Lanek identified the rest of the band, finding that there were barbarian and hunter variants in addition to the massive warrior growling in his direction. As tempted as he may have been to stick around, every single one of the bugbears out-leveled him, with the weakest being level 17. He was pretty sure he could take one, maybe two of the creatures, but not twenty plus the remaining goblins.
He pulled back into the forest, breaking line of sight before taking to the trees and speeding away. Kazuma and Sanguineus raced along the ground almost silently after him. Rather than returning to camp immediately, the three took a route that led them to the northwest of the village. Lanek was not so much concerned about finding more monsters to farm, but seeing what other threats may actually be in the forest. He wasn’t going to lie to himself, seeing those bugbears had shaken him.
What else is living in this damn forest? I mean, the Night Arrows turned out to be okay, but the hobgoblins were still pretty threatening. But there is also a giant mystery creature in a lake that can knock multiple mature trees down with one swipe, the bugbears, multiple feral goblin camps, and a wandering horde of gaunts. That’s not even counting the dungeon!
While he traversed from tree to tree, he doubted that his camp would protect him. His only chance was to keep it hidden. He could try his luck in the city, but after the corpse weaver he was very nervous about what other abominations waited within. Lanek and his companions would need to be much higher level before he considered living in the city an option. Even then, he had his doubts as the Ashen Depths most likely claimed much higher leveled people than him when the city fell.
As he turned towards home, trusting in his animal companions to guide him back, he heard shrieks in the distance. It sounded like more gaunts. How many of the damn things are out here?
He felt really tempted to approach them, but chose to continue on his way. They had taken enough risks today and it would already be getting dark by the time they got back to camp.
His companions separated from him to get themselves dinner while he collected berries along the way. With full bellies, the three made it into camp as the sun set and prepared for bed. Decisions needed to be made, but that could wait until morning.
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Lanek awoke to a new experience in the morning, it was raining for the first time since he came to this world. The three ate in silence before Lanek announced his plans for the day. “I say we go to Caelis. You guys can get some levels while I do some looting. Agreed?” Nods of assent met his words and they headed off. Lanek carried what was rapidly becoming his standard load out for the city, the chain whip, kanabo, mattock, and an empty pack.
Nearing the gates, Lanek knew that he would have to be more selective with his looting as he only had the one pack and the general store had been picked clean of packs by this point. Before entering, he turned to the wolf and cat.
“Quick question, can you guys see monster levels?” They sent a pulse of confirmation. “Good, here’s what I want you to do. I want you two to stick together and only attack those creatures that you are sure you can take, don’t put yourselves at unnecessary risk, okay?” Another pulse of assent. “Great, thank you. Off you guys go then.”
The pair stalked into the city while Lanek pushed into the city and headed toward the adventurer’s guild. He reasoned that there would likely be shops around that had catered to the adventurers and even if that didn’t work out, he could still get some information from Caelis. Since he didn’t plan on so much as touching those light orbs that had given away his existence, he hoped he could have a longer chat with the guardian this time.
Once he passed the clothing shop, he wanted to slap himself. What am I doing? I’ve got this cool parkour skill and I’m walking along the street in plain view? Dumbass. Lanek promptly entered an alley before kicking off the walls to reach the roof. The view from up here would help him spot enemies before they spotted him and increase his scouting efficiency.
He reveled in his mobility, finding even more enjoyment using the [Traversal] skill in the city than he had in the forest. There was just something so liberating about flying from rooftop to rooftop. Lanek felt the presence of his companions shadowing him, evidently too worried about his safety to let him get too far away while they hunted. He couldn’t say that he didn’t appreciate the concern.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
One of the first things he noticed while running along the rooftops was just how sheltered he had been by his companions. While traversing this high up he could see far more creatures wandering the city streets or lying in wait in alleyways. With his newfound perspective, Lanek began surveying the city around him, spotting a monastery in the distance. Now, the monastery itself didn’t really interest him so much as the bell tower extending above it.
Change of plans, scouting from the bell tower seems like the best approach. Lanek kicked off from the rooftop he was on and raced toward the monastery, trusting in his skills to hide him from the enemy. Along the way, Lanek came to a stop above an alleyway, noticing a clicking sound down below.
Creeping to the edge, he peered over and almost leapt back as a crypt stalker came into sight. Unlike the one he had fought before, this one had no flesh draping its bones and was simply leaning against the wall watching the street. Lanek checked its level and smiled. Well now, level 14? I think I should pop down and say hello.
Lanek dropped silently to the ground behind the oblivious undead before slamming Sanguineus’ Vessel into its back, piercing its soul cleanly. What he hadn’t expected was for his strike to shatter the stalker’s spine and continue on through its chest. While consuming the stalker’s soul, he thought about the sheer damage and realized that it must have been a result of his backstab damage boost. Lanek was indeed stronger than the last time he had faced a crypt stalker, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t able to do that much damage without the benefit of a skill.
Your soul has grown more powerful. SPI 15 → 16.
He waited for the stalker to dissipate before looting the few coins and healing potion it had dropped. Man, my luck must suck or the dungeon is a greedy bastard. Still just a minor healing potion.
Shaking his head in disappointment, he continued on to the monastery. Surrounding the monastery on all sides was a large plaza, extending almost a hundred meters from the building itself to the nearest buildings. This had clearly been a place of great importance to the city. He crouched on the nearest rooftop and simply observed, making sure that no creatures were around to intercept him while he crossed the plaza.
As with most of the building within Caelis, the huge double doors that served as an entrance to the massive structure were shattered. From this distance, Lanek saw no movement within. He took a deep breath, leapt from the rooftop and rushed across the plaza. Upon reaching the monastery, he leaned against the wall just outside the doorway and listened.
He heard nothing from the plaza or the interior of the building. Good, nothing followed me. Now, I wonder if something is living in here? With a building this size, there has to be something, right?
When he entered the structure, he found himself in a well-lit and large hall after passing through a short hallway and second set of shattered doors. Sunlight was filtering through the many stained glass windows. Once inside, Lanek began to notice a few recurring themes as he walked through the main hall, the most prolific of which was profile view of what appeared to be a gryphon swooping down. This heraldry was found on the ruins of the doors, on the walls, and on the altar in the center of the main hall.
The next detail he noticed is that this building was very well fortified. The stained glass windows were numerous, yet small. Far too small for an enemy to climb through and were located well above ground level. Between the first and second doorways that led into the large hall were multiple small holes that he now realized were most likely murder holes to help fend off an attack. Whoever had occupied this structure had been quite militant. Militant monks? An order of knights or paladins? Wait, if this is a church or monastery, then the people living here were probably educated. There should be books here, maybe history texts?
At this point, any books would be useful to him. Knowing that he didn’t have the time to explore the whole structure if he wanted to leave with enough time to return to camp before nightfall, he started searching for the stairs leading to the bell tower. Luckily for him, the stairs were just behind a door on the other side of the altar in the main hall. Unfortunately for him, there were a lot of stairs.
As he climbed the stairs, he saw doorways branching off to either side, likely entrances to the second and third floors of the edifice. Just like with the adventurer’s guild, he saw that these doors were intact. It almost seemed as if the dungeon creatures didn’t bother with the upper floors. He supposed that made sense, the creatures could simply wait the survivors out if any chose to hide in the upper levels once the city fell.
He slowed his climb as an odd noise reached his ears after he reached the fourth floor. He crept to the only door on this level of the tower, his instincts screaming at him to be careful. Pressing his ear against the door he finally identified the sound.
Something on the other side was breathing. Something very large.