have a minion to fight for me! Then I could level up faster to unlock more Spell Slots!¡± She sighed, ¡°At least, thats how it was supposed to be¡­¡± ¡°Uh-huh. And levels?¡± It was pretty obvious what they were, but I wanted to see what her take on the cliche system was. ¡°Levels are the Gods¡¯ way of displaying your martial prowess.¡± She spoke in a factual matter. ¡°By crushing the crystals from slain monsters, your body absorbs their essence, called experience, and grows in power once enough has been collected.¡± If I had eyes, they would be rolling around in their sockets nonstop at her explanation. ¡°Sounds like some sort of bad RPG back home.¡± I mumbled. ¡°And let me guess¡­if I say ¡®Status Screen¡¯ I¡¯ll get-¡± Before I could finish, a massive screen filled my vision. Name: Richard Stensen Race: Undead Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.Class: Skeleton Level: 1 Experience: 10/20 Health: 65/80 Mana: 7/25 Focus: 60/60 Unspent Points: 0 Strength: 6 Stamina: 8 Agility: 4 Dexterity: 3 Intelligence: 3 Wisdom: 2 Perception: 5 Luck: 1 [Spells] [1 of 1] [Banshee¡¯s Wail (Rank I of V)] [Cost: 10 Mana] [Instantly deals 10 Dark Damage to your target and stuns them for 4 seconds.] [Skills] [Traits] [Headstrong] [Immunity to Mind-Altering Magic] [Novice Dark Magic (Rank I of V)] [Mastery over the Plane of Death. Abilities that deal Dark Damage now deal an additional 3% damage.] [Novice Unarmed Fighting (Rank I of V)] [Mastery over the art of weaponless combat. Any attack you make with fist or foot deals an additional 3% damage.] ¡°Wow¡­¡± Cythia gasped from beside me as she read my floating status menu with rapt attention. ¡°You¡¯ve got high stats for a Skeleton!¡± She sighed, ¡°I wish I had your stamina.¡± ¡°Not the first time I¡¯ve heard that.¡± I snickered before growing depressed at my loss. What was the point in living without my closest friend? Granted, I wasn¡¯t exactly living if my current appearance was anything to go by. ¡°That ¡®Headstrong¡¯ trait of yours is so unfair!¡± She sighed, completely ignoring my previous remark. Or perhaps she didn¡¯t understand the context. She didn¡¯t particularly strike me as a worldly person, so it was to be expected. ¡°What kind of a minion is immune to their master¡¯s orders?¡± ¡°The kind that don¡¯t like being cast aside like trash.¡± I mumbled thinking back to the all the hours I spent playing Diablo. How many skeletons died for me to beat that game on nightmare with my own Necromancer? Hundreds. Possibly thousands. No way was I letting that happen to me! Her eyes flickered back and forth between my status screen and me constantly as her face scrunched in thought. ¡°It¡¯s impolite to stare.¡± Unlike me, she could actually roll her eyes. ¡°Honor dictates that because you have shown me your Status, I should show you mine.¡± She announced formally. ¡°No thanks.¡± I interrupted as she opened her mouth to speak. ¡°I¡¯d much rather get the hell out of here than look at more of these freaky floating screens. By the way¡­¡± I began, as my own floating screen blocked my view wherever I turned my head. ¡°How the hell do I get rid of this fucking thing?¡± ¡°Simply state ¡®Close Status¡¯ and it shall disappear.¡± Right. I should have figured that. ¡°Close Status.¡± In an instant, the floating screen winked out of existence. ¡°Right, I¡¯m getting out of here.¡± ¡°But! But my quest!¡± Cythia exclaimed as I turned back towards where I assumed the exit to be. ¡°I have to collect ten Rat Pelts for the town clothier!¡± ¡°Not my problem toots. I plan on going to this town of yours and laying low until I finally wake up from this bad dream.¡± A low growl flowed from behind me in a continuous pitch. Curious, I glanced back to see Cythia glaring daggers at me with her teeth grinding together in clear fury. Before I could laugh at her rather unconvincing display of anger, her hand shot forth towards me. ¡°I dismiss thee!¡± her words echoed throughout the dungeon as I felt myself falling before I found myself engulfed by total, complete darkness. Relief filled my mind as I happily sighed. Hopefully this was a good sign that I¡¯d be waking up from this rather weird dream. Must have been the expired milk I put in my coffee the other day. I always get weird dreams when that happens. None as strange and realistic as this one was though. Hell, just before this dream I had one where I was being strangled in my bed by a person I had never seen before. I¡¯d have to speak to my psyche major friend after I woke up, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d have a lot to say. Especially after his grand speech that ¡®dreams are a reflection of our minds¡¯ that he probably heard in one of his classes. ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Came the melodious voice once again. Oh no, please no! Was the dream not over? It should have been! ¡°Unshackled by mortal shell¡­undaunted by sword or spell¡­¡± In fact, I should have woken up the moment I thought this was all a dream like usual! Unless this was some sort of lucid dream. Now that was a thought, what if this was all a lucid dream of my own making? That made me the master! I had to test this theory. ¡°Hear my plea and be bound unto me!¡± Once more, my vision cleared. Stalactites pointed downward at me in the familiar foreboding manner. The flickering of torch-light from the cavern walls illuminated the passage. With a sigh, I pulled myself to my feet, only to find myself facing towards a large, and very vicious looking level 1 Cave Rat. The hissing beast stared at me with bristling fur as it prepared itself to leap at me like it¡¯s predecessor had. It was time to test this Lucid Dream theory of mine. I held my arm stretched towards the furry mammal like Neo in The Matrix and grinned. ¡°Stop.¡± One moment, the rat was on the ground. The next, it was in the air. The very next moment, it had latched into my hand with its sharp fangs. My resounding screech of pain stunned the animal still attached to my hand in a vice-grip like bite. [You take 10 physical damage] ¡°Die! Die! Die!¡± I screamed, repeatedly slamming my rat-covered hand against the tip of a sharp-looking stalagmite. Pointed stone pierced soft skin, sending blood pouring from an ever-increasing hole in the beast¡¯s side as I pushed down with all my might. Halfway down the tip, the beast disappeared in a flash, leaving behind a rather ratty-looking rat pelt and another small crystal shard. ¡°Wow! That took far less time than the last one!¡± Cythia spoke as she emerged from behind her hiding place. In a flurry of black cloth, she rushed towards her rat droppings before quickly whisking them away. ¡°What the hell!¡± I yelled at the young girl who pointedly ignored me as she looked over the rat fur in her hands. ¡°Aww, this one is a low quality pelt.¡± She mumbled as she crushed the crystal in her hand. [You have gained 10 experience] [Cythia Du Etrisn has leveled up] [You have leveled up] [Gained two free stat points] As soon as the pop-ups disappeared, the number below Cythia¡¯s name changed from ¡®Level 1 Necromancer¡¯ to ¡®Level 2 Necromancer¡¯. The remaining rat pelt in Cythias hands disappeared in a flash as she pointed her hand towards me. ¡°Now you stop that shit right n-¡± ¡°I dismiss thee!¡± Her voice echoed, forcing me to fall into darkness once more. Was this to be my life from now on? To be thrown at giant rabid rats until the end of my days? That the only light to grace my eyes be that of flickering torches upon cavern walls? And once I¡¯ve killed my quarry I¡¯m to just be cast aside like some worthless tool until I¡¯m needed once more? ¡°This is no way to treat a human being!¡± I yelled at the top of my¡­oh. Right, I don¡¯t have those anymore. Regardless, I was more than a little peeved at such a blatant disregard of my mental state. Was this how Stockholm Syndrome started? First comes the cruelty, soon comes the kindness. And like some sort of neglected animal, that slight kindness will have me wagging my metaphorical tail. No doubt, there was only one thing I had to do. ¡°I have to escape.¡± ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Cythia¡¯s voice broke through the darkness of my surroundings. Cold fury boiled within my mind as I listened to her summoning incantation. If she thought I was just going to wake up and fight another rat for her, she had another thing coming. The second that she finished, I sprung into action. Flickering torchlight erased all traces of darkness as I leapt to my feet. Directly in front of me was yet another hissing rodent of horrible proportions. ¡°Wrong direction, sorry!¡± I yelled at the rat as I spun on my heel and raced in the opposite direction. ¡°Hey! Wait!¡± Cythia yelled from behind some rocks somewhere. I didn¡¯t care where from, all I had to do was run like hell was on my heels. And judging by the snapping and growling close behind me, it may as well have been! A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed that, yes, I was being chased by my feral furry friend. It¡¯s dark, beady eyes staring at me with pure malice. Most notable was the fact that, little by little, it was gaining on me. ¡°Must run faster! Must run faster!¡± I repeated in a frenzied mantra, praying desperately that what I said would come true. Unfortunately, the sudden feeling of sharp pain shooting up through my ankle bones had quickly broken that fantasy. ¡°Gah!¡± I fell forward as flashed of ¡®You take five damage¡¯ appeared in the corner of my vision. Sharp pains erupted all over my bony body as the Cave Rat took advantage of my unfortunate face-in-the-dirt position. As it had so many times before, my patience quickly ran out. With a furious snarl, I grasped the furry rat and flung it away from me with all my strength. A muted thump against the far wall filled the space where my ears would have been, followed by loud screeching. Scrambling to my feet, I stared towards where I had thrown the rat. ¡°Nice.¡± I cackled as I watched it scurrying about covered in flames. Apparently I had chucked it straight onto a torch that quickly ignited the freak of nature¡¯s fur. Now I¡¯m not one to enjoy animal cruelty, but when you have a rat the size of a large dog trying to kill you, all bets go out the window. Eventually, it¡¯s movements slowed before stopping completely and the thing disappeared in a flash of light. This time, only the crystal shard dropped in it¡¯s place. The sounds of hurried footsteps approached rapidly from behind. ¡°Dammit¡­¡± I muttered as I glanced around. A plan firmly coming to mind as my eyes set upon the crystal shard. In a mad dash, I rushed over and carefully picked up the small shard. Cythia wanted these, and it seemed like this was my chance to gain some ground. ¡°Give that to me!¡± the aforementioned Necromancer ordered as she panted heavily with an outstretched arm and an open palm. ¡°You want this?¡± I held the crystal in-between my thumb and pointer fingers. ¡°Then go get it!¡± I yelled, dropping the shard into my hand and tossing it in the direction we had come from. Violet eyes watched the shard tumble through the air in horror. Hands grasped clumsily through the air as it sailed overhead. Without wasting another second watching the idiot race after her item, I ran. Bones clacked repeatedly as I pushed myself for all I was worth. Thankfully, the cave seemed to be a straight passage with no twists, turns, or forks. In fact, if this was a Dungeon as Cythia called it, it was a rather simple one. [You have gained 10 experience] I grinned as the pop-up faded from my eyes. It had taken her some time to break that shard, I must have thrown it further than I thought. Now that I was so far ahead of her that there was no way she could catch up to me! Relief always feels best after a harrowing experience. Like when a girl tells you she¡¯s late and the test shows up negative. ¡°Heh¡­haha¡­hahaha!¡± I cackled madly as I could see sunlight in the distance just beyond the opening of the cavern. ¡°I¡¯m free! I¡¯ll always be free!¡± ¡°I dismiss thee!¡± Euphoric relief quickly turned to cold fear as I heard Cythia¡¯s words in my mind. Instantly, I began to fall forward into an all-too-familiar darkness. ¡°No!¡± I screamed in the darkness. ¡°I was almost there! I almost made it! God fucking damn it! Cythia! I¡¯ll kill you, you bitch!¡± Scorching anger was quickly replaced by heavy despair as I screamed in the darkness. There was no escape. I couldn¡¯t get away. ¡°This sucks.¡± ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Cythia¡¯s voice filled the darkness, sending a shiver down my bones. I only had one last idea on how to make my escape. I didn¡¯t like it, but if it was going to be me or her, it was going to be me. Taking a few deep breaths, more out of habit than necessity, I attempted to calm myself. If I was truly going to do this, I needed to let go of my humanity. What I was going to become was far worse than the monster that I was. With one final breath, I let go of the Richard Stensen that I was. At that moment, I became someone new. ¡°Hear my plea and be bound unto me!¡± Light returned to my sockets as I came to the waking world once more. Plan firmly in mind, I arose to my feet and stared at the hissing Cave Rat in front of me. Without waiting, I surged forward and punted the furry fiend with all my might. Loud squealing trilled through the cavern as the beast flew through the air. Like a demon possessed, I raced after the raucous rodent. The moment the animal hit the ground, I pounced on top of it and began pounding it¡¯s skull in a frenzy that even took me by surprise. Moments into my rage, the beast disappeared in a flash of light. All that remained of the sinister creature was a fine looking pelt and another small crystal. Dirt crunched underfoot as Cythia approached behind me wordlessly. I grit my teeth and gulped down a breath of air, suddenly sickened at what I was about to do. Yet¡­there was no other option. Growling, I stood up and faced the young woman. Violet eyes widened in fear as I marched towards her with my fists clenched. With a quick motion, she held out her hand that shook as if in fear. ¡°I-I dis-¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± I pleaded as I fell to my knees and groveled at her feet. ¡°Don¡¯t send me back! I¡¯ll do anything! I¡¯ll kill your rats! Just don¡¯t send me back! I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± I had officially thrown away my humanity. Now all that remained of me was a broken shell of who I once was. Richard Stensen never begged, he never pleaded. But Richard Stensen was dead. I no longer had the audacity to call myself that name. ¡°Huh?¡± Cythia muttered as she stared down at me in shock. Shock that quickly changed to joy. ¡°You mean it? You¡¯ll help me?¡± She cleared her throat, ¡°I mean, of course you will! You are my minion after all!¡± She laughed in a rather¡­psychotic manner. Not that I was going to judge, she could laugh however she wanted so long as she never sent me back to the darkness. With a dismissive attitude, she passed me and picked up the rat pelt and crystal. [You have gained 10 experience] ¡°Come! We have more rats to kill!¡± Cythia commanded with a smile as she marched deeper into the cavern. Though I was reluctant to do so, I followed close behind. With nothing better to do, I turned my appraising eye to Cythia and attempted to discern just what kind of curves she was packing underneath those robes. A haunted sigh forced it¡¯s way out from within my soul. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong? ¡± She asked curiously as she turned and looked at me. ¡°Its nothing.¡± I replied simply as I stared down at my pelvis. ¡°Its nothing at all.¡± Chapter 2: Dungeon Offense ¡°Screeeee!¡± Screeched a large Cave Rat as it leapt through the air in an attempt to sink it¡¯s nasty yellow fangs into my pristine white bones. Fortunately, rats were stupid creatures that only attacked straight on. With my hand clenched into a tight fist, I sent my signature right hook directly towards the monster¡¯s face. A brief shock of pain ran up my arm as the sound of crackling bone reached my ear-sockets. