The tunnels were barely wide enough for two mercurial ants to pass through, suggesting to me that they weren’t used to intruders. Our group resolved to slay a few more ants before leaving, and we spread out in a strategic formation: Aaron walked at the front, with Drew and Tom following close behind. Gabe and I walked side by side behind the melee fighters, with Greg following a few paces behind us. My spear-skeletons flanked us, two on either side.
Before long, I could hear the rumble of approaching creatures and an ant was hurtling toward us. Aaron quickly slammed his hands together, a translucent purple shield flaring to life around him, taking up more than half the width of the passage. The ant slammed into the shield with a crash, Aaron’s shield flickering several times before stabilizing.
Tom launched himself into the air, whipping his staff down at the insect. His mana-infused strike dealt less damage than last time, but it still took out a good 15% of its life. Aaron slashed at the ant, reducing its health by another 5%. I launched a mana bolt, dealing negligible damage once again. My spear-skeletons, on the other hand, punched through its hide again and again, dealing close to 50% of its life in less than 15 seconds. I grinned at my indirect contribution to the fight, and Greg followed up my minions’ onslaught with an arrow to the eye. He was really getting good!
The pileup of damage was really getting to the insect, and it screeched in rage. Its mandibles snapped at Aaron, his shield having vanished moments ago. He cried out in pain, his meager leather armor easily tearing under the force of the insectoid blades. I watched his health drop by 40% instantly, and he dropped to his knees from the pain. Rich immediately started healing him, his health rising by 5% per second.
Aaron got back to his feet quickly, but the ant was already dead, a dagger embedded in its head. Drew squatted on the thing’s back, a cheeky grin resting on his face.
“So apparently [Backstab] is broken.”
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A few hours later, we’d killed six more ants and collected a lot more experience. Mana, stamina, and morale depleted, we decided to head home. Everyone had reached level 12, so I considered it a great day of grinding! I greedily opened up my class interface, reading up on each available skill.
I still had the opportunity to unlock [blight bolt], and I was tempted to snag it immediately. My lack of usefulness in these past fights was really starting to bother me, and a new offensive spell would increase my survivability exponentially. However, I wasn’t about to make a rash decision like that, and I perused my other options: [Create Bone II], [Aura of Fear], [Curse of Weakness], [Create Custom Minion II], and [Mana Imbuement]. With four more class points, I was eager to spend some.
The second tier of Create Bone would make the creation of bone cost significantly less. When I created my spear minions, the ratio of base essence cost to actual essence cost was 1:2. With the second tier, the ratio would be 1:1.5, meaning that it would cost 1,125 Bone Essence to make a spear-skeleton. This upgrade would take two whole class points, but I paid it without hesitation. The other upgrade I was considering was [Mana Imbuement], which would allow me to pay a huge mana cost in order to bestow my minions with special abilities based on how they were designed. After deliberating for a moment, I paid the two class point cost. Offense would have to wait.
Excitedly, I opened up the minion creation interface and discovered that in addition to creating bones of any shape and size, I could also shape mana to implement into my designs. I experimented with my new toy as we walked back to Darnley, putting different quantities of mana into my minions. I discovered that putting a ball of mana into a skull would act as a [mana core], allowing my minions to cast a basic spell. If I put caps onto the fingertips of my skeletons, it would allow them to use a magical attack, dealing bonus damage for a single strike.
I tried condensing the mana into a solid weapon, but I couldn’t do much better than an intangible strand. Perhaps when I purchased the next upgrade? Seeing the strand floating there, I was struck with an idea. I encased the strand in bone and topped it off with a miniature skull. Despite the relatively small size of my item, it would cost a whopping 750 Bone Essence! Deciding to risk it, I absorbed my spear for 125 BE and created the staff.
Even if it had no magical properties, I was cool with my decision just because of how cool the staff looked! As I picked it up, twin spheres of smoky mana flared to life inside of the skull’s eyes and I felt energy surging through me. A prompt hovered in my vision:
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Research complete!
Hidden Research Criteria: Create one magical item made entirely out of bone.
Research Reward:
* Raise Quality of Crafted Item by two stages!
* [Bone Items] class skill unlocked!
Item:
Name: Staff of the Reaper
Rarity: Unique
Type: Staff
Durability: 3,000/3,000
Requirements: Necromancer Class
Function: Gives User +10 Wisdom, [Blight Bolt] Unlocked.
Scaling: All characters killed by this weapon have a 10% chance to become Specters controlled by the Wielder (not going towards Control Limit) for one minute.
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My jaw dropped and I stopped walking. The unholy power radiating from my new weapon was astonishing! Not only would I be getting many more minions, I also didn’t need to worry about offensive spells. I grasped the smooth bone in my right hand, using my staff like a walking stick. My friends turned around to question my abrupt stop, and gasped when they saw my new staff.
“Zero, what the heck!” Tom shouted.
“Where’d you find loot in that cave?” Aaron questioned.
