Chapter 2: A battle between packs

Ogma took the lead as we made our way out into the field once more.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” I asked. I was l wondering what exactly the guy would consider a good challenge for the group.

“Well, I was thinking that rabbits are a bit too easy for our jolly group, so why don’t we try a little something else, like say...wolves?” Ogma stated matter of factly.

That didn’t sound like a bad idea, so, I gave a curt nod and we moved forward. As we made our way through the fields passing players and monsters alike, Okane casually spoke about their ventures thus far. Apparently the group started out as beta players and as such were able to carry over a few perks from play testing the game. For example, they got to keep some items and what levels or skills they had acquired. The window for such was small though so they were only around level 3-4 each. Apparently I missed some good loot for not getting my stuff sooner. Still, I was just hyped to be in here and potentially have some gaming buddies in this new venture.

After about 20 minutes of walking, at the edge of my vision I could see a forest. Large trees grew to ungodly heights. The brush in the area was also thick and provided good cover.

Ogma stopped walking, spinning around on his heel and proclaimed, “This is where we make our stand! There are wolves in these parts. They are strong, sneaky, and they work as a team, which makes it perfect for us to learn to do the same”Ogma said as he folded his arms and gave a knowing grin..

“What level are these suckers” I asked, looking around for signs of the mob.

“They range from about lvl 4 to lvl 6 from what I have seen thus far” Ogma stated. “It's the scouts that are lower and as we get real attention, expect to see more. What we will do is, I’ll take the aggro in bear form, Okane and Morrigan will flank the enemy while trying to give you some cover. You on the other hand, hit em with all you got!”. With that, Ogma turned around, his form growing and changing shape.

In mere moments, the man who stood there was gone, being replaced by a large bear.

“Here comes the fun part” Morrigan said with a giddy expression. Ogma let out a giant roar, the projection intimidating enough to even make me flinch a little. The landscape then grew quite, save for the sound of birds fleeing their treetop homes. It was at that moment, that as the birds were fleeing a lone wolf could be seen in the distance. At the edge of the forest it stood watching us intently. After assessing us for a few a few moments, it too let out howl. Suddenly, various patches of grass began to rustle as the wolf's compatriots howled their responses in the distance. Their mostly hidden forms moving into position for an attack.

“They are going to look for openings, don’t give them any” Ogma’s ordered in my mind.

“Whoa, I yelled, what was that!?”.

“Party chat uses telepathy” Okane stated matter of factly. “It works quite well in that no one will know our plans but us. Just think the response you want and will it to the party, we will hear you”.

“Fair” I responded to him mentally, trying to adjust to the new information. “I don’t have any usable skills or spells at the moment save for Dark Orb but Expect some spell flinging”. I didn’t bring much to the table at this level, but I wasn’t exactly planning on rolling over either.

“Just make sure not to hit me with any unless you want a knife in the kidney” Morrigan responded.

“Uhh, she's kidding right?” I asked nervously. “I prefer my bodily fluids stay in their respective sacks and or pouches”. There was no time for a response though as it was at that moment that the wolves charged in.

Twin trails could be seen weaving through the grass at high speeds., the top of the wolves backs barely visible as they made their way towards us. Simultaneously, the wolves emerges from the brush, lunging at Ogma. His bear form smacked one wolf mid leap and send it sprawling to the ground, tearing up grass as it clawed to maintain balance. The 1 remaining wolf sunk its teeth into his arm. Ogma’s hp bar only dropping a sliver for the wolf’s efforts. The wolf held fast to Ogma as he raised his arm high above the ground. Ogma then proceeded to slam the wolf to the ground, the sudden impact stunning the wolf, its jaw releasing him. Ogma’s fur now sporting a red patch of fur for its efforts.

With two prone targets shown, the rest of us acted fast. Okane rushed to the stunned wolf from the left flank, lifting his cart effortlessly and slamming it into the side of the wolf, sending it rolling. It let out a loud yip as its body slid from the impact, shocking it out of its stun. At the same time, Morrigan managed to get a double stab with her daggers on the other wolf while its attention was on Ogma. Her form simply flickered and suddenly both her daggers had been deeply sunk into the unsuspecting wolf's back. She then proceeded to repeatedly stab the now prone target until it snapped back at her, forcing Morrigan to jump out of its reach.