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t my bones that broke. A flash of yellow flew off to the side as the front fangs of the rambunctious rodent were torn from it¡¯s mouth. The rat itself sailed backwards into the cavern wall with an audible thump. Yet again, another pair of floating pop-ups materialized into view before fading just as quickly. ¡°Forty damage¡­¡± I mumbled, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for my Novice Unarmed trait, that attack would have only done thirty-five damage. I wonder how much of a damage increase I¡¯ll get when the rank increases¡­¡± Slowly, the rat climbed to it¡¯s feet in haggard motions. I felt bad for the beast, but it was kill or be killed with these things. That means that there was only one plausible outcome. ¡°Gotta give credit where it¡¯s due, rat. Compared to your cousins from before, you¡¯re plenty tougher. I guess the ¡®level 2 Cave Rat¡¯ hovering over your head should have clued me in on that fact.¡± Increased level aside, it was still a simple rat, and therefore not a threat to my superior intellect. Not that one had to think really hard to beat a rat, but I digress. Before the beast could turn and face me, I rushed up and kicked it firmly in the side. Once more, the rat was sent flying into the hard stone wall. A burst of light surged forth the moment the Cave Rat smashed into the wall, leaving behind it¡¯s pelt and a slightly more colorful crystal shard. ¡°Marvelously done, minion.¡± My benevolent master, Cythia, praised me as she walked over to the rat droppings. I sighed audibly as she made the pelt disappear with a quick motion. When I had previously asked where exactly the pelts went, she grinned and patted the pouch hanging from the belt at her waist. What quickly followed was a mind-numbingly boring explanation on the values of multi-dimensional storage pouches and how they had changed the life of adventurers for the better. I¡¯ll be honest, I stopped listening the moment she started explaining multiple universes. Wrapping my head around one is more than enough for me thank you. [You gained 20 experience] ¡°Huh. Thats more experience than usual.¡± ¡°Of course it is.¡± Cythia rolled her eyes as she stood up and stared at me, ¡°The higher a monster¡¯s level, the more experience their Essence Shard gives when destroyed.¡± ¡°Right. Sorry. I¡¯m still kinda new here.¡± I shrugged helplessly. ¡°So how many pelts is that?¡± ¡°Ummm¡­¡± She quickly checked her pouch. ¡°That makes eight so two more to go. And we¡¯re almost level four!¡± She hummed happily as she opened up her status screen beside me. Curious, I glanced over to take a quick look. Name: Cythia Du Etrisn Race: Human Class: Necromancer Level: 3 Experience: 60/80 Health: 40/40 Mana: 70/70 Focus: 40/40 Unspent Points: 0 Strength: 3 Stamina: 4 Agility: 4 Dexterity: 3 Intelligence: 7 Wisdom: 7 Perception: 3 Luck: 2 [Spells] [1 of 1] [Summon Skeleton(Rank I of V)] [Summon Limit: 1] [Cost: 30 Mana] [Beckons a lost spirit to inhabit the body of a conjured Skeleton.] [Skills] [Traits] [Novice Dark Magic (Rank I of V)] [Mastery over the Plane of Death. Abilities that deal Dark Damage now deal an additional 3% damage] ¡°I could kill you in a single hit.¡± I mumbled to myself thinking of the damage I had done to the rat I had just slain. All sound of her humming stopped in an instant. I looked over at my mistress only to see her staring at me with wide, fearful eyes. Shit, I must have been too loud. ¡°Y-y-you wouldn¡¯t! A m-m-minion cannot h-harm their m-master!¡± She stammered in some sort of false bravado. ¡°B-besides I-I¡¯ve been rectifying that! I had 3 Stamina before¡­¡± She swallowed hard as she glanced at my hands. ¡°N-next level up I¡¯m going to put more into Stamina! Then I won¡¯t be so fragile!¡± I shrugged, ¡°Just because I said I could doesn¡¯t mean I would. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter to me what you do with your stats, toots. I¡¯m just saying you¡¯re paper compared to me. I mean really, what good is all that Mana if you have no spells to use it on?¡± I clacked my finger bones against my lower jaw in thought. ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d put every point you get into Stamina for the next few levels. Survivability should always be first and foremost in your mind. You can¡¯t use any of your Mana if you¡¯re dead after all.¡± Granted, in the games that I played a Necromancer I was always behind a wall of minions. Survivability wasn¡¯t really their main concern when you¡¯ve got meat-shields to cover your ass. Unfortunately, my mistress wasn¡¯t your typical Necromancer. I mean, what kind of Necromancer only has one minion? Shitty doesn¡¯t even begin to describe that situation. Though, judging by her Summon Skeleton spell, it looked like that one minion limit could be upped if she increased it¡¯s rank. Not that I was going to tell her that. If my theory held true that ranks increased the more you used a skill then she¡¯d be dismissing and summoning me constantly until she reached the final rank. That was one idea I refused to put in her head. I liked the sunlight too much for that! Well, torchlight at the moment. But who cares about that? I¡¯ll take a cold, poorly-lit cavern any day over that infinite void of nothingness. Silence filled the cavern hall which made me uneasy. Curious at her silence, I glanced over to Cythia who stared at me as if I had grown a second head. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I-I was going to keep my other stats balanced but¡­¡± She sighed, ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t get my second Spell Slot until level five¡­I never thought of all this Mana as worthless before¡­¡± The resulting pout on her face was so perfect I couldn¡¯t help but stare. Just the right amount of frown mixed with those downcast eyes! Had I a heart, it would have raced at such a sight. Regardless of my lack of organs, this was a golden opportunity to score some brownie points with the mistress. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t take too long to get there then!¡± I laughed in a jovial manner with my hands on my hip bones in an attempt to perk her up. A happy mistress means a happy home! Besides, the both of us were practically at level four already. ¡°Just need one more level two Cave Rat and we¡¯ll be well on our way to that new Spell Slot of yours!¡± Her face quickly brightened at my words. ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± She looked up at me with excited eyes. ¡°We could even reach level five by the end of the day if we kept at it!¡± Before I could say another word, she began to head deeper into the cave. ¡°Come minion! We have Pelts to collect and Experience to gain!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but grin at my mistress¡¯ regained vigor. Girls always looked best when they were happy. Sometimes angry was cute too. Sad had it¡¯s own appeal as well¡­and Cythia had the perfect pout. A pout that I wanted to see over and over again. Pushing my inner sadist to the wayside, I jogged after Cythia who returned to humming happily as we made our way through the cave. As we traversed further into the dungeon, the passage shifted sharply. ¡°Screee!¡± Came the battle-cry of a level four Cave Rat who immediately leapt towards us with gleaming fangs the very instant the two of us turned the corner. Instinct took hold as I pushed Cythia off to the side and away from the pouncing predator. Sharp pain tore through my bones as the beast latched onto one of my ribs, knocking me to the ground. [You take 30 physical damage] Growling in fury, I wailed on the beast with repeated punches even as it bit at my ribs and arms. Damage taken and received pop-ups flared constantly as the two of us engaged in mortal combat. I could feel my movements become weaker as my health plummeted with every bite I took. Being pinned like I was had to have been the worst position I could find myself in a situation like this. Big ass rat-dog held the high ground, and I desperately needed to turn the tide of our struggle. Grimacing, I shifted my weight upon the ground as the monster drew back with it¡¯s fangs gleaming for another strong bite. ¡°Fuck outta here!¡± I roared and launched the rabid animal with my legs. The screeching of furry fury filled my ears as I rolled backwards from my throw. Shaking my head, I surged back to my feet just in time to see the rat leap at me with gleaming fangs. With no time to wind up my signature punch, I jumped to the side. The feeling of air rushing through my ribs made me shiver at the thought of how much power an animal like this had at it¡¯s disposal. Once the rat landed upon solid ground, I sent a heavy kick to it¡¯s side, sending it flying into the cavern wall. Pained squeaks poured from the mammal¡¯s mouth. Were I fluent in rat-speak, I was sure it¡¯d be cursing at me. The monster slowly moved from side to side, inching towards me little by little. ¡°Cautious little fuck, ain¡¯tchya?¡± I grinned and held my fists at the ready. If it charge, my kick would send it flying. If it leapt, it¡¯d get a taste of my right hook. No matter what the bastard did, it would pay for ambushing us like that. This is what we in the chess club called ¡®Checkmate¡¯. My grin only widened as the beast did the worst possible thing it could. It leapt at me. ¡°You fucked up!¡± I yelled as my fist soared through the air and slammed into the rat¡¯s face as it¡¯s fang¡¯s clamped down upon my hand. [You deal 40 physical damage] [You take 25 physical damage] Bright light filled the moment my fist and the rat¡¯s fangs met in our epic clash. And then there was darkness. [You have died] ¡°Well¡­shit.¡± What else could I say? I mean, it wasn¡¯t a bad death. I¡¯m sure somewhere in rat heaven was Level Four Cave Rat, probably squeaking happily as it was fed endless cheese by scantily clad women. As for me, I got to sit around in an all-too-familiar god-forsaken void. Despite my hatred of this place, I couldn¡¯t help but feel energized from the battle I just had. I¡¯d be wrong if I said it got my blood pumping and my adrenaline surging. I didn¡¯t have blood or cells anymore, so that was impossible. Perhaps I was just the kind of guy that enjoyed fighting and I never knew it until now? I had been in a few fights back in my day, but none of them ever made me feel like this. I felt like I could run a marathon! ¡°Come on! I¡¯m ready for round two!¡± I yelled into the void as I shadowboxed an imaginary rat. Needless to say, I was winning my imaginary contest. It would be embarrassing to lose to my own imagination. ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Came the familiar chant of summoning as I ceased my exertions. Scaring my mistress the moment I sprung back to unlife would be a surefire way to get dismissed to this place for sure. ¡°Gotta admit though, I dig the rhymes that spell lays down. Not like my own spell involves a¡­oh.¡± I slammed my head into my hands in a ghastly wail as realization of my utter incompetence crashed down upon me. All of my hype and energy gone in a single moment. ¡°I¡¯m an idiot!¡± I exclaimed as light surged forth the moment Cythia finished her incantation. Keeping my mouth shut, I slowly climbed to my feet. If I was lucky, she wouldn¡¯t have noticed that I hadn¡¯t used my Banshee¡¯s Wail during that fight. Violet eyes locked onto my empty sockets as she stared up at me with a wide grin on her face. ¡°That was excellent, minion! To slay a level four monster while keeping your mistress safe¡­I must find some way to reward you for your excellent service.¡± She praised me before kneeling down to collect the fallen loot from my tied encounter. Needless to say, I kept my big mouth shut. If she wasn¡¯t going to mention my oversight, then I certainly wasn¡¯t! ¡°Well¡­you know¡­I only did what came natural.¡± I rubbed my hands together wondering what sort of reward I could get out of this unexpected gratitude. Its not everyday a girl thanks you for pushing her to the ground! Though the poor situation would never have happened had I been the one in front as I should have been. What kind of minion lets their mistress lead the way through a dungeon? ¡°By the way Cythia¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± She looked at me curiously while pocketing the rat pelt in her pouch. ¡°Let me lead the way from now on. That way I can deal with any surprise attacks like we just had.¡± A beaming smile crossed her face as she stood up. ¡°Yes, a good suggestion minion. From now on, it shall be as you say! Now then¡­¡± She clenched her fist, crushing the crystal within. A surge of blue surrounded Cythia in a brief glow before rapidly dissipating. [You have gained 40 experience] [Cythia Du Etrisn has leveled up] This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.[You have leveled up] [You now have two free stat points] ¡°Oh.¡± I muttered as I looked at the last pop-up. I¡¯m a double idiot. ¡°Crap.¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing! Nothings wrong!¡± I laughed in an attempt to disguise my embarrassment. ¡°You should put your new stats in Stamina remember.¡± My voice shook as Cythia stared at me with glee. ¡°Indeed! I shall do so this instant.¡± In an instant she summoned her stat screen, but I paid her no mind as I summoned my own. Name: Richard Stensen Race: Undead Class: Basic Skeleton Level: 4 Experience: 20/160 Health: 80/80 Mana: 25/25 Focus: 60/60 Unspent Points: 6 Strength: 6 Stamina: 8 Agility: 4 Dexterity: 3 Intelligence: 3 Wisdom: 2 Perception: 5 Luck: 1 Fuck me, I¡¯m such an idiot. A royal dumbass. How could I have forgotten to spend my stat points? I was still at the same power as I was at level one! Dammit, dammit, dammit! I could have won that last fight easily! Alright, alright. Time to play it cool. I¡¯ll just quickly slip my points around aaaannnndddd¡­ Name: Richard Stensen Race: Undead Class: Basic Skeleton Level: 4 Experience: 20/160 Health: 100/100 Mana: 25/25 Focus: 70/70 Unspent Points: 2 Strength: 8 Stamina: 10 Agility: 4 Dexterity: 3 Intelligence: 3 Wisdom: 2 Perception: 5 Luck: 1 As I placed two points in Strength I could feel¡­something¡­within my arms and legs increase ever so slightly. I wouldn¡¯t say it felt like muscles growing, as that was more of an aching pain than anything. But still, that feeling of power within me increased. It was a weird, pleasant feeling that someone could find addicting. Grinning, I figured I could kill rats faster than ever with this boost of mine. I then placed two points into Stamina. Instead of my arms and legs feeling a change, my entire body underwent a feeling of hardening. It was as if every bone in my body suddenly became more solid¡­more real! Oh and my health increased by twenty points. Nice! My focus also increased when I invested in Stamina as well, though I had no abilities that used Focus yet. So that increase wasn¡¯t very important to me yet. Now¡­where to put my last two points? Decisions decisions¡­ ¡°You should put those points into Dexterity.¡± ¡°Argh!¡± I leapt forward as Cythia stared at me curiously. ¡°Don¡¯t sneak up on me like that!¡± I clattered angrily, but she merely shrugged. ¡°Well you were looking at your screen so intently I decided to see what had you so stumped.¡± She answered simply. ¡°Have you decided on a Class Upgrade yet? You should before you assign your points after all.¡± What the hell was she talking about? Class Upgrade? ¡°What.¡± ¡°A Class Upgrade!¡± She scoffed. ¡°Minions, such as yourself, evolve once they reach a certain level depending upon their Class. We call this Class Upgrading due to the fact that your Class section in your Status Screen changes based on your choice. The fact that I need to tell you this reflects well on your Intelligence and Wisdom scores.