“HEY STEVE?” His trance was broken by the ghost
“WHAT?” He slid his dagger away and glanced up.
“I UHH NEED YOUR HELP WITH SOMETHING” Ryland said with a bit of panic.
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“ONE SECOND!” He called back
Sealing up his pouch, he’d have to wait on his other supplies. Once again Ryland needed his help. He was starting to think less of being a [Friend of the Dead] and more like a [Servant of a Bossy Ghost]. But still, since he aligned his class with Ryland, he’d have to stick with the man. Returning to the crash-site, he saw his friend staring at his body.
“I don’t know what it is. I’ve been pushing so much energy into it, but I can’t get it to regrow the arm. You know why?”
“Oh that is simple, most undead can’t fully regenerate limbs or other major loss. Why decapitation works quite well! But don’t worry, this is a easy fix just give me a moment”
Steve searched the grounds once more.
“Where is it…ahh!” His eyes perked as he found his apprentice kit.
IT was quite unassuming, an assortment of familiar tools for various professions. Some scissors, thread, needles, balms, and more. Yet for a [Necromancer] it was a basic stitch and fix set. Some parts were missing, no doubt tossed to the ground after they searched the kit. But he had what he needed.
“Alright! Let's go fix up that body of yours. I might even make it pretty” Steve joked
“HEY I AM PRETTY. I MEAN HANDSOME. TAKE THAT BACK” Ryland called out as he chased after.
Somehow the man was still kicking it. This was why you never put all your points into constitution and stamina. Through all the torture, his body wouldn’t give out. It wouldn’t last much longer though, his eyes were starting to fade and he couldn’t even tilt his face towards Steve. That wave of sickness returned and Steve had to glance away from the dying man.
“Can you uhh…finish this? He asked
“You’re joking right? I saw you perfectly butcher that other man but this is too much?
“Look, I work with the dead. I don’t go deading others” He replied
Ryland took a moment and just stared. Steve was serious…
“Fine. Just close your eyes”
Steve did that and plugged his ears. Ryland just shook his head, confused about how a man that loved death couldn’t stand to watch it. Taking a moment, he broke the bond with his body. With the pressure lifted, the creature immediately went in for it’s favorite part. Its hand dug into the chest, rapidly flinging flesh behind as it dug for its crimson prize. Clearly the thing was afraid that Ryland would stop it again. Yet, it wouldn’t give the ghost time to change his mind. Within a few seconds, it pulled out that tasty heart and bit down. Finally, the leader could meet his crew on the other side.
“Done”
“Oh great!” Steve said as he opened his eyes.
Immediately he began to survey the remains. Fingers working across the skin as he felt the musculature underneath. OR well, what was left of it. Most of the arm had been stripped to the bone. Only bits and pieces hung from the limb, the edges blackened as the tainted rot set in.
Ryland watched in fascination as Steve worked. It was night and day. When the man was dying, the necromancer could barely hold lunch. But now, he was like a corrupt collector on tax day. It was a bit strange watching him work, various phrases muttered under his breath, and he kept feeling up the body. But Ryland kept his mouth shut, what was weird to him was normal for a man with this…class. Turning back, he decided to check on his body.
The creature was slowly savoring that juicy heart. Each bite filled with bliss as it chewed and sucked on the bloody flesh. A feeling of pride and accomplishment filled their bond. Still, Ryland might argue that paying their way to a sense of pride and accomplishment might be better. He knew of a few seedy establishments that could handle his very large…pride for coins. However, with most of the deathly magic gone. His body reverted to a more zombie-like state. The nails are more blunt, the skin rotting, and bits of teeth showing through the cheek.
Ryland also felt drained from the whole thing. If he’d known about undead regeneration, he wouldn’t have wasted so much trying to heal the thing. Still; as the zombie feasted, he could feel that deep well slowly refill. They had done it, they beat the odds and made it through. Sure it took a few cowards, a crazy driver, and a surprise attack. But they did it. Closing his eyes, he felt The Will pop into his head.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Congratulations! You have reached level 6 and gained 1 skill point.
Additionally through life experience you have earned the skill
[Passive - Overcharge (Death)]
That was great news. Plus he got a skill without having to spend a point to earn it. He’d worry about his choices later but what did this new passive do? Opening up his soul menu, he read the description.
[Passive - Overcharge (Death)] - When deathly and/or negative effects overfill the energy pool, convert any excess equally into stat enhancements. Stats are randomly increased and include Intelligence, Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity. Only one point may be added into each, any excess energy may harm the user. Scales directly with level, every 5 levels increases the total amount by 1.
