Wraith woke up with a crick in his neck. A hard stone floor was not exactly the most comfortable place to sleep on.
Sleeping on a hard surface did not give a restful sleep. -15 AGI for 2 hours.
He looked through the window and saw that the sun was high in the air. It appeared that it was around noon. Before he went to Calder, he decided to take stock of what he had gained from the hunting quest.
It had been a worthwhile trek for him and his pack. Everyone had gained a few levels, Sarin and Vangar especially. As proof, they were now considerably bigger than the wolves at Serabourg. “Stat window: Sarin.”
Status WindowNameSarinAlignmentWildLevel21ClassPack-WolfTitleNoneReputation0Health320Mana130Strength73Agility119Stamina140Wisdom8Intellect12Luck0Leadership0Attack35-42Defence12Magic ResistanceFire0%Water0%Earth20%Black Magic0%
* All stats increase by 50% at night
* NPCs might be openly hostile
* Can revive from death but with significant penalties
* Relationship with other wolves at maximum
* Will not be attacked by werewolves unless provoked
* Can understand the speech of other monsters
* Prohibited from using any form of weaponry
* Can spontaneously learn skills not available for other wolves
“Stat window: Vangar.”
Status WindowNameVangarAlignmentWildLevel23ClassPack-WolfTitleNoneReputation0Health375Mana170Strength81Agility114Stamina137Wisdom11Intellect10Luck0Leadership0Attack39-48Defence14Magic ResistanceFire0%Water0%Earth20%Black Magic0%
* All stats increase by 50% at night
* NPCs might be openly hostile
* Can revive from death but with significant penalties
* Relationship with other wolves at maximum
* Will not be attacked by werewolves unless provoked
* Can understand the speech of other monsters
* Prohibited from using any form of weaponry
* Can spontaneously learn skills not available for other wolves
His pack was progressing nicely. They hadn't learnt any new skills yet, but Wraith had a feeling that they were close to doing so. It seemed that unlike players and other NPCs, their stat points were automatically allocated upon leveling up.
Although they had more than doubled in strength since he first met them, they were still lacking. He needed to train them more so that they could put up a good fight if and when they came with him. He still didn't know if they would be summoned alongside him when he was teleported away for the test, but there was no harm in preparing anyway.
He himself had made great gains for his character. He was still pretty weak level-wise, but with his overly-inflated stats he was easily on par with a level 100 warrior. It was a sort of compensation for the weaknesses in his class. In return for being hated and feared by the other races in the land, he had gained great strength instead.
While his stats were progressing nicely, now that he had decided to put the stats he gained from levelling up into agility and strength. Those were the two most important stats that he had. Speed was paramount for him, so he placed three out of five of his unassigned stat points into agility and two into strength.
He knew that Calder would be waiting for him, so he decided to go to him to finish the quest. Sarin and Vangar slowly woke up and went with him. He didn't know if Calder would be at the training area or somewhere else, so he went to Fenella to find out.
He saw that she was sitting at a table, writing in a book with a cup of tea placed beside her. “Um, Mother.” He was still getting used to calling her by that. “Do you know where Calder would be at this time?”
“He should be home. It's the building to the left of the training area.”
“Ah, thank you.” He quickly made his way through the streets and into Calder's house. He was sitting and eating a meal when he walked through the open door.
Calder looked up, surprised to see him. “What's up? Did you decide to bail on the quest?”
“No, I've finished”
“Already? I was sure it would have taken you another day or so.” Calder seemed pleased with his speed. After all, clearing out a group of forty people with three fighters would usually take many skirmishes.
“Did I need to bring back something to prove their death? Because I have the loot they left behind.”
“I trust you, so you don't need to worry about that.”
Quest Complete!
Punishing the Poachers
Although they slaughtered hundreds of creatures for no good reason, they were quickly put down before they could do serious damage to the local ecosystem.
Level up!
Level up!
With the two levels he gained from the quest, he was now at level forty-three. “So is there anything else you need me to do?”
“Sorry, we haven't received any requests. You're going to have to find something else to do.”
Since there was nothing more he could do for Calder, he went back home. Upon arriving, he saw Fenella talking with Daciana. He hadn't seen her since he first got to Jorenheim, so he was understandably surprised. It seemed that she was stunned at his appearance, just like everyone else he had met.
“Wraith, I'm glad you're back so soon. I'm afraid I need to go away for a while. A tribe of lizardmen have been afflicted with a strong curse and they need me to go and help them.” Since Fenella was the most powerful priestess, the curse must have been quite powerful to call for her service.
“Do you need me to go with you?” Although she was powerful, removing a major curse would leave her vulnerable.
