"Gemlek probably dead. Or he hiding. Either way, not Karsha's problem." Declared a shrill, vaguely feminine voice. From The Master's hidden position behind the altar, she couldn't see its owner. "And if he die to little bony hand-thing like that, he useless to tribe anyway." It continued, several sets of footsteps entering the church. She sent a quick mental command to her minions. On my mark, attack them. Then, she turned her thoughts to her skill. The spell had hung there, in her mind, since she'd chosen it and she could feel it just waiting to be used. All she had to do was follow the movements ingrained into her. She rose from her crouched position and extended her arm, fingers splayed out, and flexed her will.
[Osteobolt]!
A bright, off-white light flashed from her hand, a human sternum extruding from her glowing open palm with a soft hiss before the sound began to crackle and the bone was fired towards the group. The intruders - chaka, she noted unsurprisingly - were taken off guard, eyes wide and bodies tensing in surprise if not outright fear. The bone projectile collided with a yellow-skinned, club-wielding chaka's chest, its hide armor taking some of the force. It staggered backwards with a grunt of pain. A moment later, the church erupted into chaos. The Paragon rushed forwards, a panicked chaka thrusting its spear at him only for the shaft to catch between his ribs, his small blade sinking into its eye with a sickening thunk. It shuddered and fell to the floor, lifeless, and The Paragon turned towards the nearest foe. Another [Osteobolt] flew past him, whistling as it shot towards the yellow chaka who leapt out of the way, shrieking as the bolt was caught by a taller, redder one's oversized wooden shield where it immediately crumbled. The unarmed skeletons and diminutive chaka were engaged in a fierce melee, surprisingly evenly matched despite the skeletons' height advantage. Only the Dungeon Master and her Paragon appeared to be stronger than their enemies by any metric. The paragon pulled the spear from his body, tossing it to one of the skeletons who caught it just in time to parry a blow from the larger, red chaka. One of the hands leapt into the fray, but was easily swatted aside where it crumbled away into dust. Attempting to claim her spawner resulted in nothing, perhaps due to the current combat in the room.
Progress towards unlocking pattern - Chaka: 15%
5 Anima was absorbed.
Skeletal Hand Lv. 1 has been slain!
Progress towards unlocking pattern - Chaka: 20%
5 Anima was absorbed
Skeleton Lv. 1 has been slain!
"Muss be a dungeon core! It probably down somewhere!" the large one barked in the same shrill voice that she'd heard previously. "We keep them busy while you go get it, Makram!" The yellow chaka that The Master had previously attacked immediately rushed for the stairs. Panicked, she vaulted the altar and rushed to the stairs, charging after him. A hammer-wielding chaka lunged at her, but one of her minions leapt in between them to take the full force of the blow. She didn't look back, rushing after the swift chaka that was making a beeline for her core. Another hand attempted to grab its ankle as it passed the threshold into the crypt, though it was too slow and was easily dodged. She fired a third [Osteobolt], earning a startled cry from the creature as the bone crashed into the ground at its feet and exploded harmlessly. But when attempting a fourth shot, she found that it wouldn't come. She'd exhausted her skill for now. As the chaka reached her core, hastily shoving the slab aside, dread filled the skeleton's bones. She was too late. Was this how she died? She hadn't planned enough, she didn't have enough time! but then, the chaka shrieked as a skeletal hand leapt out of the coffin and latched onto its face. The frightened chaka staggered backwards into her. Her arm immediately flew out to lock around its neck and she began to pummel the side of its head with her fist with a wild, panicked strength. She only stopped when the notification came and its skull had caved in on itself from her blows. Her bones were stained with thick, deep blue fluid, but she hardly noticed in her current state.
Skeleton Lv. 1 has been slain!
You have slain Chaka Thug, Lv. 3
Skeleton Lv. 1 has been slain!
Your Anima is full. Anima has dispersed. Experience has been acquired. Skeletal Hand has gained experience.
