While Nyx finished working on Ander’s armor Kal claimed the rewards for the quest with a crumble,” I swear if this chest has food in it I’m going to have to kill something…”
The chest that flashed into existence wasn’t anything special considering it was only uncommon rarity but the sudden flash of light quickly drew Ander’s seven-year-old attention span in Kal’s direction.
“A system chest! Wow! I’ve never seen one of these before,” The boy said as Nyx strapped a rough arm guard onto him.
“I’ve opened a few now,” Kal said as he flipped open the chest and reached in for the first item.
Message Stone [Uncommon] x2
These stones come in pairs and while held in hand can be used to communicate telepathically with the bearer of this stone’s twin. Uncommon rarity message stones have a maximum range of ten miles.
After reading the description Kal thought it was probably a good thing that he hadn’t opened the chest until now. If he had pulled a pair of message stones out of the chest in The Place Between he probably would have cracked the shits and thrown them over the edge. Now though they would definitely be useful.
Next up was a small dull iron ring but when Kal read the description his hackles rose.
Deliver the Young [Uncommon]
Many times in history the young had to be brought into danger. This ring can only be worn by an unascended child and has only a single charge. If at any time the wearer of this ring would take damage that would threaten their life they will be granted the effects of system protection for one minute. While under this ring’s protection, they are immune to all damage and cannot be affected by skills with ranged or mental capabilities.
Did the system know he would be here with Nyx and Ander all the way back when he first traveled through the mountain range in Fallen Kartha? Could it really see that far ahead? Or did it just choose the items based on the circumstances he was in at the time of opening?
“What’s wrong?” Ander said as Kal saw the smile fade from his face.
Something must have shown on his face but even Nyx had turned to look at him so it was probably his aura, ”Nothing,” Kal tossed the ring to Ander who barely managed to catch it in the low light of the cave but when he looked at it his eyes lit up and he looked back to Kal.
“Put it on. I’m pretty sure it’s for you.”
Ander didn’t hesitate and immediately slid the ring onto his right index finger.
Kal turned back to the last item in the chest, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me…”
Insignia of the Disciple of Murder [Uncommon] [Counterfeit]
This insignia is a counterfeit copy of the insignia worn by high-ranking members of the seeker cult on the 37th Layer. Those who go down the path of murder are a secretive group and many are left unknown to even higher-ranked demons. A disciple is shown great respect among the warriors and lesser demons amongst the abyssal hordes.
Warning: This item is a counterfeit and an abyssal spawn of significant power could detect it as such.
“Gods. Even the bloody system wants me to go to the tower…” Kal muttered under his breath.
What in the pits was the system’s game anyway? Was it actually trying to help him or was it pushing him towards some kind of trial again? It knew that Ander’s safety was half the reason he had taken this long to leave already and it had given him the one item that made him even more willing to take the risk and now an insignia?
If the description was accurate he could probably lie his way into the tower relatively easily even if he brought Nyx and Ander as spectres. He wasn’t going to decline the items but he still had to question why the system did what it did.
Kal put the insignia away into his dimensional storage while he moved on to the last reward.
Title Acquired: Seer of Dead Gods [Epic]
You have delved into the history of a dead and forgotten god. Now what will you do with the knowledge you have uncovered? +10% Intellect, and Wisdom.
Strength:
810
Agility:
502
Endurance:
796
Vitality:
419
Intellect:
561=>593
Perception:
519
Will:
1252
Wisdom:
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
496=>527
Kal frowned at the description, “Apparently kill a god…”
He dismissed his status putting thoughts of killing Dhinir aside and tried to focus on the here and now. The bonuses to two of his lowest attributes were nothing to scoff at but he couldn’t help kick himself for not getting the title sooner. No doubt the extra intellect at least would have helped in the void.
“Ok!” Nyx said getting back onto her feet, “I’m done. It’s not my best work since I couldn’t treat them as I normally would and barely had any tools.”
Ander stood, now head to toe in dark scales. It was pretty rough as Nyx said but Kal could tell at a glance that it would take a better beating than most leather armor he had seen before.
Simple Armor of the Shadow Hydra [Uncommon]
Apparently, the material mattered just as much if not more for the rarity of the armor. Kal was surprised to see that it was uncommon despite its rough looks.
Kal smiled, “Good work. We let’s get moving.”
Ander was clearly excited but when Kal activated Cloak of the Wrathful Spectre the boy’s happy strut became a surprisingly eerie walk. The movements of his legs weren’t quite right, moving too slow for the ground he covered.
Kal shrugged. The weirdness would only help throw off any idea that they were mortals.
Kal flanked by two wrathful spectres moved off toward the distant tower and the horde of demons. It was time to figure out what was going on in this layer. Hopefully, Dalen was truly close to getting them free because Kal had the feeling that things were about to change for them all.
----------------------------------------
Their journey across the strange landscape of their current layer went surprisingly well. With Nyx and Ander both under the effects of his Cloak of the Wrathful Spectre the imps that had laid in ambush around every other corner quickly fled. Apparently, the skills fear aura was more potent than his natural one.