¡± Ouch. That hurts. Just because I wasn¡¯t the smartest kid in class doesn¡¯t mean that gives her the right to pick on me¡­ ¡°So how do I find out about this¡­Class Upgrade thing?¡± I asked carefully, trying not to sound too much like an idiot. ¡°First you must query your current class. For example, if I were to say ¡®Display Information: Basic Skeleton¡¯-¡± A large screen appeared beside her, ¡°You will get a pop-up, such as this, outlining the information on your current class as well as classes you can upgrade to.¡± With a wave of her hand, the pop-up disappeared. I looked at her square in the eyes. ¡°Forgive this minion for being so ignorant, mistress.¡± My voice was flat and completely lacking emotion. The smug look of superiority on Cythias face made me realize just how socially stunted she was. How could she not understand that my tone was dripping with sarcasm? Idiot. And how the hell was I supposed to know any of this? I¡¯ve never played a game where classes can just upgrade! At least, not without some sort of special item. I had just assumed I¡¯d be stuck as a skeleton forever. Wait¡­if I could evolve¡­ Could I¡­ ¡°Display Information: Basic Skeleton.¡± Inquiring minds needed to know some very important information. Information more important than any question that had come before. Could I get my boys back? If there was even a chance, no matter how slight, I had to take it. My manhood depended on this vital information! [Basic Skeleton] [A skeletal humanoid summoned via Dark Magic. Often the mainstay of novice Necromancers and newly-spawned Dungeons, the Basic Skeleton is a versatile minion capable of many different avenues of evolution. Once a Basic Skeleton reaches their 10th level, they may undergo a Class Upgrade into one of three potential evolutionary paths. For enhanced durability and physical combat skills, the Skeletal Soldier is the main path taken by many upgrading Skeletons. For Stealth and Ranged capabilities, the Skeletal Rogue is the prime choice for dealing repeated death from afar. For magical expertise, the path of the Skeletal Mage opens to them, granting them the capability of unleashing great magical mayhem.] Each evolution, or ¡®Class Upgrade¡¯ as it were, had a nice little picture beside each selection as well as an underlined name. In fact, it make me think of hyperlinks. Curiosity took hold as I tapped the screen for Skeletal Mage. Instantly, my screen on Basic Skeletons was replaced by one on Skeletal Mages, full of details and granting me pictures of further evolutions. Excitement swelled within me as I clicked through Upgrade after Upgrade, searching for one that would return my most prized possession. Mage was a no go, everything that I could become stayed bony. ¡°Enough searching minion, we have things to be ab-¡± ¡°Silence!¡± I yelled at my mistress with my eyes were glued to my screen. Like a demon possessed, I began looking at the rogue evolutions. ¡°Never interrupt a man on his quest for knowledge when so much is at stake!¡± I didn¡¯t even bother to look at my mistress as I flicked through Upgrade after Upgrade of the rogues. Once more, no dice. Nothing but bones in the rogue¡¯s future. An unfriendly growl from my mistress reached my ears, but I paid it no mind. Cythia could wait. My future was at stake here! ¡°I dismiss thee!¡± Her angry voice shouted as the light faded from my eyes and I fell into darkness once again. ¡°Nooooooooooo!¡± I screamed as everything turned black. Gone were my screens, replaced by the damned void. ¡°I¡¯ll never forgive you Cythia! Dammit!¡± I sighed, how could she do such a heartless thing to me? Her soul was as black as those robes of hers. Now what was I going to do? Could I even summon my information panel within this void? Well, here goes nothing. ¡°Display Information: Basic Skeleton.¡± A burst of light filled the void as my screen popped up in front of me. Relief flooded through my very bones as I laughed. The idiot had dismissed me for nothing! ¡°Hah! She¡¯s going to have to waste Mana and time to resummon me soon!¡± My cackle echoed in the darkness as I flicked into the Skeleton Soldier¡¯s information window. ¡°Blah blah blah, melee combat. Lets see¡­I could go Ghoul or Skeletal Knight after Soldier¡­¡± I tapped on Ghoul and I felt my breath catch in my throat. Well¡­I mean¡­whatever. I saw flesh and I couldn¡¯t breathe. Though the flesh was rather¡­ratty to say the least. Ghoul-boy was missing quite a bit of skin in a few places, but it wasn¡¯t bones! ¡°And after Ghoul comes¡­Wight?¡± I clicked the link and saw an even more impressive fleshy body. ¡°This is it! This is it!¡± I yelled out in the darkness, whooping in joy. Blood! Skin! An almost normal-looking body! I mean, the eyes glowed white, but still, hallelujah! Excitement surged as my eyes settled upon another link to yet another upgrade. ¡°Bring on the Wight King!¡± If there was a floor, my jaw would have hit it. While the Wight looked like an average joe with glowing white eyes, the Wight King was the man with the well-chiseled face that worked out at the gym that all the women swooned at. Blue eyes burned into my sockets as I stared at the picture and drooled. This was every inkling of the perfect man! That amazing physique! This¡­this is what I had been looking for! ¡°Watch out world!¡± I shouted in joy, ¡°Little Richard is coming back baby!¡± But first, I had to upgrade to a Skeleton Soldier, six long levels away. With my goal firmly in mind, I closed the information panel and reopened my Status. Cythia had said that Dexterity would help me. Despite her glaring lack of foresight, she did understand this world far better than I did. If she thought Dexterity was important then I had best take a look to see why she thought so. ¡°I wonder¡­¡± If it worked for my class, it should work for stats too, right? ¡°Display Information: Dexterity.¡± [Agility & Dexterity] [Reflections of one¡¯s physical prowess. Agility refers to the ability to run, jump, and dodge with increased ability. Dexterity however, refers to one¡¯s ability to parry and deflect physical attacks, throw objects, and confers a general increase to one¡¯s own haste of attacks. Both Agility and Dexterity are considered highly important stats for users that engage in any sort of physical combat.] ¡°Cool, cool.¡± So Dexterity would not only affect my ability to defend myself, but also my attack speed. ¡°What about Luck? Mines super fucking low. Hell, Cythia¡¯s is higher than mine¡­¡± Shit, that thought made me depressed. With a quick command, I changed my information prompt. [Luck] [Information not available] ¡°Every fucking time!¡± My enraged yell echoed through the dark. Why was this stat always the best and worst thing about every game ever? Fuck you game designers, give us some hard numbers dammit! Stop leaving us plebeians in the dark! Nobody wants to dig into game files to understand what your vague words mean! ¡°Whatever.¡± I sighed, ¡°Fuck luck.¡± I plopped both of my free points into Dexterity, bringing me up to an odd five. Once more, my bones filled with a strange sensation of becoming more powerful, as if they would cut through the air more effectively. Not that that made any sense whatsoever. Then again most of this world didn¡¯t make sense. ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Oh boy, here we go. Cythia must have found another rat for me to pummel. But this time, things would be different. This time, I had upgraded stats! I felt like I could take on the world! The moment the light entered my eyes, I glanced around, finding myself in a expansive, circular room. That was new, previously we had been wandering nothing but a single passageway. Before I could rise to my feet, sharp pain erupted upon my foot, arm, and spine all at once. [You take 10 physical damage] [You take 15 physical damage] [You take 10 physical damage] Malicious squeaking filled my ear-gaps as three massive rodents chewed upon my beautiful bones with reckless abandon. ¡°Ahhhhhh! Fuck you!¡± I screamed at the top of my lungs, unleashing my Banshee¡¯s Wail and stunning the one closest to my neck as I kicked and punched my way to freedom. Enraged squeaks filled my surroundings as the two rats that weren¡¯t stunned leapt at me. Jumping to the side, I dodged their attack. Three rats at once! And each was level three! She was going to get me killed! ¡°Cythia, I swear to God I¡¯m going to hit you after this!¡± I yelled and rushed towards the stunned rat. ¡°No you aren¡¯t!¡± Came her distant reply the moment I slammed my foot into the rat just recovering from it¡¯s stun, sending it sailing far away. [You deal 25 physical damage] Damn, just from a regular kick? Normally, my kicks dealt around twenty damage. I could feel the rush of excitement wash over me. It was go time. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± I screamed at a leaping rodent, stunning it and dodging to the side as it sailed harmlessly off to the side. I couldn¡¯t use another Wail for a bit, as my Mana was pretty shit. The other rat sailed towards me, but I was ready for it. ¡°Die!¡± I roared, sending my fist into the beast¡¯s maw and sending it flying away. [You deal 50 physical damage] ¡°Wooo! Fuck yeah!¡± I grinned, ¡°You¡¯re gonna die, rats!¡± my mad cackle echoed through the room as I rushed into a frenzy of fur and fury. Teeth met hard bone as a rat latched onto my leg. I ripped the thing from my ankle and tossed it at it¡¯s fellow that was about to leap at me. Both of which squeaked in fury and bit at one another in their rage. Stupid animals. The third rodent that I had right-hooked limped towards me in a pained effort. One kick later, it was nothing more than loot upon the floor. Sharp pain engulfed my shoulder as wicked snarling echoed into my skull. With all my strength, I grasped the furry fiend and flung it towards the cavern wall. Once more, a bright light flashed, leaving behind another pelt and crystal. And then there was one. Grinning like a fiend, I spun around and locked eyes with the final rodent who leapt towards my face with hatred burning in it¡¯s eyes. ¡°Hah!¡± I laughed as I punched the beast square in the jaw, causing it to explode in a burst of light. ¡°Hahaha!¡± my bones rattled as I cackled like a madman and fell to the ground, laughing for all I was worth. ¡°Ummm¡­are you¡­okay?¡± Came Cythia¡¯s concerned voice. Stifling my laughter, I turned my head to face my mistress. I met her eyes with my sockets and gave her a feral grin. ¡°Never better!¡± I chuckled, ¡°Never better indeed.¡± Three rats at once. Three level three rats at that! I was a beast! ¡°I¡­uhm¡­I apologize.¡± Cythia bowed her head towards me. ¡°I summoned you in the middle of that pack hoping to¡­well¡­never mind.¡± She cleared her throat before staring seriously at me. Though judging by her shaking hands, she was still rather frightened. ¡°On your feet minion!¡± Her voice took a commanding tone that only shook a little. ¡°We shall have to celebrate your victory!¡± Rushing about the room, she quickly collected all the rat pelts and crystals laying upon the ground, all the while glancing nervously at me. Did I do something wrong? Oh, right, I did say I was gonna hit her. Not that I actually would, but¡­oh well. A little fear never killed nobody. ¡°With this, we have more than enough Pelts to turn in my quest.¡± She sighed happily before quietly mumbling something to herself. One by one, she crushed the three Essence Shards that the rats had dropped as I rose to my feet and wiped the dirt from my bones. [You have gained 30 experience] [You have gained 30 experience] [You have gained 30 experience] It had only taken a few minutes, but our experience leapt ahead in a massive amount. Banshee¡¯s Wail had really turned the tide of that fight quite handily. I¡¯d have to put a few points into whatever stat gave me more Mana so I could utilize it more. And I didn¡¯t even have to worry about ruining my vocal chords like your typical metal singer. I could scream all I wanted! ¡°So, do we continue further into the dungeon?¡± Cythia asked in an unsure tone. ¡°Or should we turn back and turn in my quest?¡± I looked about the circular room where my rodent rampage had taken place. Four separate exits led out of the room in different directions. I personally wanted to continue till we hit level five. ¡°Will we get experience for turning in your quest?¡± ¡°Not for this one. Normal villagers can¡¯t obtain Essence Crystals themselves.¡± Cythia explained factually. ¡°If it was a quest sponsored by the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, then we would be given an amount of crystals in addition to payment. I obtained this quest from the request board which is an unofficial way of asking adventurers for assistance.¡± ¡°I see.¡± So no experience then. ¡°What kind of reward are we expecting for turning this in?¡± ¡°Well a normal quality fur pelt usually sells for about five silver pieces at market value, but that would be in a big city where pelts aren¡¯t often come by. Unless traders bring them in from the countryside, of course. Being as how this town is along the frontier with plenty of wild game, and not to mention a dungeon providing a consistent stream of pelts from slain monsters, we can expect around fifty copper per pelt. However, all the pelts we¡¯ve acquired, with the exception of the one, are high quality. Typically, these would go for nearly ten silver at market. Though here¡­hmmm¡­¡± She tipped her head in thought. ¡°Two silver per pelt in town I guess?¡± ¡°Cythia¡­are you sure you¡¯re a Necromancer?¡± She turned her attention to me with a questioning glance. ¡°Hmmm? What do you mean? Of course I¡¯m a Necromancer.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying I think you missed your calling in life.¡± Who the hell is this girl and what did she do with Cythia? ¡°Hrmph. My mother always taught me that it was important to know information such as this.¡± Yeah, important if you were going to wring every penny out of everyone you met for sure. Ah well, I¡¯ll leave the money stuff for her to deal with. ¡°Well¡­we¡¯re only fifty experience away from level five. What say we keep going till we hit that and then head back?¡± Rather have her be able to do something in combat sooner rather than later. Though I could take on rats, how long until she wanted me to kill other things? ¡°Very well. Now we just need to decide on which passage to take.¡± ¡°That one.¡± I pointed towards the one on the rightmost side of the circular room. When in doubt, always go right. ¡°Very well. Lead the way minion.¡± Nodding, I paced towards the passage with my fists at the ready. Despite being this girl¡¯s slave, I¡¯d have to say things were looking up for me. Hold on buddy! I¡¯ll get you back before long! Chapter 3: Living Undead Girl I looked down at a set of Rat Pelts and Essence Crystals running the battle I had just fought through my mind. Was all this getting easier? I sighed as I relaxed my posture. It certainly felt like I was improving. Even a two on one fight like the one I just finished had proved to be too easy. Granted, I still used my Banshee¡¯s Wail once to stop one rat from jumping when I wasn¡¯t prepared. I had fought more in the past few hours than my entire life up to this point, so it did make sense that I was getting¡­not stronger, but perhaps my technique was better? ¡°Excellent. This is it!¡± Cythia shouted with glee as she scooped up the loot and dropped the two pelts into her bag of multidimensional fuckery. I was sure to have nightmares of one of them bags tearing open and unleashing a black hole, killing everyone everywhere instantly. These adventurers were messing with the space-time continuum without even realizing what was at stake. ¡°Ready?¡± She asked me with both Essence Crystals in her palm. ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡± I shrugged. It was only level five. So what if she got another spell slot? I had to get to level ten dammit! With a grin, Cythia clenched her fist, destroying both crystals with a satisfying crunch. [You have gained 30 experience] [You have gained 30 experience] [Cythia Du Etrisn has leveled up] [You have leveled up] [You now have two free stat points] Without a second thought, I dumped one point into Stamina and my other into Intelligence. With an extra five Mana, I could cast Banshee¡¯s Wail three times in a fight before I had to wait for it to regenerate. What made me grin however, was unlike previous levels the experience needed to level up didn¡¯t double. With my ten left over from leveling up, I only needed another two hundred and forty to reach level six. I breathed a sigh in relief at that. If my experience needed to level kept doubling¡­well¡­I would need to kill a metric fuckton of rats just to hit level ten. I¡¯m no member of PETA, but even I frown upon animal genocide. Sadly, I did not gain a new Spell Slot myself. What a gyp. ¡°Ready to hit the town?¡± I glanced over at Cythia who stared at her Status Screen so seriously it was rather comical. Silently, I crept over towards her, trying to not laugh as she began to nibble on her thumb as she read a small side pop-up with great interest. I made sure to stay away from her line of sight as I snuck around behind her and looked over her shoulder. Taking a quick glance at her sheet, it seemed she put another two points into her Stamina, bringing her health up to eighty. She was taking my advice to heart, which was good as I didn¡¯t want to find out what would happen to me if she died. I¡¯d rather not die for good again. ¡°Watchya lookin¡¯ at?¡± ¡°Mmmm¡­¡± she mumbled, unaffected by my attempt to frighten her the way she had done to me. Bitch. ¡°I can now choose another spell to learn and I¡¯m having a hard time deciding on which to take. They all seem so good and I want them all!¡± ¡°I thought you wanted to take Death Bolt or whatever it was so you could help out in battle.¡± ¡°Well, yes¡­that was the original plan. But look!¡± Her screen shifted as she moved about beside me. With a quick movement of both hands, the screen enlarged clearly stating the words ¡®Spell Selection¡¯ at the top. [Death Bolt] [Cost: 5+ Mana] [Deals 10+ Dark Damage to your current target. Damage is increased based on the amount of Mana invested into the spell] [Summon Zombie] [Cost: 40 Mana] [Beckons a lost spirit to inhabit the body of a cadaver] [Wave of Miasma] [Cost: 30+ Mana] [Deals 30+ Dark Damage to all foes in a cone in front of the caster. Damage is increased based on the amount of Mana invested into the spell] [Bone Shield] [Cost: 20 Mana] [Conjures a shield of bones around the caster, increasing the caster¡¯s armor rating by 30 for 5 minutes] [Grasping Hands] [Cost: 20 Mana] [The hands of the dead erupt underneath your target, binding them in place for 10 seconds] ¡°I just cant decide on a spell to pick!¡± She groaned in frustration. Not gonna lie, I could see her predicament. Every one of those spells brought something she could use. Death Bolt and Miasma could bring a respectable amount of damage to the table, though of the two, I¡¯d probably go with Death Bolt. Miasma simply sucked up too much Mana to be useful against small groups which I had started to face. Bone Shield could give her a lot of survivability depending on how armor rating worked, which I decided to look up later. Grasping hands would be amazing as well, as roots and binds are always good to have when shit gets real. Not to mention Summon Zombie, which would give her another minion. Though they probably wouldn¡¯t be as cool as me. ¡°Well¡­that depends on what you want to do as a Necromancer¡­¡± I answered as I looked over the spell list over and over. A spark of mischief ignited within me at that moment. ¡°You should really look into how you want to specialize yourself before you assign your stat points.¡± I grinned as I returned what she had said to me earlier. ¡°But! You told me to- Ugh!¡± she huffed in annoyance as I began to laugh. ¡°I was hoping for some insight, minion. You may be lacking in common knowledge, but you did speak sense earlier.¡± ¡°Glad to hear my opinion carries such weight with you, mistress.¡± I chuckled at her rolling eyes as she turned back to staring at her spell list. ¡°Well, I¡¯m no expert, but where I¡¯m from there were mainly two types of Necromancers. Ones who dealt damage themselves like some sort of Dark Mage, and others who used a ton of minions to attack. Those were often called Minion Masters and, funnily enough, I played them the most.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She rubbed her chin. ¡°While I am loathe to be unable to pull my own weight in combat, I do like the idea of having an army at my command¡­¡± She grinned the kind of grin that I¡¯m sure every dictator around the world has when they realized they held all the power in their hands. ¡°Very well, I too shall follow in the footsteps of these¡­Minion Masters¡­¡± And with that, she tapped on her screen with a slight touch. ¡°As my first minion, I implore you help me become a Minion Master of worth.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­sure.¡± Implore? Who even says something like that? I get that she¡¯s a proper lady and all, but the formal flowery language is just a bit much. I¡¯d have to corrupt a lot of slang into that vocabulary of hers. Lead by example as it were. ¡°I got your back.¡± ¡°Hmhmhm.¡± She chuckled in a pleased manner. ¡°Very well, shall we meet our newest companion?¡± ¡°No time like the present.¡± ¡°Very well then.¡± In an instant, her face went from smug to serious as she held forth both hands. ¡°Heed my call, thy sundered shell¡­¡± Her voice echoed as an unseen wind whipped about through the cavern, sending her ponytail and her robes rippling backwards. Not gonna lie, it was pretty badass. If this is what it looked like every time she summoned me, it was no wonder she got someone as awesome as me as her minion. ¡°Rest no longer in thine suffering hell¡­¡± Well¡­that didn¡¯t sound good. Rather foreboding in fact. Was she summoning a zombie or a demon? ¡°Take your place at my side with unerring stride!¡± She shouted, finishing the incantation. All was silent as the air grew still. Groaning filled the once silent corridor as a corpse began to lift itself from the ground. Dirt parted to display rotten flesh coated in a multitude of cuts and various other open wounds upon our new friend¡¯s body. Shoulder length white hair was completely missing in large patches. Even the skull was visible in a few areas! Fuck, even the brain was! I¡¯m not one to eye up a cadaver, I¡¯ll leave that to the undertakers in the world, but based on those hips, and a clear lack of manhood, it was obvious our new friend was of the fairer sex. The sound of snapping bones and squelching flesh made my own bones rattle as she turned towards us. Bosoms the size of¡­melons¡­hung low as gravity did it¡¯s eternal duty. Unsurprisingly, even the front of her was also covered in wounds. In fact, she had far, far more cuts and scars on the front of her than the rear. Based on her wounds alone, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if she simply plopped down on the ground. Were I Cythia, I would have let the poor gal rest. She¡¯d seen some shit. A single eye gazed at us in a calculating fashion. The other was completely missing. In fact, most of the skin around her lower jaw was missing as well. Most of the face that stared at us was a mess of cuts. Needless to say, it was horrifying and disgusting all at once. And judging by the retching sound from beside me, Cythia agreed with my assessment whole-heartedly. ¡°Cythia don¡¯t look! Shes naked!¡± I covered my mistress¡¯ eyes with my bony hands even as she spat out the remnants of her stomach¡¯s contents all over the cavern floor. ¡°I can see through the gaps in your hands, idiot!¡± She yelled and knocked my hands away. ¡°If anything you should cover your own eyes like a gentleman!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have eyelids! I couldn¡¯t close my eyes even if I wanted to!¡± Oh God¡­I saw maggots rummaging around inside of her¡­why did she have to have maggots inside of her? In that moment I thanked God for not being alive and lacking all the necessary organs for me to vomit. All I could do was stare and imagine myself vomiting. ¡°Ummm¡­¡± Came the voice of the girl hunched before us as she covered herself in an embarrassed manner. ¡°Would any of you perchance have some form of attire I could acquire?¡± Hah. Nice rhyme. I liked her already despite the bugs inside of her. Oh god something was moving under her skin. Was that a centipede? Ewwwwww! ¡°Y-yes right here!¡± Cythia exclaimed as she sent a hand into her adventurer¡¯s bag and pulled out a black robe. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll help!¡± she rushed over and plunged the cloth over the zombie¡¯s head. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± she bowed her head as she placed her hands through the sleeves. ¡°Mmmm¡­is this cotton? No¡­wool. Definitely wool.¡± Now that our newest companion was covered, we all breathed a sigh of relief. Cythia quickly retreated to stand beside me. ¡°I¡¯ll have to burn those robes later¡­¡± she muttered almost to the point where even I could barely hear her. ¡°If you dismiss her she¡¯ll only come back naked when you summon her again.¡± I whispered to Cythia who nodded seriously. ¡°I understand. No more dismissals. I can¡¯t afford to replace too many robes anyway.¡± I hoped that meant it would be hard to replace them in our current location and not that she was too poor to afford them. ¡°Please excuse my inquiry but who exactly are you two? Normally I¡¯d slay Skeletons and Necromancers like you on sight, yet I feel no desire to do so.¡± She stared pointedly towards me and Cythia. Was there a chill in the air? I couldn¡¯t help but feel like a gazelle when a lion was mere inches from it. Despite her serious countenance, she began to stretch her body, ushering the sounds of popping joints and squishy¡­things¡­throughout the cavern. At one point she stretched her arms high above her head, which sent a rather large grub falling to the ground from one of her gaping arm wounds. I wasn¡¯t the only one who shivered at the squelching sound it made when it erupted in an explosion of bile when it hit ground. ¡°And what does ¡®Level Five¡¯ mean exactly?¡± Stepping forward, and shaking a little more than slightly, Cythia cleared her throat. ¡°M-my name is Cythia Du Etrisn, your humble and benevolent master.¡± A smile cracked out on the new girl¡¯s face for a split second as I pointed towards Cythia and shook my skull repeatedly side to side. Thankfully, our benevolent master didn¡¯t notice my disagreement with her statement. ¡°I have beckoned you from beyond the realm of Death to serve as my newest minion!¡± A mixture of emotions crossed the gals face. One moment anger, the next sorrow, I¡¯m pretty sure I saw a bit of confusion in there as well. Lord knows I experienced more than my fair share of that feeling today. ¡°So¡­I¡¯m dead then. And to make matters worse, a Necromancer¡¯s puppet.¡± She sighed and closed her eye. A moment later she pointed at me. ¡°What about you? Are you satisfied with being her slave?¡± I shrugged,Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°It pays the bills. By the way, I¡¯m Richard and I punch rats for a living.¡± Her serious countenance faded slightly at my words. I always was good at bringing smiles to people¡¯s faces. Not gonna lie though, I did punch rats really good. ¡°He¡¯s also an idiot.¡± Cythia sighed audibly which got the new girl to utter a chuckle. ¡°I see¡­you two don¡¯t seem like the evil beings I had fought against¡­¡± She closed her eye in thought before nodding a few times. ¡°Very well, Sir Richard.¡± She nodded her head towards me before giving Cythia a judging stare. ¡°Mistress Cythia. I suppose I shall join your cause. My name is Felith, Felith Sabris.¡± ¡°¡±We know.¡±¡± Cythia and I spoke in unison as we pointed at the top of our heads. Granted, we couldn¡¯t see our own names, classes, and level displays over our own heads, but we knew they were there. ¡°By the way, you¡¯re a level five zombie. If you didn¡¯t know.¡± Slowly, I leaned over towards Cythia and kept my voice low. ¡°Why is she a level five zombie?¡± ¡°Idiot!¡± She yelled, ruining my attempts to not appear ignorant with a mere shout. ¡°A Necromancer¡¯s minions share their owner¡¯s experience for the purpose of leveling up!¡± ¡°Oh. Shared experience. Gotchya.¡± Honestly, if she were to say something so simple then she should have just said it. Perhaps I should have asked earlier, but I simply assumed we were splitting the experience of my kills between us. ¡°You two speak rather strangely. Many of these terms are¡­unfamiliar. What, pray tell, are¡­¡®Levels¡¯?¡± ¡°New here, huh? Me too. Don¡¯t worry Felly, I¡¯ll bring you up to speed on our way back to town.¡± And I would do it much more effectively than Cythia did to me. She¡¯d never make it as a teacher where I was from. ¡°F-Felly?¡± She gasped, ¡°Isn¡¯t that far too informal for one whom you¡¯ve just made your acquaintance?¡± ¡°He calls me Toots.¡± Cythia grumbled. ¡°Relax Felly, we¡¯ll be together for a long while. Might as well get comfortable as soon as we can, right? Sides, I¡¯ve already seen your bits so we¡¯re already pretty close in my mind.¡± ¡°I¡­you¡­Have you no shame?¡± It was a tragedy her face was so mutilated, she¡¯d probably have looked really cute when she was angry. Ah well, thats the way the cookie crumbles. Or corpse decays in this case. ¡°If anything you¡¯re the one with no shame!¡± I countered with false indignity. ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at me nonstop and I¡¯m completely naked!¡± I motioned towards my skeletal figure. ¡°Pervert.¡± Shock was quickly replaced by visible confusion followed closely by an amused grin. She didn¡¯t blush though, so either zombies couldn¡¯t blush, or she really was shameless. She then coughed politely and turned away from me. ¡°My apologies, Sir Richard.¡± She snorted and attempted to stifle her laughter. ¡°Its alright. Wouldn¡¯t be the first time I¡¯ve been nude in public. Won¡¯t be the last either.¡± I¡¯ll never forget Mrs. Evans¡¯ fourth grade class trip to the museum. ¡°Minion¡­¡± Came the dark foreboding growl of my mistress. The fury of her anger rolled off of her in metaphorical waves. ¡°Yes mistress?¡± I spoke innocently, pointedly not looking towards her. My but were stalactites interesting! So many patterns and colors. I could see why a handful of people wanted to get into geology. Rocks were cool as shit. ¡°Wear the robes.¡± Cythia growled as she thrust a set of robes out towards me. ¡°No thank you.¡± No man would¡­okay, maybe some men would willingly wear women¡¯s clothes. But I wasn¡¯t one of them. At least, not while I¡¯m sober. ¡°Either wear the robes or I¡¯ll dismiss you!¡± Wellp, there goes that free will of mine. Its always so nice to have someone make my decisions for me. ¡°Hand ¡®em over.¡± [Woolen Robes (Black)] [Armor Rating: 0] [Robes woven by a seamstress with a careful hand. While they may not offer the best protection, they will certainly provide comfort in colder climates. The item has been dyed rather poorly compared to the craftsmanship of the robe as a whole.] Forgive me mother, your son is about to embark on a journey he¡¯d never thought he¡¯d take part in. His innocence taken from him against his will by forces beyond his control. I was taking that tragic first step down a road I may never return from. Remember me how I once was, dear Mother, not what I became. With a sigh, I lifted the robe over my skull. Slowly, I pulled the robe down over my head before quickly lifting it away. ¡°Are these dirty?¡± I asked my mistress curiously. A feral snarl marred her once pretty face as she thrust her hand forward. ¡°I dismiss-¡± Never before had I put on clothes with such haste. ¡°They¡¯re on they¡¯re on!