"My Lady, you bring this humble bakery much honor but I cannot accept a gold coin for my product," the skeletal [Baker] said.
I smiled at him and adjusted a lock of hair back to its place, "then consider this a deposit. Every morning, I want fresh bread delivered to the Third Pillar."
The poor skeleton nervously clattered his well-polished teeth.
"I may wish to take some lessons in baking too," I added to sweeten the deal. "Not an apprenticeship, just as a hobby."
The two skeletons shared some glances at one another, then the skeleton mage chaperoning me nodded.
"It would be an honor to show the Lady my humble trade."
"Then it is settled," I said as I kindly dropped the yellow coin on the counter. "I'll be back tomorrow for some lessons on baking."
The skeleton mage broke his long silence. "You go ahead, my Lady. I will settle the minor details with the [Baker]. I called one of my brothers to escort you to the Sixth Pillar."
I nodded and left the bakery. Halfway to the sixth Pillar, A group of armored undead closed my path. I could feel all of them attempting to {Appraise} me.
"Where do you think you are going, human?" A ghoul with a large battleax teased as he stepped to stand in front of me.
"It's none of your business, sir. Now, please step aside."
"Frail girl with no Status. This is no place for the living!" He barked. I had to dodge some spittle.
> > Level 54 male ghoul [Undying Gladiator]
Kel'Caldor predicted this could happen. He said that should someone attempt to harass or fight me, I should let them take the first move, deliver the first blow. Then I could do anything I wanted with them. Considering the equipment these guys carried, I could even cut my visit to the Sixth Pillar short.
They didn't say a word more. All of them stared at me with hungry eyes and slavering mouths. I felt a little creeped out but I knew I could win this fight easily. I only needed the dagger I had in my storage ring. I was only worried my clothes would be too damaged.
Holding the ax in his left hand, the ghoul came and grabbed my arm. He pulled it closer to his nose and sniffed. "Yeshhh…" he creepily growled as a dollop of creepy drool dropped on the ground. The other members of his undead pack also uttered gormandizing groans.
He brought my arm to his mouth and bit.
> > Ghoul bit you for 6,539 HP of damage (Base 97 -17 [8d8+55] x2,6 Strength x5.24 Skill x2 Vicious Bite x3 Critical)
That hurt. I almost lost concentration on the spell I was holding. "{Control Undead}!" It cost me around 750 MP after the discounts.
> > Contested (Willpower+Ego) vs (Charisma+Willpower+Skill) test won.
"Let go of me," I ordered. The spell should last for several minutes, depending on his Attributes. But these brutes usually didn't invest in the mental or spiritual ones.
"Yes, mistress," the ghoul droned.
"Necromancer!" The other undead stirred and closed in to attack.
"Defend me," I ordered the controlled ghoul. "Don't kill any of them. Incapacitate or neutralize." The order was both to avoid forcing him to kill his allies which would weaken my control and to keep him from stealing my Exp.
I dodged a trio and focused on a particular guy with a wickedly barbed sword. I parried, then used {Riposte} for a free attack to his nogging meant to stun him.
> > You struck Slavering Ghoul for 6,509 HP of damage (Base 217 [2d6+5+16d10+117] x1.7 Strength x11.78 Skill x1.58 Riposte x1.58 Duelist x0.6 armor)
>
> > Slavering ghoul is staggered for 3.9 seconds (base 5 seconds x0.78)
I deftly stole his sword and switched the dagger to my offhand. After easily evading the other two, I ripped with a combination strike. First, the dagger to pin him down, then a decapitating blow.
> > You stabbed Slavering Zombie for 5,774 HP of damage (Base 210 [2d6+5+16d10+117] x1.7 Strength x11.78 Skill x1.58 Duelist x1,58 Dual Wield x0.55 Armor)
>
> > You slashed Slavering Zombie for 84,952 HP of damage (Base 239 [2d10+12+16d10+117] x1.7 Strength x11.78 Skill x1.5 Enchantment x1.58 Duelist x1,58 Dual Wield x 4,74 critical x1 Armor Ignored)
>
> > For killing level 56 Slavering Zombie, you gained 2,740,132 Exp (base 1,370,066 x2 Rank)
>
> Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
>
> > You gained 3 points of Blades Proficiency.
>
> > You reached Unholy Avenger (Divine Revenant, unique, first rank, 5 slots) level 9.
>
> > You gained 5 Attribute Points
>
> > You gained 7 Strength, 5 Dexterity, 8 Endurance, 5 Mind, 5 Willpower, 2 Charisma, 2 Magic, 2 Faith.
>
> > You have 2 rank 1 Perks.
The floating Attribute Points went into Magic. The Perks I would have to allocate later. But I noticed I made a huge mistake. The [Shield] Proficiency was utterly useless if my [Blades] Proficiency was focused on dual-wielding. I glanced at my proficiency score and grinned. It was time to grind away the remaining three with these undead bullies.
*
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*
*
When the fight with them ended, I went up another five levels. I needed eight million Exp for the next one and it would only ramp up from there. I had five Perks to pick, and my [Blades] Proficiency had crossed over the 600 threshold.
> Level 34
>
> Strength: 50+0 (50) / 92 - Dexterity: 43+21 (64) / 92 - Endurance: 76+14 (90) / 92
>
> Mind: 43+25 (68) / 92 - Willpower: 43+25 (68) / 92 - Charisma: 27+43 (70) / 92
>
> Magic: 49+13 (62) / 464 - Faith: 39+0 (39) / 464
>
> Ego: 4+21 (25) / 92 - Luck: 4+35 (39) / 92 - Soul: 4+35 (39) / 92
>
> 70,380 HP
>
> 22,320 MP
>
> 4,017 SP
>
> You have 5 rank 1 Perks.