Seeing that Morrigan had everything under control, I focused my efforts on Okane’s target. Getting into range, I raised my staff, aiming the tip at the downed wolf . After a moment's channeling I fired a Dark Orb directly at it. As the ball impacted, it splashed onto the wolf, smoke seeping into its fur. You hit wolf scout for 35 dark damage. I kept channeling, releasing volley after volley as The wolf scrambled to its feet, baring its fangs at me. It was at this moment when Okane pulled out an axe, brandishing it at the wolf. Seeing it was outnumbered, the wolf attempted to fall back and regroup. So much for mindless mobs, these things are clearly thinking. Rough part though is while Okane’s wolf managed to escape, Morrigan’s was clearly having trouble between the thief and the large bear. Ogma and Morrigan kept themselves positioned so that one was always in the front and the other behind the wolf, not allowing it a chance to escape or get its bearings. While Ogmas large bear swipes were powerful, they were not as fast as the smaller wolfs reflexes. Issue being, when one would attack, the other would plan to engage at the spot the wolf retreated to, never letting it fully disengage us.

Seeing this dance between my teammates and the wolves, I channeled and shot a few dark orbs at the remaining wolf. While the first one missed, as the wolf bobbed and weaved, my second orb landed right on its hind left leg. It let out a yip as the dark magic crippled its hind leg, dealing 40 magic damage on impact. It was then that Ogma mentalled commanded for us to stand clear.

“This is going to hurt if you get caught in the aoe!”. He raised his bear claw above his head, the wolf directly below him, attempting to get away, but to no avail. Ogma’s eyes and raised claw glowed a crimson haze as his claw descended onto the wolf, slamming into it and leaving a small indentation onto the ground where the wolf was. .

The wolf laid still, defeated, my notifications for the battle blinking in the corner of my vision. You have defeated 1 wolf scout, experience 160. This brought me up to 87% experience, which was by no means bad. Still, we had little time to celebrate, as the primary force of the pack descended upon us. The one surviving wolf had regrouped with its leader, using the distraction of Ogma’s aoe to get away. The leader now seeing the shape of its subordinate decided to join the battle as well. It let out a piercing howl, which noticeably healed the remaining beaten scout and bolstered its defences. After such, the lead wolf rushed down the field, the scout following in suit as well as two larger wolves that had remained hidden in the brush. Perhaps they were the damage dealers of the group. Frankly, I’d rather not test how my robes armor stands up against those fangs.

“Five wolves….five freaking wolves, are you kidding me?” Okane exclaimed.

“Well, at least while your corpse is distracting them, we can finish them off” Morrigan replied in amusement.

“I find your lack of faith in Okane to be unBEARable, sister” Ogma chimed in with a mental chuckle. The other two groaned over Ogmas word play.

Great, I thought, this is the group I am stuck with while fights a literal pack of wolves, good stuff.

This time the wolves didn’t simply rush in. They drew close, attempting to encircle us as the leader challenged Ogma, baring its fangs. Ogma again letting out his taunting skill on the group yet it seemed to take no effect. They must have resisted the taunt due to the leaders buff. This was going to be rough then.

“The taunt isn’t working” Ogma mentally yelled. “Fall into a defensive position, protect our squishy!”.

“On it” replied Morrigan as she took position parallel to Ogma, with myself in between them. Okane in turn nodded and took his spot to my left, leaving only small gaps in their position for the wolves.

As if there were some unseen signal, the leader lunged at Ogma, aiming for the bears neck. Ogma instinctively raised to his full height in an attempt to hinder the lead wolfs attack. Ogma then tried to sweep the wolf with his massive claws, yet it was far to nimble to be caught off guard. Simultaneously, the scout and one of the larger wolves drew closer to Okane, testing the merchants metal. The larger of the two attempted to bypass Okane’s axe, going straight for his arm, only to be met by my own dark orb hitting it in its exposed face. You hit wolf hunter for 46 damage in a vulnerable area, damage increased. The wolf recoiled, moving back as Okane brought his axe down on it. The remaining scout however did not miss its opportunity to move, using the opening to bite down on Okane’s now exposed arm.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Okane yelled in pain, the other wolf seizing the opportunity and lunging at his exposed throat. Both wolves now upon him, wrestling for dominance. Okane could do little but struggle, mentally calling out for aid. Morrigan immediately responded to the cell responded.

“Robin, take my spot against this wolf, its on its last leg, don’t you dare die!” Morrigan said, then Her form flickered once more and was upon the wolf at Okane’s throat, daggers blade deep into the wolves eyes. The wolf had no time to react only let out a whimper as it fell to the ground dead. For Okane thought, the damage was done, the two wolves had dealt enough combined damage to kill him, his body going limp and falling to the ground. “Damn it” Morrigan cursed as she squared against the remaining scout, daggers drawn and bloodied. “How could you die right in the middle of a fight?!”.

