The eerie voice echoed inside my mind like icicles falling into a frozen gorge despite no actual sounds disturbing the valley. Something was broadcasting orders to its undead minion, and I had accidentally caught the signal. The voice felt wrong, evil, and indescribably powerful.
Bring him. Alive.
The words sent a shiver down my spine and, before the Undead Wolf could make a move, I reached for my sword. In a well practiced movement, I channeled mana out of my body lighting the sword with a blue flame. Meanwhile, [Awareness] ran several threads of thought in the background of my mind.
Other than the Changeling, who had just copied my words like a parrot, no other monster in the Farlands had been capable of speech. My eyes scanned the surroundings searching for clues as [Awareness] automatically sorted through the information. The Ice Wraiths were carrying Dassyra alive. Whoever was broadcasting orders to the Undead Wolf, wanted me alive.
The realization made me feel uneasy. Someone was gathering living beings.
Oh? You can hear me. Unusual.
The voice sounded like distant ice cracking, this time aimed at me. Then, I realized my mistake. My grip tightened around the sword’s hilt. I had ignited my mana blade before the creature had shown signs of aggression.
Resorting to the last drop of self control I had, I suppressed my flight response. The evil voice ignored my presence until I revealed myself to the Undead Wolf, which meant it didn’t know about Elincia’s whereabouts. I wanted to keep Elincia far from the creature’s sights until I knew more about its plans for me.
My mind raced. I wasn’t going to acknowledge the voice yet. Instead, I tightened the herb bag’s knot and jumped down the sandbank for a more stable ground. Unlike Elincia and her elven ankles, I would rather fight the Undead Wolf on even terrain.
There was no need of resorting to [Awareness] to know the voice was dangerous but maybe, dealing with the Undead Wolf would free me from the evil presence. If the Undead Wolf worked as a familiar, then killing it blind its owner in this area.
Before I could engage in the fight, the evil voice talked once again.
Let’s try a more direct approach.
The Undead Wolf let out a powerful howl that ended in a repulsive gurgling of curdled blood. The creature’s bones cracked and its muscles tore apart. In a grotesque metamorphosis, the dead flesh contorted and changed its shape. The creature’s legs turned and stretched, its neck broke several times making its head fall forward, and its shoulders snapped apart to mimic a human torso. The Undead Wolf adopted an upright stance and stretched its arms like an aberrant monster waking up from its long slumber.
The eyes of the monster were now a deep, glacial blue that held a spark of intelligence. Its movements were graceful, completely different from what could be expected from a mangled corpse. The contorted abomination in front of me was no longer a minion but an avatar of its owner.
The ground froze under its feet as it walked down the riverbed, crunching louder than its broken bones. Its whole body emanated an icy aura that seemed to freeze the very air around it. Hundreds of mana strands woven into the mutated body tensed every time the creature moved.
I lunged forward aiming for the head.
In response, mana moved through the creature’s body and a frozen blade materialized from thin air, parrying my strike and pushing my sword away. [Swordsmanship] quickly took over my body. I stepped back just in time to avoid the riposte, then I took two more steps back just in case. My opponent was faster than I anticipated but [Awareness] pressed me to continue attacking before the creature could take the initiative.
I jumped forward and violently struck from the right. The rotten flesh puppet raised its own iced blade to meet mine, its movements were precise and deliberate, however, what surprised me the most was its strength. The puppet parried and pushed my sword to the side as if it was a mere splinter. I sidestepped, predicting its counterattack, and swung my sword over my head aiming at the creature’s neck.
A second icicle materialized in the way of my strike, protecting the creature’s neck. My sword bounced back as if it had struck solid rock. As I stammered, the puppet grabbed the floating icicle and wielded it as a second blade. Once again, I jumped forward trying to slash at the creatures’ hands but my sword was met by solid ice.
[Awareness] pressed me to summon my own flying blades and go in an all-out-attack but I ignored it. The fight against the Stone Giant had taught me to use the brain instead of jumping head on against my enemies.
I pulled back and encircled my enemy as I considered my alternatives. The creature just followed me with its glacial eyes filled with mana.
A fight of attrition was not on the table. Despite the nap, my body was sore and tired from the days of travel and the nights out in the open. My mana pool hadn’t even fully recovered from the fight against the Stone Giant and I wasn’t sure how long the puppet in front of me could last in a fight. Moreso, since the puppeteer was likely the one who cast the freezing area spell, then I wasn’t going to deplete his mana pool any time soon.
I had to be smart and use my resources wisely. To win, I had to sever the connection between the body and whatever was controlling it. Then I had to grab Elincia and get our asses out of the Farlands as fast as possible.
I took a step back to catch my breath, [Swordsmanship] alone wasn’t going to cut it off. My body still felt sore and stiff and the creature’s movements were just too nimble and precise. To win this fight I had to employ the rest of my repertoire of skills.
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[Intimidate], [Minor Illusion] or [Stun Gaze] could give me enough time to find an opening if I timed them right. I just had to figure out which one was effective. The lack of information about my opponent was as dangerous as the iced blades in its undead hands.
[Intimidate] might not work against a creature who could freeze a whole valley with a single spell, and [Minor Illusion] was too simple to fool anything more intelligent than a Slime.
The undead creature walked over the creek, freezing the water under its feet. Its glacial eyes pierced through my skin but no matter how menacing its presence was, [Awareness] kept on going in the background of my mind. I was running out of time and space to fall back so I made a decision.
