The giant Yooperlite stone hanging from the ceiling was starting to dim as Liam stepped out from the Mage Tower.
He was happy with the new magic he had gotten. Not only that, but he was adjusting to his new senses just like Nabal had told him.
He also couldn’t wait for that Potion Belt Alicia’s teammate Kenny was going to make for him. It would be very useful compared to having to look for the items through his inventory each time.
His new daggers were a huge upgrade as well. He couldn’t wait till he was able to have them out in the open without worry. The same for his Black Widow Throwing daggers and the toxins for them. All of these were needed more than he understood before.
Thinking about upgrades on his weapons reminded him what else he needed to upgrade.
He looked at the direction he was going towards and saw small crowds of people hanging around or walking away from the portals.
I need to get better armor. Liam thought. If I were to believe Jude then I should be able to get some new armor from the first floor boss.
Liam thought about his last encounter with the boss of the first floor. At the time Liam didn’t have any magic nor was his stats helpful. Now that a few weeks had passed, he felt like he could at least be a better challenge for the boss monster.
Not only that, he had some abilities he needed to test in the field to see how they work.
As Liam approached the portal he thought to himself, I may be stronger than I was last time, but that creature probably is too. Remember, don’t get too cocky, focus, and keep your head on straight.
Liam took a deep breath in and slowly released it as he brought the Dungeon Portal Display up.
He clicked on the first floor and read a red warning that appeared.
“Warning! Monsters on this floor are stronger due to progression of the dungeon. Would you still like to proceed to the 1st floor of Graveyard of the Forgotten Realm? Yes No?”
Liam mentally clicked on yes, making the message disappear and allowing him to step through into the portal.
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As Liam stepped out of the portal he heard a chime sound echo in his mind.
He smiled thinking that he had some good luck that he didn’t… Before he could finish the thought process, his stomach lurched and shot some liquid up and out his mouth.
After he recomposed himself, he groaned while taking a water bottle out, “Upchuck Roulette strikes again.”
He took a swig and swished the contents around and then spit it out.
After Liam released his mouth of the awful taste he looked down the familiar hallway he had entered his first day coming to this world.
The stoney floor, white walls and red carpet were the same as he remembered them to be. Even the statues hadn’t changed.
He let out a breath and thought to himself, I wonder how much the boss monster has changed. I know it won’t be easy, but I hope I can do much better than I did last time.
After thinking this he was about to take a step, but then came up with an idea.
Let’s see how well Veil of Shadows works against the boss. If I cast it now I’ll regenerate the missing mana before I enter the room.
Liam closed his eyes and began to call upon the shadows in the room to surround him.
After a moment had passed the shadows that danced around the hall swirled around him from feet to head, covering him up and making him slightly invisible.
Since the ability wasn’t too high in level it didn’t completely make him invisible. Instead, it made him look like a shadow on the wall or the ground, depending on where he stood.
When he was satisfied, he crouched down and started to slowly make his way to the door on the other end of the room.
Once when he got to the door, he opened it as slowly as he could and peeked inside.
The room hadn’t changed in here either. The pews sat in the same spot and same with the instruments. The paintings were still void of any pictures and hung on the deep black walls along with the Yooperlite stones.
The only thing that was different from his last visit was the damage his fight had caused was fixed.
I guess you can think of it as a refresh? Liam thought as he tried to figure out why the damage was fixed. That’s the only thing I can think of since I can fight the boss again.
Liam snuck inside the room and slowly closed the door behind him. As he turned around he stared at the podium that sat at the top of the stairs. He knew the boss would appear there and was waiting to see if he would appear even though he was cloaked in shadows.
He took a step forward towards the first set of pews.
As he did this, the same eerie angelic sound that the harps played started up, but this time the violins and acoustic guitar-looking instruments joined in.
That’s not ominous at all. Liam thought as he watched the familiar boss who gave him such a hard time on his first day start to rise from behind the podium.
His ripped and ragged black and red church robe was no longer in tatters. It was now in pristine condition. The creature wore the same biretta hat sitting on top of its head. Other than that, the creature was still all bones.
Liam assessed it to see the increase in changes.
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“Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$. 200/200 HP. 300/300 MP.”
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Looks like the name changed along with its health and mana. Liam thought then clicked his tongue. An increase from seventy-five health to two hundred and from two hundred mana to three hundred is no joke though.
The Undead Priest turned its head and scanned the room. It looked confused as it started to move around to investigate.
So, you can’t see me? That’s some good news there. Liam thought but then frowned as he slowly started to move away from the creature. It looks like you’re no longer rooted to the ground though. I’m going to have to be careful now when I attack. Should I attack from afar?
Liam looked at his set of Throwing Bone Daggers of The Black Widow Matriarch he had strapped in his throwing dagger holster. He didn’t coat them in any of the toxins he had because he had a feeling they wouldn’t do anything. He was hoping that once when he got to necrotic types of toxins they would be helpful against this type of monster, but he wasn’t close to it yet.
