Alaster leapt to the side while as he cast [Necrotic Bolt]. A large paw slammed into ground, sending snow flying. The bolt hit the Gnoll’s knee, causing flesh to melt off and the joint to buckle. The large dog fell to the ground just after Alaster did himself, but he was much faster to roll to his feet, allowing him to observe the situation.
They had been hunting just like they usually did, but they had accidentally woken a small patrol of Gnolls. Creatures, a good head or two taller than most humans. They resembled hyenas on two legs and with thumbs. They used equipment similar to Goblins, but tended to have access to better quality due to their strength and size.
Astrid was fighting off two of them, trying to keep one between the other so only one of them could attack her at a time. The Black Guard, due to its larger size and armor, was deemed a bigger threat, and so was prioritized, was fighting off four of the Gnolls. It was struggling, and its armor was cracking in multiple places. However, it was dealing almost as good as it got.
Alaster was left with the last three. Due to the flesh eating qualities of his magic, he was able to harm their mobility. Alaster and Astrid were already exhausted. They had just finished killing an Ice Leopard. Not very strong creatures, nor durable, but very fast, and capable of creating Ice Spikes out of the ground, forcing them to move quickly and constantly.
The Black Guard jumped back, giving him space to swing his Bill. The bill was a short polearm with a hook at the end. The one the Black Guard was using also had a sharp point at the end. This weapon allowed the Black Guard to swing and stab, and deal crushing overhead strikes, even over and around shields. The armored Skeleton also had a small round shield, not quite small enough to be a buckler. But it was small enough to not get in the way of his attacks.
Astrid was outfitted in studded leather armor, which Alaster had covered in a thin but dense layer of bone, providing additional protection, but also cutting their costs in repairs, as Alaster could repair the bone layer himself.
She used a large wooden round shield paired with a short spear, but she also used a short sword. Whenever the spear proved too cumbersome for the current fight, she had no issue simply dropping it and drawing her sword. Or in this case, throw it into the chest of a Gnoll, who fell to the ground howling.
She drew her sword quickly, only catching in the sheath slightly. The second Gnoll, enraged by his wounded comrade, growled and attacked the young women with renewed vigor. Astrid took cover behind her shield. Her shield was actually too heavy for her, but not so much as to prevent adequate use.
Alaster was forced to look away as one of the Gnolls jumped at him. The Gnoll was favoring its left side due to the large, but fairly shallow, hole in its side from a [Necrotic Bolt]. Alaster parried the spear thrust and thrust the point of his sword into the Gnoll’s chest. It screamed in pain, and fell to the ground, sliding off Alaster’s blade.
The young man stepped to the side to avoid a clumsy swing from the second Gnoll. It did not know how to use the sword it had looted from an Adventurer it had killed. Alaster stepped past it while it was off balance, bringing his sword behind him. The Gnoll fell to the snow, dead before it hit with a deep slice across its chest.
The final Gnoll struggled to its feet, weakly holding up its rusty sword. Alaster casually smacked away the sword with his own and stepped forward. It tried to claw him, but he simply walked to the side and behind.
Alaster used his free hand and placed it over the throat of the Gnoll, activating [Death Touch]. The Gnoll immediately began to scream, but it quickly turned wet as the ability burned a hole in its throat. It fell down, suffocating. Looking at his hand, which was covered in the melted flesh of the Gnoll, Alaster shook most of it off and activated [Death Touch] to dissolve the rest.
He looked over to Astrid, but saw her impaling her sword through the chest of the Gnoll. The Black Guard was still fighting its last Gnoll, which was trying to run away, but Astrid yanked her spear out of the first Gnoll and threw it again. Her aim was off, though, and it only embedded itself in the tree next to the Gnoll. It did however cause the Gnoll to panic and slip in the snow.
The Black Guard was there before the Gnoll could get up, and it thrust its Bill into the stomach of the Gnoll, nailing it to the frozen ground.
[Level Up]
‘Nice.’
“Yes! I leveled up!” Astrid exclaimed, her excitement overtaking her exhaustion.
“Same. But we should wait until we get back to the city to distribute the points.”
“I know. I know. We’ve been over this.”
They had been hunting together for quite a bit of time, and their dedication to it was showing results. Unless Astrid hadn’t told Alaster about a Level Up, which he seriously doubted, she was now Level eight, and he had just turned Level ten.
Because the Black Guard was usually seen as the bigger threat, literally, it also contributed a lot in any fight. And any kill, or contribution it made to a kill, was credited towards Alaster, allowing him to level faster than Astrid.
Working together, they quickly cleaned the area. Astrid recovered her spear, which had fallen out of the bark of the tree from its own weight. The Black Guard was dragging the Gnoll corpses into a line, which allowed Alaster to begin to loot them easier.
The only thing of value the Gnoll carried were their weapons, and for the larger Gnolls, which were seen as the leaders, occasionally their armor. Alaster stacked all the salvageable equipment and then used his magic to recover all the bones of the Gnolls. He immediately put them in his Ring. As for the recovered equipment, Alaster would have the Black Guard carry it all. It wasn’t a lot.