The lead wolf and Ogma took turns, bobbing and weaving in between the others attacks. It seemed as if while the wolf was more nimble, its attacks were not very effective against the tank. In Ogma’s case the wolf could only chip away at his hp, but he could not catch it to do any real damage, he could only keep it tied up and hope one of us finishes our fight and in turn could join his. In my case, I had another issue to deal with, this wolf was far stronger than the damn rabbit I fought before. The wolf bore its fangs at me, drawing slowly closer as it sensed I was likely easy prey. At the same time, I was desperately trying to come up with a plan to fight back. I had my staff pointed at the wolf, a dark orb already charging. I waiting for skill activation to shoot, but if I missed it would likely be all over.

It was in this moment that I noticed Okane’s body on the ground, it had a faint red glow to it. I thought to myself that for a necromancer, I should have some kind of familiar or spirit to not have to deal with this exact situation. The wolf suddenly deciding to lunge, the movement causing me to flinch and release my dark orb, hitting it just above the front left leg. You hit wolf hunter for 34 dark damage. The wolf, now in pain, used its momentum to carry it forward. It knocked me to the ground and notification elected it. You take 10 neutral damage, status gained, knocked down. You may not perform any skills until you have regained your footing.

Well, isn't that just peachy, I thought to myself as the wolf attempted to bite my face off. I instinctively put my arm up for defence. It gladly taking the limb as a substitute. Wolf Hunter damages you for 30 bleeding damage, status gained, bleeding. You will lose 5 hp per second for the next 10 seconds. Agh! What the shit is this, I mentally yelled, trying to wriggle free. Thinking quickly, I used my staff as a bludgeon, slamming it on the wolves exposed noggin. You hit Wolf Hunter for 9 blunt damage, Wolf Hunter stunned.

The wolf's jaws released my arm as it momentarily lost control. Quickly, I used the opportunity to roll to my feet, hand reaching out towards Okane. Oh please please PLEASE do something useful, I cried out, hand outstretched and flaring in pain. The system responded, would you like to use the “Raise Undead” skill? The notification window prompted me for a yes or a no. I speedily motioned for yes, the window quickly disappearing. Okanes body beginning to ominously leak smoke as the red glow grew in intensity. As it did, a skeleton rose from Okane’s corpse, as if his body were a portal.

“Okane!”, I yelled, “Is that you?!”. The skeletons bones then rattled, as if in amusement. It was then that an ethereal voice spoke in my mind with but a single word, “no.”

I stared at the skeleton as it’s words registered in my mind. Motivating me to take a closer look at it. It stood a good 6 feet, which was a bit taller than Okane. The blue flames of its eyes bore into me, meeting my gaze unflinchingly. Clearly this was a summon, not a resurrection. Before I had time consider those implications, the wolf recovered from my blow and once more was upon me. As it lunged, the skeleton moved reflexively, it slammed its club right into the wolfs rib cage, staggering it. Skeleton Minion has hit Wolf Hunter for 32 blunt damage. It then proceeded to pull the wolves aggro with an onslaught of blows. The wolf not yet having a chance to collect itself, could only stagger back, fangs bared.

As the wolf moved did so, I spared no time, channeling and firing my Dark Orbs in succession. Between the skeletons blows and my own spells, the wolf quickly succumbed to our combined efforts. Glancing over at Morrigan, I saw she was holding her own against her wolf, which looked significantly worse for ware than she did. Cuts being clearly visible across its body. Ogma, on the other hand, was not looking as good. All those small chips of hp the lead wolf had been doing had taken a toll on him. His bear forms fur bloodied on the arms and torso.“Skeleton..uhh..guy I said hesitantly, could you go help Ogma?”.

“Afterwords, I expect a name” it replied testily and moved to flank the lead wolf.

As it did so Ogma visibly jumped, yelling in our party chat, “What the hell is that?!”.

“Its ok, it's one of my minions” I assured him. “Just do what you can. I’m going to help Morrigan and then we can all put the leader down”.

Having sent some aid to Ogma, I now focused my efforts on helping Morrigan, only to have her deal the finishing blow to the Wolf Scout as I approached.

“You still breathing?” she asked me in mock worried tone. She looked a bit ruffled, with some cuts here and there, but save for that she appeared ok.

“I’m fairing about as good as you” I responded, motioning us to move to aid Ogma. I mentally told the skeleton to move behind the wolf, effectively cutting off any escape route as Morrigan and I flanked it from each side. The lead wolf now surrounded, it's head darted around in search of its comrades only to find them all dispatched.

The lead wolf was quickly taken down, lacking the aid of its comrades. As the battle came to its conclusion, Ogma took his human form. Turning to face us, Ogma took one glance at Okane and shook his head.