I fixed my eyes on the creature and cast [Stun Gaze]. Mana swirled around my eye and the spell shot like a golden bullet aimed at the head of my enemy. As the spell shot, I abandoned all intent of defending and charged forward. Even if the stun effect lasted half a second, I was going to make it count.
A wall of frozen mana suddenly raised between the undead creature and the mana bullet shattered into a thousand fragments. The creature smiled and swung its iced blades at me. I blocked the first hit and tried to step aside but the ground under my feet was frozen.
I saw the second ice blade from the corner of my eye.
My mana shield held up just enough to turn a killing blow into a graze. The creature’s blade cut through my leather jacket and barely reached my skin. Pain suddenly exploded in my side as frozen tendrils spread from the point of contact.
In a desperate attempt to free myself from the sensation, I let mana violently pour from my body. It worked but the shivering sensation from the sudden loss of mana took hold of my joints.
You have obtained Mana Depletion (Advanced). Temporary
My back hit the sand bank. I scanned my surroundings, there was no place to run. Even if I decided to climb the sand bank, the creature would be faster. My fingers were numb and my hands trembled as the effects of the sudden loss of mana settled on my cold body.
The hilt of the sword almost slipped from my hands but I refused to be taken by the creature. I pressed the harvesting bag against my chest. The orphanage needed me, and I needed them. For too long I stumbled through life and I wasn’t going to give up the best thing that had happened to me.
Zaon, Firana, Ilya, and Wolf had a lot to learn. I had yet to discover the details of the exam to enter the Imperial Academy. I wasn’t going to let the Marquis take the kids from Elincia.
[Awareness] pressed me to go in an all-out-attack.
I took a deep breath and let the sword slip through my fingers. Then, I collected mana around my hands. Magnitude, intensity, power, area. The concepts floated around my pain-ridden brain, making little to no sense, however, even a kid knew the stronger the applause, the louder the sound.
I clapped my hands, releasing a thunder that echoed through the valley. The undead creature stopped for a second and briefly massaged its ears, then, it glared right at me with a newfound understanding.
“A mage of your caliber using System Skills?” The creature suddenly spoke.
The voice sounded just like my brain had interpreted it, like ice cracking down a deep gorge. There was something unsettlingly human about it, and yet, I knew I was dealing with something monstrous.
“What?” I asked. Of all the results possible, I wasn’t expecting the creature to be disappointed by my mana skills.
“Your magic reserves are a beautiful orb, and yet you choose to be bound to the System.” The Undead Puppet said as the blades in its hands disappeared into a cascade of powdered snow.
Curiosity broke through the fear that I felt.
“What do you mean?” I asked, keeping the creature speaking was better than being abducted, or worse, killed.
“You are an interesting one. Great potential. Don’t you sense it? The System feeds you small crumbs of your own power.” The Undead Puppet said as it showed me its icicle teeth in a macabre smile.
The game I was playing was dangerous, and yet, curiosity got the best of me.
“I’m interested but… you look like a monster to me.” I said, trying to sound confident, as if I wasn’t talking to a literal corpse molded into the shape of a person.
The Undead Puppet’s laugh got on my nerves.
“What’s the difference between a person and a monster?” The creature asked.
“People have character sheets, monsters don’t.” I replied with the first thought that came to mind.
The Undead Puppet laughed again. For some reason it seemed to be enjoying our conversation.
“Orcs don’t have ‘character sheets’ as you call them. Are they monsters then?” The creature pointed out.
I bit my tongue. Dassyra was Wolf’s mother, not some monster.
“A promising mage and a quick study, good.” The creature nodded and gave me a dangerous smile. I felt the air freezing around me. “I give you two options. You can come with me under your own volition and I teach you the real extent of your magical prowess... or you can replace this minion with your corpse.”
I glanced over the Undead Puppet’s shoulder and laughed.
The creature smiled at me and joined my laugh.
“I’m sorry, turning into a Wendigo isn’t in my plans and I have to go to work on Monday.” I replied. “You see, I really can’t afford to lose this job.”
Suddenly, a whistling sound filled the air and the skull of the creature burst into thousands of pieces of rotten bone and brains. A second projectile dug a hole the size of a fist in the creature’s rib cage, while the third one shredded its legs. Fueled by [Swordsmanship], I reached for my longsword and ignited the blade. Then, I swung, severing the strands of mana knit into the undead vessel and cut the tie between the puppet and its master.
The next moment, the evil presence was gone.
“Someone called for reinforcements?” Elincia asked from the opposite riverbank. Around her, half a dozen huge orcs armed with slings prepared the next volley. I thanked all of the Greek pantheon for preventing a fist-sized stray rock from hitting me. Slings were already dangerous if not in the hands of a two meter tall and a hundred and fifty kilo orc.
I sighed in relief as Elincia slid down the sand bank and gracefully jumped over the creek. The fight against a Stone Golem taught me a second thing; big monsters required a lot of hands to be felled. My father would be proud of my current learning rate.
“Happy to see me, Scholar?” Elincia grinned.
“I could kiss every one of you.” I replied with a trembling voice.
“Better keep your kisses to yourself, someone here has a liking for human men.” Elincia laughed as Dassyra made her way between the squad of orcs slingers.
Awake and upright, Dassyra was imposing. Her green skin shone under the sun as a pained smile tugged her lips. As much as I wanted to put Dassyra up to date with her son’s advancements, I had bad news to share first.