《Sturdy Bones》 Prologue – Fading Life I can''t remember how long I''ve been here. Walking, Searching for something... anything, Doing nothing, Maybe I''ve been here forever. Trapped in an endless cycle... I scanned the ground with a practised gaze. My intuition was right as always. On top of the crimson, flaming rock, there was an item the size of a fist. I knelt down on one knee and fished it up. A sigil? My feet burned as hell but it was fine. I was used to the constant pain of having my bones smouldered, day after day without rest. Not that I could remember anything from yesterday. Just faint images, swirling in my mind like autumn leaves, crisp and brittle, breaking after a single touch¨C or recollection in this case -- as if something kept them hidden from me. Mist seeped through the hole-poked ground and rose into the dark sky. A howl echoed through the lands and sent a chill racing through my spine. It was time to go back. I quickly stuffed the sigil inside my ragged clothes. Couldn''t let the others see. They would take it from me. Like they always did, those greedy bastards. Every time I found something that the beings threw down from above, and they saw it ¨C they would take. I also took things from them. But not in broad daylight. Not by force. I sneaked in when they were away.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I had always felt a familiarity with taking things when people don''t see. I liked it. It felt exhilarating ¨C like the rush my current life didn''t have. I wandered further the next day. Past the crimson field of rocks. I came to a lava waterfall. It cascaded down with a thrusting speed. I had a strong premonition that a single spark sent flying would scorch my bones black. I shuddered. Thinking for a moment, I decided to move on. The risk wasn''t worth the reward. Better to take the long way around. After a while, I found a blue castle. Its walls towered above me several meters into the air. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t climb over. I wondered how many items were in there. Should be a lot. This castle... I felt as I''ve been here before¨C not just once. And of all the times, I don''t think I''ve succeeded even once with climbing over. I went back to my cave. In the far end, there was a ruffled drape covering something. I pulled it away. Underneath was a small, angled tree. On its branches hung several different items, and all of them shared the same characteristics. Broken. Worn out Discarded. I looked at the lowest branch. Beautiful. It was the sigil I found yesterday, I think. I wasn''t so sure anymore. My memories kept fading as always. Only by gathering these items could I sometimes remember things from long ago upon sight. Otherwise, every day felt like a new one. With one last glance, I pulled the cover. Now that everything was set for today, I laid down. I wondered what I could find tomorrow. My bones cracked from the excitement. I took a deep breath and¨C a strange, rumbling sensation bombarded my mind. I forced myself up. What was happening? Roaring sound waves made my head pulsate. I panicked and put my hand over my ears. Make it stop. Please. Then everything ceased to be. Silence. Only silence. Like the first raindrop, a voice spoke in my mind. I tilted my head. [ Specism chosen by the dice has been found. ] [ Initialising Eve... ] Prologue 2: Back to the Mortal World [Hello, John Jackson. My name is Eve. A system created by the God of Games] I hurriedly took a few steps back and threw weary glances around in response to the voice filling my mind. Was someone out for my treasure? No ¨C there was no one in the vicinity. No one in my cave. Who spoke then? [Please, do not be afraid, John Jackson. I will not harm you nor take your, so-called treasure. As a matter of fact, I am here solely to give you a chance from behalf of my master. You were chosen by his divine dice to participate in a bet between the gods. In a moment,I will forcefully create a summon between you and a necromancer, thereby bring you back to the mortal world. John Jackson, I hope you will repay this favour¨C a favour my master paid in blood to complete¨C but the choice is up to you and you alone... may the dice be with you!] I understood some of what the dice said but that was it. God of games? Divine Dice? Necromancer? I shook my head and waited. Would something else happen or was th¨C the rumbling appeared again. I felt my whole world shake. Underneath me, a purple circle engraved with strange markings shone. I tried to run away but it was too late. My vision slowly went heydey. The cave warped, golden lightning struck from every direction, and everything went black in the blink of an eye. [Summoning process complete ¨C 100%] Uggh. Where was I? I opened my eyes. Black stone tiles. Torches lined the walls. A two-legged being with beige skin stared at me from above. I turned around. Fuck! I took a step back only to back into another one. They were here, those greedy bastards. Did they maybe take my treasure? Fuck! No! The treasure I worked so long for... was it gone? [Welcome back to life, John Jackson. As I said earlier, my name is Eve. I will be here to help you on your journey. To start, please advocate your free skill points. As in your current position, I''d recommend putting them on intelligence and wisdom so that you can understand me properly. And I mean that with no offence at all.]
Unused points: 20
STR)ength: Increases Physical power and Density of bones: (AGI)lity: Increases Running Speed, Reaction Speed and Dexterity: (STA)mina: Increases Health Pool, Hardness of Bones and Body Size: (INT)elligence: Increases Memory, Critical Thinking, and Mana Pool: (WIS)dom: Increases Health Regen, Mana Regen and Overall Understanding: 6 5 7 2 3 + + + + +
A bunch of black screens materialised in thin air. I tried to back away, but once I remembered they were behind me, I stopped struggling. I put the matter of my treasure back of my head. It was more important to figure out what was going on right now. As I looked at the screen, I found myself able to read what was written. How? And what was read? What was text? Why did these strange words that I couldn''t understand come to me? Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. As I contemplated on what to do, the voice appeared in my mind for a second time. [To distribute unused points, press the plus button the corner of each row.] Okay. Calm down. What did the voice tell me to do? It told me to increase intelligence and wisdom. I read through the boxes again. Intelligence increases memory and mana pool. Wisdom increases Health Regen, Mana Regen and understanding. Without much thinking, I did what the voice told me to do. I wouldn''t want to mess with someone who can make my world warp like that and then teleport me to a foreign place in the blink of an eye. 1+ WIS 1+ WIS 1+ WIS This went really slow. Maybe it would go faster if I held it in... Ding! Ding! Ding! In the blink of an eye, the voice repeated the same words of one plus WIS in my mind so many times I felt dizzy. As I looked at my attributes, I was shocked. 23 wisdom. Wait? I actually know that they are called attributes? I looked around. Everything was different. Like comparing black and white with a colourful canvas painting. Was this the effect of wisdom? Hey, give me more! My bones cracked as I clenched my fists. What a magical system! [You have distributed all unused points. To gain more, you must level up or fulfil certain condition.] "Minions of mine. " said a hoarse, aged voice. I lifted my head. The one who spoke was the necromancer in the throne. He sat in his bone throne and looked at me and the other skeletons. His white hair was as tattered as my bones and his teeth as crooked as my torso. He looked just like a wizened old beggar. "Powerful champions of the undead. Reigners of death and destruction. " he paused before taking a deeper tone. "Today, the time has come. No more shall we stand by in silence, no more shall we let our flag go sullied, and no more¨C no more shall we let the living keep us from getting what we desire!" Wow. I could actually form complex sentences by now. The effects of increasing my wisdom were really showing off. I felt like a completely new person. "Undead! Head my words!" said the old man. "We shall drag out the dwarves from the mountains. Smash their skulls to dust! And pillage their treasures! We shall hang the elves from trees! Let frogs drink their brain gravy! And burn down the forests! We shall slaughter the beastmen! Cut their limbs! And let vultures gouge out their eyeballs! Finally, we shall exterminate all that human vermin and purge the world from all evil! FOR THE UNDEAD!" [A quest has been triggered!]
Conquer the world, Punish the living! You have been summoned to the mortal world by the most powerful lich in existence,Ozeroth Kazaar.His aim is to conquer the everything that stands in his wake and you have now become a soldier in his army of undeads wether you want it or not. Help him punish the living and unify the continent under the undead banner! Grade: SSS+ Difficulty: ??? Rewards: You are nothing more than cannon fodder. What did you expect?
1. ~Another Damn Quest~ I swung my hammer against the heated iron as hard and as fast as I could. Bang! Bang! Bang! Glistening sparks flew in every direction from the heavy anvil. As some came in contact with my white bones, I felt a slight sting¨C but it was nothing compared to the flaming abyss down there, that place which I never wanted to go back to ever again¨C that place where everything had been a mirage¨C where everything I did turned into fleeting memories, swept away every night... Done. I stopped my hand and inspected the final result. Damn. With a sigh, I picked up the lump of iron and threw it back into the furnace. It was a failure. I walked over to the bellows and started pumping, using additional surges of air to increase the heat and combustion rate. As I thought back, it might have been a mistake to invest all stat points in wisdom. I became smarter but the hard work here was tough as fuck. I had to pummel metal twice or thrice as many times because of my insufficient strength. About the treasure that I lost, the tree with hanging items... I know understood its totally insignificant value. And yet, I felt strangely¨C what to say¨C annoyed by the fact that it was taken from me. Well, I would just have to take it back some day. The temperature in the forge was high and it smelled like burnt honey. Burnt honey? I sighed. These random words I can''t understand kept coming to me amass no matter what I do. I decided to not bother anymore. [You have successfully created an item. Blacksmithing has improved. 4 bp gained!]
Blacksmithing (Rank 1) | 98/100bp
I showed a smile fitting for a skeleton as I inspected the spear with the system.
Incomplete Iron spear ¨C An incomplete spear forged by a novice blacksmith with meagre skills using very crude methods. Quality: Inferior
All commands for Eve went through my mind. I merely had to think for her to operate as I wish; within the boundaries of what she could tell me, of course. There have been requests which she has straightforwardly denied under the reasons that her master told her to keep the answers to them confidential. The spear''s surface was anything but smooth. More like a cactus. I did a couple of test swing. It felt good. The balance was alright and the spearhead was sharp enough to pierce through the surface layer of skin. Josh! It was time to wrap this up! Having looked at the spear enough, I threw it in a pile of other spears that lay in the corner of the room. Just one more. Then I would rank up. I picked out two of the better-looking iron ores and begin the smelting process all over again... [You have successfully created an item. Blacksmithing has improved. 4 bp gained!]
Blacksmithing (Rank 1) | 102/100bp
[Blacksmithing has levelled up from Rank 1 to Rank 2.] [You have unlocked a new class by clearing a special condition!]
Blacksmith Blacksmiths are people who handle metal and other similar materials in a high temperature by shaping them into different objects and items. Often known as makers armour and weapons. Rarity: Common Effects: 10% increased chance of forging items with better quality.
[ Passive Class Skill Selection. Please choose one... ] ¨C [ Cheapskate: You are a cheap bastard, and you don''t deny it one bit. Enables for a five percent less material usage in blacksmithing. ] ¨C [ Scavenger: You will use what you find. Enables the use of your everyday discarded materials to substitute for missing materials. A certain matter of resemblance is required for success. ] ¨C [ Bonesmith: If no other things are available, you will even use your body. Enables the use of your bones in blacksmithing. Quality will depend on bone structure and hardness. ] What was this? ¡°Eve, can you explain this for me?¡± [Gladly, John. A class is a proof of ability. Think of it as a reward for improving. Since you have acquired one, you may now choose one of these three passive skills suitable for your specific class.] After hearing the descriptions from Eve, I confirmed that every single one of the alternatives was good. If were solely looking for long term effect, the Cheapskate passive bested the other two passives by far. On the other hand, the two other options provided a bit of mobility, especielly the Scavenger option. However, the bonesmith felt oddly attractive. I did have to agree that since my health pool''s regen would regrow the bones I fracture and break in the future it could prove quite convenient. And also, It might be the option which held most potential, since the forged item''s quality depended on my bones. Stronger bone... the better weapon and armour... In the end, I chose the bonesmith. I figured that the rewards would outnumber the risks. [ Active Class Skill Selection. Please choose one... ] ¨C [ Lucky Throw: Throw two of your own forged items into the furnace and hope for the best. Warning: may backfire. 48h cooldown ] ¨C [ Summon Anvil: Summons an anvil to a designated spot. Very useful for a blacksmith on constant foot. 24h cooldown ] ¨C [ Hard Hammer: Makes the next swing in your smithing result in extra durability to the items you craft. 30min cooldown ] Another choice of three. Each of these three skills had a certain cooldown before I could use them again. Lucky throw had the most, summon anvil the second, and hard hammer the least. I''d do good to take the active skill which suits that passive best. Both Summon anvil and Lucky throw was good options for me while Hard hammer felt stupid. But since I need more than an anvil to forge, lucky throw seemed to come out on the top. And since I have changed quite a lot with the passive, I''d rather go all or nothing than very tiny or nothing! [You have received an item.] [You have received 10 stat points.] I cowered back. A golden light dazzled me. As the light disappeared, an iron hammer fell to the floor with a bang. I shuttled forward and picked it up. It was an orderly hammer without any kinds of ornaments, the size of my forearm. But no matter what, it was a lot better than the one I used for the past week. At least from how it looked.
Yorgurim''s hammer ¨C Yorgurim was once a novice dwarven blacksmith who worked at a not so famous forge in the capital of dwarves, J?rgdmund. During the early stages of the continent, thousands of years ago, the young dwarf was called out to fight, eventually killed by a young dragon hatchling. His hammer has been lost ever since. Quality: Common Effects: It''s quite good for shaping heated metals.
As I rejoiced in getting a class, and all the benefits along with 10 stat points, someone entered the forge. I didn''t even have time to distribute my points. The fire was instantly extinguished and I felt a chill in the air. I shuddered and looked toward the entrance. A corpse-pale face, black coat, crimson cloak, black breeches and pointy shoes ¨C it was a vampire. I hurried to look down. I felt danger from this being. And I didn''t want to die!