Progress towards unlocking pattern - Chaka: 25%
She wasted no time. Hauling the slab back onto her core's protective casing. Collecting the club that it had wielded, she ordered the hand to hide and sprinted towards the church above, leaving the corpse and swiftly raising the prepared skeleton of who had presumably been 'Gemlek,' which she commanded to guard the entrance to the crypt. Three chaka lay dead as she returned to the fray, two of her skeletons and her paragon left fending the remaining two off. One of her skeletons lay on the ground, its ribs cracked open but still alive - the one that had taken the blow for her, she noted. I thought that one had died. She's more resilient than I gave her credit. She ran into the fray, swinging the club hard enough to unbalance herself and hitting the second yellow chaka's head before it could disengage from its foe, its head twisting to the side with a harsh crunch. It fell to the ground bonelessly, collapsing. Now, only the larger chaka stood alone. Her valiant defence didn't last long, however, as she was surrounded. She snarled, blocking another vicious attack from The Master, before a sharp pain shot through her body and the air left her lungs. Looking down in shock, she was met with the very tip of one of her kin's spears jutting through one of the ridges of her chest - it had definitely punctured a lung at this angle. It withdrew with a sound that made her shudder and she dropped to her knees, struggling to breathe. Blood seeped from her mouth as the tallest skeleton - The Master - strode forwards with purpose and kicked her weapon from her hand. The chaka shut her eyes, the fight leaving her. Even if she had used her skills, it wouldn't change a thing. The Master stared down at her cruelly, her permanent grin seeming to taunt the chaka. She sent a command to her minion, staring at her silently as the spear pierced her skull.
You have slain Chaka Thug, Lv. 4
3 Anima was absorbed. Excess mana has dispersed. Experience has been acquired. Skeleton has gained experience.
Progress towards unlocking pattern - Chaka: 30%
You have reached [Skeleton] Level 3.
Chaka Warrior, Lv. 5 was slain.
Anima has dispersed. Experience has been acquired. Skeleton has gained experience. Skeleton Paragon has gained experience.
Progress towards unlocking pattern - Chaka: 35%
Good work. Paragon, arrange these corpses atop the slabs below for me. Then, send some of your skeletons back here. You will defend both floors so that nobody will be able to rush past a fight and make for my core. I cannot risk that again... also, make use of the skeletal hands to assist in locking down enemies where possible. It was... foolish of me to disregard them.
The skeleton knew that she'd have to give her minions of note names, or at least titles, at this point. The boxes were becoming hard for her to parse. First, she would claim the spawner. Upon doing so, she felt half of her Anima drop and snapped her fingers, sending the rest of it into the chandelier and spawning a paragon immediately. She had little time to lose. One missing person might have been ignored, but an entire group? No. She would prepare for their next incursion thoroughly. Two forms bled out of the chandelier though she picked out the paragon immediately. Its gaze was sharper, more calculating, and its form was much more defined. Where the normal ghost was a vaguely human shaped, eerily glowing cloud with a face... the ghost paragon was a faded but vivid representation of a young woman. The woman immediately flew down to her, her eyes wider than they had any right to be and her mouth holding a set of razor-sharp, yet intangible, teeth. When she opened her deadly maw, she let out a playful yet disconcerting giggle. Immediately, The Master examined her.
Spawner claimed - Ghost Spawner activated.
Ghost pattern unlocked.
Ghost Capacity 1/5 + 1 {Paragon}
Spawn Paragon [5 Anima]
Ghost - Knowledge Rank 1
The spirit of a human, returned to this plane with a tether made of a dungeon's anima. She is loyal to her master.
Intelligent, but unable to speak , this paragon may command lesser minions in the dungeon master's stead.
This ghost is bound to an unnamed dungeon and thus it cannot be banished by ending its torment.
Variants: Human, Highborn Resources: None Evolutions: Unknown
Type: Skulker - Skulkers are suited towards stealth and skulduggery. Skulkers may roam in packs or work as lone hunters.
It is up to the dungeon master to identify where each specific skulker's strengths lie - as ambushers or spies.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
You cannot create a creature spawner at your current Knowledge Rank. You can spawn this creature for a base [5 Anima]. Capacity: 1/5 + 1 {Paragon} Base Anima Yield: Unknown (Dungeon monsters will not yield anima for their master.)
I will have to think of a name for you, The Skeleton told her. And then, something strange happened.
Ghost Paragon has been renamed to Esther.
But I didn't... she began, only for Esther to cackle and hurl herself into the floor, disappearing from sight. This minion acts very differently to my skeleton paragon, she hummed to herself, unsure of how that made her feel. She then commanded the other ghost to scout the bell tower that lay behind the locked door. Finally, she turned to the damaged skeleton that lay on the floor of the church, slowly regenerating, its bones noticeably stronger than they had been before. It had levelled up, seeming to have selected [Dense Bones] of its own volition. You will be called 'The Guardian' for now. This is not a name but rather a temporary designation. Take these and make use of them. She handed The Guardian a club and the taller one's shield, which had been left behind by her minions as they carried the bodies into the crypt. You did well to protect your master. Remember that I will reward such behaviors. Then, something occurred to her. If her [Osteobolt] could create a bone... then what if she attempted to stop it from firing? could she then replace this skeleton's damaged sternum with a conjured version? Would she be allowed to do that?
