Ashley

As it turns out, they do not have more than one root skill. Unfortunately enough.

In fact, I don’t find any skill branching from their root skill that has anything to do with endurance either. So their endurance and resistance to non-biological ranged attacks may not come from a skill. It may just be a biological factor of their species.

Meaning I likely won’t be able to get the skills.

A major pity, but whatever. I’ve already gotten their crimson lightning. Even if I can’t really control it with just their root skill.

After slaughtering our way through a decent chunk of the catacombs, finding these monsters to be the easiest to deal with out of all of the monsters in this section of the Unique Domain, I’ve learned more about the Crimson Shock skill.

For one, the skill is pretty much a mutation skill without any visible changes. It makes my body generate the crimson destruction affinity lightning naturally like an eel’s body generates electricity. But I currently have no control over that lightning other than to expel it all out at any particular moment and with no direction.

In order for me to gain some forms of control over it, I need to unlock the later skills in the Skill Tree.

One example of the skills to control the lightning is the bandages skill that these mummies all seem to have unlocked. The one that lets them send the lightning through any sort of object in contact with them regardless of if it can conduct electricity or not.

Probably some sort of staple skill unlock that they all get on instinct.

Other than that, there’s also a skill that would let me grow some sort of spike out of any part of me I want that I can shoot the lightning out of. And a skill that lets me expel the lightning into the ground through my feet.

Then there are skills to increase the efficiency of the lightning itself in different ways. Whether increasing the amount that generates or how powerful said lightning is.

Eventually though I just buy the skill that lets me send the lightning through anything regardless of conductivity with the Skill Points I get from these things. Because it makes it course through my swords, further increasing the power of my chaos knives.

Which pretty much lets me cut these things apart like tofu.

Until we find the next rank of these monsters deeper in the catacombs.

♢ Level 121 Destruction-Touched Mummified Corrupted Ash – 710 Potential Skills – X ♢

At which point we turn around and run the hell away.

Because these mummified corrupted ash are literal beacons of crimson lightning, with so much of it coating them that it’s striking at the corridor all around them and making it impossible to get around them. And the moment it sees us, it fires off all of its current built up lightning at us in one powerful railgun shot that Blake and I both have to work together to block.

But even with us working together, it shatters all of our defenses and slams into my arm, taking a large chunk out of it in the process.

Fortunately for us though, the monster doesn’t chase after us after firing off the blast. So we manage to get away without any issues other than the hole in my arm.

We both flee until we find a chamber inside of the catacombs to rest. And we just stay in that chamber for several hours to recover our mana, energy, and health.

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Except this time Blake makes sure to check it thoroughly for any spells or traps to make sure the same thing as last time doesn’t happen again.

Fortunately, he doesn’t find anything. And nothing ends up happening during our rest.

Probably because these monsters don’t seem to even have mana manipulation. So they can’t set up those intricate traps like the skeletons did.

I frown as I lie down in the corner of the chamber next to a sarcophagus, just staring at my status. Where I focus on my energy slowly rising and my current level. Which is still far too low for my liking, if I'm being honest.

My energy and mana are both almost full again, but my health is a different story entirely. With it being about three quarters of the way full still. Missing an entire quarter.

I lean my head against the sarcophagus and my shoulder as I let out a sigh.

It would be great if one of these annoying monsters were to give me a regeneration skill, but that might be too much to ask for. What with them all being of the destruction affinity. And destruction magic isn’t exactly known for regeneration.

Still. A higher ranking and more effective regeneration skill would be really nice right about now.

I feel my eyes beginning to droop closed from my exhaustion. Exhaustion that’s filling every inch of my body thanks to our constant running and fighting.

My eyes close, following which I feel a hand on my head as I hear Blake saying, “Get some sleep Lee.”

I feel my eyes furrowing ever so slightly at the name ‘Lee’, but soon enough I fall asleep. With all my worries vanishing for the time being.

And when I wake up, I slowly crack my eyes open, still feeling that I’m resting my head against something. But it doesn’t take me long to realize that I’m not resting it against the sarcophagus anymore. Instead I’m resting my head on Blake’s shoulder, which briefly makes me wonder how I got into this position.

Then I notice that either something was draining the crimson lightning from me, or I just don’t generate crimson lightning while I was asleep. Because I don’t have much built up. And if it was continuously growing while I was asleep then Blake would’ve been shocked when he touched me. Literally.

I blink a few times, still feeling half asleep. Then I just close my eyes again for a few more minutes of shuteye, ignoring the fact that I’m resting my head on his shoulder.

Until he shakes me a little and says, “Lee? We should get moving if your health is full again.”

I open my eyes again and glance at my status, finding my health to be full again. So I sit up straight, still feeling tired as I climb to my feet and stretch my arms over my head.

That was a good nap.

“Why are you calling me Lee?” I ask, turning to look at him after stretching and waking myself up a bit.

He blinks before shrugging and saying, “It’s what I used to call you before the accident.”

I stare at him for a few seconds.

Then I hum, “Hmm,” while turning away. Without saying anything.

“Should we continue hunting the mummified ash in here to get some levels? Or do you want to try taking on the corrupted ones?” Blake asks out of the corner of my eye.

“Let’s level a bit before we take the mummified corrupted ash on, and we can search to see if there’s any gunpowder here while we’re at it,” I answer without looking at him as I draw my blades and begin walking towards the entrance of the catacombs chamber.

“Sounds good,” he answers, following along behind me.

And with that, the two of us proceed to make our way through the catacombs once more. Just searching for more of the mummified ash.

But something’s bothering me.

The fact that none of them attacked us while I was sleeping. Or while we were resting at all.

And even now as we search for them, we can’t find a single one.

Time passes.

One minute. Five minutes. Half an hour. Two hours.

But the only thing that happens is that the walls of the catacombs occasionally shake. And the crimson cracks on the sandstone seem to be glowing a bit brighter.

Eventually me and Blake share a confused glance before he suggests we go up to the surface to see if something’s happening.

I suggest in return to just keep searching for a bit more.

Until another ten minutes pass without a sign of monsters down here, leading me to give in and let him teleport us back to the surface.

Where we find a rather shocking sight.

A loud roaring echoes across the entire wasteland as puddles and ponds of deep black and crimson liquid cover large expanses of the ash desert, with some of it even dripping down from nearby pyramids and falling into the wyrm dens. Meanwhile all of the monsters are out in the open instead of hiding for some reason.

But I get my answer for why that is soon enough when the various structures around us all suddenly begin blinking out before teleporting away. Just mere seconds before a massive explosion comes from the volcano, firing out missiles much larger than the ones that hit the outer region of the Unique Domain. Missiles that look like small meteors instead of glowing balls of crimson.

And just one of those meteors ends up hitting a pyramid before the thing can teleport away.

Causing the entire pyramid to come crumbling down as crimson cracks quickly spread throughout the entire thing, turning it into dust that joins with the ash desert.

My jaw drops open at the sight.

Well, shit.