Elite NPC ¨C Royal Vampire Ezra (126)
"Master Ferguson demands your presence, Skeleton." said the Vampire in a chilly tone. "follow me." I nodded but kept my gaze down. Doing otherwise would be plain stupidity. Ezra, the vampire, lifted his thin brows in surprise. His corpse-white face was identical to that of a young man if the young man had been dead for days. He had the eyes of a basilisk and two white teeth which protrude from his mouth like daggers. He licked his lips. "I see you can understand what I''m saying. Good, that makes this a lot easier... I shuddered again. I knew what he meant. "Come. Master has requested your presence. It''s about those spears you''ve been crafting." I nodded and asked. "E¨CExcuse me, may I wonder why our venerable master wishes for my presence?" Ezra lifted his eyebrows again. I immediately regret asking. "You''ll see for yourself. Come, I won''t repeat myself twice." "I understand." I followed the vampire out of the forge. We walked past many corridors and hallways on our way where the light of torches reflected onto the black stone walls, giving off a very creepy feeling. After a while, we arrived outside a path guarded by two black-clad skeleton knights. The Knights greeted the vampire with a salute. However, as they looked at me, I found only scorn in their eyes. They snorted and looked away as if I was beneath their very notice. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Open up,¡± commanded Ezra. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± growled the two skeleton knights in grim voices. The skeleton knights moved their halberds aside and slowly pushed the two massive doors open. Ezra walked through. I followed him. The two doors slammed shut as we entered. Wow. I found myself in a large hall. It looked like the throne room of an evil lord. White candles stretched like dead men''s'' fingers and burned with blue fire as they lined the black stone walls along with paintings of old. The windows were barred with iron frames and were covered with a thick haze which made the candles in the room the only source of light. A crimson carpet was laid out from the entrance all the way across to the throne. To the sides of the hall, there were knights in black armour. They were death knights. I saw this from the black screens above their heads. Each and every one of them was over level hundred. They wore red capes and bowed on one knee, facing the throne in absolute silence. I followed their gaze to the centre of the large hall. The throne was white and one could tell with one glance that it was made from bones. Within sat a black-clothed figure, who showed nothing but his face, overlooking everything in the hall with a cold gaze. A green miasma coiled around him like a snake and made hissing noises as if it was alive. He seemed to be in his prime, his face as pale as the vampire''s, and his cheeks dotted with light brown freckles. Ezra turned to me and gestured. I nodded and slowly walked toward the necromancer.
BOSS ¨C Necromancer Ferguson (???)
I kneeled down on one knee and stared down without daring to look at Necromancer Ferguson. "You are the one who created the spears I heard so much about? A skeleton from Master Ozeroth''s legion?" he asked.His voice was as indifferent as the miasma coiling around his body, sending me shivers. "Yes, Master," I said in a croaky voice. "I¡¯m glad. " chuckled Necromancer Ferguson. "They were of rather good quality, those spears, for a skeleton without knowledge of blacksmithing. I can see now that you have evolved into a skeleton blacksmith. Seems like you were a variant and only needed the required stimulation. You have pleased me greatly. What''s your name, Skeleton?" "I..." I said. "¨CI don''t know. But.. John... feels familiar to me. That may have been my name before I died." "So be it," said Necromancer Ferguson. "You shall from now on be addressed as Skeleton Blacksmith John and nothing else.¡± [Necromancer Ferguson has rewarded you with a title after pleasing him.]
Skeleton Blacksmith A title made up on the whim by an infamous necromancer called Ferguson Bane. Effects: Noone, but it sounds better than nothing... right?
"Thank you, Master." "Furthermore," continued Necromancer Ferguson. "A new post should be in order." He glanced at Erza. "Ezra here will lead you to the nightfall camp. Once there, you shall take up the position of the previously deceased blacksmith and create new equipment as well as to repair that which is damaged. Is that clear?¡± [A quest has been triggered!]
Nightfall Camp ¨C Travel with Vampire Ezra to the Nightfall Camp south of the Black Castle and take up the position of an official skeleton blacksmith. Once there you have been requested to create new armour from the ores delivered every month as well as to repair old armour that is damaged by the ongoing skirmishes with beastmen around the camp. Time limit: ??? Reward: ??? *Failure will result in Necromancer Ferguson''s wrath. *Quest cannot be declined.
I gnashed my teeth. Another damn quest. I previously received a legendary tiered quest from Ozerath Kazaar, and the reward for that quest, which I have yet to complete obviously, was absolutely nothing. Nightfall camp... It seemed as if this quest¡¯s reward was hidden from me. Neither can the quest be refused. Sweet! Also, It was to no bother to try and not comply with the order. Incur the wrath of Necromancer Ferguson? Hah! I wouldn¡¯t even be able to take on the anger of one of his death knight¡¯s, much less the necromancer himself. ¡°Yes, master.¡± ¡°Very well, Ezra will come fetch you tomorrow before first daylight. Now, begone, I have important matters to deal with.¡± After having met with Necromancer Ferguson, I was lead back to the forge by the vampire. Once alone, I decided to make myself some armour for tomorrow. Since it was in order to test out the new passive and active skills I received, that¡¯s what I did. ¡°Eve, what bone in my body is best used to create a sword with?¡± [That would be your thigh bone, John.] ¡°And how long will it for it to regenerate if I cut off my whole leg?" [37 minutes. Due to your incredible health regeneration and easily constructed bone quality. ] I nodded and then took a readying breath. With a thrust, I tried to rip off my thigh bone. It didn¡¯t work out very well. I then searched the forge for a knife. There. It was dull but would hopefully work. However, I was once again met with disappointment. The knife didn¡¯t work either as the bone was too hard to cut in. In a last attempt to succeed, I grabbed one of my spears and yanked it inside where my thigh bone was connected. I then pressed down as hard as I could. With a snap, my whole leg spun in the air before landing on the floor. I myself was in no better condition. Without something to support me, I also fell. I pulled up my character menu and looked at my health. I had lost a seventh from ripping off my leg. Since I couldn¡¯t do much in my current condition, I simply had to wait. The incredible thing was that I could, however, see as my leg regenerated with my own eyes with a noticeable speed. It was a fascinating sight to behold. 37 minutes later, my leg was once again regenerated. I stood up and began to work with it. Information about how to do filled my mind as if I had done it for ages. I went over to the worktable and grabbed a whetstone. Bonesmithing was all about polishing, polishing and even more polishing. After a while, I had gotten it to a quite okay shape. The sharpness was fine but I needed to have a go at it for a bit longer. [You have successfully created an item. Blacksmithing has improved. 12 bp gained!]
Blacksmithing (Rank 2) | 14/1000bp
[You have gained a title!]
Bonesmith A special title which is only given to those who dare to use their own bones as a material. Effects: Noone
The bone sword was more of a bone knife. Or maybe a mix between a knife and a sword. There were still a couple of hours before first daylight. I decided to craft a shield as well. Yorgurim''s hammer was a very fine hammer. As I swung it down onto the lump of iron, I felt as if a lot more power than I used to exhibit came into action. Sparks flew wildly and a grin began to curve from my mouth. The process was much simpler than with the spear, and everything I had to was to smelt a huge iron lump and beat it into a round-shaped object along with a handle so that I could hold it. [You have successfully created an item. Blacksmithing has improved. 9 bp gained!]
Blacksmithing (Rank 2) | 23/1000bp
[ Congratulations! Your skill in blacksmithing has reached a level where you can admit it''s your craft without feeling embarrassed. ] ¡°What if we try the lucky throw?¡± I asked myself. I didn¡¯t have much time, but if it failed I would still be able to make another shield. So, after thinking for a while, I ripped off a bone from my ribcage and began to polish it. The ribcage bone turned out to become, for some weird reason, a stake. Or that was what the system regarded it as when I inspected at least. ¡°Eve, how do I use my active skills?¡± [ Simple. Just think of the skill. ] After talking with Eve, I rid myself of all nervosity and hesitation and threw in the shield and the bone. They landed in the furnace. I thought of the skill, said it within my mind, whereupon a faint golden light shimmered in the furnace. [Lucky throw completed.] I used a tong to take out the shield.
Bone-staked roundshield ¨C A shield made with the use of Lucky throw. Can be used as both a weapon and a shield as it has the unique addition of a stake. Grade: Uncommon
Before I went to prepare a bag for the trip, I decided to add my 10 newly gained points and check my status. This time, I made sure to choose an even number to the stats which controlled my body. Strenght. Agility. Stamina. 3 to each. I saved the last point for the future. A reason was because I might put it into intellect if needed, a choice made by listening to Eve. As I added three points to strength, I felt a surge of power rush through my body. It did, however, feel heavier. My guess, or answer to this, was the increase of density of my bones, making them heavier. Next up was the Agility. This time, I felt lighter instead. In the end, I was back to how I was before. Though I could feel I was stronger, I wasn''t faster. This could only mean one thing. For me to increase my speed, it needs to be higher than my strength. And if I only increase y strength, I will have a tough time moving fast because of how much my bones weight. Thirdly, I added the stamina, and this is where I was truly shocked. My bones began to crackle as if I was excited, and then produce a grinding noise. I grew several centimetres taller and my bones became thicker than before as if my whole being had enlarged. Beyond incredible! I couldn''t wait to gain more points. It was almost like a drug!
