Elven POV
They huddled in their tree tops, as the creature passed. They were beneath his notice. The grey creature never even glanced at them. It stepped through and trees aged, animals died and turned to bone, and the weak or sickly elves died on the spot.
This creature never stopped moving, it never stopped hunting, and even the ancestors feared it. It was the necromancer’s Machine, then the demon Mobius came to them and offered trade. If they gave him ten elf maidens, in exchange he would turn one of their warriors into a creature capable of combating the machine.
Ten of their most beautiful young maidens offered themselves up to the green haired demon. The fallen ancestor took them to its lair.
When Mobius returned, many elves spat on the ground when hearing the fallen ancestor’s name. Vento, their greatest ambush hunter offered himself. The fallen ancestor did something to him. Vento began to grow claws from his fingertips, he left to confront the machine.
The fight was quick and brutal. They looked through the eyes of the few bird’s that still ventured near the machine. Vento managed to score a deadly blow ripping a hole through the machine’s chest. But, it was insufficient.
The grey creature had many tools at its disposal. Undead wasps, bees, ticks, fleas, and other biting insects attacked Vento distracting him. The Machine took a Warhammer to Vento’s legs and shattered his shoulders with precise strikes. To increase their warriors suffering, the machine smashed Vento’s wind pipe.
It was unfeeling and without mercy. Further defiling Vento’s body, the machine raised Vento from the dead and commanded him to cause suffering to further fuel the machine.
Now, the Machine climbed the mountain leading to the burial trees of kings. All thirteen tribes of the elvish nation held their breath as, the Machine reached the base of the mountain.
Melvin POV
Lv735
In less than two days Vento’s skill had raised his level by proxy 200lvs. It was astounding how much suffering before death effected xp. No, it made sense. Death was just a by product of necromantic feeding.
The task at hand shook him from his thoughts.
They were moving up the mountain. It was perhaps the only way out of the valley. There was also the need to increase his bone supply.
Melvin had risen Bone Craft to the 30s and reached the apprentice tier. This tier required many more bones. He needed to stockpile them to build housing and other structures.
Vento claimed that there were reptiles in the mountains that were vastly larger and more powerful than anything in the forest. These creature’s fed from the mountain’s volcanic heat. They were of the Red Mana. Elves only ventured up here when a king died.
“Why are we leaving? If we remain in the forest, I can continue using blood prison. We could be in the thousands within a year.” Melvin continued to walk towards the mountain. He could feel a fire coming from the place. It drew upon his desire to fight.
“We could, but it would be a waist. My intelligence rose 400 from leveling. That’s worthless for my build. You had a similar increase. As an ambush hunter, I doubt that helped your build. No, from what I can tell, our best bet to increase our strength is to fight stronger enemies.” It may be a bit slower, but the gains are worth it.
They began to walk up the mountains.
“Roarrrr,” A massive reptile chased them. Flames bellowed from its mouth as it charged and tried to rip them apart with its claws.
Tyrant Lizard lv300
It lives its life in the fringe of mountainous areas. From its mouth flames, from its claws poison, and from its ass thunder. This creature is dangerous for the inexperienced.
Melvin leapt up from under the creature to uppercut it. The massive lizard fell backwards. Its teeth smashed together cracking in places. Warhammer in hand, Melvin smashed the creature on the head. The skull split, and its brain swelled. He placed a hand on the creature, “Death Touch,” the creature began to rot.
“I will skin it and make leather from its hide. As my master, you shouldn’t walk around in just armor.” Melvin nodded and let Vento get to work.
He heard a twig snap and a pack of the creatures invaded their camp. The burned and snapped their jaws at the bears. Melvin smashed his hammer into the nearest monster. More packs were running out of caves to attack their small convoy of undead. Fortunately, there were always more dead to raise.
Melvin raised the newly downed Tyrant Lizards. His new creature leapt from the ground and clamped their jaws on the invading lizards. It was a blood bath. Fire, blood, and bone covered the ground when the raid finally ended.