“What exactly happened and what is that thing?” he asked pointedly, hand gesturing to the skeleton. As he did so, the skeleton nonchalantly smacked him upside the head, uttering in my mind that he was an ungrateful shit.

Ogma stumbled forward slightly at the skeletons surprise blow, asking “What the hell was that?!”.

“You apparently offended him” I responded, chuckling. Morrigan too was trying to hide barely audible giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Ok, Fine” Ogma stated, “well what is this and what do we call it? I remember you saying you were a necromancer so is this one of your skills?”.

“I am pretty sure it is and the skeleton can mentally speak to me...to some degree” I said. “Basically, when Okane died, his body glowed a low red and I figured I could interact with that somehow”. Usual video game logic and all that. Suddenly I got a prompt and there he was. “Now, as to what it is, you may have to give me a moment to read up”. Both Ogma and Morrigan nodded.

“In the meantime, I will reach out to Okane and see how he is doing” Ogma stated. Okane’s body having long since disappeared.

Reviewing my list of skills once more, I noticed that there was now a raise skeleton skill at level 1 as well as a similarly ranked companion skill. I apparently had two skill tabs, one for learned skills and one for skills that I could learn through effort and application, odd, but it made sense. There were some interesting skills I had yet to try as well. Next time we get out there, I’d not mind trying a rooting ability called “Grasping Hands”.

Moving forward, I went over my battle log, I saw that considering the skeleton was my only present “minion” it defaulted as a companion, which apparently could be leveled for increased stats. At the same time, that meant that I could potentially have more than one minion out at a time, with restrictions, of course. The game could hardly have me summoning an army of undead and swarming towns. What was interesting thought is considering my companion was humanoid, I could gift it equipment. Before I got too carried away reading though, I still needed to give it a name still. After careful deliberation, I decided to go with Charon and entered it under minion name in his status bar. That being the name of the ferryman who took souls across the Acheron river.

Now that that business was behind me, I was able to address the blinking notifications in my vision from the battle as well. Our entire team fared quite well, dealing good damage and it seemed that Ogmas thick fur was as good as any armor. Also, apparently I leveled after I defeated the Wolf Hunter, having made significant progress towards lvl 3 as well. I had dismissed the notifications early on as they were distracting in battle and I needed to focus. Still, It allotted me 5 stat points to place where I like. Considering I am basically a mage, I decided to go with 3 in intelligence and 2 in agility, the agility to help me get around. Last thing I need is to get caught by wolves or some other creature with a penchant for mages. This bringing my stats to Vit 10, Dex 9, Str 9 , Int 14, and Agi 11. Not too shabby for beginner stats, but we had a long way to go.

Turning back to face my party, I began my explanation. “Judging by the size and voice I heard, I want to say the skeleton is a guy. That being the case, went with Charon for the name. He is my summon and companion, which means he will be staying. I can probably summon more skeletons and other things, but I can only designate one companion at a time. All others will be significantly weaker and have a set time limit that they can be out. Also, he can hear and understand what you guys say and has a mental link to me, similar to mind chat”.

“Seems pretty convenient for a squishy like you to have something to take the hits for you” Ogma mused, a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

“Well, it's not like we have any other good tanks to do that” I replied, in mock distress.

“Hey, hey, I’ll have you know, the only reason I couldn’t hold aggro was because of the damn leaders skill”. Ogma protested.

“I’ll be sure to send that, with your condolences to Okane” Morrigan jabbed.

“Yeah…that was a bit rough, I did warn him to get a shield though” Ogma said pointedly. His class has more utility than damage so the guy needs more defence.

After discussing out plans to pressure Okane into purchasing a shield, we proceeded to loot the wolves. While the leader dropped some decent craft items such as fur and, bones, and meat, the remaining wolves dropped little more than a few coins. After dividing that amongst ourselves and setting aside a portion for Okane, it was already late day so we decided to make out way back to town. Truth be told, I did want to see what the shops had to offer and to take some time to review all of my options as a necromancer. From what I got so far, I have decent damage output and a companion, as well as the ability to summon more from monsters and players if need be. The more skills I level up, the more I may also end up unlocking as well. The only question being, just how much utility I would have as a necromancer to offset my clear lack of defence. I’d rather not end up playing whack- a -mob with my staff again.

Name: Robin Graves

Lvl: 2 82% experience

Spells: Dark Orb Lvl 1, Summon Undead lvl 1

Grasping Hands: lvl not yet learned

Casting time: Instant

Cooldown: 3 minutes

Effect: Call forth the grasping hands of the dead to root a single target, dealing 40 dark damage. Hitting the target will release the root.