John Jackson Level: 1 Race: Skeleton Class: Blacksmith Titles: Skeleton Blacksmith, Bonesmith Passive skills: Bonesmith (Rank 1) Active skills: Lucky Throw (Rank 1) Health: 100 Mana: 20 Strength: 9 Agility: 8 Stamina: 10 Intellect: 3 Wisdom: 23 Quests: [Conquer the World, Punish the Living!], [Nightfall Camp]
2. ~Lore&Swordpractice~ Ezra''s POV Why did I try to look so cool yesterday? Extinguishing the fire, releasing my aura to make it older in the room... Maybe he will think of me as a bully? I mean... Me? A bully?I slid open the coffin and yawned. An oval-shaped face met mine. I blinked. "Master, are you thirsty?" Alyss asked, her face centimetres away. I let a laugh slip out as I noticed her face. She had put make up on, a human invention, but failed miserably, lipstick all over the area of her mouth and not just her lips. I wondered how. I mean, I found her in a human farmers'' village, but didn''t all human female know how to use make-up? "I''m fine," I said in return and gently pushed her face away, rising from the coffin. "Can you get my clothes?" "Oh master," she said, blushing, not fazed for being pushed away. "I like you better without. Like this." she looked at my private parts shyly. "Alyss," I said in a firmer voice. This damn girl, I knew she had become infuriated with me the moment after I bit her neck and turned her. Maybe even before, as I lured her away from the town. Now afterwards, a small part of me regretted ever having made that decision. She shrugged her shoulders and showed me a defeated smile. After bringing me my clothes, she sat on the side of my coffin and watched me get dressed. "Master, please be careful out there, okay?" she said sincerely. "Alyss may fool around a lot, but she really can''t live without her master." I knew what she said was true. Although she liked to play around, she did her best to satisfy me. Even to the point where she tried to put on makeup even though she always failed. "I know, Alyss. And don''t worry, I won''t die. I''m stronger than most." I said as I left the room. John''s Pov It startled me as the vampire came in the morning, actually trying to make eye contact with me. As he captured my gaze, he smiled. I didn''t know what else to do so I shot him one back, uncertain to why he his actions were so friendly.No higher ranked undead being acted like this, so I thought, maybe Necromancer Ferguson had told him to be nice to me. We left the forge without wasting much time. My bone sword and lucky thrown made stake-shield was strapped to my back as my rags fluttered in the gentle wind. Maybe it was time to get som new clothes. The vampire''sclothing was quite stylish, a lot better than mine. As we left the black walls which towered high into the air, the vampire told me."Call me Ezra, okay? And feel free to ask me about anything. I¡¯ve been in the living world for a few years longer than you." I nodded. The black castle was erected on a barren land. Everything I could see for miles was an endless expanse of golden yellow and orange reddish in the horizon. There were some mountains on the horizon, but they were too far away and so they blurred forth and back in the heat. When I was lead here, we had walked during the night, and so I hadn''t seen all this. It was a beautiful sight, somehow a bit familiar. "Did you make that shield yourself?" Ezra asked me as we were walking. I found his gaze looking at the shield strapped to my back. "Y¨Cyeah," I answered. "You know, it''s not like I''m gonna attack you or something during the trip. I''m your ally," he said. I stared at him with a puzzled look. He shook his head and touched the area around his heart. "Never mind. I easily get nostalgic." We both stayed silent for a while. He cleared his throat. "Hey, do you know why we are here?" I looked at him like a question mark. "I mean¨C what''s the point of all this? You forging weapons, us crossing the desert¨C you know why? This time I was the one to shake my head. "Then, do you know about the contested territory of the endless wasteland?" I shook my head a second time. "What about the five factions? And how they formed?" And a third time. Ezra laughed. "Do you want to know? There''s nothing else to do during the journey than to walk and talk." I nodded. "Talk and don''t answer with you damn skull. If not I''ll just keep quiet." humphed the vampire I nodded slowly. "I want to know." "Alright, let''s start with our purpose for coming here. To the mortal world. " Ezra said. "It''s very simple. To conquer everything. To punish the living. And to place our banner on the continent as kings. Any questions?" "I¨Cl remember big master talking about that," I said, gathering courage enough to speak out. "Oh, you mean Ozerath Kazaar? The leader of our faction?" Ezra asked. I nodded. "Yes. B-but here''s something I wonder about. Why do we want to punish the living? What have they done to us?" The vampire instantly quieted down. He touched the place of his heart again and then said. "It''s different for all undead. For me, It''s survival. If we loose, if my master, Necromancer Ferguson, gets killed, I will get sent to the underworld again. And the underworld, it''s countless of times worse than here. It''s different for you, though, so I can understand your doubt." I frowned. "Why is it different to me?" "Because you won''t go back to the underworld. You are simply the soul of a dead person, dragged from the first layer of the underworld into a couple of bones. I mean this with no offence, but it''s true. And if you die, then your soul will simply disintegrate. Why? Because your soul is what fuels the bones to move. On the other hand, if the one who summoned you dies, nothing will happen to you. You are, and forever will be, free. One of the perks of being a skeleton, I guess." I walked in quiet. It was a lot to take in. "Now, about the contested territory of endless wastelands." the vampire continued. "Long ago, when the continent was born, thousands of races fought against each other. There were no borders, no peace treaties. No, there was nothing of the kind. It was an all-out battle for survival. And this region we are in right now, the endless wasteland, is the core of the continent and also the place where the most gruesome battles took place. That''s the reason for why it''s nowadays known as a wasteland. Because the earth itself lacks the will to live after all slaughter that took place, transforming everything into a land of death. "Why did they fight?" I asked. "Resources. Territory. The reason is many in between." Ezra answered. "One of the main reasons, though, is the myth about the land of God. It''s said that if one race can defeat all other, then they can take their people to the promised land of the gods where no death or misfortune can occur. A reward for all the brutish fighting I guess. A bit shady in my opinion though." "Land of the gods? Where is that?" I remember Eve saying her master was a god. Maybe he resided there. Ezra shook his head. "No one knows. It''s said that the greater beings came from there to here, but they are long gone - extinct, cursed with a low reproduction rate. In the end, the original inhabitants of the continent overpowered them." "The original inhabitants? The vampire nodded. "Remember when I asked you about the five factions? They are the original inhabitants. Well, more or less. The weak were sorted out and one more faction was added. We were that fifth faction. The undead ¨C born after the great continental war where the four factions fought with the greater beings, sowed into existence from the grudge and hate of the defeated." I had to carefully investigate this by myself sometime. It felt a bit clingy to ask him about every single detail. "Currently, we are fighting a war here in the endless wasteland, seeking to obtain the territory." "Why?" I asked. "This desert contains nothing, you said so yourself."This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Ezra laughed. "Listen, it''s not because of the land itself. It''s the position. From here, we can attack the humans to the east, the forest rulers to the west and the mountain reigners to the south. It''s perfect for the ambition of our great master." Ezra kept talking to me about this and other similar things throughout the day. I learned a lot. One of the things we talked about was the beastmen. They were one of the five factions and It was a mystery how they survived on this piece of barren land, the endless wasteland. "Where do the beastmen live?" I asked. "I''m not sure¨C no one is, actually. " said the vampire. "they appear and leave like shadows. When they attack our main stronghold, which is quite often, they come from different directions every time. We''ve wanted to find out for a while, where they live, where their base is, but it''s proven to be, well, more difficult than expected, even with the language barrier "I see," I said. "by the way, aren''t you¨C ah¨C vulnerable to sunlight? "Me? No, no, that''s only true for normal vampires," said Ezra and drank from a sheepskin buckle before tossing it away. I could see the faint trace of red on the vampire''s pale lips afterwards. "We who originally walk the night aren''t affected¨C well¨C except for a small decrease in strength. While we''re at it, it''s a damn shame you''re a skeleton." "Why?" "That¨C eh, look, I''ve been at it with these buckles for months." he turned around and pointed at the sheepskin buckle he threw away a moment ago. "and I wouldn''t mind a¨C a fresh refill." "You... are you really my ally?" I asked, understanding what he meant. Ezra looked me up and down. "Heh, as dry as you look, I wouldn''t worry too much." We set up camp around noon, close to a canyon, fearing the beastmen scouts that patrolled around in the desert. Therefore, we decided to resume our journey after nightfall where they should be less active. "Ezra, do you know how to handle a sword?" "You mean if I''m any good with a sword?" I nodded. He laughed. "I tell you what¨C find someone who can best me under Ferguson''s command and I''ll treat you to a meal." "I''m a skeleton. I don''t eat." Ezra looked at me without saying anything. I gulped. "I mean, I''ll be glad to have you treat me to¨C heh¨C a meal," I said and then took a deep breath before asking as sincerely as possible. "Ezra, can please you teach me?" Ezra seemed to be in deep thought for a moment but then nodded. "I guess it can only increase the chance of us getting to the camp so why not. Come, let me see what you can do," he said and unsheathed the sword by his waist. I also grabbed the handle of my sword from my back. My bone sword. He nodded. I nodded back and charged.I held the iron sword in one hand and slashed from the side. Ezra parried with ease and deflected my sword with even less effort, causing it to slip from my hand and spin in the air before landing a few meters away. After the exchange of blows, the vampire seemed thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "I see, you certainly wouldn''t last even a single blow from a beastman." said Ezra. I caressed my throat. "Not even one?" Ezra laughed. "We should be able to resolve that problem though. Alleviate, at the very least " he gestured for me to pick up the sword. "Now, before you recklessly charge in again, look at my stance. Can you see anything different? I picked up the sword and looked at the vampire. Wait.. I noticed how the vampire stood a bit different from how he used to stand. His knees were deeper than normal and his whole figure was a bit crouched. He stood in a position where his sword arm was in front of his chest and shoulder, making his figure twisted. Almost as if the sword was a shield. A protection for the body. I tried to copy it, first bending my knees and crouching down. I noticed how I felt able to generate more explosive power from my legs than before. I then raised my right arm and held it in front of my body, turning my torso forty-five degrees to the left side, still keeping my head facing forward. [ You have learnt a new skill from observing Vampire Ezra''s stance!]
[Passive] Basic One-hand Sword Stance (Rank 1) ¨C A stance widely spread across the world, used by all races. Effects: +3% agility.
"Ahh!"I shouted, coming to a realisation. "Good, now pick up the sword." ordered Ezra. This magical system ¨C again! It really made life simpler! As I used the stance Ezra taught me, I felt much lighter. Ezra nodded with praise. "Come." "Ok, here I go!" I stepped forward with my right foot and then followed with my left from behind, never once breaking the stance. I quickened up the last step with my right foot, followed by my left, and swung my sword in the same path as I did earlier. Sadly, the result was the same. "Better, but you must use your waist and not just your whole arm," said Ezra after parrying and dismantling me of my weapon. "Like this!" Ezra stepped forward with his pivot foot and swung the sword, twisting his whole body toward the direction the sword was slashing at. It was the same swing I had performed, but the result was very much different. Before I could even react, Ezra''s sword was already by my throat, just an inch away from severing my skull from my body. In that split second, I wondered if having my skull removed would kill me. If not, what could kill me? "Only by using your waist as your core, letting your arm follow your waist, and your sword follow your arm, will you be able to exert the maximum amount of strength," explained Ezra. "do you understand?" "I think so," I said, using my bony index finger to push away Ezra''s sword. "Think about it like this," said Ezra after noticing my hesitation. "Imagine that your power starts from your feet and moves through your whole body. From your feet to your knees, from your knees to your waist, from your waist to your elbow, and from your elbow to your hand, which will work as the controller for where you want to hit." "Okay, I think I understand what you mean. Let me try one more time," I said. "Wait, just one more thing." intercepted Ezra. "If you are going to swing from your right side with a diagonal slash, your last step must be with your left foot. In the last second, put the opposite foot from where you are striking from and press down with it before you do what I told you to maximise the power. This action will make sure you have firm balance as well as more power leading through your body and out through your sword. If you don''t use your left foot and instead hide it behind your right foot, your body will be much more closed, and you won''t be able to generate a lot of power nor have the ability to change your striking target with your wrist at the last second." "Okay, so if I''m making a diagonal slash from the right, I should move my left foot last, and if I make a diagonal slash from my left side, I should move my right foot last?" I asked. "You got it." smiled Ezra. "Okay, so like this?" I stepped forward with my right foot and then quickly with my left, placing it in front my right, and pressed down. I then used the momentum from my foot and lead it through my body, using it to diagonally slash down from my right. [You have learned a new skill from observing Vampire Ezra!]
[Active] Diagonal Slash (Rank 1) ¨C One of the most commonly used sword moves. Effects: +15% damage
[You have learned a new skill from observing Vampire Ezra!]
[Passive] Twisting Power (Rank 1) ¨C An uncommon method that maximises a swordsman''s power usage. Effects: +2% Strenght
"You learn very quickly." Ezra praised me as trained. "Thank you," I said. During the day when the sun was at its peak and beastman scouts were riding around in the scorching, Ezra and I trained together. While it wasn''t much of a training for Ezra, who already was level hundred, it was for me. I learned Diagonal Slash, Basic One-hand Sword Stance, Twisting Power, Pierce, Parry and Sidestep. Each of the skills came with their own usages, and I now felt much more secure in the wastelands. 3. ~Battle~ John''s POV As night slowly approached, we laid down our swords and began the journey again. The waves of sand in the desert were anything but raging. Occasionally, however, agust from the northern side of the continent would blow by and destroy the tranquil peace. In the sky, the moon hung low and gave off a gentle shimmer to help travellers along their way. We were in the middle of a discussion when Ezra cut me off. "Listen." he whispered. Several seconds went by. I couldn''t hear a thing. I looked at Ezra with a puzzled look. However, then my bones turned rigid as if to contradict what I just said. I could hear, from far behind us, low and soft patts in a constant temp. Ezra grabbed me and threw me off the dune we were standing on. "I can almost swear I heard voices from around here," said a deep, animalistic voice from where we had been standing just a moment ago. "Not another damn time..." said another. "What do you mean? I can swear I¨C" "Old Sluggy, you hearing things again?" interrupted a third. "I thought for sure those voices in your head had gotten better by now, and yet here you are, spewing out another load of nonsense." "I''m telling the truth, I really did hea¨C" The voice stopped abruptly. "Oi, what''s this stinky smell? A skeleton? And a vamp?" "Wow, I can''t believe it. You reall¨C" continued the third voice. "... you''re right. I can smell it too." Ezra looked at me and gestured with his finger to keep quiet. I nodded. It was not hard to figure out that these voices came from beastmen. Our enemies. As we held our breaths¨C silently, not making any sound at all¨C there was a rustle in the sand above us. A dog face poked out from above and stared straight at us. We were shocked. The dog face was shocked. Its mouth opened wide, revealing a set of feral, savage teeth. Then it slammed shut and pulled away as Ezra tried to slash it with his sword. "Looks like you get to show off those new skills of you pretty quickly." the vampire muttered to me and jumped up from the low spot in the sand. I gulped, an odd excitement spreading in my chest ¨C like a palpitating feeling ever growing stronger. I then followed Ezra to face out opponents. As we jumped up, the moonlight enabled us to see our opponents clearly. Beastmen. Merges between humans and different animal species. Lower body was human and upper body was beast. Black screens appeared over their heads.