“Daciana will accompany me so there's no need to worry. However, there's a slight chance that it'll take longer than a few days. I might not be back till after you have gone. That's why I made you this. It has the skills I intended on teaching you personally.”
“Well let me just say something if I don't see you before I leave.” He took a deep breath before speaking. “Thank you for everything you've done for me. What you've given me can't be repaid easily, but I'll do whatever I can to make it up to you. In such a short amount of time, you've become very important to me. You mean more to me than I thought you would.” He said this nervously, stumbling over some of the more embarrassing parts.
She came forward and wrapped her arms around him. It was a long hug, filled with all the feelings she held towards him. When she let go, she smiled tenderly at him, eyes filled with warmth and love. “When your test is over, perhaps you can spend some time relaxing with me.”
“I'd like that.” Having said all he needed to, he bid her farewell and watched her leave through a portal.
After he saw Fenella and Daciana leave, he let Sarin and Vangar go out to run and play by themselves. Instead of fighting, he decided to work on his alchemy and his tailoring. He had three hundred seventy-eight animal pelts and hides in total. He also had eighty-three basic fabrics and cloth. With that much material he could vastly improve his tailoring.
For alchemy he had hundreds of bones, plants, and even minerals that he had collected from the settlement. He decided to work on his alchemy first, so he went about grinding the bones down based on the animal. Or at least, he tried to grind it down. The mortar and pestle he had were too small for the job.
He decided to go to Tahlia's to purchase some equipment. He only had a few vials for his potions anyway. When he stepped inside Tahlia's shop, he wasn't sure how he would be received. Since Tahlia said that she had given him all the instructions that he needed, he didn't know if she would be mad at him for coming back.
It seemed that he didn't have to worry about that, since she greeted him cordially. “You're back. So did alchemy become so difficult that you had to come to me for advice?”
“Not yet it hasn't. I just came for equipment and materials. I need a better mortar and pestle, and a couple of vials too.”
“Okay, just tell me what you have so far.” He opened his backpack and showed her the ten empty vials, the basic mortar and pestle and the pot he used to brew his potions in. She took one look at it and immediately threw them all out.
“What are you doing?!” He was seriously pissed off that she would toss all his equipment away.
“Listen,” she said with a severe expression. “Alchemy is both an art and a science. If you use shoddy tools, you're doing yourself and your craft a disservice.” She sighed and shook her head. “When I let you go I thought you already knew the basics. Wait right here.”
She went behind the curtain. He could hear rattling and clinking as she gathered things from the back room. When she came out, she had a large box in her hands. “Here are a proper set of vials. There are fifty of them in total. I've also included some glassware that you'll need in the future. There's a mortar and pestle that has been magically enhanced, as well as a proper cast-iron cauldron. You could also use it for cooking.”
“That looks pretty expensive.”
“That's because it is expensive. Normally I'd ask for twenty gold, but since you are my apprentice, I'll give it to you at half price.”
“I can't thank you enough for this.” Though she was sour and kind of snooty, Wraith was touched that she could be so generous.
She harrumphed and then slid a book towards him. “This will make your life a little easier. It's a comprehensive book of alchemy. Most of it is your basic potion-making, but there's a small chapter on transmutation.”
Grateful for the gifts that she gave him he thanked her profusely. Of course she just snorted and waved him away.
When he got home, he put those gifts to work. Within fifteen minutes he had ground up all the bones into powder and sorted them based on the animal it came from. He mixed each type of bone with water and then drank it.
It didn't taste that bad. It actually had a meaty flavour. Now, it wasn't something he loved to drink, but he could tolerate it. At first he wasn't sure if it would work. The identification skill could only give a small amount of information, and that tended to be for finished products. The herbology skill was more detailed for crafting items, but that was only for plants and it didn't give specific knowledge on the use in potions. Still, Tahlia did hint at them helping him identify the value of alchemical reagents.
Learned True Insight sub-skill of Identification
“Information: True Insight.”
True Insight
A sub-skill of the Identification skill, which con only be learnt if Alchemical Transmutation and the Herbology skill have already been acquired. Requires leveling the Identification skill to beginner level 5 to raise the skill level beyond Intermediate 1. Requires leveling the Identification skill to Intermediate level 1 to master the skill. Beginner skill levels allow for insight into making tier three and lower potions. Intermediate levels allow for insight into making tier two potions and materials. Mastering the skill gives complete insight including for rare and unique creations.
This was a very useful skill for him. Even though Tahlia sent him with little to no information, without this skill he would likely have been bumbling around without making much progress. Since it was a sub-skill it would require much less experience to level up, but its dependency on the Identification skill meant that he would have to level that up first.