“I believe we came upon one of their cities.” Vento said, Melvin raised a brow.
“Tyrant Lizards are an intelligent semi sentient species. They tolerate undead no more than we elves do.” Vento chuckled, at the irony. Melvin nodded his head.
“Well, if they’re smart, they will surrender. I have to get over that mountain range, if they stand in my way then they are the enemy.” Melvin said.
“Master, there are paths through the city.” He turned to one of the newly zombified Tyrant Lizards. Only, it wasn’t a zombie. Unlike the others, it was raised while it still had a bit of life left in it.
Black Tyrant Lizard lv1
This tyrant lizard was brought from the brink of death by raise undead. It has the mana of a necromancer with the ability to reproduce. Its allegiance is with the one who raised it. This tyrant lizard’s instincts caused him to worship you.
“Could you get us safe passage?” He asked the B Tyrant Lizard. The creature had the head of a T-rex and the body of a four-limbed dragon. It was black instead of the red scales of the normal Tyrant Lizards. Their necks were long with small spikes. They could stand on their back legs or run on all fours.
“My kind are called the Crested, if one of us vouch for you, then you may enter as friends even if you are different.” Melvin only now noticed the crown like crest on top of the creature’s head.
“Do all of your kind have crest?” Melvin asked curious.
“Only the females. Males are smaller and fewer in number. They are normally kept in pins for mating. A male’s life is one of the easiest in all Crested. My name is Shredder master. What is your name, for when I introduce you?” Melvin shrugged his shoulders.
“Call me Melvin.” The reptile’s eyes became slits.
“Melvin, truly it must be a mighty name in your culture.” Shredder said.
He shrugged and let her lead the way. Shredder showed her crest to the reds of her kind and they slowly stopped charging. Now that Melvin counted, over half of the crested were black while the others were zombies. One was a legit Wight, the paralyzing super zombie.
“Come and meet the queen, if she judges you worthy, then you may cross through our territory. My name is Captain Gutburster, of the 10th squad.” Melvin smiled at the names.
“Do you understand a word their saying?” Vento asked.
“Yea, its like their speaking my language.” Melvin said in perfect elvish. It was his body. The necromancer’s who built it installed a couple of extras.
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“Captain, why do the men remain indoors, while the women defend?” Melvin asked.
“We are a sexually dimorphic species. Females are 2 or 3 times the size of an average male. With the increased size is increased muscle density and brain capacity. Then you get to our birthrate. The average clutch is 10 females to 1 male. In a clutch that ranges from 50 to 100 eggs. You were originally a mammal correct. Humans are also a dimorphic species, with the stronger, smarter, and more durable male. Your females must guard and gestate the young, difficult in this dangerous world.” Gutburster said.
She was a red scaled female like many of the Crested. She wore a satchel and was armored unlike many of the other warriors.
“Why do so few of you wear armor?” Melvin asked.
“You are a curious one isn’t you. For an undead abomination, you seem a hatchling.” Shredder growled at the slight. Melvin raised his hand to calm her.
“I’ve held my hand from your destruction. Pray, I don’t decide to destroy you.” Melvin said.
“You can try, but the Crested aren’t so easily beaten. Remember, this is our mountain.” Gutburster said.
They traveled through a series of tunnels to a massive space. Houses carved from stone circled the antechamber. A river flowed through the space and out of the mountain. It was cleaner than he expected. The air within the cave was much warmer.
After crossing through the original cave, they entered a tunnel leading to something like a palace. Statues of powerful Crested covered the courtyard. Lanterns lit the area burning an oil of some sort.
His formation of undead followed behind him ever present. They were apart of him in a way. He could feel his mana within them. Even Vento was just an expression of his will. Only the Shredder and the other living crested with his mana within them remained truly sentient.