NPC ¨C Dogman Sora (lvl 14)
NPC ¨C Prarie Wolf (7)
NPC ¨C Mouseman Piri (12)
NPC ¨C Prarie Wolf (6)
NPC ¨C Owlman Slug (14)
NPC ¨C Prarie Wolf (8)
NPC ¨C Tigerman Raia (lvl 16)
NPC ¨C Prarie Wolf (8)
"A skelly! A-and a vamp!" shrieked one of them. This particular beastman had the lineage of a mouse. It was truly muscular, though. Cords of muscle stretched across its body like how my ribcage was filled with bones. A pale grey fur covered its upper body. As the mouseman shrieked, the long whiskers of close to its mouth trembled.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. There were three others. A tigerman, an owlman and the dogman who we saw earlier. "Piri!" The tigerman ordered. He seemed to be the leader of the group. "You deal with the skelly! Raia and I will take on the vamp. Sora, hurry up, you are the fastest of us four, alert the camp! We can''t let these monsters get away if they kill us." I guessed the mouseman was the one who was named Piri. After all, after the tigerman had roared its orders, which I was able to understand because of Eve, he stared intensely at me with a murderous gaze. The dogman ran off and the owlman and tigerman blocked Ezra from pursuing them. "HEY!" the mouseman shouted and tugged his claws to his mouth, charging at me. I flinched, forgetting the basics the vampire taught me. In the last second, whether it was luck or instinct, I sidestepped. However, it was all too late. His claws scraped my left arm and crushed several centimetres of bone. I stumbled away, ignoring the pain. After all, I had one ripped off my leg without hesitation. This pain was nothing to me. Maybe an effect of being undead. An alert came up in form of a black screen. It told me that had lost five hp. Taking a deep breath, I commanded Eve to remove the screen. The fight was much more important. I had to find a way to regain calm. Mouseman Piri licked the bone dust from his claws, directly spitting it out again, coughing. He was probably used to attacking creatures with blood, forgetting that I was a skeleton. "Bastard! Tricking me like this!" growled Mouseman Piri and prepared another charge. Ezra''s POV I fucking hated beastmen. They were dirty, spoke like their vocals were ruptured, and had absolutely no manners. Didn''t they know that attacking a noble was punishable by death? Fucking mindless beasts. "You fucking dirty beasts, I''ll rip you apart! How dare you even block me?" The two beastmen showed no reaction. Stupid beastmen. They said something in that dirty tongue to each other and then charged at me from one direction each. I laughed. Not because of their charge, but because of their stupidity. They thought they could defeat me with such crude tricks? I would show them now. The true might of a royal vampire. As the tigerman attacked from the left, and the owlman from the right, I simply stepped back, grabbed both of their legs and swung them against each other. They moved like Panthers in slow motion with movements so easy to read even people without the ability to read would be able to read them. It was laughable. They collided in mid-air and blood spurted. I stepped back and watched how my dear skeleton friend was doing. The mouseman was charging at him and I could see how his forearm was decimated, but then again; he looked confident. And calm. Well, well, if he couldn''t beat a mere mouseman, he didn''t have any value in master''s Legion ¨C no matter how much of a variant he was. Hmm? The two beastmen had gotten up. One of them looked really mangled. It was the tigermam. Apparently, his leg was torn off. I looked down to my hand. There it was. Haha! I had mistakenly used a bit too much force! John''s POV When I entered the stance, a strange calm overwhelmed my senses. The palpitating feeling in my chest grew even stronger. As the mouseman charged forward, I almost perfectly stepped aside. As I thought about it, my previous mistake was laughable. The mouseman''s attack was in a straight line. How could I not dodge that? With my sidestep, I caught him off-guard. "Huh?" he growled as his body shot past mine. Now! I stomped down and twisted my body, leading the force that had been accumulated from my pivot foot and legs through my whole body, out through my arm and sword. Blood splattered onto the sand as the mouseman released a horrifying shriek sank to his knees. The prairie wolf came one step too late, and when it discovered its owner being hurt, rushed over to stand firm between me and the mouseman. Its intention was clear. I entered the stance again. Mouseman Piri was still down on the ground because of the injury to his back. My bone sword had slashed down at his back and there was now a long gash, in which one could see the colour of white that originated from his spine. I understood this was the best chance to end this. The prairie wolf growled ferociously, baring its razor-sharp teeth as I advanced with his sword in hand. With a quick double step, I used the piercing skill I had learned from Ezra. My sword pierced toward the prairie wolf''s head as it lunged toward me... *Puchii!*
240 XP gained from killing a Prarie Wolf
Level Up! You have advanced 3 levels! Your new level is 4!
You have gained 9 stat points for distribution.
[You have unlocked a new class by clearing a special condition!] 4. ~Love&Death~ John''s POV ¡°Eve! Eve! Eve! Make them go away! Please, I need clear vision! Hurry!¡± [ Wow, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen you so agitated, John.] I became flustered as the screens popped up after killing the prairie wolf. Ezra had taught me that the slightest disruption in a fight might prove disastrous and even fatal. Thankfully, to my appreciation, even though Eve seemed quite relaxed about the screens, she removed them very quickly. As the screens faded away, I was able to make out the mouseman. His back was carved with red and his high-pitched screams were agonisingto listen to. I took a deep breath and was just about to take a step forward, to finish the fight, as he abruptly stopped shrieking and turned to me, his face contorted. "Bastard! You killed doggy!" I saw how mouseman Piri''s face turned in anger, its whiskers furiously twitching as it slowly crawled up from the ground. Blood spewed out from its back like an open dam and I was surprised to see how much blood a beastman possessed. The mouseman gritted its teeth and chanted. "Ancient Pack Leader, I pray for thy embracement, thy leadership and thy speed. Rapid Legs!" In the next moment, its legs began to enlarge into the size of two oak trunks. "I''ll kill you!" It screamed and pounced at me, even faster than before. "I''ll fucking kill you!" "Come!" I said and raised my sword. Mouseman Piri laughed crazily as it heard my clear taunt. It charged with a stance that was fundamentally different from before, whereas its claws had been set up at its chin. Now its arms were stretched out like the wings of a hawk, and its claws were gripping the air as if the air was able to be pulled. "Die!" screamed Mouseman Piri. I took a step forward to meet the mouseman and used a diagonal slash, the skill I was most confident in. "... is what you thought I''d say! Dumbass!" laughed the mouseman and changed direction, retreating as fast as possible instead, relying on its muscular and explosive legs to widen the distance by several meters. "You think I''m dumb? Hah! Who the hell cares about a dog? Risk my life for it? Hah!" "I don''t know how you understand and speak our language, but don''t for one second think I won''t take advantage of it!!" Mouseman Piri continued. "Smelly, retard, stupid, dumbass skeleton! Just wait until the reinforcements get here!" I was shocked from the course of events. I certainly did not expect this from a creature whom I regarded as but a primitive being. Perhaps I had underestimated them. Or at least this shameless fellow. "You coward! Come back! Piri! How dare you abandon your comrades!" I heard the tigerman roar from not too far away. Its leg was completely ripped away from its chest, and I shuddered at the thought of having Ezra as an opponent. "Shut up! You think I''d risk my life for you, idiot?" returned mouseman Piri. "I know you''ve all thought lesser of me because I''m a mouseman! Why should I risk my life to save yours! Would you even do the same for me?!" "You bastard! We should never have taken you along!" growled the tigerman. The tigerman turned to the owlman. "I will block these guys. You escape. Don''t let that bastard Piri go unpunished!" "No, let me do it instead. I''m at death''s door either way, as old as I am." said the owlman. "Go, take revenge for me in the future!" "Old slug..." "Go!" In the end, the tigerman nodded. It took a deep breath and chanted. "Great King of the Plains, I pray for thy protection; thy mercy and thy aid. Feral Vitality!!" I saw with a noticeable speed that its leg regrew from a stump to a complete restoration. I was baffled. It was incredible. The Owlman laughed, its head quickly turning a hundred eighty degrees, barely able to notice Vampire Ezra''s sneak attack at the cost of one of its wings, now a bloody mangled piece of flesh. There was no doubt the owlman would never be able to fly again, not to mention how it wouldn''t be able to get away from Ezra and Alderon. "Now leave before it''s too late!" urged the owlman Upon hearing its comrade''s beckoning, the tigerman turned around and left. I saw hesitation inside its eyes, yet a boundless determination at the same time. The owlman must have meant a lot. "Owlblood," said Ezra, his eyes now completely crimson, just like his sharp nails; gleaming in the bright, red colour that had painted them. "Not my favourite, but should work for today." ¡°John, don¡¯t let it escape.¡± I nodded in understanding and shot after the tigerman, leaving Vampire Ezra to deal with the owlman. Ezra''s POV "So they left you behind... to deal with me?" I laughed so hard my intestines almost twisted. "That''s quite funny, I mean, now that John is gone, I won''t have to hold back in order to not scare him." The owlman stood firmly and looked me into my eyes. I understood his meaning. That I could only pass over his dead body if I wanted to catch up to the tiger. "Blood Seals; Release!" I said in a quiet voice. In the next moment, my back began to protrude. Wings as crimson as blood itself with black veins crawling like worms shot out. They were larger than the owlman''s wings by far. Or well, what was left of the Owlman''s wings. Then, my nails grew longer, turning into claws ¨C all of them point black and curved like the scythe of death.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I licked my lips and grinned. "Now that you''ve made me come to this point, don''t expect to get off lightly." Slug''s POV An abomination. Something that shouldn''t exist in this world. Yes, that''s what appeared right in front of me. I stepped back but then forced myself forward again. Why, why was I not afraid? Most should be, facing an opponent they clearly can''t defeat? And yet, I felt no fear¨C no, it''s better to say, my love was stronger than my fear. I looked over my shoulder and smiled. I hoped she could escape. Then my sacrifice wouldn''t be in vain. Then I would gladly die. Die for her and my people. I remembered back to when I was young. How I had fought every opponent with endless vigour. How every wound was but a scrape in my eyes. But had I ever been in a grave condition such as this? I shook my head and sighed. Why even think about it? My wife was gone, my children had grown up, surpassing even their father, and Raia ¨C maybe she was able to live on... If there was anything left to do for me, then that was to die a warrior''s death; against a worthy opponent. "Vampire," I said to the abomination and readied my last wing for battle. "I have lived the life of a warrior and that will never change. I am, and will always be, a warrior. Come, give this old beastman a chance to prove his worth one last time." John''s Pov I was surprised how slow the tigerman was. It must be because the leg had just regrown. Did the owlman really think I couldn''t catch up to the tigerman?After a long chase, the tigerman finally dropped down, stumbling in the sand. I hunched down and put the sword to the tigerman''s throat. Though I had never killed a sentient being before, it was something that made me strangely excited. Just like stealing others¡¯ things. "Any last words?¡± I asked. "You know how to speak our language? it said, baffled. "How? I ignored its question. "I will do this quickly then." I looked forward to the levels I would gain from killing the tigerman. Its level was far above the prairie wolf I killed earlier. And also, the strange feeling that I had before and during the battle, it urged me to kill the beastman, to slaughter it without remorse at all. "Hah! Just do it," the tigerman said. "I no longer have the strength to move or I would already have killed myself honourably! Now I have to die by your hand, the hand of a pesky skeleton. I''m a shame to my great ancestor." I shrugged and raised his sword, preparing to swing down. "Wait!" a voice said. I turned his head and noticed Ezra walking toward me. "You killed it?" I asked, letting my sword fall to my side. "More or less. It can¡¯t move for the time being, at least.¡± As Ezra said those word, I noticed how the tigerman''s eyes became moist. It probably understood his meaning. Raia''s POV The skeleton stared at me without any ill-intent. I wondered why. Then I heard a voice. It was the vampire. It entered my vision and licked its lips, looking at me like a predator looked at a prey. Its fangs were covered in blood. Fresh blood. Old Slug... Why did this happen to you? I looked at the two undead now towering above me, a tear slipping down past my cheek. Why was fate this... cruel to us! To you! You did nothing but your duty and yet these scum killed you in cold blood. All you wanted, all that we beastmen wanted, was to escape this hellhole! I looked south, a longing filling my eyes. And now that we were so close, why should we die? Why couldn''t we savour the sight of being free¨C free from this wasteland¨C free from this prison we didn''t deserve?!" John''s POV I pointed and the badly mangled Tigerman and said. "What about this one??" ¡°You can finish it in a moment. I got to check something first." Ezra grabbed the tigerman by its throat and pressed his cheek to the ground, revealing a ripe, furry neck that was less muscled than I would have expected. The vampire growled. His two sharp fangs extended from his mouth and shot down toward the tigerman''s throat, piercing through the skin and flesh as easily as a wasp''s needle did to a human. The tigerman released a groan, and its limbs, that were tight and stiff, fell to the ground and became limp. Ezra''s eyes slowly turned into a darker colour of crimson. When the vampire was finished, he rose from the ground and wiped the leftover bloodstain from his lips with his coat. "Well, well, just as I expected," said Ezra. "a female." "Really?" I returned. "Ah¨C did you kill it?" "No," he said. "Why? You want to kill it yourself?" I nodded. The vampire grinned and said. "Haha, that''s what a real undead is like. Go on, I will watch your first true kill." I advanced sword in hand. The tigerman¨C or tigerwoman, I guess¨C lay limp on the ground without a reaction. I held up my bone sword and then swooped it down. It was a clean cut. Her head severed from her body and screens appeared like when I killed the prairie wolf.
2400xp gained from killing Tigerman Raia.
Level Up! You have advanced 4 levels! Your new level is 8!
You have gained 12 stat points for distribution.
"What now?" I asked Ezra. Ezra grinned. "Well, we escape. Oh¨C and I must say¨C you''ve done far above my expectations. When I get back, I will speak to Necromancer Ferguson for a transfer. Having you stay in a blacksmith sure is a waste of your talents. I feel you could become a great warrior. Maybe better than me If only you were more than a skeleton..." We headed back to the owlman who barely clung onto his life. Ezra kicked him in the gut and broke both of his legs, an action that would force the reinforcements to carry him themselves, which once again would slow down their already slowed down speed. I heard how he asked about the tigerwoman and her condition, but I just ignored him. After doing all this, we once again hit the road, now in a more hurried fashion than during the previous time. And as we heard the beastmen''s prairie wolves'' howl, declaring the hunt that was going to take place in the desert this night, we picked up the speed additionally. 5. ~Chase~ ¡°Eve, about those black screen I made you remove, can you bring them up again?¡± [No problem, John.] I commanded Eve through my mind to bring up the black screen again. The fight was finished and so they wouldn''t be a disturbance or nuisance at all. I was also quite surprised to have gained another class, and I wondered what it was. Preferablysomething that could increase my strength. After the split of a second, a black screen shined up.