When they finished, the Black Guard dragged all the boneless Gnoll corpses into a pile. Astrid set fire to it, and they left while it burned. Normally, Adventurers were not supposed to burn anything in the forest, to prevent forest fires. But it was winter and snow covered everything, so that unspoken rule was less enforced. By burning the bodies, they would help deter predators from coming closer to the city and would even help prevent disease.
As Alaster had become accustomed to, he began to feel like they were being watched shortly after the battle with the Gnolls ended. Anytime they left the City, he felt watched. At first, he had assumed it to be the scouts of the City, who monitored the area around the walls for any potential threat. But if that was the case, Alaster would not have felt them.
Alaster knew he had better situational awareness, and was more perceptive, than most, but he was not disillusioned enough to think that he could sense those who specialized in stealth. At least not yet.
No, something else was watching them. It was constant, only leaving when they entered the city or began a fight, and it was amateurish. He would have suspected another Novice, but it was simply too consistent.
‘Those Goblins really don’t know when to quit.’
Alaster quickly came to the conclusion that Goblins were watching them. That would explain why it was constant, because they could rotate and always have a scout watching for them. It would explain why it left during a battle, because Goblins were, at their nature, cowardly. Of course, Alaster could not be certain. They stayed far enough away to not be seen with their basic skill in stealth.
However, Alaster wondered why they had not attacked yet. The feeling of being watched had started over three weeks ago, yet they hadn’t seen a single Goblin during that time. They were simply keeping their distance and watching. Which concerned the young man.
Goblins were not known for their planning abilities and would usually attack their prey immediately, which usually resulted in them fleeing when their prey proved too powerful to simply be overrun by numbers. Alaster’s mind went to the Goblin Lord. It had been smart enough to hunt the young humans, had been patient enough to lay a trap for them, and had been careful enough to call for a retreat when the City Guards came to Alaster and Astrid’s rescue.
But that still did not explain why the Goblins were waiting for so long. What were they waiting for? Surely by now, they had the numbers to overwhelm even the two humans. Both had already proven to be much more powerful than ordinary Novices, but they were still Novices themselves, and could be overwhelmed by large numbers quite easily.
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It was due to being watched that Alaster made sure to keep their hunting activities near the outskirts of the forest, where they could flee to the City quickly, and to keep them short. That had cut into their leveling rate, which irritated Alaster.
By this point, occupied by his thoughts, they exited the forest and entered the clearing of the City. Sicon stood as strong as ever. Alaster had been carefully listening while they were in the City and gradually learned that Tarvia, the Kingdom Sicon was a part of, was strengthening its Eastern Borders. For what? No one seemed to know, but the military recruiters were constantly out in force.
Whatever the reason, it had not become drastic enough for them to employ a Draft. Which Alaster was immensely glad for. Even if he wasn’t technically a citizen of the Tarvian Kingdom, he still resided in one of their cities, which they considered good enough to draft. If they institute a draft, Alaster and Astrid would leave the city and hide out in the forest. Which due to the Goblins watching them, was not at all a good idea.
They joined the short line to enter the city, which consisted mostly of other Novices hunting in the forest, but there were a few merchants. It did not take long for them to be at the front.
“Hey Simon. What’s the word around town?” Alaster asked.
They were fairly consistent about when they left to hunt and when they returned, and the Guards kept a schedule, which meant that they saw Simon regularly.
“Eh, its alright I guess. This morning, the army recruiters came by the barracks, but they didn’t seem too desperate.”
“Do you know why they are strengthening the Eastern Borders?”
“Nah, the Celarnians are in the East, so I assume the Capital thinks they might attack. But we should be fine here. We are a Frontier City, but we are pretty far from the border, and Noln at the border.”
Alaster had heard of Noln while in the City. It was a Fortress City. Built on the border, and built entirely for defending it. They are highly restrictive of anyone entering or leaving, and the majority of those living in the City are soldiers or those who work closely with the military, such as Blacksmiths or Engineers.
“What did you kill to get all that?” Simon asked.
“A couple of Gnolls.” Alaster said, annoyed that the hyena monsters had destroyed the Ice Leopard body. Its fur would have sold quite well, but the Gnolls had sliced it into ribbons when they first attacked.
“Impressive. That ought to sell for a bit. Go on through then, kids.” Simon said with a grin.
Astrid hated being called a child, and Simon knew it. But before she could start yelling at Simon, yet again, Alaster grabbed her elbow and walked through the gate, not giving her the chance.
The City of Sicon was as busy as ever. It was only late afternoon, so the streets were full of people, all going their own way. Luckily, the Black Guard was large enough and imposing enough, that it cleared the path enough for Alaster to not suffocate. It already knew where they were headed, so it led the way.