A massive specimen lay in a bed of hot coals as various tiny crested mated with her. She opened her eyes and glared at him. “The abomination that dared to climb my mountain, have you surrendered. Is that why you’re here.”
Tyrant Lizard Queen lv600
The queen of the Tyrant Lizards or crested. She sits upon a bed of hot coals to maintain her strength. Quick to anger she often toys with friend and foe alike. She won’t hesitate to make threats and throw insults.
Melvin smiled and spread his hands wide. “I am Melvin and I’ve come to ask for passage to the other side of your mountain. Whether you lead the way, or I have to step over your corpse to get there is your decision.” Melvin said.
“Asking for a favor and throwing threats around, how droll. You may be a higher level than me, but this is my territory. Undead are known for burning well. Do you think you’re any different? All things burn.” The queen said.
Melvin sighed. He thought about plugging her full of arrows. He was certain, he could place one each in her eyes before she could react. Instead, he kept his hands behind his back and held himself like a pillar.
He stepped upon the coals. She raised an eyebrow and the males began to growl at his approach. The coals cooled rapidly with each step. His steps themselves inflicted a small amount of ice damage.
The Crested noticed it. “I know why the elves fear you. An abomination that can’t be stop, it marches and kills anything in its way. It doesn’t matter how much strong the foe, it wins every battle. Blind it; death has no need of sight, stab it; death is beyond life, or stand in its way; death stops for no one. Are you really the god death?” The queen asked. Melvin stopped a few feet from her.
“No, now, will you grant me passage.” He asked.
“Elves truly are gossips, how disappointing. But no, the tunnel leading to the other side was collapsed to protect us from the orcs. Disgusting green creatures, they tried to take my queendom. They said the iron belong to them by right of conquest. If I could unleash you upon them, I would have left the tunnel open, but I’m afraid its closed.” Melvin nodded.
“Thank you for being honest with me. I will go over the mountain. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.” Melvin said. She licked the side of his head.
“You taste powerful. If you were of my species, I would consider you a worthy consort.” The male crested growled at him. She reached down and snatched one up in her jaws, before Melvin heard bones snap and the queen swallowed. Once her throat was clear she spoke again. “Did I give any of you, permission to be rude to my guest? And you, I didn’t say stop.” The male behind her continued pleasuring her.
Melvin wiped the drool from his head. He felt nothing but rage but held himself from crushing the queen.
His black crested remained to praise his name and add his mana to the queendom. He let them, they were free after all. The mountain loomed overhead. They let him out at a higher tunnel. Melvin moved slowly letting his new crested zombies lead the way. Their raptor toes evolved for climbing.
Melvin stopped when the sun began to set. Most of his zombie army couldn’t see at night. He made a small fire and leaned against a bear.
He still couldn’t see with his natural eyes. Even now, as he gazed at the sky, he saw nothing but black. “Hello, don’t be startled. I’m from the government.” In the fire light he saw her through his bears.
She was dressed in wolf furs and her black hair was braided. Her face was oval and pale. He could fee from her the white mana that Duluth possessed.
“Comrad Melvin correct, your profile is out in the open for any to see. That could be dangerous, if you were in the homeland.” Melvin raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry, unlike the barbarians of this land, I hide my information. You may call me Layla. I didn’t think the Black would have a success. Did you know, you are the tenth generation in a long line of failures? I was sent here to shut the project down, if there were no successes. But 700 that’s the level of a journeyman. My informants claim, you should have only been born less than a month.” Layla said. Melvin’s owls spotted several bats that generated white mana and transferred it to Layla.
“Well then go back where you came from and report the success.” Melvin said. He could tell when an opponent was gearing up for a fight.
“You necromancers always have the same weakness. Break your territory and mana transfer between undead becomes impossible. A mere lv700 is no match for me. Why don’t you make things easier and show your big grey neck to me?” She pulled an axe from her back and pointed the barrel of a blunderbuss at him.
Boom!