Swordsman ¨C Across the continent, the first choice of weaponry has always been the sword. Simple, efficient and cheap to craft. The knowledge of the sword has continued to broaden under hundreds of years, and a common saying is that it takes a second to pick up a sword, but ten years to master one. Swordsmen are wielders of swords and most commonly found within the human kingdom where the weapon itself originated from. Rarity: Common Effects: 5% permanent increase in strength and agility,
I read the black screen and was pleasantly surprised. Then came the skill selection... [ Swordsman Class Passive Skill Selection. Please choose one... ] ¨C [ Speed reigns supreme: You believe in absolute speed. 10% increased agility. ¨C [ Strength overcomes all: You believe in absolute strength.10% increased strength. ¨C [ Moderation is key: You believe in an even mix. 5% increased agility and 5% increased strength. I looked through my options. The three options all had their unique benefits. However, since I now understood the connection between strength and agility, It was an easy choice. I tapped the Speed Reigns Supreme Passive Skill. A light coolness spread throughout my bones and I could feel how my speed was a lot faster than before. If I had chosen the strength option, I would have become slower since the density of my bones would increase. And the heavier I was, the harder it would be to move my body. Although mystrengthwould improve, we were right now fleeing and I didn''t dare to risk it. Therefore, choosing agility was at this very moment the best choice I could make. Now, to the Active Skill Selection... [Swordsman Class Active Skill Selection. Please choose one...] ¨C [Quick draw: a 120% faster sword draw. Requirements: 10 mana. Sword must be sheathed upon use. 1 minutes cooldown] ¨C [Weak spot: Highlight a weakness in the opponent¡¯s defence.Requirements: 50 mana. 2 minutes cooldown] ¨C [ Cannibalism: Can regenerate health by eating the flesh of dead foes.] Requirements: Noone. 2 hours cooldown.) Wow. Compared to the active skill selection for the blacksmith, this one was a lot more defined. The advantages and disadvantages were easier to notice. I determined that the best ability was the weak spot one. On the other hand, it possessed the disadvantage of using a huge sum of mana point. I currently had twenty points for distribution. If I put all those on intellect, that would give me two hundred mana. I could then use weak point four times before running out of mana. However, was it worth it? On the other hand, Quick Draw was much more suited for me at the moment. While Weak spot would probably be a better ability as I became stronger, it currently had no value for me. It was the same with cannibalism since I had a good health regen either way. Quick Draw''s cost was merely a low amount of mana. What was most important for me now was to be able to protect myself. There was no use in future potential if my bones already were disintegrated. Therefore, I picked Quick Draw and finished the skill selections. [You have received an item.] [You have received 10 stat points.]
Johnny''s sword ¨CJohnny was once the son of a famous Earl in the human kingdom. One day, the young man was out adventuring with a few friends when he happened to stumble upon a party of mercenaries who held anything but kind intentions. He fought bravely but was eventually killed. His sword has been lost ever since... Quality: Common Effects: It''s sharper than most swords...?
The sword that materialised in thin air like the dwarf''s hammer did in the forge startled Ezra. The old vampire gave me a weird look. In return, I could do nothing but shrug and strapthe sword on my back like I did with the bone sword and stake-shield. As I was thinking of how to distributing my points, we could both hear a horn blow across the desert. Ezra swore. "Ten minutes. That''s how long it will take unless we can increase our pace." "Try your best to keep up." he said. Ezra shot away like the wind. His feet left visible tracks in the sand. I guessed that was their primary way of tracking us. Well, along with those incredible noses of their prairie dogs'' which could smell someone''s scent from miles away. As the night grew darker, and the minutes passed, the vampire had left me in the dust.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. If I had a lip, I would have bitten a hole in it by now. I could hear the beastmen''s thrumming pursuit behind and how they constantly sounded the horn to keep the morale its best. Fine, there was no other option. I had to put my unused point on agility. Otherwise, I wouldn''t be able to catch up to the vampire. I flicked up my status screen and looked.
John Jackson Level: 1 Race: Skeleton Classes: Blacksmith, Swordsman Titles: Skeleton Blacksmith, Bonesmith Passive skills: Bonesmith (Rank 1), Basic One-hand Sword Stance (Rank 1), Twisting Power (Rank 1). Active skills: Lucky Throw (Rank 1), Diagonal Slash (Rank 1), Pierce (Rank 1), Parry (Rank 1), Sidestep (Rank 1). Health: 100 Mana: 20 Unused stat points: 32 Strenght: 9,45 (9) Agility: 9,04 (8) Stamina: 10 Intellect: 3 Wisdom: 23 Quests: [Conquer the World, Punish the Living!], [Nightfall Camp]
I noticed that my speed and strength was higher than before. I took a deep readying breath and tapped the crossed box to increase agility. In a flash, sixteen points were gone, down the drain. BAM! The surge of cool air within my bones was beyond my imagination. I crossed more than double the distance I did before per second. After a minute, I could see the vampire''s back figure more clearly. I gritted my teeth and burst forward with even more speed. "You caught up?" Ezra was taken aback as I caught up with him. I smiled, inwardly crying for all the points I had to put on agility for this. Well, it wasn''t in vain. I would probably have done it anyways, but it still felt tilting to be forced to do it. "Why, you didn''t think I could?" I asked. "No¨C actually not." the vampire laughed. "But I guess it''s better like this. Now I won''t have to return with the tragic news of your death to master." "I see." "Look, it''s not like I doubt you, it''s just th¨C the vampire suddenly stopped. "What?" I asked Ezra. The old vampire drew his hand over his face and sighed. "I just discovered something... stupid." I tilted my head. "Look ahead, can you see something?" "Look ahead? What do you mea¨C eh?" my chin dropped. "Is that a¨C wall?" A towering white loomed in the distance. Mist shackled the mountain''s ankle, or I had the feeling it would have escaped into the sky. That''s how tall it was. Its peaks were like roaring beasts trying to escape their shackles. I now understood why the mountain reigners had such an unshakable position as a faction. The reason was simple. No one could conquer the mountains. No one could advance their troops over the mountains and then face the dwarves in their fortresses. "A wall, yes. Also known as the Kurama Mountain Chain. The largest mountains here in the endless wasteland. It''s on the border of the dwarven territory and stretches for several miles." Ezra explained in a self-apologetic voice. "After our fight with the beastmen, I must have navigated wrong and made us walk too far west. If we want to get to the camp we must go toward the east. But by doing so, they will catch up to us. Hmm, we are in a bit of a problematic situation." "Then what can we do?" "Two options." the vampire said grimly. "We can fight, or we can hide in the mountains." I nodded solemnly. "So what do you say? Do you think your bones can withstand the cold?" Ezra asked. "Because I can tell you, we got no chance in a straight up fight." "Not sure," I said with uncertainty." I know I can take on heat pretty well. The flaming abyss down the first layer was quite warm after all. But cold?" I shook my head. "I truly don''t know." "Well, it seems like we''ve got no choice," Ezra said. "I''d rather bet everything on a slim chance than to take suicide by fighting a whole beastman squad all by myself. After all, they are bound to be stronger than the scouts." "By yourself? I''m here too, you know." "Yeah¨C well¨C that''s no very reassuring. Sorry." As I heard the vampire''s answer, I swore to myself to become stronger to prove him wrong. We could hear the beastmen from behind as we ran toward the wall of white. I decided to save the last few points for later in case I needed them. An additional thought that came into my mind was about stamina. If stamina increased my size, wouldn''t that increase the length of my legs and therefore my steps? And would the increase of size have an impact on the density of my bones? If not, wouldn''t putting points on stamina increase my speed additionally? The beastmen''s mounts howled as they pursued our tracks. It was soon dawn, and we had long last arrived at the foot of the mountains. As I looked up, I felt as if they really pierced the sky. Standing at the foot, there was absolutely no way for me to see the end of how long they stretched. "Don''t just stand there. Come!" Ezra urged me to get a move on. I took one last glance and then advanced up the mountains. Manja "Commander, this is really, really bad," I said to Skia as we sat on out wolves, the rest of the squad behind us. She showed no reaction to me and just kept staring at the mountains. I bit my lips and bared my fangs. "If they discover the ca¨C" "Then we will have nowhere to go, and our race''s extinction will be imminent. I know that already, Vice Commander Manja.Don''t remind me." she said and turned around. I cowered back. The commander always made me step back when she was angry. She reminded me of mymother. Fiery but yet¨C so beautiful. I would have loved to be embraced by her white wings. "Noted," I said and nodded, inwardly smiling in bliss. Her fiery temperament just made her even more attractive. Maybe I could try my luck with her in the next mating ceremony. "Vice Commander Manja, sound the horn," Skia ordered. I smiled and blew the horn. The hunt had begun. 6. ~Discovery~ "What the fuckis that?" "It seems to be smoke." The vampire turned around only to stare at me for several seconds before shaking his head and moving on. I waded after him through the snow. As I caught up, I gently poked his shoulder. He looked at me and muttered. "What?" "What do you mean what?" I said and tried my best to keep up. The snow was all around us and reached up to our thighs. It was especielly hard for me to walk as the snow would get stuck in my ribcage and other bones. In the future, I would definitely get something that could keep out the snow. Maybe a light armour or something like that. "Nothing." the vampire said and shook his head again, a slight smile blooming on his corpse-white face. He looked away from me and glanced at the smoke rising into the sky like a beacon. It came from a valley between two mountains, not too far from us. "Hey, John, why do you think it''s smoke there?" he said with a frown. "And no more obvious answers." "Someone''s having a barbeque?" I said jokingly. It was something that just came up in my mind and I found it to be quite funny though I didn''t exactly know why. Ezra''s eyes darkened. "I mean¨C" I quickly cleared my throat. "¨Cmaybe it''s travellers like us, setting up a camp?" The vampire went back to his normal facial expression and nodded. He lightly bit his pink tongue. "It''s probably like you say. It''s only¨C I feel that so much smoke is too much for simply a couple of travellers. Heck, If I was out of my mind, I''d say it''s an army or something, preparing an attack." He laughed and I laughed along with him. "Anyways, let''s go down the mountains and take a look." Ezra proposed. "We could take shelter from the winds as well as take a look at who''s burning all that wood. Maybe it''s someone from the undead faction. If we are lucky maybe we''ll find a cave to hide within. If they still pursue us then we will have the advantage in a small cave. Well, less of a disadvantage." I nodded. ¡°I do wonder though,¡± I heard the the vampire mutter as we waded through the snow in the downward slope. ¡°why are they so persistent? Did we kill their king¡¯s heir or what?¡± As we came down to the valley and moved closer to the point where the smoke originated from, we began hearing voices. And it wasn¡¯t the kind of voices we wanted to hear. ¡°Now, my dear skeleton friend, we¡¯re in even more trouble than before,¡± Ezra said. I nodded nervously. ¡°Let¡¯s take a closer look¡± the black-clothed vampire and crouched down, moving under tree branches with unparalleled swiftness deserving of his kin¡¯s reputation. I followed him. ¡°This¡­ we need to quickly report this to master!¡± We looked out from the bushes, peering at no other than thousands of beastmen. The beastmen had set up a large camp. Hundreds of tents were scattered across the open area of the valley, made from beast skin and held up by wood poles hammered into the hard soil with its frozen crust now broken. Further to away, as the ground turned into an upward slope, a large tunnel had been created straight through the mountain rock. Beastmen walked in and out, pulling mining carts filled with stone. It was probably where the rest of the beastmen resided, constantly increasing the size of their base in order to fit everyone. After all, the beastmen race was more than just a couple of thousands. ¡°This must be their main base. The base we''ve been looking for all this time!" Ezra said and laughed. "No wonder we didn''t find them no matter what in the desert. They have been hiding here, in the outer area of the mountain reigners domain!" "However, this means quite a bit of trouble..." "What do you mean? Isn¡¯t this good for us?" ¡°For our faction, yes. But for us, you and I? Right now? Not as much.¡± Ezra said. ¡°however, if we can successfully relay this piece of news to master, who can then talk with his own master who will talk with the leader of all undead, we will be plentifully rewarded." ¡°But we need to escape first.¡± added the vampire. ¡°And it''s not possible for us to escape them when they have rested wolves and countless of troops. No, we must hide so that they can''t find us. How we''re going to do that... I don''t know." We left the beastman camp and searched for a cave.By chance, we found a crack in the mountain rock that seemed big enough for us to squeeze inside. Having no other choice, knowing that the beastmen were not far from us, we entered. The cave was dark and slightly damp. I was barely able to make out the vampire''s figure by my side. Ezra''s PovYou might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I noticed how the skeleton walked cautiously. How he bumped into uneven places in the cave. A laugh escaped my lips. He looked at me with a sour face. Well, technically he always looked at me the same way but I had the hunch he didn''t like me laughing at him. He was a skeleton, and so his facial expression would never change. The only changes he ever had was when his bones moved. Like joints and stuff. "No worries, John. Look." I used chantless magic to conjure a small flame inside my hand. Although my race is vulnerable to fire magic, it was only on a larger scale. The skeleton looked at me and if he had eyes, I suspected they would be widened. His bones seemed rigid and I laughed again. "Magic," I said and pointed at the fire in my hand. "It''s quite amazing. A wonder of the world." The skeleton cleared his throat. I found it funny how he always did that. It didn''t sound like someone clearing a throat at all. It was more like the sound of two bones pushing toward each other, causing a deep, raspy sound. Maybe it was something he did a lot in his past life. "Can I also learn magic?" he asked me. I put my hand in the air. "Skeleton Mages can but I''m not sure about you. I don''t have any way of finding out either." "Okay." He said and nodded resignedly. We walked further into the cave. I saw that John was still very careful about where he stepped. It was probably an effect of having stepped wrong a couple of times before I used magic to create a flame. I smiled. Even though we had only travelled a couple of days together, I liked this little skeleton. I always found skeletons as annoying, pestering little bastards that understood nothing. But maybe they were more like John, just that they were less sentiment and couldn''t speak. The cave was very orderly and didn''t seem naturally formed. Ice covered the walls stalagmites hung from the ceiling, glistening from the flame in my hand. It was strangely quiet in the and not even the sound of wind reached our ears anymore. Well, my ears. John didn''t have any and never would. Suddenly, I stopped. The skeleton stopped after me as well, probably just as dumbstruck as me. As I gazed forward, I saw two bronze doors depicting two dwarves holding one fierce great axe each, guarding the passage. Calling the doors gigantic was an insult. The doors were several meters wide and tall. How anyone could erect these doors was a mystery in my eyes. I glanced at John and nodded. "We''ve got no other choice. Though I don''t think it will work, let''s try to open the doors and see what''s behind them." We walked forward and pushed. Just as I wondered if I had to unseal my blood seals and enter my true form to increase my strength, the doors swung open. Both the skeleton and I fell flat-faced on the ground. I heard a couple of bones break beside me. I guess skeletons were just as fragile as they looked and that John was no exception. John''s POV [You have entered a dungeon.]