Liam slowly moved to his left and stopped at the edge of the pew in the back.
The Undead Priest was in the front row and at the far end of the pew with its back facing him.
He pulled out two of his throwing daggers, slowly took a deep breath in, aimed, released it, and threw the daggers.
As the daggers left his hands, the shadows that covered him dispersed.
He quickly ducked without waiting to see if the daggers hit.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
He called the shadows back on him and duck walked to the right side of the room where the other pew was.
A notification appeared as he started to duck walk away from his position.
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“Throwing Bone Dagger of The Black Widow Matriarch has successfully hit Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ for 15 damage.”
“Throwing Bone Dagger of The Black Widow Matriarch has successfully hit Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ for 20 damage.”
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Starting off strong. Liam smiled as he made it to the pew on the right side of the room.
As he made it over to the pew, a small explosion suddenly hit the side he was once at.
Liam’s head swiveled to see the spot where he threw his daggers and saw the pew was nothing more than chunks of wood.
Jesus! The magic power has increased as well! Liam thought.
He dared a peek over the top when he arrived at the other end of the pew and saw the Undead Priest floating over to the spot he had attacked.
Once more the back of its head was facing him.
Okay, again. Liam thought as he threw his daggers again, crouched, used Veil of Shadows, and started to duck walk towards the front room.
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“Throwing Bone Dagger of The Black Widow Matriarch has successfully hit Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ for 15 damage.”
“Throwing Bone Dagger of The Black Widow Matriarch has successfully hit Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ for 15 damage.”
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Liam grinned as he read the notifications while making his way to the front.
That grin of his disappeared though as the explosion that hit the last spot he was at sent a shockwave with enough force to send him flying towards the two steps in front of him.
As he crashed into the steps, the shadows that was covering him disappeared, revealing his location to the Undead Priest.
Liam groaned as he got back to his feet. Before he could complain, his danger sense buzzed throughout the front of his body. He dove forward without thinking and came to his feet.
He didn’t stop as he made his way to the other side of the room. He glance over to see the hand of The Undead Priest moving quicker than his last visit.
Liam pulled out two of his throwing daggers and threw them at the Boss monster.
Without any effort, the creature floated to the left to dodge the daggers.
“You crafty son of a bitch,” Liam muttered as he slid to a stop.
The Undead Priest released the orb it had formed at Liam.
Liam changed his direction and started to sprint away from that spot.
As the orb hit the floor, an explosion took its place. The floor and its surrounding area became a mix of broken pieces of wood and stone.
Liam threw two more daggers at the creature.
The Undead Priest dodged one, but as it moved to dodge the first the second collided against its head.
“Throwing Bone Dagger of The Black Widow Matriarch has successfully hit Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ for 25 damage.”
“Ok, let’s try this spell out while I have a second,” Liam muttered as he pulled his Shadow Blade of the Lunarian and Moon Blade of the Lunarian out.
As Liam did this, the Undead Priest faced him, lifted a finger towards him, and started to cast a spell.
He pointed his Shadow blade at the Undead Priest and started chanting, “Shadows coalescing all around. Head my call and come forth.” The shadows around Liam quivered and raced up his leg towards the blade. “Manifest physically into a circular form of destruction.” A raven black orb started to form on the tip of the blade. “Release from the forms you’re attached to and shoot forward, Shadow Orb!”
The Shadow Orb flew from the dagger and towards the Undead Priest.
A moment after it launched, the Undead Priest released his orb. He was too slow as Liam’s Shadow Orb collided into the orb the Undead Priest had launched right in front of him.
Both orbs exploded from contact and created a dark explosion.
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“Shadow orb has successfully hit Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ for 36 damage.”
“Note: Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ has taken an extra 40 damage due to Shadow orb colliding with Orb of Destruction and making spell detonate in front of user.”
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“Fuck yeah!” Liam shouted with a cheer.
That cheer quickly disappeared as his danger sense buzzed louder than earlier across his entire front side of his body.
Before Liam could respond, a blackish-purple wave exploded out from the Undead Priest within the dust cloud making it disappear.
The shockwave of the attack sent Liam flying backwards into the wall without any chance to resist it.
“Ow,” Liam groaned. “I completely forgot about that ability of his.”
Liam stared at the creature that was humming with power. Its once repaired and pristine robe had become ripped and ragged again revealing parts of its bones. This revealed the white bones were suddenly starting to darken to a pitch black color.
A black and purple smoke started to float off of its bones. The smoke floated in four directions around its head and formed black orbs with purple wisps of smoke coming off of them.
That’s weird. I remember orbs being made, but not like this. Liam thought as he turned to the right following the wall. I wonder what element that is?
He activated his Mana Sight and was confused.
As he stared at the orbs forming he couldn’t see any color within the mana. It was transparent almost void of any color.
What the hell is that about? Liam thought as he watched the Undead Priest look straight at Liam.