A pulse of energy at her palm as she reached for her spell told her that the skill's energy had regenerated somewhat. She aimed towards the wall in case her idea didn't work, then attempted to create the bone without firing it. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as she'd to cut the ability off halfway, only requiring a few seconds of heavy concentration, the bone dropping to the floor with a soft clatter and - most notably - not exploding into dust. The Master picked it up, examining it interestedly. In that case...
[Osteobolt] has levelled up!
Ah. Even better. She knelt next to The Protector, removing and replacing her damaged sternum with the newly created one. It slotted into place easily, attaching to the ribcage as she absorbed the original. Gaining 1 unit of bone, The Master paused. Could she generate bone and absorb it in this way? As it turned out, after a quick test, she could... but at only one unit generated per cast and with her skill exhausting itself in around three - perhaps more if fully charged - consecutive shots, it definitely wasn't worth her time. Especially since she had no use for the resource yet. Her spell didn't consume a unit to cast it, and so she had no need for the resource beyond stockpiling it in case it became useful later. Now for a more important question; could she create other bones? The Protector would need a new pelvis and, although it appeared to be regenerating, if she could create one faster... No. Attempting to generate anything other than the standard sternum with her ability soon proved to be impossible. Whether she needed more control, a higher level or if it was simply impossible, she couldn't tell. All that she knew was that it was beginning to make her skull ache. I've done what I can here, she muttered before standing to her full height. You will heal in time.
The skeletal chaka stepped into the church, once again wearing its armor. She commanded it - him - to take a spear from the ground before she grabbed the large hammer that had almost obliterated The Guardian. Then, she descended into the crypt to name the two skeletons that had stood out in the fight. Her paragon, who would gain a true name, and the one that had made good use of the spear he had thrown to them. Standing before them, she demanded their attention. And attention is what she received. Turning to the normal skeleton, she appraised him. He had levelled up in the fight and chosen a skill - just by looking at him, she could tell that his bones were lighter. He would be faster, a deadly combatant but one who was more fragile than the others. He had traded durability for speed. You will be henceforth referred to as 'The Slayer'. Impress me and be given a true name. The Slayer crudely mimicked the Paragon's 'salute' and trudged off towards the stairs. And you, my paragon. You will be called... Esther interrupted with a soft wail, drawing her attention away from the skeletal paragon. The ghost's head and arm emerged from the skeleton spawner, her ethereal hand slowly running over the sarcophagus' engraving. There was a name... Ajax, the Wanderer's Champion. That would work just fine.
Skeleton Paragon has been renamed to Ajax.
Ajax jolted, the lights in his eyes glowing brighter than they had before for a moment. He looked upon his master and then dropped to one knee, lowering his head. The Master prepared to give an inspiring speech, attempting to sound like a leader should. Her servant was loyal, and praising him should only strengthen that feeling. She wasn't foolish enough to assume that she could survive in this world without strong, fanatical followers. She was only level 2. You have impressed me, Ajax. You held your own against a foe stronger than I had initially assumed. For that, you... deserve... your new name. Prepare yourself, however. This isn't likely to be the last threat that these 'chaka' pose to us in the short term. I won't tolerate idleness. But if you serve me well, we will rise to greatness together. With another salute, Ajax rose to his feet and left to follow The Slayer. The Master looked upon Esther curiously as she sunk into the floor.
You... are a curious one, Esther. I haven't decided if I like that about you yet.
And then, The Master was alone. Her more intelligent beings busy doing her bidding or... whatever it is that Esther was doing. After making sure that every minion would wait for her orders before choosing their skills from now on, she was about to examine her new corpses when an interesting notification stopped her in her tracks.
Expedition - Scouting Party complete. New Expeditions unlocked.
Scouting Party has located [1] Human.
That had piqued her interest. Sending a mental command to her minions to spare the human and allow his presence for now, she climbed the steps into the church, strode up to the door... and... Right, yes... I'll need to... She calmly extended her fist, rapping her knuckles against the locked door. A few seconds of tense silence passed before a young, male voice called out.
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"I... who's there? Are those stunted freaks gone? I heard fighting. And mentions of... a dungeon." Memna asked, his voice wavering. The presence on the other side of the door sighed softly. They paused for a moment and then knocked again. "...Who are you? I can't hear anybody out there, but the fighting's stopped. And an unintelligent monster would have just bashed the door down... so, if you can understand me, knock twice."