Melvin fell back as hot balls of let blasted him in the stomach. That attack alone took a third of his health. He used the force to gain more distance. His owls gave him a great bird’s eye view of the battle. He spent quite a while practicing with his bow using the third person view.
Melvin spun killing a diving bat, then pulled his bow and fired three arrows. She burst into bats as the arrows hit.
She opened her mouth to say something when she reformed only for Vento to attack from behind claws extended. Her eyes widened in surprise and they did battle. Claws battle axe as Vento used his enhanced strength and overwhelming dexterity to fight the communist vampiress.
Melvin calmed down and began to think. She was here to assassinate him. Vento was running low on life and she seemed to get faster with every bit of damage dealt. More than likely a perk. Melvin drew his war hammer and prepared to enter the fray. His perk activated forming a shadowy clone. He nodded to it. The clone leapt into battle, with Melvin’s war hammer.
“Enchant Weapon, Death Touch, Territory Creation, Cold Touch, and Leech Life.” He said, the battle had gained some distance allowing him to focus on finishing it. He had five seconds left before the clone vanished. The second he started his plan, she would target him.
He began to fire on the bats that covered the forest. Melvin attacked at an ever-faster pace. Before the first bat died he had already targeted ten more. Life left the bats and entered his zombies strengthening them further. By the 11th kill Layla broke out of her battle with Vento and his shadow.
“Attacking my mana supply how devious, I expected nothing less from a lich.” Black Rage x50
“My supply of mana has returned to me Vampire. You can no longer refuel yourself, I’m sure the wounds my servants inflicted upon you are costly. Surrender, perhaps I will be lenient and let you go.” Melvin was still powering up. He had his stat page out and dumped 1000 stat points in dexterity, wisdom, and Vitality. He then dropped the last of his points in strength.
She didn’t stop, she kept charging and drove her axe in his neck. The bone armor protecting it shattered and the axe slid into his neck then stopped. He healed the armor over the blade, reached up, and snapped the axe head in half. His hand moved like a snake capturing her arm only for her body to turn to bats.
Instead of reforming nearby, the bats began to fly down the mountain, and through the forest. Melvin let her go. If he chased her, he would lose his territory and mana supply. So, he took up his bow and began to pick off bats as they flew away.
His body had changed again. Melvin was taller, his skull was larger better formed, and his muscles seemed to fit better. He no longer looked like a steroid injecting gym bra. Now, he looked like a giant lineman. His muscles looked more natural.
The real change was his mind. Before now, he would have charged into the forest. That one increase in wisdom changed the way he reacted. That wasn’t all. His mana supply was recovering at a faster rate. It felt like his body could take mana in faster.
Lightning began to fall from the mountain. His fight with Layla had disturbed something at the top. Started his climb up atop Yogi the last surviving zombie bear.
Melvin Hill lv735
Species: Undead
Race: Lich
Age: 19Years
Perks: Brutal Death 10/10, Bloody Wrath 10/10, Troll Musculature, Steel Spirit, Exceptional Control, Dark Soul Reaper, Decaying Wrath, Frozen Brutality, Finite Blow, Devour Might, Death March, Strong Body Stronger Mind, Strong Vitality, Mighty Will, 1000 Fists in the Grave, Shade of Might
HP 180,000/904,050(+2,500) (906,550)
MP 150,000/448,350
VIT 1070(162) 1232
STR 1,625(x10) 16,625
DEX 1050
END 10
INT 456(162) 618
WIS 1011
WIL 50(162) 212
CHA 10
LUK 5
Stat Points 0
Skills
Necromancy
Black Rage lv58
Devastation lv20
Dark Heal lv40
Pain Resistance lv12
Raise Dead lv20
Control Dead lv25
Death Touch lv15
Territory Creation lv26
Bone Craft lv30
Cold Touch lv3
Magus
Mana Sight lv12
Mana Control lv10
Mana Shape lv5
Enchant Weapon lv15