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Tobias, the Defiler

Level 80 Necromancer (Boss)

“You hid things really well, but there were some things that didn't add up.” Vander rested his hands against the pommel of his sheathed sword as he walked closer to the center of the large chamber.

The half-man, half-skeleton chuckled. “Is that right? What gave me away?”

“No matter how bad the fighting got, none of the raiders ever targeted you or your group. Only those around you.” He kept walking, circling the center of the floor and its ritual pattern drawn in blood. He analyzed it while keeping a dampened version of his magic sense on the movements of the necromancer.

“You’re that perceptive?” Tobias asked, rising from the bone throne. He waved a hand, and a transparent wall of darkness separated them. His other hand kept moving as he talked, “That was enough to make you suspicious?”

“No, not only that. I also asked the rest of the villagers after we had our talk. The sacrifices only stopped once I showed up,” Vander explained, stepping into the center of the ritual with a savage grin on his face. The circle flashed, activating whatever magic was stored inside. He’d take this challenge and all that it promised head on, a personal test of sorts. His heart pumped with battlelust and coursed energizing static through his body nonstop. “And you really suck at hiding your killing intent.”

Tobias grinned, tugging the layers of sickly, pockmarked flesh upward. “Why didn’t you kill me there? Why go through all of this? You hunted down all my people, even though you knew I was the one orchestrating things from the shadows? I don’t buy it.”

“You don’t have to.” Vander shrugged.

The ritual didn’t seem to do anything. Magic continued to waft up from it, but nothing activated yet. Despite his confidence, he didn’t know what might come from the trap or what it might do to him. The more he waited, the less interested he became. That was until he tried to step outside and approach Tobias to end things.

A gut-wrenching howl ripped through the air, sounding like a mix between rage and pain. All the power that accumulated while he’d been standing there exploded outward into the discarded array of bones.

Bones rattled and clanked as they animated. Vander drew his sword and destroyed those skeletons rising from the bones in front of him. His sword cut through them like butter, and they fell back to the ground in a hapless heap.

“I should’ve figured as much. Kind of anticlimactic,” Vander muttered. He looked around at the other rising skeletons and rolled his eyes. “I thought this would be fun, but I’m disappointed. Really, if this is all, let’s get the finale rolling.” Vander destroyed the skeletons before they had a chance to rise from the ground, working his way toward Tobias with a sneer. “You think your little show of Madeline’s death really tricked me? Begging for me to save the villagers? You never fooled me, but you did hide in your hole well like the coward you are. And like any rightful coward, you’re hiding behind your pathetic army.”

Tobias didn’t respond. He just focused on manipulating the undead from behind the wall of transparent black magic. The other hand orchestrated the movements of his undead. With sword in hand, Vander paced forward, steady and unfazed.

At best, the skeletons were a warm up for the main event. His sword lashed out and cut bone into pieces before they could rise, and even those that pulled themselves together fell in seconds.

“I even increased the difficulty of this challenge by stepping into your trap, but this is still all you have to offer,” Vander taunted. He shook his head. “Your act was disappointing, but this is even worse. Like, seriously. How weak could you be? You know what? To defeat you, I’ll only use slashes. And I’m telling you about it, too, so like… don’t… be defeated too horribly? Would be very anticlimactic. I don’t like anticlimactic.”

Tobias seemed to finally be taking him ‘seriously’. His expression turned somewhat solemn as he slowly raised his hands above his head and began to wave them back and forth with a sense of purpose. As he did so, the air around him began to crackle with black, lightning like energy, and the ground beneath his feet trembled ever so slightly. It was as if he was summoning something from the very depths of hell itself.

Suddenly, a low, rumbling sound echoed through the air, growing louder and louder by the second. As Tobias continued to wave his hands, a dark wall of black smoke began to materialize before him, in front of the already present black wall, slowly coalescing into a solid form. Unlike the previous one, it was much less translucent; Vander could barely spot Tobias.

Just as Vander was about to taunt him once more, a series of skeletal figures emerged from the smoke. These were not like the previous skeletons, though—they were massive, towering beasts, each one at least ten feet tall and built like an impenetrable wall of bone and sinew.

Their eye sockets glowed with a fierce red light, and their teeth were razor-sharp, gleaming menacingly. The bones of their limbs seemed almost indestructible, each one covered in a thick layer of armored plating that made them look like something out of a nightmare. Or well, a nightmare for normal people.

Vander, however, found them cute. “This is more like it. This is finally getting interesting.”

Tobias remained silent, not falling for Vander’s taunts. Vander leapt forward, and slashed at the skeletons, a grin spreading over his face. The sound of clashing bones echoed through the air as he swung his sword with expert precision, striking blow after blow against the towering beasts.

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Something was, luckily, different this time. These ones actually matched their appearance and were not sliced through like butter. Vander’s slashes made barely any damage, only etching scratches into their bones.

Tobias smiled, seemingly satisfied with the outcome. Noticing this, Vander spoke once more. “You know, Tobias? If there’s one thing that I learned in life,” he blocked the attacks of one of the skeletons with his blade before lifting it high above, “it’s that if force does not work, use even more force.”