"Hhhhaa..." the strange person breathed out as if trying to form a coherent sound. "Uhhgg..." but after a few moments, she did as he'd asked.
"...Right. Okay. Who are--" he paused, his shaky voice trailing off as he realised that whatever had slain the Chaka might be even worse. "...Are you going to try to kill me? Two knocks for yes, and one for no." While he couldn't trust the stranger at their word, if they at least attempted to play this game then he'd feel more at ease.
One knock rang out. He didn't know if he could trust them, but at least they were intelligent enough to understand him. He was running out of things to drink and had long since begun to starve. Death would come sooner or later, and he'd prefer not to die the slow death that dehydration promised. At least if they were to slay him, he wouldn't suffer too much. "I... I'll open the door. I'm an [Acolyte], but I'm low level and I don't have any damaging skills... Wanderer as my witness, I speak the truth. I will not attempt to harm you unless it is in self defense."
He reached into his robe and produced a key, pushing it into the lock and twisting. Thank The Wanderer this door locks from both sides. When he opened the door, he froze in shock. A skeleton was staring back at him. A... a horned skeleton. Blackened, small, pointed horns jutted from its skull, small fractures making the monster look older and more sinister than the ones behind it. Its eyes glowed with a cold intelligence and Memna found himself disagreeing with his previous thoughts. He'd rather starve.
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The man - the boy, really, considering he couldn't be older than 24 - gasped softly, his bronzed skin threatening to turn as white as her bones as his right hand went from stroking his braid in a self-soothing motion to reaching for the door. Instinctively, he attempted to slam it shut only for her to lodge her foot between it and the frame. The resulting pain was barely noticeable with all of her focus spent on not letting him shut her out. Prying the door open was a struggle. The boy was stronger than she felt a young priest had any right to be, and so she regarded him with interest. If she wanted to learn anything from him, though, she had to be less... physical, lest she end up with another corpse. But she couldn't let him lock her out so easily. Wrenching the door from his shaking hands, she watched him scramble backwards and leaned against the doorway with another soft sigh. Then, she extended a hand and moved her skeletal finger in a come-hither motion. The boy balked, turning towards the stairs, only for Esther to float up from the ground and block his path with a sadistic snicker. Finally, he gave in and walked up to her. "I... you're not trying to kill me, at least." He mumbled.
She nodded at him in acknowledgement, turning and walking up to the altar where she stood impatiently, still attempting to speak. "Ppp... reeeeeuhhh..." none of the sounds that she attempted to make came out right - the way that she instinctively understood human speech was almost completely incompatible with her current method of generating sound. Shaking her head, she turned to the priest and scanned him from head to toe.
Memna the Ajaxid - Level 5 Race: Human Class: Acolyte 5/10 Affinities: None Titles: Ajaxid Body Integrity: 86% Soul Integrity: 100%
Current Effects: Malnutrition
"What... are you?" Memna asked, his voice calmer and more stable. "I've never seen a skeleton that wasn't, well, feral. Nor have I ever seen... a highborn?" The Master simply took his hand in her own, bloodstained one - gently, she made sure, unwilling to kill another weak being by accident - and led him to the steps. Shuffling into the crypt, Memna's gaze skipped past the corpses of the chaka and straight to her own resting place. He wrinkled his nose at the scent - dried blood. It didn't surprise him that something - likely many things - had died here. "Her crypt is revealed. So, then, we succeeded in recalling her?" The Master paused, turning to him. What..? She pointed towards the glowing door, then back to herself.
"You... you're The Wanderer!? But you have horns... but..." Memna gasped loudly, dropping to his knees and prostrating himself before her. "We've done it! Finally, we've... I thought that we'd failed you. Those vermin, they attacked us... and I thought we'd never be able to call you back to us now, but you're here." Memna looked down at his bloodied palm, wiped it on his robe and clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry, I didn't recognise you in your... uh... weakened form. I... I don't know if anybody else in Wanderer's Rest is still alive, but Wanderer as my witness--" the boy froze, shaking his head. "I mean... with you as my witness," he corrected himself, "I... I will to do what I can to aid you. We all will, those of us who still live! We are your servants in this life and the next!" As the perplexed skeleton attempted to respond - what horns? - she was distracted by a notification.
Memna, Level 5 Acolyte, is pledging his allegiance to you.
[Accept] [Decline]