This whole situation about the elven boy standing in the middle of this arena was a problem. Murai minded him from the mere existence. Every foe and wave had some unique problem he had to solve or exploit, but one thing was a constant bother.
The boy.
He never moved once even when he took a hit and many cuts. Even when he shuddered and hid his pain, Murai felt it. Read it.
And he hated it, understandably. Ever far from helping him, it was something Murai found more than terrible. He had the itch to smack the boy himself dozens of times whenever there was an incoming foe that was coming at his head, but he didn't even flinch or try to escape. If a snail went for his throat, he would let him.
That was how terrible this was.
In the middle of this mess, he stood like a stick. A doll to be butchered. A fool to be destroyed for nothing but some rules and a broken spirit.
This Island felt wrong on so many levels, that Murai wished to change it in some way. It felt like something that was way out of his space. Like something that he could change, yet it was someone else who decided on the course of his act for him. The boy did, or the decision maker who created this whole Variant Island.
Murai wished to curse at Mindarch rather than this boy. But he had no chance to do so with all the fights and chances slipping by. Foes from the waves weren't listening or doing anything more than follow their set of rules and chances.
The boy was also following some weird principles that were more like excuses to force Murai over the edge. Perhaps metaphorically, or literary.
At least with the blood and pain, the boy was getting some color to his face, while the pain was even changing the voice of his soul. Murai could feel some tinges of changes or emotions. The boy was great at making sure to remain in a constant state of helpless idiotic state. He wanted to die, Murai figured.
And when the dozens of strikes from the past waves ended on his body, his face turned unsightly, as if living itself proved to be a bother and the End should come at him already.
But he didn't welcome it with gladness. He accepted it as a simple release. That much Murai could tell, albeit with little compassion left on him. Even if someone offered a sword down his throat, the boy wouldn't take that, but if it happened, it would be fine.
Murai hated this fucking hypocrisy. This whole situation felt wrong, so he didn't care for him and his life, even if he was his bodyguard. He had wings full of anticipated problems. Armondols proved to be quick and slender enemies, capable of damaging their target the best out of all waves because their speed and their respawn were quick.
Sometimes, there was more than one of them out of the portal because they either traveled around the edges of the arena, hoping to save time or escape Murai's Blades or flying Flame Shots. Thus, more of them appeared because he didn't kill them in time.
Murai fought more than 10 of them, succeeding in all kills that weren't as quick as he preferred. Now, with the bleeding boy behind him, he waited for another wave which he hoped would be the last. 5th wave should be the last, considering the time and stamina he had left in him.
Balance around the Islands was a topic he accepted. Lisa assured him that it should be fitting according to the balance Mindarch adhered to.
He wasn't sure how it all worked together with his balance, power, training, and new comprehension. Murai increased his power through many layers of training, figuring, and learning. Mindarch was only speaking of introductory things around the foes, rather than speaking how many were left.
It lacked details, while the introduction to the foes wasn't even that unclear to him. He didn't need it all the time. His memories could gift him his chances, while his power crashed them the same. Thus, Mindarch's voice was often unnecessary.
But the various notes about their aspects were a great way to show some exploits or details that adhered to this world and Mindarch's principles. Murai still heard and paid attention to every one of them to take the most chances he could.
And there it went. A glowing portal was creating yet another show, undulating light and delivering a shadowy figure. A distinct shine of an armored foe appeared from the portal, revealing a single foe that wasn't that big, but it was shiny, protected, and stronger than most of the foes from before.
The despair had arrived.
Murai shuddered. Not in fear or excitement, but the discomfort and misery that awaited him. The thing that walked forward was like a fortress for his sets of powers. A terrible enemy that went over his level more than a little bit.
He had fought it once and hated it to his bones. It was worse. This thing looked much sturdier than the last one, thanks to the armor that seemed way out of the line.
Undead Captain arrived, stepping and bones rattling around the 93rd Island.
[Well, well, well, if Citizen M isn't that lacking in skills and tries.] Mindarch humbly voiced. [Target is bleeding, but breathing still counts as living, albeit... well...]
Murai bent his head upwards, ushering such a look and angry face that Mindarch paused. He hadn't said a thing to him. His silent fury was more than evident.
[You've certainly done your job, so let's get to the last wave.] He said something he wasn't supposed to tell, but it provided good enough answers to ease some fury away.