¡± I shouted as the cloth settled over my bones. ¡°I¡­It feel so wrong wearing women¡¯s clothing¡­¡± ¡°Would you please shut up.¡± Cythia grumbled with clenched teeth. ¡°Fine fine.¡± I shrugged, ¡°They¡¯re comfortable robes by the way. Can we go back to town now?¡± Her sigh seemed to drain a lot of the tension from her as she nodded, ¡°Indeed. Follow me.¡± Cythia strode forth towards the direction we had come. Wait, why was she leading us? ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be behind us? What if the Cave Rats respawn?¡± I asked as Felly and I fell into step behind our fearless leader. ¡°Monsters won¡¯t return until the start of the next week!¡± She shouted in frustration. ¡°What.¡± I turned to Felly who merely shrugged. Right, she was even newer here than I was. The sound of Cythia sucking in a sharp breath of air was closely followed by a long exhale. ¡°It takes quite a bit of Mana for a Dungeon Core to replace all the lost monsters inside.¡± She answered. ¡°Typically, the Cores save up all the Mana they accumulate over the period of a week. Upon the turning of the days, they begin replacing the monsters they¡¯ve lost and using the excess Mana to expand with new rooms, corridors, traps, and more monsters. You would know this if you looked up dungeons with your interface!¡± ¡°Ah Okay. Gotchya.¡± I had no fucking clue what she was on about. ¡°What is an interface?¡± Felith questioned with genuine curiosity. Before Cythia could speak, I interjected. ¡°Right Felly, let me bring you up to speed. An interface is like a visual book that displays all sorts of information. You following me?¡± ¡°I¡­suppose?¡± ¡°Right, showing is easier than telling.¡± A loud smack resounded through the halls as I clapped my hands together. ¡°First order of business, let¡¯s check your status page. Simply state the words ¡®Status Page¡¯-¡± Instantly, my own window showed up, causing Felly to gasp in surprise. ¡°and you¡¯ll get a large window depicting your stats, spells, skills, and other assorted bits.¡± I closed my own screen quickly and motioned for her to try. ¡°I-I see. Well then, I never would have thought something like this could ever be possible¡­¡± She cleared her throat, ¡°Status Page!¡± Name: Felith Sabris Race: Undead Class: Zombie Level: 5 Experience: 10/250 Health: 100/100 Mana: 50/50 Focus: 80/80 Unspent Points: 8 Strength: 8 Stamina: 10 Agility: 6 Dexterity: 6 Intelligence: 5 Wisdom: 5 Perception: 8 Luck: 4 [Spells] [0 of 1] [Skills] [Triple Thrust (Rank III of V)] [Cost: 35 Focus] [Deals 65% of equipped weapon¡¯s damage to the user¡¯s current target three times in the blink of an eye.] [Sunder (Rank IV of V)] [Cost: 40 Focus] [Rends the user¡¯s opponent¡¯s armor, dealing 120% weapon damage and reducing their armor rating by 40%] [Parry Stance (Rank II of V)] [Cost: 5 Focus per second] [The user enters a battle trance where all attacks for the duration of the skill will be parried] [Traits] [Novice Unarmed Fighting (Rank III of V)] [Mastery over the art of weaponless combat. Any attack you make with fist or foot deals an additional 9% damage] [Novice Blunt Weapon Mastery (Rank III of V)] [Mastery over the art of combat wielding a blunted weapon. Any attack you make with a club, mallet, hammer, or other blunt instrument deals an additional 9% damage] [Intermediate Blade Mastery (Rank II of V)] [Mastery over the art of combat wielding a bladed weapon. Any attack you make with a bladed weapon deals an additional 21% damage] [Intermediate Shield Mastery (Rank III of V)] [Mastery over the art of wielding a shield to block and deflect attacks. Any attack you successfully block with a shield will have its damage reduced by 24%] [Novice Medium Armor Mastery (Rank III of V)] [Familiarity with wearing Medium Armors increases their armor value by 9%] [Intermediate Heavy Armor Mastery (Rank III of V)] [Familiarity with wearing Heavy Armors increases their armor value by 24%] I opened my mouth before promptly shutting it. And then I opened it. And then I closed it. The clack, clack, clacking of my jaw continued ceaselessly. ¡°Would you please stop doing that?¡± Cythia growled from the front. ¡°Ya¡­buh¡­muh¡­wuh¡­¡± Felith stared at me with a look of confusion. ¡°Does¡­does everything seem to be in order, Sir Richard?¡± Right, I can¡¯t stand someone so powerful being so humble. The least they could do is brag a bit! ¡°Cythia! Felly is cheating!¡± Its not fair. How come she was a super strong goddess compared to me? She didn¡¯t even have both eyes! And neither did I! She even beat me in that area, she had one! Fuck! ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cythia rushed over clearly curious only to openly gape at the Status Screen of our newest member. There were no words, only unbelieving babbling between the two of us. But while Cythia stared at Felith with open admiration, I¡¯m sure my visage was more envy and jealousy. I want big numbers dammit! ¡°Is it truly so strange? I was a Knight within my family before¡­well¡­before the end.¡± Felith mumbled in an embarrassed manner. ¡°Well¡­that makes sense I suppose¡­¡± Cythia then glared in my direction. ¡°How come your stats are so low then? Just what were you doing with your life before you became my minion?¡± I¡¯d have been pretty pissed off had I not heard that very speech a million times before. Well, minus the whole minion deal. It still stung a bit though. I shrugged, ¡°A bit of this, a bit of that. Getting by and all that.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should leave things as they are.¡± Felith spoke suddenly, drawing attention from me. She may be a decomposing corpse, but she was cool in my book. Kudos girl. ¡°Would you mind continuing your explanations, Sir Richard?¡± ¡°Right right. I¡¯ll start off by explaining the stats one by one.¡± And so my teaching career began as I explained stat after stat, their benefits and why she should pick one stat over others. Granted, I was just reading from various window pop-ups that I summoned, but Felly listened intently and took my advice to heart. She asked questions aplenty and for the ones I couldn¡¯t provide an acceptable answer for, Cythia would butt in. It happened way more often that I would have liked, but that just meant I was learning too! In the end, Felith decided to place her free points into a balanced physical build, due to her being most comfortable in that area from her life as a Knight. In other words, she became our powerhouse. Our ace in the hole. Our Rambo. Sunlight gleamed into the cave in an almost holy fashion as the exit loomed into view. Oh sweet sun, how I¡¯ve missed you so! With arms wide open, I rushed forth to stand under the sunlight that I have so desperately lacking in my life. Dreary cave begone! ¡°Wait! Stop!¡± Cythia¡¯s voice cried urgently in a panic as I rushed past her without a care in the world. ¡°Sunliiiiiiiight!¡± I yelled out as I emerged into a land of green grass growing in every direction. Birds sang in beautiful notes, though I knew they were all screaming for sex. Horny fuckers. I laughed and raised my hands upwards to blue skies dotted with white clouds. [You take 235 damage] And then everything went dark. [You have died] ¡°What the hell was that! What even hit me? What the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!¡± I screamed out in a rage to the empty void filling my surroundings. What could even do that much damage in a single hit? Did I get stepped on by a fucking dragon? God I hoped so. That would be so fucking cool. To think that a dragon considered me so important that I had to be crushed underfoot before I could gain my true power! Awesome. Simply awesome. ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Came the summoning of my mistress. I didn¡¯t have to wait long until beautiful sunlight filled my eyes once more. ¡°Sorry about that, miss.¡± Came a gruff voice off to the side. ¡°It is no trouble sir.¡± Cythias voice reached my ears. She sounded pleased. ¡°That idiot skeleton should have listened to me instead of rushing forth like a lunatic. At least I got an increase in my Summon Skeleton skill!¡± She chirped happily. That bitch, profiting off my expense. ¡°My pleasure to be of service then.¡± The gruff voice responded with a chuckle. ¡°Are you okay Sir Richard?¡± Felith¡¯s decomposing mug entered my field of view. ¡°All good here.¡± I nodded as I stayed laying in the grass. ¡°Just enjoying the sun is all. Trying to bleach my bones to attract the eyes of women everywhere and all that.¡± A wry grin crossed her face as she reached down and helped me to my feet. ¡°Thanks Felly.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± She responded. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout the whole killin¡¯ ya deal. Thought you were a dungeon mob got loose and all.¡± The gruff voice spoke from behind me. When I turned to see my murderer, I could only stare open-socketed at him. [Jirard] [Level 65 Thug] The man was a bear! The hairy, gruff kind that you know bats for the other team. Not the forest fires kind. Fiery red hair curled all over his head and face forming a rather bushy beard. If I could use one word to describe him, it would be thick. In the muscular sense, not the flabby kind. Dude could probably bench press log cabins all day long with those bulky arms of his. And level sixty five! Resting upon his shoulder was a massive maul of shining metal. There was still a small amount of dust upon the one side. Bone dust. The man had disintegrated me with one hit! ¡°Oh¡­no problem. Thank you for knocking some sense into me.¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± He responded which a chuckle and a slap on the shoulder bone. ¡°Name¡¯s Jirard by the by.¡± ¡°Richard.¡± I responded in kind. ¡°Felith Sabris.¡± Felly followed suit with a bow. ¡°I can see ya got a pair of good minions under yer belt.¡± Jirard sent a grin towards Cythia before returning his attention to us. ¡°You two best keep her safe, hear?¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Felith and I responded in unison. Cythia put her hands upon her hips in smug satisfaction at our respectful attitudes. She could grin all she wanted, as soon as this dude was out of sight I was still gonna give her hell. ¡°Then let me be the first to welcome you to Croast Mark.¡± He motioned off towards a wooden walled settlement off in the distance. A settlement of about ten houses by the looks of things. ¡°Not very big is it?¡± I inquired as I appraised the place. ¡°Yeah, it ain¡¯t much yet. But thanks to the sudden appearance of the Croast Mines here, it¡¯ll be a bustling little town within the year. They just started building an Adventurer¡¯s Guild and a Tavern ¡®bout a week ago.¡± He grinned. ¡°Hope ya like sleeping under the stars.¡± ¡°Come on then you two! I need to hand in my first quest!¡± Cythia shouted excitedly as she marched towards the town without waiting for us. ¡°C¡¯mere you two.¡± Jirard whispered conspiratorially and beckoned us over. Curious, Felith and I huddled close to the hairy man. ¡°Got a message from her father for ya.¡± He met our eyes¡­or lack of, with a serious stare. ¡°If anything happens to her you two will beg for banishment to the afterlife.¡± A friendly grin then filled his face. ¡°Happy adventures!¡± I don¡¯t know about Felith, but I wasn¡¯t scared at the man¡¯s words. No sir, the clattering of bones was merely a result of how joyous I was to be out in the sun once more and to meet living people again. Chapter 4: The Threaded Dead ¡°Look, all I¡¯m saying is we really should get you a bad ass eye-patch.¡± The sound of my voice through fields of healthy green grass and scattered trees as Felith and I walked towards the village of Croast Mark. Cythia paced ahead of us, clearly frustrated by our lack of haste. Not like we were in a particular hurry anyway, it¡¯s not like the place was going to go anywhere. And judging by the sun, it was a little after one or so in the afternoon. ¡°Probably a veil as well to cover the worst of your wounds on that face of yours too.¡± ¡°Is my visage truly so disagreeable, Sir Richard?¡± She asked with upturned eyes mixed with a tone of false sorrow. Sorry lady, but I ain¡¯t taking the bait. ¡°Yeah, its pretty horrifying. Try not to feel bad when we get to town and everyone decides to scream and hide in their homes. You¡¯ve got ¡®slasher victim¡¯ written all over you.¡± The sight of something slimy crawling beneath her skin sent my bones rattling. ¡°We should also get you fumigated and sewn up while we¡¯re at it. You¡¯re pretty much a walking breeding ground for creepy-crawlies.¡± ¡°You truly have no tact.¡± Felly sighed. What could I say? The truth hurts, but it needs to be said. ¡°But you are honest, though I am unsure if that is a virtue or a vice in your case.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve got tact. Plenty in fact. Though saying so to Cythia would get you thwacked. And I don¡¯t know about you but I prefer my bones un-cracked and intact.¡± She flashed what would have been a warm smile towards me were it not for the torn flesh exposing a good amount of her lower jaw. ¡°If nothing else, you¡¯d make an excellent fool in a King¡¯s court.¡± She stated with a friendly chuckle. ¡°Really? Ah, but I don¡¯t like being under another person¡¯s beck and call. I¡¯m a free spirit after all.¡± Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure Kings killed those people left and right. A grimace crossed Felly¡¯s face at my words, ¡°Says someone who is bound to do a Necromancer¡¯s bidding for the rest of their existence.¡± ¡°Not true, watch this.¡± I cupped my hands to my jaws and yelled. ¡°Hey Cythia, order me to do something!¡± ¡°No!¡± Came her frustrated response. ¡°Why not?¡± I called back. ¡°Because you won¡¯t do it anyway! Now the both of you, hurry up!¡± As if in response to her command, Felith¡¯s pace quickened. Much to her dismay. I smiled at Felly who was beginning to leave me behind, ¡°See?¡± ¡°Teach me! I beg of you!¡± she cried out as the distance between us increased. I kept my relaxed pace with my arms behind my head and stared up at the sun. What a beautiful day. A flash of white in the corner of my sockets made me clench my fists reflexively. My surroundings whipped by as I turned my head towards the source of my distraction. Sitting in the grassy field was a white rabbit with a rather sharp-looking horn jutting from it¡¯s forehead. The two of us locked eyes, judging one another¡¯s strength. The aptly named Horned Rabbit, who was also level five, sniffed at the air in my direction. Obviously, the beast was tasting the air to see if it could catch a whiff of my fear. Though I was sure I could take the level five horned rabbit, the slight chill in my bones made me think it would be a tough battle. Thankfully, neither of us were in the mood to test our mettle. It scampered away a few moments after we sized one another up. Probably for the best. I didn¡¯t want to get my ass kicked by a rabbit. I don¡¯t think my psyche could handle it. Giant Rats were one thing, but cute bunnies were quite another. The rest of the way to Croast Mark proved uneventful fortunately. The closer I got to the town however, I realized just how haphazard the log walls looked. There were gaps aplenty between many, a few of which looked as if I could fit through! I¡¯m no carpenter, I don¡¯t even know if a carpenter would build walls like this, but even I¡¯m sure I could do better! These frontier yokels weren¡¯t even trying to guard against whatever creatures lurked in this world. But again, it wasn¡¯t my problem at the moment, so I kept my mouth shut even as I nodded to the level forty-five Thug guarding the entrance to the town. Dude looked positively bored as he leaned against the ramshackle wall with crossed arms. He wore an assortment of leather gear that protected him from neck to toe with a short sword sheathed at his hip. Like Jirard, he had a big bushy beard, but black instead of red. As for hair, this man wore it shaved short. Probably to clearly display the leaf tattoo circling his forehead. ¡°You the other?