The Tomb of Dwarven King Thalgraes Heavyhand Long ago, when dwarves fought against dragons, there was a kind dwarven prince who''s best friend was the son of the red monarch. They often met and played in a small lake lit up by luminous rocks. However, Alrunenth and Thalgraes''s friendship didn''t last long. Their fathers, the red monarch, Ailzrarth the fire dragon, and the iron king, Aramid Heavyhand, soon discovered this forbidden friendship. In an attempt to sever the friendship, they constrained their children within their respective domains. Years passed and the friendship dawned. But against all odds, when the red monarch and the iron king died, the two friends came to power. And as they met on the battlefield, everything that existed was that old friendship, shining more brilliantly than all those years ago. And so, the dragons and dwarves laid their grudges and hatred behind and joined together as one people, following the steps of their two great leaders. Here lies the tomb of the great unifier, Dwarven King Thalgraes...
You have received a boost for being the first one to discoverThe Tomb of Dwarven King Thalgraes Heavyhand Boost: Explorer *Double XP for 7 days within the instance you discovered.
As I crawled up from the rock-hard floor after falling, I couldn''t help but be totally awed. We had entered a great hard so big it was hard to make a guess large it was. The roof stretched for tens of meters up and there was a gigantic shining gemstone in the top that worked as a sun. Ezra seemed just as baffled as me when he made that flame of his snuff out. The floor was made of some type of ore, clearly laid over the cave rock, and golden linings covered the walls which were likewise made of the same ore, mixing the colours of brown, gold and red together in a fantastic blend. In the far end of the hall, there was a staircase leading downwards, likely leading to the inner tomb of the deceased dwarven king. Two statues stood guard outside the staircase. The statues depicted a strange type of monster. I didn''t know what type of creature it was. They had wings like birds and hands like a human and held one gigantic halberd each in their hand. As I inspected one of the statues'' faces, I seemed to notice a movement. Was it my imagination? No¨C as I clearly noticed them opening their mouths in unison, I knew it was real. "In accordance with the king''s last will..." they said with voices that didn''t sound living at all. "All unworthy intruders shall be executed without exception." 7. ~Statues~ Skia''s POV "Listen up, no one says a word about the undead to the general or all our heads will go..." I made a swishing noise and moved my sharp wing across my throat. I was sure they understood what I mean. "We will depart immediately after I''ve made the report. Let''s meet up here in an hour. Those who fail to do so won''t receive this month''s salary. Understood?" "Yes, Commander Skia!" the troops yelled in unison and scattered. I smiled,nodded and looked at each and every one of them as they went. However, as my eyes landed upon one of the wolves, I felt a rage burning inside. There were a mouse man and a dogman sitting on the wolf. The mouseman was shaking from top to toe as he sat behind the dogman and the dogman himself was constantly glaring and baring his fangs at the mouseman. Useless trash. I wouldn''t let them off lightly when I got back. Not only that cowardly mouseman, I would even have to silence the dogman. I was able to trust my squad to hold their tongues... but them? A mere scout troop that was almost completely wiped out? I would just have to report to the general that they had been killed by a stray party of undead later on. It wasn''t unusual and far better than to let the general know that we had allowed undead come here. "Vice-Commander Manja," I called. The lionman saluted and hurried over to me. I had noticed how infatuatedhe was with me over the months our squad had been together. I didn''t mind it, though. Having a subordinate who was in love with you was not only a token of beauty and respect but also a valuable tool in combat. It was possible for him to sacrifice his life for me when I was in danger. "Follow me and meet the general," I told him and entered the camp. He scrambled behind me. John''s POV The two creatures advanced toward us without a shred of sympathy in their eyes. I looked at Ezra. He shrugged his shoulders and said. "I don''t know what they are but I suspect can only handle one at the time. " he pointed at the one to the left." If you can hang on until I finish off this one. I''ll help you with the other one. Don''t die." The vampire unsheathed his sword and ran toward one of the living statues. The other statue locked target on me and strode toward me with an indifferentglimpse in his eyes. I knew what to do. It was just like when I fought the mouseman. This time was different though. Since the statue was slow in itself, I had ample time to prepare. I pulled up my character menu and put ten points in stamina and five points in intellect. Just as I expected, my bones grew rapidly. My health bar increased by ahundred, and my mana pool became larger as well, reaching seventy. This allowed me to use the quick draw seven times before running out of mana. Additionally, I felt my mind thinking a bit quicker. As if my mind was able to move and make decisions. I decided that putting more points in intellect was definitely something I had to do later on, and not only because of my increased mana pool. I entered the stance Ezra taught me. It allowed me to regain my cool and calmly gaze ahead without too much fear. "Scanning complete. Intruder is neither dwarf nor dragon. Extermination procced." the statue said and swung his halberd. I felt a chill through my bones and threw myself down on the ground in reflex. A swish sounded as a gust of wind passed me and crashed into the wall behind. I looked up and my body shook. The statue''s swing had produced a blade of wind. Maybe if I hadn''t put those five points into intellect, I wouldn''t have dodged that. Yet another reason for increasing my intellect. The statue didn''t stop its advance. I retreated and looked at it wearily. Luckily, I was a lot faster and if I decided to run around it wouldn''t reach me. At least this made me calmer than the situation should allow em to be. "First probe failed to kill the intruder. Initiate Second Phase." The statue began to shake and I felt an ill premonition as its wings extended. It grabbed the halberd with two hands and crouched down. I understood that if it would spread its wings and fly, it would undoubtedly catch me. I quickly unstrapped my bone sword and stake shield.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Would I be able to slash thr¨C the statue suddenly shot toward me like a fireball from a skeleton mage''s staff. I dodged to the left and fell to the ground. The statue flew up into the air and circled above me. My bones were rigid from fear as I scrambled to my feet. Every attack it did was close to killing me and it would probably succeed if I did nothing. As the statue flew down, halberd ready to slash at me, I put my sword in its sheath and held the shield with both hands. BAM! I felt the collision in my toes. Both of my legs broke upon impact and I felt a sticky, copper-tinted liquid flow down over the edges of the shield, dripping onto my face. I threw the shield to the side looked weary toward my left. The stake on the shield was gone, and I knew where it was. The living statue got up from the ground without much difficulty. It looked down to the stake poking out from its chest and grabbed it with one hand before completing a jerking motion. The stake quickly exited the statue''s body and I saw more copper-tinted liquid as it poured out. Was it blood? I had never heard of a creature possessing copper-tinted blood. Was this really a living creature? In the hole, there was a golden cube which slowly spun around. I frowned. Was that its heart? The statue stared at me again, unfazed by the injury. I wonder if the injury even caused it any harm. Maybe only by stabbing that thingy that I saw in the hole of its chest would it die. Ah¨C could that be the way to kill it? It certainly was the easiest way to kill any other living being, had Ezra told me. Heart or brain. The statue''s chest was already torn up so it would be easier for me to pierce its heart than destroying its brain. I nodded with determination. I would aim for its heart. As I forged my will, the statue batted its wings and flew up into the air once more. A trail of golden was left behind on the ground. It was clearly wounded, a hole drilled through its chest, and yet didn''t show the faintest signs of injury at all. If it was a living being, it certainly had to be one of the kind. I looked at the statue facing the vampire. Well, two of a kind. SWISH. The statue flew down at me again. This time, I knew how it would attack. The difficulty in facing this statue lay in dodging and attacking in the split second that determined life and death. Everything was about waiting for the right moment. It was just like the fight with the mouseman. I had to wait for the right moment before dodging to the side and slashing toward its back. And this statue''s attack was the same; straight as an arrow''s march! Now! I stepped aside using the Sidestep skill and then the Pierce skill. My bone sword lunged at the sta¨C a scream escaped the thin bones of my jaw. I had forgotten that my legs were broken. While I succeeded in sidestepping the attack, that was it. I fell over and missed the statue. Death rode the halberd as it embedded itself in the beautiful hall floor. I crawled to my knees and clenched the bone sword. No way! A chance! This was actually a chance born from misfortune! The statue struggled to free the halberd and didn''t even look at me. Now I was sure. This statue wasn''t a living being at all. I didn''t know what it was, but even a skeleton like myself would look at my opponent during a fight. Only someone who didn''t care for his or her life would look away during a battle or show such an indifferent attitude. Without hesitation, I crawled across the floor to the statue. Even in the end, as it almost got loose the halberd, it didn''t leave a single glance at me. I stabbed at the rotating golden cube and heard a small pop. The statue finally looked at me. Its eyes were still as indifferent as before, and it showed nothing like a living being would upon death. A raspy sound crawled out from its fang-inflicted mouth. "In accordance you the king''s last will, you have gained entry to his tomb." There was no black screen coming up as the statue stopped moving. I asked Eve why. [Only living beings will give out XP to their killers after death, John. The Titan you killed was made from the hands of a gnome and therefore cannot be called a living being.] "Eh¨C What''s a Titan? And what''s a gnome?" I asked. Eve''s words had piqued an interest in me. [I''m sorry, John. That I cannot tell you, as per master''s orders.] "Fine." I huffed. I crawled over and picked up my shield. I also fetched the stake which had been broken off from the shield when stabbed into the statue''s chest.Maybe I would be able to combine the two again and remake the shield. On the other hand, the hardness of my bones had increased after putting points on my stamina so using a new bone would probably yield the best result. I strapped both of the objects to my back and looked toward where Ezra and the statue were fighting. The vampire fought it head-on and had grown black wings on his back. His claws were also longer than before. "Ah¨C have you grown stronger? Hehe." Ezra came over after having ripped apart the statue. He scratched himself behind is head, most likely in embarrassment for taking longer than me to finish the fight. I suppose he thought I wouldn''t be able to kill the creature. What he didn''t know was that my fight was over quickly because I was lucky when the halberd had been stuck in the ground. But his fight? It had only taken a couple of minutes, and that was while fighting the statue without tricks like I had used. They had even fought in the air. I now understood that those over hundred levels weren''t there for fun. They were extremely real and I currently couldn''t hold even a candle against the vampire if we were to fight. He looked at my broken legs and then grabbed my torso. Then, as we walked down the staircase that I suspected was leading toward the dwarven king''s inner tomb, I sat on his shoulders like a toddler 8. ~Mysterious Egg~ John''s POV "T-this..." "Is this what humans call a treasury?" "Y¨Cyeah¨C but this much... I''ve never heard of a Cave like this." My legs had regenerated after an hour or so and I could now walk by myself. What greeted us as we finished the staircase were piles of golden treasures. Torches that seemed to burn for an eternity by some sort of magic made the treasure shimmer with divine valour. I grabbed one of the coins from a stack. It was heavy and polished. I liked the touch of it. Turning to the vampire, I noticed how he forcefully calmed himself down. "Yes. This much could probably buy a city or two in the human kingdom," he said. "That''s why we must report it to master." "Report it to master? Why?" We found the treasure so it should be ours. Why did Ezra want to report it to master? "So that he can use it." the vampire explained with a smile. "So that he will be satisfied with us." As I heard the vampire, I felt something foreign yet familiar speak in my mind, alternating between speaking, whispering and screaming. What are you doing?! Kill him! Don''t let him take away the treasure... our treasure! Do it... Kill him! I arched back and fell to the ground. "You okay?" the vampire asked and went over to help me up. The voice appeared again. Now! Slit histhroat when you have the chance! Let him bleed to death! How dare he wantto take away our treasure?! Urges to unsheathe my sword and let the blood from his maggot-white throat dye the ground red caused my hands to shake. GO AWAY! I forcefully shrugged it off and took his hand. I went over to a stack of treasure and sat down. Massaging my skull, I was trying to figure out what happened there. Why did I want to do that and what was that voice in my mind? I swept my glance across the room and stopped at a certain object. It was the size of a skeleton''s skull, white with crimson round markings on its surface, and lay in the corner of the room on a puffy, indigo pillow. I slowly walked over. As I picked it up, a black screen shone up above the egg, and Eve''s voice spoke in my mind. [You have found a Red-Striped Egg. To hatch, please insert your mana]
Red-striped Egg ¨CAn egg unknown origin. Species: ???