Two of the orbs hummed as they started charging up.
“What?! But I’m not standing up this time!” Liam protested as he scrambled to his feet and ran to his right.
Two beams shot out from the orbs and crashed into the spot Liam was.
Liam watched to see what kind of damage it would make, but was confused as the dust and debris that was there was suddenly sucked into a small orb that had formed in that spot.
“What the hell is that?!” Liam shouted. “That debris was way too big to fit into that orb. How in the…”
Liam’s protests were cut short as he felt his Danger Sense buzz again. He slid to halt and turned back around to dodge another couple of beams.
Once again the area it has hit created a small orb that sucked in anything that was in a two foot radius.
I can’t be hit with that or its game over. Liam thought as he felt his body start to tense up.
He looked at his stamina bar and noticed he had twenty-five percent of his stamina left.
I need to do something. Create a diversion or something so I can stop running around. Liam thought to himself.
As he went over ideas and plans he had created, he finally came to one.
A grin formed as he muttered, “It’ll be a gamble. I’m not sure if it would work, but now’s the best chance to test it out.”
Liam changed the direction he was going, to one that lead him directly to the boss monster.
He jumped forward into a roll to dodge the two beams that shot out from two of the four orbs.
The beams barely missed him as he dodged them. While rolling back to his feet, he pulled out a small vial full of tannish murky liquid.
As soon as he was within arms reach, Liam tossed the vial at the creature’s face.
The Undead Priest swung one of its blacked hands at Liam but missed as Liam suddenly disappeared from its line of sight.
Instead of hitting air though, the skeleton’s hand shattered the thin glass vial allowing the contents to splash against its face, robe, and bones.
Confused on what happened, the Undead Priest looked to its left then to its right.
Liam was nowhere to be seen.
Then it heard Liam start to chant.
“Come forth heat of flames and burn the pyre I set before you.”
The Undead Priest turned around to see Liam right in front of it.
It was too slow to react as Liam finished chanting, “Become the tool that will help in my endeavor. Light and burn!”
A flame the size of a baseball appeared on Liam’s palm. He then threw it at the creature and watched as it lit the Undead Priest on fire.
The Boss monster stepped back and started flailing its arms around. The black orbs hovering around its head moved along with it and started shooting out without aim.
Step one complete. Liam thought. Now step two.
Liam jumped back and stood at the top of the stairs before pointing his dagger at the creature and started to chant, “O Gravity, powerful and dangerous. Condense into a single spot and hinder my enemies’ movements. Pull to you with the force you have been known to have and keep any and everything that tries to escape. Gravity Well!”
A dark purplish orb suddenly appeared at the tip of Liam’s dagger. Once when it reached the size of a basketball, Liam brought his hand back and with a clean flick of the wrist, shot the orb to the Undead Priest’s right.
As soon as it got within a certain amount of distance of the creature, the orb stopped in place and started to pull everything around it closer to the orb.
Gravity Well was a new Gravity spell Liam had received once when he got to level ten in the Focus Point. It creates an orb the size of a basketball that pulls everything within a ten foot radius. It has a cooldown of one minute with a mana cost of fifteen.
The Undead Priest tried to move to the left, but failed as its body was pulled closer to the orb.
The beams that shot out of the orbs stopped shooting as the creature’s head faced up.
It let out a shriek of frustration and pain, that Liam was unsure where it came from.
Liam watched as notifications pop up as the creature continued to be burn from his crafting spell.
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“Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ burns for 5 damage from Light and Burn.”
“Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ burns for 5 damage from Light and Burn.”
“Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ burns for 5 damage from Light and Burn.”
“Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ burns for 5 damage from Light and Burn.”
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Liam assessed the creature.
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“Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$. 30/200 HP 80/300 MP.”
“Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$ burns for 5 damage from Light and Burn.”
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“If I let it be it’ll die out on its own, but I want try one more spell on it,” Liam muttered as he breathed in heavily.
He pointed his Moon Blade dagger at the Undead Priest and chanted, “O Moon, majestic and beautiful. I call upon thee to show how painful you can be.” A small black orb appeared in front of Liam.
As it slowly grew a pale light suddenly shone down over Liam.
The light started to soak into the orb changing the color from black to a pale white. “Bestow this orb with your radiance and allow it to fly true. Lunar Orb!”
Once when all of the pale light was sucked into the orb, the object flew towards the Undead Priest and crashed against its chest.
As soon as the orb hit, the Undead Priest was suddenly engulfed in a pale white light. Liam watched as the light engulfed the Undead Priest allowing him to only see the shadow of the creature within.
After five seconds had passed the light dissipated leaving nothing in its wake.
The gravity well’s effect stopped as the spell disappeared as well.
A fanfare rang throughout Liam’s mind as a notification appeared.
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“Congratulations! You have defeated Undead Priest of %$#@ %$#@$.”
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“Holy shit,” Liam whispered as he stared at the spot where the creature once stood.