¡± the man asked with a yawn. ¡°Probably.¡± I responded with a shrug. ¡°Seen a girl about yea high, always in a hurry and acts like she¡¯s the boss followed closely by another shambling corpse around here?¡± Of course he did. I saw him greet my fellows off in the distance long before I arrived. He grinned, displaying a mouth full of teeth that, while still terrible, looked far better than Felith¡¯s. ¡°Whats it like bein¡¯ dead an all? The ladies pranced off afore I could ask. Always wondered about it an¡¯ all an¡¯ them religious types never give a direct answer.¡± He shrugged, ¡°figure you¡¯d all be experts on it an all, so what the hells eh?¡± ¡°I know exactly what you mean. Those types are always so skilled at deflecting the question.¡± The two of us shared a grin. ¡°Same as living I suppose. Aimless. Really dark too. Until someone brings you back and tries to boss you around constantly.¡± The man barked a laugh at that. ¡°Name¡¯s Klett, though you already know it. Folks think it polite when ya introduce yerself instead of readin¡¯ them floatin¡¯ names.¡± He proffered his hand which I quickly shook. Never imagined I¡¯d be shaking someone¡¯s hand as a skeleton before. First time for everything I guess. ¡°Richard.¡± I responded in kind. ¡°Got a question of my own, what¡¯s with the Thug class?¡± ¡°Eh, you know how it is.¡± He rubbed his head in a self-conscious manner, ¡°Sometimes life takes a shit on ya right from the get go. Grow up in places no child ought and end up doin¡¯ things ya never wanted to.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Ain¡¯t so bad out here though. Could be worse. Least as a guard I get paid and don¡¯t have to do much other than kill a random beastie that shows up every now and again.¡± ¡°Now thats the good life, getting paid for not working too hard. And here I am risking bone and molar and I haven¡¯t even seen a single cent. I¡¯ve even died twice!¡± I wonder if this world had life insurance policies. I¡¯d wring them out of business within a week if there were. Nothing like a client that can collect on his own policy after his death. Wait, maybe that would count as fraud. I¡¯d rather not go to jail again. Once was enough. Klett grinned, ¡°Like I said. Sometimes life takes a shit on ya. Least you can come back after each one, eh? Anyway your two pals should be at the tannery by now. Can¡¯t miss it on account of being the biggest building in this place. For now that is.¡± ¡°Right. Thanks pal, see you around.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± With a nod, I stepped into the town. What a nice down to earth fellow that man was. Strange that he knew where Cythia and Felith were going since they didn¡¯t look like they said more than a single word in greeting. It was a small town though, where else would they go? Certainly not any of the homes I was looking at, though they did look cozy as hell. Every home was finely crafted from large wooden logs and stone bricks. I¡¯d have loved to own a home like one of these in life, theres just something so appealing about the rustic nature of a log cabin. Not that I knew anything of rustic living, being a boy from the city and all. My curiosity took hold of me as I wandered about the ten house town. Directly in the center of all the buildings was a bulletin board full of papers. Requests for assistance in one form or other like the Pelts we had acquired. Other than the bunch of homes and request board, there were two out of place buildings within the rickety walls. One, a large stone complex with a set of chimneys, and the other, well¡­it was a long log cabin. More than likely that was the tannery as it was the largest building in town. There was also a large clearing made within the walls where the foundations were being placed for another two large establishments. Most assuredly those would one day become the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and Tavern Jirard had spoken of earlier. Only a handful of people at each site, but I suppose it was a small town so it was to be expected. Though the majority stood by and watched a single person work. I guess some things never change despite what time period or planet you¡¯re on. What struck me as odd though was that, other than the occasional glance, nobody looked at me twice. No screaming, no horrified pointing, no thrown rocks, nothing! Maybe I was wrong about people being afraid of the undead. Maybe people were used to zombies and skeletons and what ever else wandering about. I mean, it was a fantasy world after all with Horned Rabbits and Cave Rats the size of rabid dogs. As I watched the construction workers go about their business, a rotted hand grabbed my arm. ¡°Forgive me, I was ordered to retrieve and escort you to the Tannery. Your presence was requested.¡± Felith mumbled as she began to pull me towards the long wooden building. ¡°I got it, I got it.¡± I attempted to pull my arm from her grasp. Alas, no dice. ¡°She said to make sure you couldn¡¯t get away as well.¡± She smirked at me, ¡°Said you have a habit of running away.¡± ¡°And where exactly would I run to? Its not like I have anywhere to run to.¡± Besides, I had to stick close to Cythia to help her get stronger so I could get my buddy back. I wasn¡¯t about to tell Felly that however. I learned early on in life that women do not like it when you talk about your dick to them. Unless they¡¯re your physician, then you gotta tell them when it burns. ¡°My apologies, but I cannot defy her orders.¡± Felith sighed. ¡°How is it that you are able to do so?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had my head so far up my own ass since I was a kid that I learned to ignore everything anyone tells me to do.¡± A skill that took many years to achieve. Many, many painful years. ¡°An unruly child then.¡± She snorted, ¡°I can plainly see that. Though that still doesn¡¯t explain how you ignore her so well.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Well, I guess this world decided to reward me on my rebellious nature.¡± I flicked open my status screen and showed her my Headstrong trait. ¡°It gave me this puppy.¡± ¡°Hmmmm¡­then I fear it may be too late for me to acquire such a mindset.¡± She smiled sadly. ¡°Nah, you just gotta say ¡®fuck no!¡¯ every time she orders you to do something. You¡¯ll get there eventually.¡± I winced at a few particularly painful memories. ¡°Though she may wash your mouth out with soap and whack you with a belt on the bottom a few times.¡± ¡°It sounds like you¡¯ve been reprimanded quite harshly in life. Alas, vulgarity is an area where I am sorely lacking.¡± She chuckled, ¡°I believe the worst I ever said was calling a rather¡­raucous suitor an insipid man of little standing.¡± Her eye took on a faraway look. ¡°My but how the maids tittered about for weeks on end after that little affair.¡± ¡°Maids? Dang, I love maids. Were you royalty or something in life?¡± I wonder what Cythia would look like as a maid¡­ ¡°No, no. Nothing of the sort. I was the fifth daughter of a Baron, so I was allowed to pursue my interest in martial matters. Though I was still required to take a suitor despite my reluctance.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Sounds like royalty to me. But don¡¯t worry Felly, I¡¯ll see if I can help fix that vulgarity issue of yours.¡± ¡°I shall look forward to our lessons together then.¡± Her horrendous face quickly turned from jovial to serious. ¡°I do have something I wish to speak to you with privately however.¡± ¡°Oh? Sounds serious.¡± ¡°Later tonight if you would. Preferably when the others are asleep.¡± ¡°Oh Felly, this is so sudden! I don¡¯t know¡­we¡¯ve only just met and I don¡¯t think I¡¯m quite ready to take our relationship to the next level¡­¡± I don¡¯t know what was worse, that she didn¡¯t bat an eye at my comments, or that she replied with a smile and wink of her only eye. Either way, something was crawling on my hand and I did not like it. Something with many, many legs. Without even knocking, Felly pushed her way through the door and pulled me along behind her. I would have at least knocked, its only proper manners. My feet touched something soft within the building proper, and a glance down revealed a rather dead animal resembling a bear in the form of a rug. I say resembling a bear because it had three heads. Did Cerberus ever fuck a bear in Greek mythology? What would you even call this thing? Cerberbear? ¡°I see you eyein¡¯ up ole Thrigurn there. Deadliest Gnarler ever to walk Diana¡¯s Forest.¡± An elderly voice cackled from the side. I turned to see an old woman hunched over a counter filled with Cave Rat pelts. Her face far more wrinkle than face, though her green eyes still stared at me sharply. What was most telling about her however was that she was level sixty five with the class of Tailor. Judging by Cythia sitting at a stool near the counter, the Pelts were the ones I ¡®acquired¡¯ for her. ¡°That so? Interesting.¡± Yeah I had no fucking clue what she just said. Best to let sleeping dogs lie else I¡¯ll get the old bat going on a story that never ends. She seemed the grandmotherly type that likes to ramble on and on. ¡°So why was I pulled here exactly?¡± ¡°Because I ordered Felith to get you.¡± Cythia smiled pleasantly, ¡°Mrs. Litans here wanted to meet you personally.¡± ¡°Aye, that I did.¡± The old woman nodded and beckoned me over. ¡°Come, have a seat and tell me how exactly you acquired so many fine pelts in such a short while!¡± ¡°I mean¡­I punched the rats till they died.¡± Did I really have to be brought here to explain that? ¡°Cythia could have told you that.¡± ¡°Aye she did¡­but I didn¡¯t believe her.¡± The old woman looked apologetically towards Cythia who shrugged as if it didn¡¯t mean much to her. ¡°No offense miss. Its just that not many adventurers would fight Dungeon Spawn without a weapon.¡± The old woman closed her eyes and nodded in thought, ¡°Yes, a fist wouldn¡¯t ruin the pelts would they? Not like a sword or a spear anyhow.¡± Her chuckling filled the room. ¡°Well then I s¡¯pose I should give you all a good price on these here pelts before my husband turns em into something I can work with. How¡¯s two silver per pelt sound? I¡¯ll even throw in a free set of clothing for the two of them. They¡¯ll serve better than them robes as protection, thats for sure.¡± ¡°I thank you for your kindness and humbly accept.¡± Cythia spoke meekly and bowed her head. ¡°Bah, no skin off my knuckles girlie.¡± The old woman grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll be making more than this meager offering, I can assure you. In fact, I may have something for that dead girl¡¯s missing eye around here¡­¡± In a flurry of activity, Felly and I became a pair of undead mannequins as measurement after measurement was taken. Like a true professional, Mrs. Litans¡¯ face only scrunched a little bit when she had to measure Felith. Old woman was a total hardass worthy of respect for that alone. What a hero. As each article of clothing was handed off to me, I gave them a quick inspection. [Tanned Fur Overcoat] [Armor Rating: 4] [A coat worn over typical clothing made by skilled hands. The fur is thick enough to not only stave off the cold of night, but to also provide some protection from attacks.] [Tanned Leather Shirt] [Armor Rating: 1] [A leather shirt crafted by skilled hands. Flexible enough to move about in easily, while sturdy enough to take a hard day¡¯s work without tearing.] [Tanned Leather Leggings] [Armor Rating: 2] [Leather leggings crafted by skilled hands. A common sight upon those along the frontiers, these leggings can take a beating and still be perfectly fine.] [Crude Leather Boots] [Armor Rating: 0] [An unfortunate result of an amateur¡¯s work. They¡¯ll provide some comfort while walking, but that¡¯s about it.] Oh hell yeah! Much better than the robes by leaps and bounds. Without a second thought, I whipped off my robe, which brought a quick flash of red to Cythia¡¯s face and a grin to Feliths. I then handed the black clothing over to Cythia who grumbled something about dirtying her clothes. Without a care in the world, I put my new threads on in a flash. Unlike me, Felly was uncomfortable with public nudity, so she followed the old bat to a back room. What a prude, its not like it wasn¡¯t anything I hadn¡¯t seen already anyway. When she returned from donning her threads and new leather eye-patch, she handed over her robe to Cythia as well. Laughing out loud got that very same robe thrown at me. Bugs and all. I held onto it though since Felith looked rather uncomfortable about the whole exchange. She gave me a grateful look, which was horribly misplaced. I had already planned on putting the robe under Cythia¡¯s head tonight while she was sleeping. I rolled the robe to the shape of a cloth cylinder and firmly placed it between two ribs. The two of them gave me weird looks. ¡°What? I ain¡¯t throwing away a good robe.¡± I couldn¡¯t wait to see Cythia¡¯s reaction the next morning. ¡°Sorry about the footwear, but I ain¡¯t much of a cobbler.¡± The old woman interrupted before Cythia could yell at me. ¡°Its all good. Far better than the nothing we get summoned in.¡± I responded which made Cythia grumble. ¡°Thanks Mrs. L!¡± ¡°Yes, you have our gratitude.¡± Felith bowed. ¡°Good luck with your adventurin¡¯ youngins. Bring me back more of them Pelts when you can!¡± With a wave, the three of us parted from the Tannery looking like a pair of furries escorting a goth chick. Everyone wore these fuzzy clothes though, so we were among friends here. Cythia was the odd one out with her black robes that screamed ¡®no mom its not a phase, this is who I am¡¯. ¡°I shall now make good on my promise to reward you, Minion. Follow me.¡± Cythia announced as she paced towards the large stone building. Felly and I shared a look as she was forced to follow after our intrepid mistress. With a shrug, I fell into step alongside her. Not like I had anything better to do anyway. The jingle of a bell rung out as Cythia pushed open the door to the building proper. The room we entered was square and bare. There were a few crates along the sides of the room filled with unknown contents. On the far side of the room was a counter like the Tannery had. Behind said counter was a muscular man wearing clothes that seemed to struggle against the muscle contained underneath. As for his face¡­he was clean-shaven. Completely. No beard, no hair, no mustache, no eyebrows, nothing. It was freaky to look at, like he was some sort of alien. In his hands was a sword that looked like it was made of copper. I¡¯m no master of minerals though, so it could have been bronze. Either way, it looked sharp and I wanted it. Swords are cool. ¡°What can I do for ya folks?¡± The bulky man asked as he inspected the blade in his hands before pulling out a rag and scrubbing a specific point along the blade. ¡°Edgar Voset, level forty-five blacksmith at yer service.¡± ¡°I need a pair of blades, Mr. Voset.¡± Cythia announced as she strode up to the counter. ¡°What kinda metal ya lookin¡¯ fer? I got copper, bronze, and iron at the ready.¡± The man quickly turned into business mode as he set his blade down upon the counter and locked eyes with the mistress. ¡°Course each metal bein¡¯ more expensive than the last.¡± ¡°Bronze please.¡± Cythia answered succinctly, yet with a hint of embarrassment. I had no idea how money worked around here, so ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be right back with a selection.¡± Without another word, the man turned from the counter and entered the back room. Before long, he returned with a small hand-crate filled with blades made of the brownish metal. The clanging of blades resounded through the sparse room as he set the crate down upon the counter, ¡°Take yer pick.¡± ¡°Allow me.