While the Black Guard’s intelligence was quite lacking, it was still capable of learning, especially when shown multiple times. Whenever they recovered any weapons or armor, the group would always head to the same Blacksmith workshop. This one specialized in melting down old equipment, so it was common for Adventurers to sell any recovered loot to them, and today was no different.
The workshop was fairly close to the City Walls, and they quickly reached it, with the Black Guard leading the way. The entrance was fairly simple. Just a simple room with three scales in the back. A double wide door frame, with no door, led to the actual workshop. Three apprentices manned the entrance, tending to the Adventurers with loot.
The heat from the smelters in the back was very welcome to Alaster, so he did not mind waiting in the short and quickly moving lines. There was no counter, just a line painted onto the ground where no customer was supposed to pass. The attendants would have the Adventurers load their loot into a low cart, which would then be loaded onto the scales and measured. The Adventurer would be paid the adequate amount for the material, and the apprentice would wheel the load to the back and bring the cart back.
“Any valuable metal?” The apprentice asked Alaster, boredom from the repetition of the job evident on his face and in his voice.
“No, just scrap.” Alaster said as the Black Guard dropped it all into the cart.
It was measured, and the apprentice came back with two silver coins. Not a lot of money, but it was also scrap material. Alaster wasn’t sure what they did to the equipment back there, but he assumed that they sorted it, removed anything that wasn't metal, and smelted what was.
At this point, the group had saved quite a fair amount. As they returned to the Alley where the Bone Shelter stood, Alaster did a quick calculation.
Copper Coins were the cheapest coins. Five Copper was usually enough to buy a small and basic loaf of bread. One hundred Copper would equal a single silver coin, would was typically enough to rent a small room for a month. Most Weapons and Armor were sold for Silver, usually in the tens. Equipment repairs usually ranged from a silver to a few, but rarely went over ten.
One hundred Silver equalled a single Gold Coin. Gold was what most nobility operated with. Most books were sold for a Gold coin and a few silver, at least the common books. Maps, depending on the area displayed and the quality, could easily go for dozens of Gold.
Alaster did not have much experience with Gold Coins, as in none. He had held some before while he stayed with the Siphas Family, but he had never used one to purchase anything.
Then there was Platinum. Alaster had never seen a Platinum Coin, but he had been taught about them. A single Platinum was worth one thousand Gold Coins. Platinum was not the coin of the commoners, or even Nobility. Platinum was the coin of Nations.
They entered the Alley and found that everything was as they had left it. Even though they had been in this Alley for nearly a month now, Alaster doubted many people noticed it. Snow had continued to pile in the Alley, and since it only saw direct sunlight for barely an hour a day, it never had the chance to melt. Snow gradually piled around and even over the Bone Shelter, which not only helped to conceal it, but also to insulate it.
Alaster opened the doorway, which he sealed with Bone when they left, and held up the fur curtain for Astrid and the Black Guard to enter. He then entered himself and closed the doorways again, leaving a small slit at the bottom. This way of closing the doorway was a slow process, but it was more secure than a simple fur curtain, and it helped to level his [Bone Crafting]. Any little bit helped.
By the time the door was sealed, Astrid had already started a fire in the bowl from the small stack of wood they left next to it. Alaster took out the wood they had gathered while hunting from his Ring and added to the stack.
Both Humans sat down near the fire while the Black Guard stood at the sealed door, always ready for a threat, if needed. Alaster could see, from the distant eyes of Astrid, that she was already looking over her status. Alaster opened his own.
[Class: Death Mage
Level: 6<10
EXP: 73%<16%
Health: 160/160<300/300
Health Regeneration: 6/min<8/min
Mana: 150/150<300/300
Mana Regeneration: 2/min<4/min
Spells: Necrotic Bolt, Raise Undead, Bone Crafting, Mana Manipulation, Death Touch, Skeleton Creation
Strength: 38<40
Dexterity: 33<35
Constitution: 38<40
Wisdom: 40<47
Intelligence: 38<40
Free Points: 5]
[Necrotic Bolt
Level 4<7: 85%<28%
Fires a bolt of condensed Necrotic energy
Can fire two Bolts for only half the cost.
Mana Cost: 10]
[Raise Undead
Level 10<14: 43%<56%
Raise a small corpse to serve as your servant
Max Minions: 0/2
Max Skeletons: 2/2
Mana Cost: 30]
[Bone Crafting
Level 5<9: 0%<74%
Ability to mold bone as if clay
Mana Cost: 5/min]
[Mana Manipulation
Level 3<5: 45%<46%
Control better, what builds and destroys]
[Death Touch
Level 4<6: 23%<42%
Imbue your body with Necrotic Mana
Mana Cost: 5/sec]
[Skeleton Creation
Level 5<8: 30%<53%
Create what none have created
Mana Cost 50/min]
Alaster had made amazing progress over the three weeks he had been in Sicon, during which, he finished the Black Guard’s armor. The Black Guard had proved its value numerous times, and now, after harvesting the Gnolls, he had enough bone to create another.