[Undead Captain is a foe above the Undead Knight. You are currently close to reaching the peak of your current bracket of power. It all forms under my influence, so take it with a grain of your current prowess. It isn't wrong. Your last captain was met with your fury, but this Island is different. Equipment can change even fools from talents. For knights, it is their pride to become a captain, as it is a stage within the undead race!] Mindarch said cheerfully and with quite some power.
Murai didn't care for his tone, but his words were validating answers. He heard and hated how his first Undead Captain felt for the first time.
They ranged above Level 40 and closed at Level 70 when the end of their limiters showed their ends. The better they were, the higher level they had and the more power they held. In the simplest terms, they were much stronger knights. Usually, the boundary for an Undead Knight becoming an Undead Captain was Level 40. Sometimes, for those more potent and unique in variants, it was Level 50.
The lower threshold could be lower, but high ceilings were often impossible to overcome. It depended on how their evolution, power, and other aspects worked, or how their undead bodies or instincts acted in their Soul Flames.
All of these were important things for any undead, while Undead Captains weren't just depictions of human-based undead. Many other undead beasts and different races had different names, but they could be named a captain as well.
To see this thing once more, Murai feared this was a rather big headache for his current stamina.
By now, the whole arena was a butchered mess with blood and gore everywhere. Dozens of corpses were lying around, some still bled, but all were motionless.
[Undead Captain is your foe once again, while the premise stands and goes how it should. You are the bodyguard. Protect the boy!]
[Level: 43.]
[Path: Hound.]
[Notable powers: higher quality armor than usual, bigger threat in tactics because of highlighted instincts, and increased versatility poise as challenging attitude to get this Island going to a proper end.]
[A big notable forte for captains is their ability to shape their magic and work with their Path in significant quality. It is something that Knights can't do that well, as Paths are very limited because of their undead status and instinct. They can handle magic duels in great form, but the end of the flow depends on your tactics. If a captain is a martial artist, things are different.]
[This one has a clear Path against you in physical forms. Its Soul Flames are glowing under the armor to crack your tactics in half.]
[Beware.]
[Or gave up in sight of the wall that is before you!]
[Figth or stop in your futile tries.]
Murai expected to hear this obvious fact. The armor was looking stronger than normal for sure, while the Undead Captain was level 43! The biggest foe he had met so far.
Watching the incoming foe with quite some interest, Murai guarded the shuddering elven boy. It was certainly a bigger humanoid undead than knights, but perhaps it was because of the burly and shiny armor that made it look bigger.
He couldn't detect or figure out its basic bony appearance even when he pushed onward his Sonar. The armor was too thick and weird. Mindarch hadn't mentioned a thing about it besides a mere sneer-like comment.
At least 2 meters tall, the captain was a warrior-based captain with two hefty axes in each hand. It was a bit out of his perspective because the armor looked as if he was a Paladin or someone very keen on some kind of defensive Path. Undeads were usually weird about the Paths because of their instincts.
Sometimes, their Paths were barely recognizable. The stronger the undead were, the better they utilized their former Paths.
One thing was clear. This one was well past the threshold of Murai's balancing readings in its armor alone. Murai didn't like it for sure. Armors worked kind of great against his magic. And while the penetrating power of his beak wasn't that problematic even against powerful flesh, sturdy metals, or thick bones, it could still slide off of the powerful protections.
Out of his arsenal, the only thing that had some chance was his Peak or Blitz.
The captain itself was passable in its Path and its axes weren't as impressive as its armor that looked like an impenetrable fortress.
Armor was layered in detail and overlapped in plates at least 3 times with various forging techniques. It looked surprisingly seamless like plates of liquid. The pristine condition meant it was relatively new, and it didn't seem to be part of its Path in general. Path of a Hound was kind of... weird when seen on an undead.
Murai didn't hear much of it besides some warrior or primal races using it.
Armor was a tool. Most were well outside of everything, but most could be empowering to everything too. It depended on their use and how advantageous it all could be.
Murai knew why it got this, but didn't know how it was possible against him. Undead or not, the armor was his true enemy. After all, it seemed there wasn't even undead underneath the metallic seamless mass. He only noted shining Soul Flames underneath a sturdy helmet that didn't show the bones. It was hiding everything it could.
It looked heavy at least, giving the undead noticeable speed limitations and flexibility issues that he could exploit.
But if the captain went forward, stopping it might be harder than moving a flying fortress.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
Expectedly, there was the elven boy in its eyes that thinly gleamed underneath a thick helmet. There was a sinister aura all around the armor, giving the undead a notable power thanks to its maker and mark of the Mindarch.