¡± Felith announced as she approached the crate with an appraising eye. Thank goodness we had a pro with us, as I¡¯m sure Cythia knew as much as I when it came to weaponry; not a damn thing. With a quick hand, Felith picked the first blade and held it at the ready before taking a quick swing at empty air. A frown clear on her face as she set it off to the side and picked another. The smith¡¯s once happy grin quickly diminished as Felly placed blade after blade off to the side. ¡°I¡­I¡¯ll get some others.¡± He chuckled as he eyed the ever-growing pile of rejects. With great haste, he rushed into the backroom once more. ¡°What exactly are you doing Felith?¡± Cythia whispered harshly as she watched the backroom door nervously. ¡°You are being disrespectful!¡± ¡°Not as disrespectful as this man has done by crafting these blades.¡± She scoffed as she immediately placed a sword she had just picked up from the crate to the side. Talk about perfectionist. ¡°A true craftsman would never offer such rubbish to their customers unless they wished to ruin their own business. We are putting our lives in the hands of these blades, a single imperfection can mean the difference between life and death.¡± ¡°I¡­see¡­¡± Cythia muttered as she glanced at me. I shrugged, the hell was I supposed to know? Closest thing I¡¯ve used to a sword was when a group of friends and myself started beating each other up with sticks we found in the park. Hardly the professional we had at our side now. The backroom door opened, revealing a quite nervous Mr. Voset carrying in a new crate of bronze swords. ¡°Perhaps these will be more to your liking miss.¡± The smith chuckled nervously as he placed a new box upon the counter. ¡°I certainly hope so.¡± Felith sighed as she placed the last sword from the original box onto the counter. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, she reached to the new crate and began the process once more. Though this time she clearly smiled which made the smith sigh in relief. ¡°Here Sir Richard, this blade shall be yours.¡± ¡°Kay.¡± ¡°Allow me!¡± the smith grinned as he reached under the counter and pulled out a leather sheath. Nodding, Felly handed the blade over to the man who quickly sheathed the blade and held it out it towards me. ¡°May it serve you well sir.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± I nodded to the man and inspected my first weapon. [Superior Bronze Short-Sword] [Damage Rating: 35] [A bronze sword crafted carefully by a journeyman blacksmith. The blade¡¯s edge has been enhanced, granting additional Damage Rating.] Compared to the Damage Rating on this thing, my clothing was feeling rather lacking in the numbers department. But then again, my clothes were just clothes and not full-fledged armor. Not like armor would matter much against the giant rats from the dungeon, since they died easily to my fists. With blade in hand, I couldn¡¯t help but want to run straight to the dungeon to test it out. Not that I wanted to kill animals mind, but if I was going to kill I was glad it would be rats instead of something else. ¡°This one will do as well.¡± Felly stated firmly as she handed over her own blade to the smith who took out a sheath for her as well. ¡°That¡¯ll be 20 silver.¡± The blacksmith smiled pleasantly at Cythia who raised a brow towards him. She had given me a look like that before. She was pissed. ¡°20 silver? After the lacking equipment you tried to hand over to us? I¡¯ll offer no more than 15 for such an affront.¡± Her words immediately silenced the room as Felith and Mr. Voset stared at her with wide eyes. Eye in Felith¡¯s case of course. As for me, I just grinned and watched. I loved watching customers argue with store owners. ¡°But I-¡± Edgar began but was quickly cut off by the fuming Cythia. ¡°You were what? Going to pawn off sub-par goods to valued customers and charge the same amount as a high quality piece?¡± Though she didn¡¯t raise her voice in the least, every word was a slap to the smith¡¯s face. ¡°You should be happy that I¡¯m willing to pay that much at all.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± the man sighed, ¡°fifteen then.¡± With a sweet smile, Cythia handed over the offered amount. ¡°Thank you for your business.¡± She huffed and turned away from the man who smiled as she walked off. Strange. ¡°Lets go.¡± Immediately, Felith sighed and began walking after our mistress. I couldn¡¯t help but grin at her lack of self control as I followed close behind. ¡°So where are we going?¡± I asked our leader. ¡°The request board of course.¡± She beamed, ¡°The day is still young after all!¡± Chapter 5: A Simple Request ¡°How about this one?¡± Cythia asked Felith and I as she read the various posts upon the Request Board in the center of the small town. So far, she had managed to find the most boring, time-wasting ones she could. ¡°Till the fields to the west of town, thirty silver reward offered.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I must firmly decline.¡± Felly and I were of one mind in our refusal. These people weren¡¯t requesting help, they were asking us to do their jobs for them! Lazy fucks. Honestly, if we did every request on this board we¡¯d be in this town for months! They wanted fields cleared and tilled, stone quarried and mined, wood chopped, and a billion other chores. Cythia sighed, ¡°Well we can¡¯t just do nothing¡­¡± ¡°We could go back to the dungeon.¡± I offered, ¡°Make some dosh from pelts and get experience as well.¡± ¡°Dosh?¡± The two women stared at me as if I had something strange. ¡°You know, dosh! Cash, coin, money, bread, paper, grip, and a million other slang terms used throughout the world.¡± Their expressions said more than words ever could. So I¡¯m from a strange world, sue me. ¡°I believe Sir Richard is saying that our skills would be best used in a manner that benefits ourselves with more than just monetary gain.¡± Felly tactfully stated to Cythia whose brow furrowed in thought. Now why¡¯d she have to go and steal my thunder like that? Ah well, at least we were on the same wavelength. ¡°Its true the dungeon would be more beneficial for us in the short term, but an adventurer is more than the monsters they can kill!¡± Cythia huffed, ¡°Tell me, what do you two think of when you hear the word ¡®Adventurer¡¯?¡± ¡°Stinky homeless dude.¡±¡°A vagabond.¡± I glanced towards Felly only to see her staring at me as well. With a mutual nod, we returned out attention to our mistress, who was pulling at her hair in frustration. ¡°No! An adventurer is a soldier of the people! We slay monsters that attack the defenseless! We delve in dangerous dungeons for power and wealth! We Skulk through ruins searching for ancient artifacts long forgotten by time! We take on requests from the people so that our names may be sung of by bards the world over!¡± Her eyes sparkled as she spouted her delusions to us. ¡°Ah, but to be compared to the mighty Igel, Silver-Strike! Or the Indomitable Betham the Blade-Sworn!¡± ¡°And there she is! Cythia, the Mistress of Minions! The field tiller and stone quarrier!¡± I cupped my hands to my mouth and made the sounds of crowds cheering. ¡°You truly are incorrigible.¡± Felly chuckled. ¡°Fine then! How about this one?¡± Cythia growled as she tore a paper from the board and thrust it towards each of us. ¡°This one wants us to remove a burrow of Horned Rabbits to the south of town. We¡¯ll get thirty silver for our efforts and they¡¯ll drop Essence Crystals among other profitable bits!¡± Oh yeah, she was pissed. At least she picked a good one this time. ¡°Sounds good.¡± ¡°No qualms here.¡± ¡°Right, then lets go! We¡¯ve only a few hours of daylight remaining!¡± Cythia shouted happily as she marched towards the town¡¯s exit. ¡°She makes me think of a puppy.¡± I muttered as the Felly and I fell into step a few paces behind our mistress. ¡°Hmmm, I do see the resemblance. Though I would say it is more akin to a sheltered girl given her first taste at freedom.¡± ¡°Speaking from experience there?¡± I asked which got me a slight smile in response. ¡°Right then, since we¡¯ll be marching around with nothing to do, next up on lessons is Class Upgrades. Or as I¡¯m going to call it: Evolution. Basically, as we grow more powerful we can change to further enhanced undead based on our class. I, as a Skeleton, can eventually become something like this.¡± I pulled up the information panel on the Wight King. ¡°Hmmm, I have fought Wights plenty of times.¡± She muttered as she stared at the picture and began reading the evolution¡¯s description. ¡°Is this what you are going to choose to become, Sir Richard?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t just tell her I wanted my dick back. I needed a good reason and I needed one stat. ¡°Because¡­its the closest thing to normal I could become.¡± I sighed in an attempt to sell my bullshit. ¡°I look down at these hands every now and again and think of the monster I¡¯ve become, and hope that I¡¯ll wake up from this. That it¡¯ll all be some bad dream.¡± ¡°Lying with such eloquence ill suits you, Sir Richard.¡± Fucking fuck. How did she know? I don¡¯t even have the facial features to show the common signs! ¡°But if it you do not wish to share your reason with me, that is fine. I shall respect your privacy.¡± Oh what an angel, truly we were blessed to have such an understanding woman among our group. Cythia would have probably nagged me nonstop until I gave my reason. Though I probably would have told her my reason for the sole reason to see how she would react. I doubt she would even know what a dick was anyway. ¡°Thanks Felly. By the by, you should give your own evolutions a look.¡± ¡°Indeed. How did it go? Display Information: Zombie?¡± A screen popped up in front of her face. ¡°Oh my, do I truly look like that?¡± I peeked over at her screen. [Zombie] [A shambling corpse returned to life via Dark Magic. Compared to Skeletons, Zombies are more durable and stronger, though come with drawbacks of their own. Unlike the Skeleton, they are not as versatile in Class Upgrades as their boned brothers. Upon reaching the 20th level, they can evolve into one of two select evolutionary paths. For increased physical capabilities, the path of the Devourer may be chosen. Though not as common, occasionally a zombie may pursue the path of the Spewer, granting them ranged capabilities in the form of acidic projectile vomit.] ¡°Heh, boned.¡± I snickered. ¡°Oh yeah, you look way better than the picture here by the way.¡± I pointed to the picture of the zombie. Unlike Felly, the zombie was far more rotted and lacking far more flesh and muscle. ¡°I look good do I? I never knew one with tastes as¡­refined¡­as yours. To look at such a decrepit corpse with such eyes¡­¡± Dammit Felly, two can play at that game! ¡°Oh yes, such marvelous wounds is a treat to the eye sockets. The pulsating of the creatures beneath your skin sends such warmth wriggling into my bones. How could one not fall into a trance at such beauty?¡± ¡°You two are disgusting!¡± Cythia gagged and attempted to cover her ears. What a poor, innocent gal. Felly chuckled contentedly, ¡°Now, as for these evolutions¡­hmmm I do not think I shall pursue the Spewer path.¡± ¡°You sure? Puking acid on things from far away sounds hella cool.¡± Why if I was a Zombie¡­ ¡°No, I shall keep deign to keep the contents within my stomach where they belong.¡± ¡°Oh come on, there¡¯d be a chance that you could get some on our mistress by mistake.¡± I suggested just loud enough to be heard by Cythia, who whipped her head around and stared at us in disgust. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be amusing?¡± Felly¡¯s eye sparkled at the idea as she glanced towards our increasingly horrified mistress. ¡°Felith, I hereby order you not to become a Spewer!¡± Cythia shouted, sending a flock of birds fleeing from a nearby tree. ¡°It appears that my choice has been made for me.¡± Felly shook her head with a playful grin. ¡°A shame.¡± ¡°Indeed, our mistress is quite the slave driver. Doesn¡¯t she know that by diversifying our party that our effectiveness can only increase?¡± ¡°True, a fighting force is most effective when multiple facets work in tandem to achieve victory.¡± ¡°You two are insufferable¡­¡± Cythia groaned. ¡°No more talking till we reach the rabbit burrow!¡± A look of surprise crossed Felly¡¯s face. Her hands pulled at her mouth, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not pry it open. Defeated, she turned and stared at me with a pleading look. I shrugged, what could I do? I¡¯m surprised it took Cythia that long to figure out how to silence one of us. Though, it was probably more by accident than anything. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡°How adorable¡­¡± Felly spoke as she watched a group of Horned Rabbits jump around one another in a playful manner. A large knoll with a large holes burrowed into the sides sat a short distance away. We had reached the Horned Rabbit burrow, and it was packed with activity. White horned rabbits chewed grass fervently as others entered their burrows. There had to be at least fifty of the little bastards! Probably more, depending on how deep their dens went. Most of the grass in the area had been stripped to the dirt, leaving an unnatural scar upon the earth. Little fuckers were practically locusts if they ate that much. ¡°Yes, they are very cute.¡± Cythia smiled, ¡°But in large numbers they are a blight upon their surroundings. If they continued to expand unimpeded, they would strip the surrounding lands for miles. So they have to be culled from time to time.¡± ¡°Color me impressed Toots, I never knew you¡¯d be knowledgeable about such a thing. I thought trading was your forte, not animal control.¡± ¡°Well it is only natural for an adventurer such as I to know about the local wildlife and how they affect nearby towns.¡± She then placed her hands upon her hips in a show of pride. A childish gesture, but it did suit her I suppose. Her briefly smug demeanor quickly changed as she stared at me with a rather bored expression. ¡°But you would know that much as well if you used your interface to look up the Horned Rabbits¡¯ information.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not going to do that.¡± She grumbled at my words. I didn¡¯t care about the pros and cons of these things. So long as they dropped Essence Crystals they were nothing more than a stepping stone to my resurgence. ¡°So these things drop Essence Crystals do they?¡± ¡°They do indeed. Though they won¡¯t give much individually, as the vast majority are only level 1 or 2.¡± Cythia spoke factually, ¡°Though I supposed with the amount at hand, they will certainly be worth a level or two.¡± I drew my bronze sword. ¡°Right then, lets do this. Ready Felly?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She nodded and drew her own blade. As one, the two of us charged towards the nearest group of Horned Rabbits. ¡°Wait!¡± Cythia yelled. Immediately I was left all on my own as I raced towards my targets. Red eyes locked upon me as the trio turned their bodies towards me. They weren¡¯t even running away! I raised my blade, ready to cut them down as the distance between us closed. ¡°Stop minion!¡± Cythia¡¯s voice echoed across the expanse, but I paid it no mind, experience was at hand! ¡°Take this!¡± I grinned as the three rabbits shot from the ground towards me as one. With a smile, I leapt to the side and swung my sword in a cleaving arc. Pained squeaks cried out as I hit one of the animals in the side. A quick flash and a few items fell upon the earth where that very same rabbit had been. ¡°As if I wouldn¡¯t expect something so simple.¡± I chuckled as the two remaining hares jumped at me once more.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Another swing, another flash of light, yet another fallen rabbit. ¡°Easier than playing baseball.¡± I grinned as I struck down the remaining rabbit. ¡°You two can rest¡­easy¡­¡± the two of them were running away! [You Take 20 physical damage] ¡°What the?!