“HEY I LEVELED!” Ryland shouted but Steve ignored him.
He was tempted to view the abilities now, but decided to wait until he could discuss it with his friend. Already his impulsive nature got him into this situation and he really was trying to change that. Putting the menu away, he glanced at the boney stub of his body’s arm.
“Don’t worry, Steve will get ya fixed right up” As if on cue his friend called for him.
“Alright. I think we can do this. Just get your body to lay down and I’ll work from here.”
It was a challenge getting the thing to comply. All it wanted to do was eat. There was so much fresh meat in this field and it just wanted to consume every last bite. Only by Steve using some blood rites and Ryland using his encouragement skills were they able to get the thing to lie down. Steve pulled out the ear and placed it into the creature's mouth.
“Now you be good and I’ll give you the other one later, ok.”
“Steve, stop treating it like a dog. It is me you know.
“What, look at that handsome face. I just want to ruffle it’s hair”
“Steve, come on!”
“What you said you wanted to be called handsome and it’s such a handsome boy.”
The ghost paused. This was a battle he wasn’t going to win.
“Just fix up the arm. Daylight is coming soon and we have to check the driver”
Steve gave a thumbs up and got to work.
First, he used his knife to cut away the excessive flesh. He was extra careful to not startle the monster, but with his passives. He was able to come across as friendly. Each flick of his wrist shaved off more rotten flesh. Working his way up the arm, he reached inside and pushed. A wet – Crack had the zombie thrashing. Steve held firm as the blackened blood oozed around his hand. Using a free hand, he quickly grabbed a finger and shoved it into the thing's mouth.
“Don’t worry, You’ll feel better in a second” He used a blood-enhanced [Calm Undead] skill once again. His bottles were nearly drained, but with the corpse next to him he had a near unlimited supply.
With the shoulder dislocated, he began to extract a broken limb.
“Damn, that is sick. You can’t deal with killing but you can deal with that?” Steve ignored the ghost and continued.
With the arm extracted, it was time to work on the donor. Twirling his dagger, he eyeballed where the connective tissue remained. Plunging in his knife, he began to cut through the various ligaments holding the shoulder together. It took a bit of skill to work it into the socket, but pushing down he dislocated the shoulder with a – POP. With a slight tug, he pulled the bone out and carefully cut back remaining tissue. Pull it free, he held it to a torchlight and inspective the work. While normally, he’d never attach something this damaged. It was the only piece they had. The other was even more mangled.
Third, he aligned the two joints. It took a bit of effort to shove the two together. Placing his palms on the ball, he pushed down with all his weight. IT did fracture the socket, cracks rippling throughout the bone as he jammed in the oversized limb–but that’d be fixed later.
“Normally, Faust would channel in negative energy. But we don’t have a field for that. Try your regeneration trick for me” He asked Ryland.
Moments later, he saw the bone begin to shift. The ball-jointed started to shrink and match the original socket. The fractures disappear as with each passing second.
“OK hold” He commanded.
With the arm properly attached, he began to cut bits of muscle from the dead leader. Each strip was carefully matched with those of a normal arm. However; due to the damages, he had to get a bit creative with it. Bits of back muscle made up the deltoid, some of the calf was used for the biceps, the haunches for the forearm, and more. Each one carved down roughly into the proper shape and laid onto the bone.
Thankfully, some connective tissue remained and Steve could sew the ligaments to the fresh flesh. But it still wasn’t enough. Once more he scavenged the remains for parts. He grabbed tendons from the knee, the neck, and the foot. Each one used to repair the arm into a proper shape. It was good that the hand was mostly in one piece. While an arm was somewhat easy to make, hands were far above his skill set.
“OK one more time!”
As before, the muscles began to fuse together. Each shifting its bulk as the magics fixed any problems. It was always fascinating to watch, for something that was the antithesis to life, it mimicked it quite well. Once the muscles were properly set and the tendons pulled right, he halted Ryland again.
The final bit was the easiest. Stripping away the dermis, Steve wrapped the exposed tissue in the cold flesh. A makeshift cast of 100% real human skin! Once more, Ryland began to funnel in that energy and the loose flesh tightened. Outside of a few new tattoos, it looks just like Ryland’s old arm.
“WOW, that was amazing yo!” Ryland crouched down next to his friend. The two watched as the zombie began to test the new and improved arm.
Just then, Steve heard The Will pop into his brain.
Congratulations…