He supposed not having Wrath Incarnate wasn’t all bad but he felt a lot weaker without it available but his new experience with skill forging and copying Nyx’s Shadow’s Cloak told him that he probably had no way of avoiding the passive fear effect of Wrath Incarnate purely because it used wrath.
Kal didn’t care if he scared demons, he actually liked that quite a lot. What he didn’t like was his effect on the people on Fyborh’s Path.
Kal kept the hood of the Lesser Cloak of Shadows up as they traveled and occasionally stopped to siphon more abyssal mana from the air so he could maintain Cloak of the Wrathful Spectre. Siphoning was far easier than it once was and Kal found that he could now do it on the move. Not well but well enough to extend the time between stops to every hour or so. Even though he wasn’t alone the journey did feel a little too quiet since he couldn’t hear Nyx and Ander so before they reached the cobblestone road he deactivated the skill to see how they were faring and try something.
The wraith vanished to reveal a slightly bored-looking Ander and a clearly on-edge Nyx, “Are you ok you two?”
Nyx nodded,” I don’t find it particularly pleasant but it appears to be working well. Though I wish I could speak so that I could warn you of danger.”
“I was thinking the same here,” Kal handed Nyx one of the message stones, ”I don’t see why these wouldn’t work even while the skill is active so we can trial once we start moving,” Kal turned to look at Ander who was looking out across the terrain toward the tower, ”What about you kid?”
Ander shrugged, “It’s pretty cool, but the walk has been incredibly boring since neither of you has fought anything…”
Kal smirked, “Be careful what you wish for. I’ve had some pretty desperate marathons in places like this, be glad you haven’t needed to run.”
Seeing that they were both fine Kal reactivated the skill and they made their way up the road toward the tower. Kal held his message stone in his hand as they walked and immediately heard Nyx start talking to him.
“Can you hear me?”
Her voice was quiet and had a slight echo to it, it immediately reminded Kal of Mira. Yet another thing he still had to figure out. Soon.
“Yeah. It seems to be working fine. Can people detect these kinds of things while we are using them?” Kal asked.
“No not normally but keep it out of sight.”
Kal nodded and put his hand in his pocket but kept a hold of the stone.
The road took them past one of the smaller structures and Kal was surprised to see that it was actually a building constructed of the same metal that practically covered the landscape. No demons were present but Kal still kept a wide berth. The entire area was quieter than when he had first arrived and Kal didn’t like it at all. Something was about to happen.
The closet tower drew closer and the horde of flying horrors became visible. Nyx spotted them first.
“Gods… How many are there?” Nervousness was clear in her voice but it sounded more like shock than actual fear.
[Seeker Flying Horror | Abyssal Spawn 72]
[Seeker Flying Horror | Abyssal Spawn 73]
[Seeker Flying Horror | Abyssal Spawn 67]
…
..
.
He was still a few miles away but his perception allowed him to pick out the demons clinging to the side of the tower. The base of the tower was still blocked by the terrain.
“Too many,” Kal grunted in reply.
“Should we really be going there?”
Kal chuckled, “Probably not but something is happening and we need to know what it is. The demons spoke of conquest. I don’t know about you but I’d rather prevent that if possible.”
Nyx’s wraith nodded, ”You’re right. This is your destiny, I won’t stand in your way.”
Kal groaned but didn’t say anything as the road took them over the last rise before the tower. His soul suddenly flared before he reached the top but when he did he understood why. Just beyond the rise at the base of the tower was a valley that stretched across several miles to the walls of the settlement but what was between them is what put him on edge.
Thousands upon thousands of demons stood in ranks at the base of the tower. Felflame scions stood before ranks of hundreds of conjurers, Gorefiend butchers commanded shaped ones to ooze and congeal into lines. Those were just the demons he knew. Between the ranks of familiar demons and marching in a seemingly endless column from the settlement were countless pale humanoid figures wearing dark-scaled armor oozing with wisps of shadow mana standing in perfect formation with fists upraised toward the tower.
[Shadow Fiend | Abyssal Spawn 70]
[Shadow Fiend | Abyssal Spawn 69]
[Shadow Fiend | Abyssal Spawn 73]
[Shadow Fiend | Abyssal Spawn 72]
[Shadow Fiend | Abyssal Spawn 64]
…
..
.
The legions of the demons all stared at a single figure atop the tower. Its form was shrouded in the darkness of the seeker shadows and armored with pitch-black plate mail that seemed to twist the blue light of the world's sun. Its head was unprotected revealing a fleshless gray skull with burning purple eyes.
[Seeker Shadow Lord | Abyssal Spawn 159]
Even from a vast distance, Kal could hear the shadow lord’s voice as it began to speak in harsh, almost painful language.
“Our infiltrator draws near to our goal. The anchors rise as we speak, and soon our conquest will begin.”