¡± I turned to see another four rabbits hopping towards me. Behind them was another ten. Behind them was even more! More and more poured from their burrow, and all were headed straight to my position. Based on their speed, there was no way I was going to get away. ¡°Alright then! Get some!¡± I yelled as I killed the bunny that had previously struck me before rolling to escape from the closest four rabbits. [You take 20 physical damage] More and more pop-ups clogged my vision as I fell into a trance of dodging and swinging and kicking. But for every mammal I massacred, five more took it¡¯s place. My only saving grace is that they eventually clogged themselves up too much to continue leaping constantly. Unfortunately, that was when they started biting. The damage of each bite? One. The amount of bunnies attempting to bite me? Well over thirty. And those bastards could bit fast. ¡°You¡¯ve won this time you bastards!¡± I yelled as I hacked at them as if my sword were a golf club. Glancing a few at a time, but not doing enough damage to kill them. ¡°But I¡¯ll be back! I¡¯ll come back as many times as it takes! You haven¡¯t seen the last of me!¡± I laid my eyes upon a single level five Horned Rabbit who burst from the ground and collided with my ribcage, horn first. [You take 35 physical damage] [You have died] As everything faded to darkness, I swore my revenge upon that little bastard especially. How many had I killed? How many more were there? I honestly lost count after my tenth kill, but there was still more emerging from their burrows. Perhaps there were hundreds? Were we looking at a proverbial mountain of experience? I couldn¡¯t stop the cackle in the darkness resonating from my jaws. Not that I wanted to of course. ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Ah good, it was time to return to life and fulfill my vow of vengeance. Light returned to my eyes only for the snickering of Felly to grace my ears and the aggravated face of Cythia to enter my vision. ¡°I told you to wait! Ugh, if you had listened to me we would have been fine!¡± Cythia huffed about as I pulled myself to my feet. ¡°To be vanquished by such cute, tiny creatures¡­¡± Felly snickered. ¡°Shut it Felly, it was just a mere setback. I¡¯m ready for round two!¡± I placed my hand to my side only to touch my hips. ¡°Wait¡­wheres my sword? Or my clothes?¡± I stared at the two women before covering myself in a mocking manner. ¡°Avert thine eyes, ruffians!¡± A pair of sighs were my reward. ¡°What do you think happened to your clothes and sword, idiot?¡± Cythia asked angrily. ¡°They¡¯re back where you died of course!¡± ¡°Technically, I didn¡¯t die. I merely lost my corporeal form which can be regained at will. Namely, your will. So technically, I am immortal and cannot truly die. Merely disposed of for an indeterminate amount of time.¡± Not counting what would happen if she were to die of course. ¡°I¡¯ll stop summoning you, I swear to Asthil I will stop.¡± Cythia spoke in that normal tone of voice women used to let you know you were close to crossing the line. Like when you ask what¡¯s wrong and she tells you nothing, that everything is fine. It¡¯s never fine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Please don¡¯t leave me in that darkness!¡± I pleaded and dropped to my knees. ¡°Find it in that amazing heart of yours to forgive this worthless minion!¡± ¡°Then listen to me for once! You can¡¯t just charge into a Horned Rabbit burrow, you¡¯ll be swarmed! You have to draw them away little by little!¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you say so in the first place?¡± I had to say it. It was too easy. The sight of Cythia grinding her teeth together made it all worth it, even as her hand shot towards me. ¡°I dismiss thee.¡± The sound of Felly¡¯s echoing laughter was the last thing I heard as I faded away. Hello darkness my old friend. I¡¯ve come to hang out in you again. Whatever, I¡¯d be back out and about before long. Cythia knows she can¡¯t live without me. I¡¯m the only one that knows how to be a minion master around here. In a few minutes, she¡¯ll bring me back and things will go on as normal. ¡°Heed my call, thou forsaken soul¡­¡± Being right always feels so good. Though she was probably summoning me in the middle of a horde of those horned rabbits. There was only one thing to do. ¡°Peace out!¡± I called into the darkness before it faded from my sockets. The moment the light hit my eyes, I rolled with all of my might. The world spun, making me feel nauseous. But without my stomach and other squishy bits, I was safe and wouldn¡¯t vomit like I used to do at amusement parks. ¡°What the hells are you doing?¡± Cythia spoke in an unamused manner. Glancing around, I saw that we were a ways away from the rabbit burrow. My equipment had lain strewn about on the ground surrounded by heaps of crystals, pelts, horns, and meat. Pure uncooked rabbit meat just laying on the ground, waiting for any sort of animal to take. If that was for dinner, I¡¯d firmly pass. The two second rule had most assuredly been passed many, many seconds ago. Oh and it was all surrounded in turn by a few berserk bunnies. ¡°My mistake, thought I¡¯d been summoned in the middle of a fubar combat zone so I decided to evac asap.¡± Grunting, I pulled myself to my feet even as my surroundings swam drunkenly in my vision. ¡°You are the strangest person I have ever met.¡± Cythia sighed in defeat. ¡°What is fubar?¡± Felly asked sincerely. ¡°Its short for ¡®Fucked up beyond all recognition¡¯. When shit hits the fan, its usually fubar.¡± Judging by the looks they were giving me, they didn¡¯t understand. ¡°I see¡­¡± She turned away from us mouthing the words to the acronym. Felith has leveled up! Gained plus one vulgarity! I was so proud. ¡°Enough with the strange sayings! We need to get rid of this burrow before nightfall!¡± Cythia growled, ¡°And heres how we¡¯re going to do it.¡± She motioned towards the ground. ¡°I cant hold dirt toots, it slips through my finger bones. And I don¡¯t think blinding them by throwing dirt at them is a viable strategy.¡± ¡°Not the dirt! The rocks! You throw the rocks at them, drawing them to you, and then you take them out one by one!¡± Oh, yeah we could do that. That sounded much better than being swarmed like I just was. I think we¡¯ll do that method. ¡°You could have just said you wanted us to pull them away from the adds.¡± Honestly, its like she didn¡¯t understand MMO-speak at all! I mean, if your world resembles a video game, the least you could do is use the proper terminology. ¡°Ugh! Just¡­do whatever¡­¡± She sighed and paced back a few steps. I think I had finally broken her. Excellent. ¡°Alright Felly, want to charge in for a slaughter, or do as our mistress suggests and pull them one by one? I¡¯m game for either.¡± ¡°Hmmm. Forcing them to come to our position would be the proper solution. I have no desire to suffer the fate that befell you a few minutes ago. Besides, I must admit to being rather curious as to how you will handle combat unarmed as you are. Your sword swinging left much to be desired.¡± Ouch, she called me a rookie in every sense of the word. ¡°Improper sword handling happens to everyone their first time, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°Indeed, but even worse, your movements were stiff.¡± She stared at me with a critical eye. The same I used when checking out a chick. But instead of checking out my amazing bones, it was as if she was picking apart my flaws before announcing them to the world. ¡°It looked as if you didn¡¯t know how to effectively avoid your enemy¡¯s attacks.¡± ¡°Well today is my first time I¡¯ve ever fought truly seriously outside of a few schoolhouse brawls.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m much more comfortable with these babies than a sword.¡± I grinned as I held up my left and right fists and gave each a kiss. ¡°Daddy loves his little death dealers, yes he does.¡± ¡°Hmmm, well if you are truly more comfortable with your fists, then perhaps you would show me?¡± Oh she was egging me on. Lucky for her, I was willing to take that bait. ¡°Alright Felly, stand back. I¡¯m going to smash some faces.¡± Without a word of complaint, she stepped away before turning around and watching me critically. ¡°Right.¡± With a quick breath, I grabbed a solid stone from the ground and set my eyes upon my target, a level one Horned Rabbit nibbling on my clothes. ¡°Been awhile since I¡¯ve pitched, but this shouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡± Clenching the rock in my fist, I wound up before catapulting the rock with all my strength at the bunny. One moment the Rabbit was there, the next there was nothing more than a Crystal, it¡¯s horn, pelt, and the meat. [You have acquired the trait [Novice Throwing (Rank III)]] [By showing insight on how to throw an object and successfully hit a foe, you have begun to gain familiarity with using various objects as a ranged attack] ¡°By the heavens¡­¡± Felly gasped, but I paid her no mind. It was a pretty shit throw, as I was really rusty. The two hares nibbling at my clothes looked at the remnants of their fellow before laying their eyes upon me. Without a squeak of warning, the two bolted towards me with their horns pointed at the ready. It was go time. I clenched my fists and watched them cautiously. Heads dipped low while back legs pumped full of strength before the duo launched themselves towards me in a rocketing jump. They were fast, much faster than the Cave Rats. But fast wasn¡¯t good enough. ¡°Suck it!¡± I shouted as I danced to the side and launched a fist of my own into one¡¯s face, obliterating it in an instant. [You take 15 physical damage] Pain erupted down my backside as I spun to face the last rabbit. These things didn¡¯t mess around, the moment they landed they spun for another attack. But this one couldn¡¯t get away in time. ¡°Fore!¡± My voice echoed across the fields as I punted the little white rabbit with all of my might. A horrified squeal became faint as it launched through the air, until it hit the ground in a bright flash of light some thirty meters away. Now that my gear was clear, it was time to rustle up my threads. ¡°W-what kind of throw was that?!¡± Cythia exclaimed as she rushed up to pick up the rabbit pelts, horns, meat, and crystals while I picked up my clothes and dusted them off. ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve never seen such a technique for throwing.¡± Felly muttered. ¡°Oh that? Just a baseball pitch, though I¡¯m a little rusty. Haven¡¯t played in years. Though I guess this stat system made my throw a bit better than I used to be able.¡± I shrugged as I pulled up my pants. ¡°Stand back Toots, You wanna get the next group Felly?¡± I pointed to another set of three rabbits in the distance. Cythia retreated a few steps and watched our newest member with great interest. Hell, I was interested as well. If she could back up her talk, she was about to leave me in the dust. ¡°I suppose¡­¡± Felly nodded before picking up a stone. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure my throw wont be as impressive as yours, Sir Richard, please observe my movements while I use my blade. You gain insight on proper technique.¡± Oh that snarky bitch. With a quick throw that almost pegged a rabbit, she gained the attention of the three horned mammals that rushed towards her. In a flash of bronze, her sword was at the ready as she held her ground. Her eye squinted as she watched the rapidly approaching group. Her stance widened as she sucked in a deep breath and turned her blade. The moment that they leapt at her with horns placed to pierce, she moved as quickly as I could blink. Two flashes immediately exploded in a burst of light, leaving the third rabbit falling to the ground alone as Felly spun on her heel and swiped at the remaining target. In a matter of seconds, she had taken out three rabbits without even breaking a sweat. ¡°Did you see?¡± She smiled and sheathed her blade. ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t see shit.¡± I sighed, ¡°You moved way too fast for me to even understand half of what you did.¡± ¡°S-same here¡­¡± Cythia muttered, ¡°But you were amazing! Far more than he ever was.¡± She motioned towards me in a hurtful manner. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from you when all you do is hide behind us.¡± I grumbled. ¡°I¡­I see. I suppose that this level of movement is a bit beyond your skill.¡± She smirked, ¡°But now it is your turn Sir Richard.¡± A group of two rabbits clunked horns against one another in some weird display. I¡¯m no zoologist, but I¡¯m pretty sure they were fighting over a third Horned Rabbit that sat nearby. ¡°Right.¡± I picked up a rock and took aim. Felly stared at me with great interest, which made me rather nervous. Not as bad as pitching in front of bleachers full of drunk parents, but still pretty stressful. With a quick wind-up and an explosion of force, the rabbit that watched the other two disappeared in a flash of light the moment the rock hit it. Enraged, two horny bunnies bounded towards me, furious that their prize had been taken from them. A quick hook and kick later and they were nothing more than a bunch of loot upon the dirt. ¡°I see you didn¡¯t use your blade this time.¡± Felly stated. ¡°I spent good money on that weapon, minion. The least you could do is use it.¡± Cythia huffed as if my fists weren¡¯t good enough for her. ¡°Well I¡¯m pretty rubbish with it. Figure I¡¯ll stick to what I know for now. Besides, Felly can give me some tips later on.¡± She nodded happily, ¡°It would be my pleasure, so long as you show me how to make a throw like yours.¡± ¡°No problem. You wanna learn too, Toots? You¡¯d be able to attack alongside us without using Mana.¡± ¡°Indeed, it would be a great skill for you to acquire. Perhaps I should also teach you on how to wield a blade¡­¡± The two of us grinned at our mistress who grew increasingly nervous. ¡°S-sure¡­¡± She muttered. Good, I didn¡¯t have to suffer sword training alone. ¡°Alright! It¡¯s decided then.¡± I clacked my hands together. ¡°Cythia¡¯s self defense course shall begin later in the evening. For now, we¡¯ve got bunnies to exterminate. Felly, you¡¯re up.¡± ¡°Indeed. Perhaps I shall slow down my motions so that you two may observe more easily this time.¡± In the seconds that it had taken the next group of Horned Rabbits to die, neither Cythia nor I could see what Felith had done. She was just simply too fast for our eyes. Over the course of about two hours or so, we swapped on and off on bunny slaughtering. In total, we had killed sixty-seven bunnies of various levels. The highest being the level five that I had obliterated with a pitch. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but I reveled in that bastard¡¯s death. In total, we gained 910 experience, bringing us up two levels. Together, the three of us brought up our character sheets, as we discussed what to do with our stat points. Name: Richard Stensen Race: Undead Class: Basic Skeleton Level: 7 Experience: 170/750 Health: 45/120 Mana: 4/40 Focus: 5/85 Unspent Points: 4 Strength: 9(+1) Stamina: 12(+1) Agility: 5(+1) Dexterity: 6(+1) Intelligence: 5(+1) Wisdom: 3(+1) Perception: 6(+1) Luck: 2(+1) ¡°Wait, why are all my stats increased by one?¡± ¡°Oh, when I ranked up in Summon Skeleton, it added in that your stats are increased by 10% of their total value, with a minimum of one added.¡± Cythia smiled smugly, ¡°You should give praise to your mistress for making you stronger than you previously were!¡± ¡°Thanks toots.¡± Credit where it¡¯s due, added stats are always good. And by the happy look on her face, I had made the right choice. Judging by how Felly was going to be giving me sword training later, I put my points evenly into Dexterity and Agility. Being able to move and act faster would certainly help, and I could already feel the effects of my choice. Leveling up felt good, and I was only three levels away from that first evolution of mine. Oh sweet flesh and blood, wait for me!