Vander lifted his sword high into the air, the wind seeming to split in two as he brought it down with all the force he could muster. The blade sliced through the air, and with a resounding clash, it met the unyielding bones of the closest skeleton.

For a moment, it seemed as though the creature would hold fast against the attack. But with a deafening crack, the skeleton split in two, its bones falling to the ground with a hollow rattle. Vander let out a triumphant smirk as he leapt towards the next creature, his sword flashing as he slashed it to pieces with practiced ease.

The other skeletons still approached him like before, trying to grab him with their hands, and their actions only made things easier for Vander. He moved with a speed that was almost supernatural, darting between the skeletons and delivering swift, deadly blows that split them into pieces. It was like they were made out of paper, not out of literal bones.

In a matter of seconds, the army of skeletons lay strewn across the ground, their bones shattered and lifeless. Vander stood in the center of the carnage, his smug grin only growing wider. “Is that truly all you have, Tobias? How boring. There is no meaning to continue this any further, then.”

Vander's body twisted as he leapt towards the first black wall. With a bit more force than he used against the skeletons, he slashed at the wall, holding his sword in position despite the recoil. The sound of metal clanging echoed through the air, and the wall trembled. Then, it broke, disappearing. It left absolutely no traces, like it had never existed in the first place.

Without any delay, Vander slashed at the second wall. For a very short moment, it split aside along with the air when Vander slashed, creating a small gap just big enough for him to proceed beyond it. Vander, of course, didn't hesitate to take such a chance, slipping through the gap with lightning speed.

Before Tobias could process, Vander stood in front of him, his trademark smug grin present on his face. By the time Tobias finally realized what was happening, Vander had already lifted his sword, ready to behead him.

With lightning reflexes, Tobias waved his hand in the nick of time, black miasma erupting out of his fingers. The pieces of skeletons littered around him responded to his call, rising up and swirling around him like a protective cloak. The bones rattled together, interlocking like a puzzle to create a makeshift armor that covered his body from head to toe.

Vander, almost gently, brought his sword down. However, despite how peaceful his actions looked, the power contained behind his sword was much stronger than Tobias could block. The sword cut through the armor of bones, splitting Tobias in two from the waist.

Before Tobias could even open his mouth to scream, Vander slashed through his neck, beheading him. Then, he slashed through his head god knows how many times, making brain ramen.

Finally, Vander sighed. “This was honestly not all that fun. I thought this would be a lot harder.” The blue-green flames from the hall had made him worry that Tobias might’ve had some kind of greater power, something hidden that he might’ve been keeping, but even after waiting to see, Vander had been disappointed.

The time spent in the second class assessment, even if long, had been long and eventful. However, he couldn’t wait to wrap things up, so without wasting anymore time on the necromancer’s pitiful corpse or any of the disarranged bones, he made his way to the captive villagers.

All of them were in poor states, but he’d prepared with that expectation. He cut doorways in the bones for the survivors to get through and offered each strips of dried jerky from different game he’d hunted and small vials of his own crafted low quality rejuvenation potions. All credit for his skills went to Madeline’s great note-taking and extensive explanations.

Given their malnourished states, the food did little to help. He made sure they all ate before reassuring them the potions were fine to consume. Out of all those taken, most were women. One of the older boys stepped in front of the ground that gathered in a half-circle around Vander.

“What’s going to happen now?” the boy asked, his eyes full of confusion, fear, and defiance. His fists clenched as he looked past Vander towards Tobias’ downed corpse, but he wiped away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

“Take the potion first, then I’ll get all of you back to Crossroads. Alright?” Vander asked, kneeling and holding out a hand for the boy to take. “I promise, and I’m a man of my word.”

No older than sixteen, the boy looked around and understood the situation. He took Vander’s hand and shook. “Thank you, but what about after you leave?”

“Good question, but it’s nothing we need to worry about right now. Okay?” A defiant look stared back at him from the boy’s soul. One of pain, regret, fear, weakness, and a burning desire to never experience those things again. Vander couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’ve got spirit, kid.”

“You’ll help me, right?” the boy asked before eyeing the little vial of swirling red with flecks of herbs that hadn’t quite dissolved. In one gulp, he downed the potion, then carefully handed it back to Vander. “Without Tobias, we don’t have an elder. If you won’t stay to keep us safe, at least—please. I don’t want others to fight for my safety, sacrifice themselves because I’m too weak to stop them, or rely on others to protect the things I cherish.”

Vander looked around at the other crowd, and they all stared at Tobias. Most of them hadn’t taken the potion yet, either, and didn’t look like the reality of the situation had quite dawned on them yet—a harsh reality promising a new era in the peaceful village. He looked back at the boy.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Jillion Botun… sir.”

Vander chewed the inside of his cheek. “Jillion. Hmm…”

Class Assessment: Part 2 of 3

Each part of the class assessment will reward points based on performance. The points will only be usable in the Class Shop. The shop will open at the end of the assessment after all results have been calculated.

Completion Goal: Save the villagers (75/25)

Secondary Goal: Kill the bandits

Third Goal: Kill the necromancer

Fourth Goal: Train your first apprentice

He contained the groan that attempted to escape. The option to move on had been there for a while now, but if these people were real, he didn’t want to leave them purely defenseless. And he’d even gain more value in his assessment for it.

Damnit.