This was the greatest undead Murai had the privilege to fight, but it was far from being the strongest he had seen. Thar or his toys behind his Welcoming Party were much better. Murai will gladly kill another Undead Captain. He met one just a single time above Island 70.
That one had significantly smaller armor with even lower quality. Level 39 Undead Captain was freshest and weakest or freshest possible, yet he didn't manage to kill it cleanly at all. Only by his tactics, use of his arsenal, and ploy that went for 10 whole minutes, did he manage to move past the armor to focus on each of its limbs, destroying them one by one before finishing it off.
Undead couldn't regenerate lost limbs unless their abilities or latent potential before being undead formed special powers. Vitality was one of the weakest aspects of any undead, unlike the living who cherished every last bit of this power to empower their flesh and blood.
Usually bloodless, undead were the kind of tools that had limited bloodline-related powers, which did pose a limit to their strength. But it was understandable because their mere existence was known to be unnatural.
Special undead with special instincts or Wills was well over the norm. Murai hadn't met a single one of these, and probably won't at all in his current limiting powers. He should be glad for that since when the good instincts and Will met the near undying body, it meant problems in various lengths.
It could be a struggle, but the lack of Vitality and living qualities often created some advantages. Caring less for wounds was one such thing.
Focusing on the weaknesses was always key to a victory. Their bony bodies were the only physicality left from the living.
What were the bones for most of these undead of past adventures, or mercenaries? They hid their essence, Bloodline left the flesh, and bones were the center of every living being. Sometimes, it can all fuse to form uniqueness.
It was their skeleton that protected the functions of what living or unliving things had to keep going. Organs were no longer in the picture, but some undead still might have them unless they were very old, shivered, or dried to the bones.
Blood, flesh, and organs were possible assets for most Undead, but not their priorities.
So what if nothing were visible?
Weaknesses disappeared or changed significantly when talent and levels went upward. And when the method or certain disparities were disproportional and weird, the only method of winning was to shatter the most feasible weakness or look for a way to uncover one.
Murai understood these tactics more than well. How this undead before his eyes acted, moved, and took care of his armor gave him many ideas. For once, it seemed unfamiliar with this big armor. Finding a weakness in it was thus the only source of strategy.
Succeeding meant uncovering a weakness, creating a domino effect that might lead to victory until the whole undead would crumble like a house made of cards.
There was a huge difference between knights and captains, even if their levels and talents weren't that far. At least this one was a big one with Level 43, while the one before was 38. That was a difference that seemed little at first, but the quality and power that captains followed had tougher principles and instincts. A complete novice was weak. Experience and instincts made fewer mistakes, and their skill with magic or weapons was much better.
In this case, Levels were no longer that relevant, or close to balance or sense.
Murai felt the creeping sense of levels and their balancing factors.
For example, if the Undead Knight of Level 33 clashed against him, he could fight with them even if there were 10 of them. Murai would crush them all without giving them a chance to see or hit his feathers. By use of Flame Shots, Blades, or Arrows, he would use distance. And even if they would storm his closer, he bet his Blitz would crack any undead below level 35 apart. Add the Peak, he was sure to be confident.
But a captain of Level 43 was way out of such an opportunity or fantasy. Its level was high; its armor was brutal.
Differences in a whole stage of evolution were vast. Murai realized that for the first time, albeit he knew their importance after slowly getting that idea from this Gate and Lisa's words between the Islands. Hell, he was also a perfect example of evolution. His Panacea, or finding footing with his evolved abilities changed his mind many times in this Gate.
Add to that equipment and Paths, each captain can have different ways to channel their powers and even learn new techniques. Of course, that depended on their instincts, desires, and how well their bodies held up their Soul Flames.
The desires of any undead usually depended on their makers or area of influence under their creation. Necromancers always mangled with them in many forms, while any natural undead was a different kind of problem altogether. Unchained undead were always a problem that could end powers and nations in hordes of undying slaughter.
But those weren't in this Gate, fortunately. Levandiss wouldn't take such a route to such a brute-forced Chaos. This place wouldn't take it anyway, and why not use some Order to set her armies in better concepts? As a Ruler of her Hell Haven, this idea wasn't foolish.
Murai would rather ignore such things, but knowing them wasn't a problem. Solving them was.
His foe held powerful sensations, which altered Murai's mind to pessimism.