I grinned, flourishing my weapon proudly. I launched a [Blight Bolt] into the air. The spell was beautiful in a morbid fashion: a black ellipsoid with sickly green energy swirling around it. It whizzed into the air, fizzing out after about one hundred feet.
“I made it,” I told Aaron proudly. I could practically see Gabe’s mouth watering as he gazed at my staff.
“Can… Can you make me one?” He sputtered. I laughed, and we continued walking as I responded.
“Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure this was a one-time deal. And even if I could, you wouldn’t be able to use it. The staff has a restriction of necromancer class, which means I’m the only one that can use it in the game.” I shrugged unapologetically.
“Well, can you make me anything? I learned a few recipes in the tutorial, but I haven’t found anything since then,” Gabe lamented. “I’ve already learned most of the spells in my orb, so I’ll need a new weapon soon.”
“Any recipes that would help us?” Tom asked.
“Yeah, and I’m working on a design for Aaron in the crafting area.”
“Sweet,” Aaron said.
“Hey guys, wait up!” I called as I looked into the forest, my corpse-sensing ability pinging a spot not too far from here.
“What’s up,” Rich asked.
“My corpse-sensing ability says there’s something in the woods. I’m sure there’s stuff buried all over, but I don’t really pick up any of that stuff. I don’t know why it is pinging this over everything else, but it might be worth the trip,” I informed them.
“How far?” Greg asked.
“Like 100 yards,” I replied, already walking into the trees. My group followed, and it wasn’t too long before I discovered what the source of the ping was: a titanic skull half-buried in a small clearing. I immediately dropped and rolled to the side, swinging my staff behind me in case of ambush. Greg leapt backwards, readying his bow just in case. Tom nimbly climbed up a tree, and Drew ducked low, brandishing twin daggers. Aaron whipped out his sword, and our team was ready for action. My minions swept the surrounding area, but I couldn’t sense any other undead.
“It looks… abandoned,” Tom said cautiously.
“And if I wanted to set a trap, that’s exactly what I’d do,” I replied. I crept forward until my bone absorption ability had the skull in range. A flex of my will and the milky white skull faded into oblivion, leaving a small notebook to drop to the ground. I crept forward, snatching up the dusty notebook with a greedy hand. I tucked it into my cloak before ordering us back to the path. I pondered the implications of the worn-looking book, but resisted any temptations to read it on the open road.
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After reaching the town, we picked up the poison and crafting ingredients from my skeletons. I had to deactivate my [Sense Corpse Material] skill once we arrived at the graveyard and our base. Depositing them in our base, I pulled the notebook from the folds of my cloak. I gingerly opened the front cover, wary of ruining the seemingly ancient pages. My eyes drank in every detail, and I began to read the timeworn words:
To whom it may concern,
I trust that only another of my kind would find this notebook with little difficulty, for I placed it in the skull of a Dread Berserker. Depending on how old this notebook appears, it can be assumed that I have died or, at the least, faded into obscurity. But I digress, for you are not interested in the small details or the ramblings of a long-dead lich.
With no apprentices or heirs to call my own, I lack some way to memorialize the deeds of Dreadil the Defiler. As such, I leave behind this book. Should you flip further than the next few pages, I shall educate you on some of my more impressive accomplishments and how they were accomplished.
Excited, I flipped further into the book, intending to skim around for some good spells. I gasped as the book tumbled from my grasp, laying open on the ground. A sickly green light spewed forth, and fog filled the room. My friends backed away unsteadily, and an ominous laugh echoed throughout the building.
The mist slowly gathered into a column, and I readied my staff. As the mist settled back onto the ground, it revealed the ghostly form of a man who appeared more dead than alive. Immediately, he waved a hand at me, conjuring a ball of bright green and yellow energy that flew toward me. I ducked, but it dissipated harmlessly against the wall.
“Alas, you have nothing to fear from me, young necromancer,” The figure said with his head bowed.
“Are you Dreadil?” I asked.
“That I am.”
“How are you here?” I asked.
“I am nothing more than a remnant, a memory of the great man I once was.” He replied. My friends looked at me cautiously, and Aaron’s hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
“Why are you here?” Tom questioned the remnant.
“Well, as your leader here probably read, I claimed to want to leave behind some legacy. In truth, I had hoped that I would retain even some of my powers as a remnant and would be able to re-establish control of some minions. However, if that plan failed, I still intend to leave behind a legacy in the form of an apprentice. If you agree to serve my interests, that apprentice will be you; you will become exponentially more powerful far faster than you could have otherwise. In return, I only ask that you receive my mark.”
“What’s your mark?” I implored.
“A tattoo across your back that marks you as my apprentice. It will grant a few bonuses, but mainly it just ensures that my legacy lives on.” He replied. I considered the proposition for a moment; if he was lying, I could become some sort of undead thrall that endangered the town. If he was telling the truth, my strength could increase tenfold in a relatively short period of time! I turned to my friends.
“If something happens, just Backstab me,” I told Andrew. I returned my attention to Dreadil.
“Alright, I’ll do it.”