>
> Blades [ 602 / 633 ]. Select one (Ultimate) Ability. You can choose one at 600 points, and a second at 1,000.
I dismissed the window, unwilling to commit right now. I didn't even have the time to lament my torn clothes. The fight attracted the attention of the other undead.
"Adventurer?" One skeleton asked.
"No. Look, she has Kel'Caldor's insignia. And that nasty bite on her arm is not bleeding. She's undead," a wise zombie said.
"You," I pointed at the still-dominated ghoul. "Search the bodies and get their valuables. Strip their armor, I bet it can sell for good coin."
The duration ended but I paid the maintenance cost to renew its effects. The ghoul dutifully stripped the corpses. A few passersby were looking at them with a hint of hunger in their eyes.
I haughtily gave another order, "Toss the corpses in that alley. I don't want this eyesore in front of me." The hungering undead quickly rushed off to cannibalize their former brethren.
A pile of armor and weapons blocked the middle of the street. Another crafty undead, this one covered in a layer of gooey shadows, approached with a cart. "My Lady, would you hire me to carry your trophies? I know a shop that will pay a good price on used arms and armor."
> > Level 38 male shadow zombie [Porter]
"I'll put you under a spell so I know you are not trying to scam me. I'll release you and pay when the job is done."
"My life is yours, my Lady," he bowed.
To him, even if I enslaved him permanently it would be an improvement. To serve in the third pillar was better than to scrape a living here in the bowels of the necropolis.
The shadow zombie and the controlled ghoul loaded the cart. Then I cast another spell on him. {Vitality Drain} killed him but healed my arm. Too bad I couldn't repair my clothes but I was still decent. Not that the undead here cared about that. Some moved around naked, their rotten bits dangling.
I was trying to keep my MP pool above half but it was hard. At least the control spell on the [Porter] was cheap because he volunteered. Just as I finished casting, the skeleton mage found me.
"I see you were involved in a fight," he remarked monotonically.
"Nothing too bad. It only took a few spells and a dozen swings of my new sword to solve the problem."
"If you say so," he mumbled. "The bakery agreed to become affiliated with the Third Pillar. Nobody would dare do anything against it now."
Odd. "Was it necessary?"
"You are the first apprentice Kel'Caldor took in over a thousand years. People are interested in you, people are measuring your skills," he pointed at the wagon. "If the fight was as easy to win as you say, then you did a good job. Establish dominance."
"I'll take your advice to heart," I replied with a polite nod.
That's when I got another weird message. I got confused by it.
> > Rejoice, ye who treads the righteous path for the power of the Matriarch is with you.
"Thank you?" I said to the message.
*
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*
*
The Silk Sage. It must be Marlowe, right? Nenandil flew alongside the guards to meet this esteemed person. She looked at the buildings, most of them new, the old buildings from the time Haru created this under-city replaced by tall spires that housed a lot of people. The streets were crowded with the usual species one would see in Windemere.
She could also see the mini-Dungeons and the line of people waiting to have a chance to improve themselves. The barricades leading to the Labyrinth tunnels also seemed to be in good order and she was happy. If she guessed correctly, the people evacuated to the underground when the fragment of the moon fell. Though the country above was destroyed, Windemere lived on.
The Sky Island or the "Goddess' Throne" as people called it must've delayed the falling debris for a while before the sturdy enchantments failed.
That was all speculation and wishful thinking from the fairy but she hoped it was as things transpired. The administrative building used the space of Haru's old workshop.
When she entered the building, the guard departed and a butler came to greet her. She explained the purpose of her visit and was told to wait.
A silk-folk man wearing wizard robes and wielding Marlowe's staff entered. "Greetings, Lady Nenandil. I'm the [Silk Sage]." His grin gave her goosebumps. The guy was a total creep. His eyes had not an ounce of kindness, only greed and an unquenchable lust for power.
> > Level 87 male silk-folk [Silk Sage]
Then her world spun. Nenandil fell to the ground like a dead leaf.
> > Contested Willpower+Ego test won.
She noticed the spell attempting to seize her. It was wicked magic designed to hurt fairies.
"You resisted. Too bad for you," He said as another spell, an empowered but blatant version sprung to life at the top of his staff.
> > Contested Willpower+Ego test lost.
She felt about to lose her mind. Her heart thrummed and Pandora awakened.
> > Rejoice, ye who treads the righteous path for the power of the Matriarch is with you.
The fairy's body shone with golden light. The [Wisp of Creation] floated out of her body comically. The sphere was as tall as the fairy and yet it came out of her soul. Nenandil felt invigorated, the damage from the [Silk Sage]'s corrupting spell gone. Her first act was to jump back into the air and focus on her magic.
"{Dante's Cage}," she chanted, evoking the images of the Great Betrayer trapped in ice at the depths of the Abyss.
Empowered by divine power and echoing with Pandora's wrath, the [Silk Sage] paid for his hubris. His lower body froze, the cold spreading from his sensitive male parts. Then, he shattered into a thousand pieces of frozen cloth, his fancy robes falling to the ground and his staff clattering alongside it, inert.
> > For killing level 87 Silk Sage, you gained 2.4 Billion Exp (base 9,482,647 x2 Rank x4 Species Evolution x4 Class Rarity x8 size)
It was but a drop in the ocean of Exp needed for the next level.
"What the hell was that?" Nenandil cursed. "Why does this guy have Marlowe's staff?"
She already knew the answer but her tiny heart still hoped for the best.