“You little shit! Damned Mindarch! What is that armor you goose?” he cursed the sky but Mindarch was no longer interested in speaking. In seeking Murai's acts, he was.
Coming up with quick methods to make up for obvious differences in mass, strength, and power, was his current priority and test.
Murai improved himself since the last time he had fought the Undead Captain, but Mindarch upped the limits when Murai closed the distance to the upper bracket of his limits. It was reaching the tipping scale that Murai was allowed to enter, but it wasn't overflowing yet because of this unique Isle.
It won't overflow, probably. The end of this Gate was closing, and learning without Boosts had its limits, but not the ceiling.
That meant Murai's current abilities couldn't evolve on their own, and pushing him over the edge was a testament to the limits and his foes. This gate was a test for every soul that went here.
Murai realized that fact long ago. It constantly pissed him off, since the lack of Boosts meant a lack of power and change. But perhaps even if he did get them, it wouldn't change a thing. His improvements weren't ridiculous, while the Boosts would get rebalanced by stronger foes anyway.
Mindarch adhered to the proper balance after all, and comprehensive understanding was different than taking cheap gifts, so Murai chewed his anger down, knowing that lack of Boosts was an important aspect of this Gate.
He was making steady progress on his own. There was no mistake in his trials or something shabby in his tries. His abilities or limits mattered little when the growth and familiarity extended his soul and body.
But when Mindarch smashed these aside, so he never touched his comfort zone, it changed things considerably. Some differences mattered little if others changed them outside of his choices.
It wasn't all about strategies. Comprehending one's power always went out of the soul or out of talents. A power might be enough to crack these differences, but it wasn't reliable.
Murai was doing that for more than a few dozen Islands out of sheer spite and hope. A constant shift in strategies or his slowly understanding abilities went against the lack of Boosts, crashing his head that hoped for a change.
It was relatively forced, even though it worked well for him.
Murai had an idea of how helpful this all was because being dependent on outside influences was an interesting way to grow. Taking the easy way out of the hurdles of comprehension sounded wrong at first, but Boosts were that but weren't that either.
One had to comprehend what one got out of them or not, and the neat line between those who followed that, and those who didn't, weren't small at all. Lisa learned that ages ago, while Murai was starting to figure out how to go on with his own feet.
He wasn't mindful of it because he wanted to ignore it or follow the easy path ahead. His soul can influence this problem quite well, but sometimes, powers outside of his soul did matter.
Boosts were that because it influenced his power in all ways possible, and with cheap and neat tricks. Lisa never mentioned that, because she trusted Murai's incredible Will without any worries.
In this sense, he was doing well in this Gate that truly challenged all Challengers to the bone.
Murai had no issue with that in mind, but he hated the principles that twisted his mind and cracked his current body. He followed this Gate for days already, which made him frustrated. The issue was the difficulties that went out of his wings.
The elven boy behind his back was the perfect example to piss and crash the thin line of his patience and soul. He made this Island difficult outside of his influence. And right now, this was no longer about him and him alone, because the problematic Undead Captain arrived to crack this Isle apart.
Killing and protecting were different things, so Murai couldn't disregard the boy or the undead. However, the Undead Captain can disregard him without any issue.
It was a tough reality that Murai found sour.
He was at no crossroads of choice. It was either accept the stubbornness and the reality, or... There was no choice but to somehow protect the boy well. He would do that by challenging the undead alongside his stubbornness.
Murai was already before this clueless bitter boy, standing around 10 meters across the approaching Undead Captain.
Unlike the one before, this one held one-handed axes in each hand that were way overkill for the boy or a duck. They weren't the true problem, however, because their quality was lacking when the bones were hiding behind a literal fortress.
Not a speck of bone was visible, which was the same thing as the previous captain. Thick and better quality metal shined and its steps were heavy and slow.
Back then, he had time to crack that captain apart by focusing on the armor pieces before focusing on the limbs and bones. Not protecting some dull elf helped a lot in that as well.
“Well, here I go again... Onto a silly battle that doesn't concern me even 1%!” Murai grunted an excuse, thinking about how to solve this captain when everything looked much worse than ever before.
Looking around, he was looking for a way out of trouble with those axes. Armor was another thing. He could probably deflect those weapons with his barrage of Blades, similar to how he had done so numerous times with enough mass of mana.
But that armor was thick and who knew what mass it held in total? It should be capable of enduring his Peak for sure, but that was a guess because Murai couldn't figure it out by his Sonar alone.