I was at a loss for words but decided to try to ask Eve. Sadly, her response didn''t help me at all. [I can''t quite explain that, John. The gift of manipulating mana cannot be taught by others easily. However, mana users across the world often say it''s similar to being one with your weapon. That is one of the many reasons many warriors often develop into mana users as well as the other way around when mana users want to improve their mana control.] I shrugged at the explanation and pondered over what do to. Without much to go on other than Eve''s words, I put the egg down on the pillow and unsheathed my sword. I then began to swing earnestly, trying to become one with the sword. "Eve, how do I become one with the sword?" I asked, quite unhappy with how little knowledge I possessed. [To become one with the sword takes ten years, I''ve heard.] "Please, don''t make fun of me, I don''t want to wait that long. I want to see what happens when the egg hatches." [Very well, I will stop teasing you. Master has forbidden me from telling you many things but becoming one with the sword isn''t one of them. In the end, it will all be up to you. Listen up...] Sora''s POV After having searched with the squad for less than a day, we found the end of their tracks. The last ones were in the snow front of a mountain crack just big enough for a full-grown beastman to squeeze though. Well, big enough for most. Some of the bigger ones of like the rhino, elephant and bear families would have a harder time.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I wondered if it was a trap set up by the undead but by the orders of our squad commander. We entered and only three from our squad was left behind, told to guard in case the undead escaped us inside the cave. The prairie dogs were left outside as well. They wouldn''t do any good inside the cave. As we stepped inside, I was able to smell their scent. The scent of thesticky Skelly and the vampire who¨C no, the monster who left Slugy on the brink of death and killed Raia. I whimpered out. Why did I leave? Why did I not stay? My ancestors were probably ashamed of me. A dogman who abandons his allies? Disgracefull! Some of the beastmen glanced at me in surprise from the whimper but looked away when they saw I was fine. I looked over to the mouseman. He kept his fair share of distance from mine. He knew that if he got close to me, and the others didn''t look, even if all I had was a minute, I would tear him apart and dig out his intestines. I may have kept my life by reporting to the squad leader at the nearest outpost but he ran away in battle. He deserved punishment! He deserved a fate worse than death! After a while of walking, we came to a pair of bronze doors. Only after ten of us pushed our hardest to open the doors did we succeed. Did the undead really open this door with only the two of them? Or maybe they have escaped outside? Maybe I should report this to the Squad leader? On second thoughts, I shook my head. I had seen her contempt for me and the mouseman. It was likely this cave would be where I spent my last moment because of our previous defeat. Therefore, I must avenge Raia. Since I will die anyway, it doesn''t matter at whose hand. I''d rather had a chance at killing the vampire and die myself than having the squad commander turn me into bird food. "They are likely hiding beyond the staircase." the squad commander said inside the great hall loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Hear my words! We are fifty powerful beastmen. They are two weak and detestable undeads. Who will win? Is it them?" "No!" "Then who is it?" "We!" "Louder!" "WE!" "THAT''S RIGHT! ADVANCE!" We roared at the words of the squad commander. The fiery blood of survival and hate ignited in our bodies and we stormed up the stairs. Even Ozerath Kazaar would have been trampled under us as we charged! John''s POV I don''t why it was so easy for me, but I easily mastered the one with the sword state. It gave me a massive ten percent more strength and agility and was a passive skill. It was after I had mastered the one with the sword state that I began to try and manipulate mana and inject it into the egg. "Why doesn''t it work?" I muttered and continued to visualise my mana flowing into the egg. I interrupted my mana training and looked over to where Ezra stood. Hewas busy taking notes about how much treasure there was in the hall. The voice that spoke in my mind hadn''t appeared since that time and I couldn''t figure out what it was. Like everything unknown to me, I blamed it on my past life. After all, I''ve never had those impulses. But I guess I was similar down there in the flaming abyss. How I kept collecting items and objects and hanging them in the tree. I called them for treasures and refused anyone to have them. I even stole from other skeletons. I shook my head and looked down at the egg. It''s surface was filled with tongues of crimson red, like flames licking a burning house. I placed my hand over the egg and visualised mana flowing from my hand into the egg. But then a thought struck me. What was mana? Thinking about mana reminded me of the blue health pool in my character menu. Maybe it was like injecting that mana into the egg? I visualised my mana bar pouring into the egg. SHUA! [You have unlocked a new class by clearing a special condition!]
Mage ¨CMages are wielders of a mysterious energy known as mana. They exist in different forms and holds special meanings for all races. Humans call them sorcerers, Dwarves call them tinkerers, and Elves call them druids. There are many other names for these mana wielders, and each and every type walk their own path. Grade: Uncommon Effect: 5% increase in wisdom and intellect.
[ Mage Class Passive Skill Selection. Please choose one... ] ¨C [Fire Mage: Fire Mages are known as the tempest of the battlefield. They control the raging element known as fire and bow to no one. *Enables the Fire Elemental Skill Tree.*] ¨C [Dark Mage: Dark mages are known as the nastiest bunch of all mana wielders. They excel in summoning beings from the underworld and using them to fight. *Enables the Dark Elemental Skill Tree* ¨C [Ice Mage: Ice mages are known as the freezing oblivion. They bring destruction in form of cold and can sweep life clean with their incredible chill. *Enables the ice Elemental Skill Tree.* I was astounded as I was faced with the passive skill tree selection for the mage class. I didn''t know what an elemental skill tree was, but I sure knew what a dark mage was. They were necromancers. As tempted as I was, a kind of me was repelled from choosing the dark mage. I would easily abandon my master if I could and if I became a necromancer myself, and summoned these kinds of beings from the underworld... I shuddered. I definitely didn''t want to place my trust in others. Therefore, I would not choose the dark mage. Either it was fire mage or ice mage. Hmm, what was most dangerous. Fire or Ice. Fire... the image of the flaming abyss down in the underworld overwhelmed my senses and made my spine sweat. Ice... yeah, that was not so bad. The mountains we walked through here were not so bad. The cold chilled my bones but it was nothing compared to what I had to feel down there. I nodded. I had decided. Fire mage it was. [You have chosen the Fire Elemental Skill Tree. Next point will be available at level ten.] [ Mage Class Active Skill Selection. Please choose one... ] ¨C [Fire Bolt: A bolt of fire able to scorch an opponent black. Requirements: 20 mana. 10 seconds cooldown.] ¨C [Dark Bolt: A bolt of darkness able to induce an opponent in a nightmare.Requirements: 20 mana. 10 seconds cooldown.] ¨C [Ice Bolt: A bolt of ice able to freeze an opponent into a statue.Requirements: 20 mana. 10 seconds cooldown.] I quickly selected the fire bolt without spending much time thinking. Since I had decided on going down the path of a fire mage I would keep it as such. Also, who didn''t fear fire more than ice and darkness? I sure did! Something made me wonder about this skill tree thingy in the passive skill selection. Why was it different from the other classes? "Eve, is the Mage class different from other classes? Why recieve a skill tree?" [It has to do with Mana, John. The Mage class is a class that can''t be unlocked without mana and is therefore regarded as an uncommon class. Your previous classes, the Blacksmith class and the Swordsman class, are basic classes and don''t require mana to be used. Therefore, they don''t reward the user with a skill tree.] I nodded. Her explanation would probably make more sense as I grew stronger. Now, back to the egg. I injected my mana by thinking of the blue mana pool flowing into the egg. It worked. I saw a marine blue sheen cover the egg, bubbling lightly like waves. I continued to push mana into the egg and sensed how my mana pool became less and less. Soon, it was only a smidgen less. I gritted my teeth and poured out the last drop. CRACK. Sudden cracks began to appear on the surface of the egg. CRACK. CRACK. CRACK. I looked with wonder as the egg slowly opened up and a small black creature with crimson-colored stripes crawled out. It was covered in light green slime and shook its body to remove it. Almost trying to wriggle out of it. I laughed and looked at my hand. I was hesitant. Then, with a nod, I clapped the creature. It squirmed under my bony fingers. So cute. It had four legs and two wings which were drenched in slime. KWI¨CKWE¨CKCCHI! The small creature made cute noises and tried to flap its drenched wings. The creature raised its head and looked at me. It had big, blue-pupilled eyes. I clapped its head and the creaturepushed it against my hand. A gentle laugh unlike one never thought myself to be able off escaped me. The creature really wa¨C CRUNCH!
The baby dragon Alrunenth Jr has acknowledged you as his master with a friendly nibble. Beware, If he feels that you have failed to live up to his expectations, he will abandon you in search for someone who is more worthy.
9. ~Dragon Rider~
Alrunenth Jr Title: Level: 8 ¨C Alrunenth Jr is the son of Alrunenth and the grandson of the famous fire monarch. He has waited a long time for someone who is worthy of being hismaster. He was originally supposed to be a pure fire element dragon, but since the mage who injected his mana into the egg to give him energy enough to break free was an undead, he is now a dual dark and fire element dragon. Alrunenth Jr will grow alongside his owner and may be affected as such. Race: Dragon Element: Darkness (50%), Fire (50%) Passive skills: Dragon''s Fortitude (MAX RANK), Dragon''s Resistance (MAX RANK) Active skills: Dragon''s Breath (Rank 1), Tail Sweep (Rank 1), Dragon''s Roar (MAX RANK) Health: 60 Mana: 370 Strenght: 6 Agility: 5 Stamina: 6 Intellect: 37 Wisdom: 33 Physical Resistance: 90% Magical resistance: 95%
[You have unlocked a new class by clearing a special condition.]
Tamer Throughout the ages, beings from different races have always bonded. Tamers are said to never be underestimated for the sole reason that they are never alone. Becoming one with their pets allows them to yield abilities far beyond what they once could. Effects: +2,5% STR, +2,5% AGI, +2,5% STA, +2,5% INT. Grade: Common
[You have fulfilled the requirement to become a Dragon Rider. YourTamerclass has evolved into theDragon Riderclass. Be warned that if you cannot maintain the requirement, your class will revert to its original form.]
Dragon Rider Bringers of Cataclysm. Carries of Oblivion. Wielders of Dragonfire. If there is one type of trainer that is to be feared in this world, that is the Dragon Rider. A Tamer creates a bondwith their pet but a Dragon Rider takes it one step further. They connect with their dragons through life itself and hold each other''s life above all else. Long ago, there existed many riders across the lands. But as the dragons slowly died out, so did the riders. Now, there are currently no known riders and the profession itself is shrouded in myth and legends. Effects: +30% STR, +30% AGI, +30% STA, +30% INT, +30% WIS. Grade: LEGENDARY
HOW. FUCKING. AMAZING. That was all I could think of as the bunch of blackboxes came with the incredible news. I looked down at the cute fella in my lap. I guess his opinion of how my bones tasted was very... distinct. It was exactly like how the mouseman had done. The baby dragon spat and coughed, looking at me with fearful eyes. Yes, I knew it was a dragon now. One the most powerful races that had ever existed in the world, ruling the mountains for years before they joined hands with the dwarves. If not for the friendship between the two rulers, the dragons would probably still be ruling the mountains. And today, a baby dragon, who was the grandson of the red monarch, had become my pet. [Dragon Rider Class Passive Skill Selection. Please choose one...] ¨C [Controller: Dragon Riders who opt in controlling their dragons and pushing out the greatest of their abilities. Enables the *Controller Skill Tree*.]Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¨C [Transformer: Dragon Riders who becomes one with their dragons. Enables the *Transformer Skill Tree*.] ¨C [Consumer: Dragon Riders who consume the heart of their dragon in search for an even greater power. Enables the *Consumer Skill Tree*.] Consumer Skill tree? Eww, I had to eat this little fella? No way! The remaining two options were Controller and Transformer. I guess the controller option means I will recieve a skill tree which focuses more on the dragon''s individual abilities and that the transformer option will boost mine. The choice was easy to make. [You have chosen the Transformer Skill Tree. Next point will be available at level ten.] [Dragon Rider Class Active Skill Selection. Please choose one...] ¨C [Pact: Transfers your own HP/MP to your dragon. Can heal even the gravest of wounds which may otherwise cause death. Requirements: HP/MP per second relative to health- and mana pool. 30 minutes cooldown.] ¨C [Dragon''s Breath: An upgraded version of Fireball. Has a wider target area and higher temperature. 50 mana. 5 minutes cooldown.] ¨C [Dragon Flesh: Eating the flesh of your dragon will permanently boost all your abilities. 2 seconds cooldown.] The third one was once again left out. I would not eat my dragon. The end. My two other options were Dragon''s breath and Pact. I decided for the dragon''s breath. After all, the past felt kind of useless. I mean, there was no way that the dragon, with all those stats and defences, would die before me. Not to mention how absurdly large its mana pool was compared to mine. My two other options were Dragon''s breath and Pact. I decided for the Dragon''s breath. After all, the Pact felt kind of useless. I mean, there was no way that the dragon, with all those stats and defences, would die before me. Not to mention how absurdly large its mana pool was compared to mine. After picking out my two new skills, I was rewarded with twenty stat points and two items when I received the classes. The item from the tamer class was three pills shining with a faint green lustre. They were used to boost a pet''s stats. Each of the pills would increase a stat of choice with ten points. What made me smile, however, was the item the Dragon Rider class gave me.