He flared it twice just to be sure, but it got washed out without clarifying a thing. There were almost no clear edges of its plates, making the overlapping tight and he wasn't even sure about its material.
Imposing was the sole word he could think of.
Coming up with ideas was a good start, but before he had more time, the captain slapped its axes against one another, exploding nothing but the air and letting sound echo far. Then, it began walking onward quicker and its Soul Flames blazed. It had no shield, unlike the starting undead wave, yet its defense was far higher.
Murai trembled in anger and lacked time.
Unlike before this wave, he faked how calm he was because Level 43 was a clear problem that was hard to tame. And it acted first, even though it moved much slower than Minoxar.
Brandishing the long axes forward, they were ready to chop some necks. Captain was unafraid of any attacks as its armor advantage was more than clear in its instincts.
Murai realized the biggest problem with a simple swipe of a quick Blade. It swayed quickly, clashing with its tip towards the helmet. Mana splattered without making a dent.
Going through this thick armor wasn't possible for his magical capabilities, which hurt his pride. Now, he needed to look and test other things first because giving up completely wasn't an option.
Had he time for that? Perhaps. It depended on how the boy behind his back would fare and how this damned fortress will take his beak.
It took time to come to some realizations. A time that he didn't have.
4 seconds of channeling his Peak would do the first poke toward better answers, but this time, it was dangerous. The boy may not outlive the approaching captain who was closing every second. He had to stop the fortress.
So without much choice, Murai did the obvious thing: charge forwards to intercept this damned undead before that axe arrived sooner.
His beak glowed in a colorful glint of mana, and out of desperation, it wasn't the only thing. A pair of Blades followed behind his steps, acting as poking sticks meant for touches or helping tools, rather than poising as dangerous weapons.
With his magic being not enough, its utility was still unrestricted. Perhaps some quality metallic weapon would do a better job, but expecting a duck to wield it was absurd.
He flung his Blades first to distract the captain in its step by clashing its legs. Another swing went for the back of its head. The second cracked rather than exploded, thanks to the amount of mana and general Shaping he used. It slid off the helmet to the shoulders. It was in one piece for a moment before disintegrating under a crashing axe. The first one didn't make much change. Captain kicked it aside as if it was a fly.
Murai was using what he could, so he had no regrets besides assuming Mindarch to be someone fair. There was nothing into it, or so some might say. All he had to do was to find the way into the armor and the undead would crumble in time.
Time?
He had another worry to think about. What if too much time passed and another Undead Captain emerged from the portal? That was like a death wish that he didn't want to try as he did with the Armondolds, or Lizards for once.
In these waves, he could not finish one in time and a minute later, another appeared from the portal.
It was as Mindarch said. There were time limitations that he had to consider. Not only the boy, which made this Island ruthless.
But this time, it wasn't about toying with Lizards or insane vampiric Armondolds. His control was not in his wings.
Undead Captain swung its arms, crashing against the last Blade that went against his legs again to test its balance. It was a good idea, which might not be wrong, considering it purposefully chose to crack it aside.
This will be the starting weakness that Murai hoped for. It should give some answers he hadn't gotten with Sonar. Its feet were weak, or the balance was?
He needed a peaceful mind to control too many Shaped-up objects. Too many would make it a bit hard. The fewer Blades the better control and power.
So, he decided on the poorest and most questionable idea he ever had. He gave up overthinking this Island or whether another captain would emerge or not. Overflowing his mana space and Conjuring to a maximum, he Shaped dozens of thick blades forward, attacking the captain, who crossed the axes in a defensive stance, swirling them while enduring most of them with its armor.
It wasn't fast with the axes, thanks to the burly nature of the armor. It was around the skill level of the past captain for sure, but all because of the weight it carried.
Still, the axes crashed his Blades, causing the axes to at least shift to a good angle. Murai launched himself from the ground, hitting the wooden handle of one axe with his Peak, leaving no cracks in the process because the Captain changed its grip, deflecting the majority of his Peak's strength with the other axe.
Murai wasn't over yet. His many Blades swirled above him, sending a few slashes past his body to go around, attacking the captain's side and legs. Before that happened, it shoved Murai aside like a fly, hitting his beak with the edge of an axe. A metallic sound echoed, but neither won this clash.
Protected by the ongoing Peak, Murai felt his neck straining and Peak lost its effectiveness.
Murai lost this clash in a flash and endured immediate backlash.
He felt the difference in a massive gap of strength.