Ancient Saddle ¨CA saddle that was worn by a fire dragon long ago. Its leather is infused with the fire dragon''s roaring vitality and will make the rider feel safe and collected during situations where it is needed. Due to the fire dragon''s rider and his demands, certain enchantments were added upon creation to fully maximise the comfort. Effects will affect both Rider and Dragon. Effects: +50% HP REGEN, +50%MP REGEN, -20% MP EXPENDITURE Quality: QUASI-LEGENDARY
I suppose there are both Quasi-legendary and Legendary qualities. I don''t know how much better they are than the common and uncommon, but by their very names, and the effects these items give, I can at least conclude that they are. The ancient saddlewas very warm as I stroked the durable, brown leather. The seams were so well done that they would be easy to miss if one didn''t look carefully. The dragon snuggled against my hand. As I got up from the ground, it flapped its wings, actually ridding itself of the slime. The creature then flew up and got seated on my shoulder. I shook my head and let it stay there. "W¨C" a voice sounded out from behind me. I spun around and found Ezra looking at my shoulder. His face was paler than normal and his hand trembled as he held the sword handle at his waist. He swallowed hard and slowly advanced toward me. "D¨Cdon''t move," he said. "whatever you do, don''t move." I wondered what the friggin deal was. Then I understood. I had an actual dragon on my shoulder. "Ezra, calm down. It''s alright." I said and hoped he would put down his sword. "A-aaalright?!" he said with a shaky voice. I nodded and quickly grabbed the baby dragon under his widened eyes. "See? Aright!" "T-that''s a dragon!" he said and pointed at Alruneth Jr, clenching his sword even harder. "Yes, and his name is Alruneth Jr. He is my new companion." I said proudly, clapping his black-red scales. I felt that if the vampire''s eyeballs almost pop out and so I quickly began to explain how I had found the egg and I injected my mana inside. His original surprise eventually turned into him becoming dumbfounded. "When did you learn how to use mana? How?" he asked. I was stumped at what to say. I had by now found out that the system I had was strange and something other people didn''t have. Should I tell him about it? I nodded to myself and began to explain about the system and how it could make me stronger as I acquired these so called classes as well as when I levelled up. I mean, nothing bad could come out of it? "So what you''re saying," the vampire began, his voice shakier than when he saw the dragon. "Is that you are a variant with unlimited potential?" I was kind of a loss for words. Then again, maybe Ezra believed that this system of mine, Eve, was merely an ability of a variant. Wait, now I was confused myself. Was I a variant or was I a skeleton who was given Eve, a system? Maybe there were other variants who acquired similar systems? Instead of trying to make it difficult, since I myself didn''t know the answer, I nodded. Ezra let out a big breath and sat down on a pile of treasures. He then broke out in laughter and said. "I now understand why I''ve had these strange thoughts for a while." "Strange thoughts?" I asked, not really coping with him. "What strange thoughts?" "That you''ve grown bigger, for example," he said. "Or that your bones have become whiter." "What? My bones are whiter?" I looked down and inspected them. Yeah. Maybe they were a bit whiter. Was it an effect of increasing stamina and therefore the quality of my bones? An effect of becoming a dragon rider and receiving an immense boost to all of my stats? I wondered how tall I had grown now... "Then, am I taller than before?" Ezra nodded. "Yeah. A lot. Over two meters. And I thought I was insane when you went over one eighty, haha." "I see." I felt incredibly powerful as well. And I senses a mysterious energy circulation inside my bones. It must be mana. I had become a fire mage as well as a dragon rider. I smirked inwardly and turned to a pile of gold. "Hey Ezra," "What?" "Look," I said and lifted my hand. "Fireball," I said and felt a scorching pain spread from my hand. It was warm but didn''t hurt. A sizzling fireballfired off straight at the pile in the next split of a second after my command. CRASH! Treasures flew everywhere and I a burnt smell spread in the air. I looked at my hand and couldn''t believe the might of the fireball. "T¨Cthat..." Ezra shook his head and let out a defeated sigh. "I give up. Surprise after surprise... will you ever stop?" I shook my head. "I''m afraid n¨C" THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD. Ezra and I got to out feet and ran to the stairway. Footsteps reached our ears and we felt fear overcome our senses. The beastmen had found us and were still as relentless as before. Ezra unsheathed up his sword and got ready for battle. I was just about to also unsheathe my own sword when I suddenly stopped. Fireball. Piles of treasure. What if I use dragon''s breath instead? An idea slowly formed in my mind. An Idea to overcome this incredibly dangerous situation. 10. ~No way out~ My plan was great. At least in my mind, before I tried to execute it. Dragon''s breath, the skill I received from my dragon tame active skill selection, which was also the evolved version of Fireball, wasn''t as godly as I thought it would be¨C at least not at rank 1. The smell of scorched gold fuzzed as I actually burped. I guessed that burping sound was an after effect of usingDragon''s Breathand spewing out a spiralling flame mixed with onyx and crimson. "Sorry, Ezra, I didn''t work." I sighed and looked at the pile of treasure I had attempted to melt. "That¨C it doesn''t matter," Ezra said while shaking his head, filled with admiration for the power the little skeleton, not so little anymore, had received."We wouldn''t be able to move so much gold and throw it down the staircase anyway. It''s better to hold the ground with swords and magic. I have my magic and you have yours. I saw the might of yourDragon''s Breathjust now. It was amazing. While not as powerful as my magic, it''s miles better than your peers, the skeleton magicians." I nodded. The sounds of footsteps grew louder. Ezra stood before the staircase with his sword in hand and I stood beside him. We had barricaded the stairs with the treasures. Gold coins and likewise shiny jewellery and ornate items covered the stairs. If the beastmen kept the same speed while charging up, they would definitely slip. And when I used myDragon''s Breath, I would be able to partially melt the gold, causing the slipping to be even worse. The thirty stat points I received from my three consecutive gained classes;Mage, Tamer, Dragon Tamer,was placed in intellect. My mana pool rose over 400 and my mind grew clearer. If I used them on any other stats, I wouldn''t be able to unleash Dragon''s Breath. Now, on the other hand, I would be able to use it six times before running dry on mana. I now remembered that I had forgotten to look at the item given to me fromreceiving the magician class. Well well, I''ll do it later. "They are coming. Get ready." Ezra''s voice made me snap to alertness. My sword was held high and I was already in position, using the stance taught to me by Ezra. The proficiency hadn''t risen since the battle in the desert but I was not so far of from rank 2.Alrunenth Jr sat on my shoulder and gazed out with anexcited glimpse in his eyes. I wondered what his thoughts were¨C if he knew what was going or if he just admired the shining gold on the stairs. I mean, it wasn''t a surprise that adragon''s greatest hobby was hoarding treasures. Soon, we saw the first beastman appear. This one had the head of a jaguar and was very fast at climbing. It used its front paws and human legs to run up each stair like a beastand was level 53. A lot stronger than the scouting party we encountered earlier.Unfortunately, for the jaguarman, not for us, it soon fell under Ezra''s sword just as fast as it had gone up. Going against Ezra who was level 126 was a complete suicice¨C the differences were too large! As I thought of this and reflected back to the fight in the endless wasteland, why was the vampire taking so long time to complete the fight with the owlman and tigerman? Was perhaps only fooling around? In that case, why would he do that? I shook my head¨C there were more important matters to think about right now, such as the presently incoming enemies. "Undead scum! Eat my axe!" More beastmen charged up the stairs. Some of them roared out insults and other merely looked at us with rage and contempt filling their eyes. I decided it was time to use my first Dragon''s breath. Dragon''s Breath!My bony lips parted by themselves and a wide flame surged toward the stairs. The flame was as black as the night and as red as blood. The beastmen''s eyes widened as they were consumed by the fire. I couldn''t see anything during the time I spew out flames but I could hear their screamed as the flames raced across their furry bodies. As the flames died down, and after my burp, I was shocked to see how my spell totally ravaged those who advanced the stairs. Out of the six beastmen, I could currently see, five of them had become scorched corpses, laying on the ground without moving, and the last one, standing by himself, shook as the flames had licked him black. His eyes, filled with terror, seemed to be distant as if he was having a nightmare.
5700 XP gained from killing Jaguarman Zenith
4950 XP gained from killing Lizardman Rocky
5475 XP gained from killing Boarman Kroll
4725 XP gained from killing Foxwoman Deli
5250 XP gained from killing Goatman Ole
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Terrifying amounts of XP surged toward my XP bar. It didn''t take long until I levelled up. Ezra looked at me with bulging eyes after he had seen how the beastmen succumbed to my magic.
Level Up! You have advanced 2 levels! Your new level is 10!
[You have unlocked the skill tree feature.] I wanted to go and check out the skill tree feature that I unlocked now when I levelled up to ten but shook my head and instead focused on the battle. I quickly told Eve to put all the new stat points on intellect. This would allow me to use Dragon''s Breathand additional time. "Hehe, it seems I underestimated the power of your magic. Look." Ezra pointed at the survivingbeastman. A Rhinoman. Terror filled the Rhinoman''s eyes and his whole body shook. As Ezra went forward to him, he didn''t react. "What''s happening to him?" I asked. "Not happening, happened," Ezraremarked. "And it was your flame that caused it! My guess is that Dragon''s breath, or whatever you called that spell, contains the element of darkness and that it makes victims go into a state of incapacitation. I''m not too sure about the specifics but it''s clear to say he''s not able to react to his surroundings. Like now for an instance." The vampire cleanly stabbed through the Rhinoman''s eye into his brain. The beastman fell onto the floor with a loud bang, as if proudly showing off how heavy he was before never moving again. "As easy as cutting through butter." Ezra laughed. "I really like this magic of yours. Don''t hesitate to use it in the future, okay?" The beastmen kept swarming up. Eventually, Ezra and I had to retreat from the staircase. As we stood opposite to them, we had killed over twenty. There were thirty or so of them left and they were lead by an eaglewoman and a lionman. The eaglewoman was level 100, a number making me worried, and the lionman was not too far off, at 96. "We cannot let them escape." the eagle woman told the other beastmen. "Their hands are covered with the blood of our kin and our ancestors would be ashamed of us if we don''t slaughter them and eat their hearts... charge!" The thirty or so beastmen surrounded us. This didn''t look good. "Since you made me do this," I heard Ezra saying loudly. "You better take responsibility." Ezra roared. "Blood Seals; Release!" The vampire''s eyes filled with crimson and black wings sprouted on his back. He became a monster and stepped forward, shielding me from the beastmen. All our enemies except for the eaglewoman and lionman stepped back. They held their ground firm and watched Ezra with squinted eyes. "John, I can''t do much more than this. It''s up to you if you can survive this ordeal." Ezra told me and lunged toward the eaglewoman and the lion man. I watched him ferociously swipe his claws at them. They dodged by a hair''s breath and that''s when I understood the gravity of his words. This fight would not be an easy one. It would be the hardest one for me so far. "Kill the skelly!" As the vampire left my side, the other beastmen charged toward me. Attacked from all sides, I was quickly overpowered. My bones began to crack at certain places and my health slowly plummeted. There was nothing I could do except trying to dodge and strike where I could, and doing this was hard enough. I released the last bit of mana I had in a Dragon breathbut they had gotten used to it. The only one died and it wasn''t enough to fill my XP bar to the max. I understood that each level demanded more xp than the previous. I was already level 11 and the XP needed to level up was more than killing a level 50 beastman gave. [Varning! You have entered a critical condition with less than 20% HP left.] Eve''s voice brought me to clarity. That''s right, I had to quickly escape. If I didn''t, I would die. And I had just arrived at this world. This was merely my starting point. I had so much more to do. I dodged an axe and rolled down the floor, between a polarman''s legs, hearing his angry roar as he missed me. Alruneth had left my shoulder but I didn''t have time to look for him. My life was more important than the dragon I just met. "Don''t let him escape! Kill him!" the beastmen gave chase, blunt weapons of all sizes hurdling after. I took cover behind piles of treasure, their weapons causing gold to splatter in every direction as they missed. I didn''t know how many cracks I had in my bones. It was nothing short of a miracle that I could still move. Luckily, I didn''t have any blood like them, or I would have died from blood loss ages ago. In the end, however, I was left with no way to go. I was chased to the corner and they had surrounded me. I readied my sword, held it high as I always did in the stance, and looked the beastmen without fear in my eyes. Knowing that death was coming made me achieve a special calm. I would kill as many as I could. That would at least help Ezra getting out alive. "Come at me," I said to the beastmen, taunting them with my middle finger, a thing I don''t know why I did. It just felt natural. However, despite my clear taunts, they stood unmoving. A smaller beastman stepped forward from the group. It was the dogman who belonged to the scouting party, did I remember. His eyes were cold and indifferent, and yet, filled with a sort of rage I couldn''t understand. Had the death of his party members affected him this much? "We finally meet again, Skelly." the dogman spat out. He held a sword in his hand and advanced without hesitating. "I don''t know which of you two killed them but it doesn''t matter. I will have my revenge nonetheless. doesn''t matter.So, are you ready to pay for your sins? " I stared at him without blinking. Then I said. "I have no sins to pay for." And it was the truth. It was my earnest thoughts. "Then we don''t have anything more to speak of." the dogman said and charged.