The first thing he did was to use True Insight on every single bone, pelt, plant and mineral that he had. Several types of materials did not have value in alchemy, but he did find out that the ground bone had varying effects on Hp and strength. They were by far one of the more common materials, which explained why they could only make basic potions.
I could start making potions right now, but with my level of skill I wouldn't be able to use all the materials properly. What he decided to do was to save up the tier two and higher materials until he had leveled up his skills, and used up the materials that could only be used to create tier three potions immediately.
By doing this he ended up with fifty potions that would restore health as well as give a temporary boost to strength. By the end of all this, he had raised his Alchemical Transmutation skill to level 3, his Herbology skill to level four, his True Insight skill to level 5 and had made some gains in the Identification skill as well.
He was making good progress on his alchemical-related skills, so he decided to shift focus to tailoring. He separated the materials based on their quality. He took the basic cloth and fur first and started to sew shirts and pants.
Worn-out Cotton Shirt
Durability: 2/5
Defense: 1
A shirt made from the lowest quality material by an unskilled tailor. Prone to spontaneously falling apart at the seams.
-10 Attractiveness
Torn Pants
Durability: 2/5
Defense: 1
Pants made from the lowest quality material by an unskilled tailor. Better suited as a dishrag.
-10 Attractiveness
They may not have been suitable for wearing, but they did give him experience in the skill. He kept making low-quality clothes for hours. By sundown, he had created several dozen different items of clothing, all made from cheap, low-quality wool or cotton. Not even a beginner would want to wear them. He did however raise his skill level to level three.
He had a little time left, so he went to the general store to sell them off. A short, slightly pudgy man was sweeping the floor with a broom. He wore glasses and had a kind, but plain face. When he saw Wraith he started. He stammered out a greeting. “H-hello, we-we're going to close up soon.”
“That's fine, I'm just here to sell some of my items.” The shopkeeper went behind the counter while Wraith piled a mountain of clothes on it.
“U-um, for this I can only give you t-ten silvers.” He squeaked out that last part, as if afraid that Wraith would harm him for not giving more money than that. While he did want to sell the items for a higher price, Wraith knew that his skill had degraded the quality of the items. If had just sold the materials by itself, he could have gotten two or three times that. Wraith sighed to himself, Tailoring is an expensive skill to learn.
“That's fine, do you buy potions too?”
“Y-yes we do, what do you have?” Wraith placed thirty of his health and strength potions before the shopkeeper. His eyes lit up when he saw what the potions could do. “These potions are incredible, they must have been made from troll blood. I'll pay twenty gold for the bunch.” His excitement overrode his earlier fear.
Because of Wraith's special alchemical skills, he could make better potions with lower-quality materials than other alchemists. What the shopkeeper thought was made from ice troll blood was actually a concoction of ground up bones and plants.
Wraith walked out of the store with a considerably lighter pack and more money in his pocket. He walked home and then promptly fell asleep. Sarin and Vangar were by his side, tuckered out from playing.
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The next morning Wraith decided to go hunting. Alchemy and tailoring was all well and good, but it couldn't give him the rush of euphoria that he only got from running his prey into the ground and ending their life.
He headed over to see Calder first. As expected, he was performing his daily routines. When Calder took a break from practising, Wraith headed towards him to ask about good hunting areas.
“A lot of the monsters in our realm are stronger than usual. There is one place you could go, but it wouldn't be easy.”
“That's fine. An easy victory is an empty victory.” After listening to Calder's directions, he left the city, Sarin and Vangar in tow.
It took a bit of walking, but after an hour, they were able to make it to an arid field. Unlike the loose sand he saw before, the area he was in had packed dirt, with some dry grass sprouting out. In the middle of the field was a giant snake. It was easily ten metres long, and as thick as a log. Unlike typical snakes, its head was more like a dragon's. Filled with long, sharp teeth and such big brown scales, it was a fearsome enemy.
Since it was a snake, there was the chance of it spitting poison. As such, he ordered Sarin and Vangar to circle around and avoid the head. Seeing Wraith and his pack, the serpent hissed menacingly. They were only about four metres away from it when the serpent raised its head up two metres from the ground.
Making the first move, Wraith dashed forwards. The serpent struck as well, its giant head rocketing forwards to swallow Wraith up.
With his high agility, Wraith was able to duck beneath the open jaws and give it a strong uppercut. The force of the blow slammed the lower jaw against the upper and threw the head back. The wolves didn't stand around, but instead bit and clawed at it.
It wasn't an easy opponent to have. Because of its scales, Wraith and his pack's teeth and claws couldn't penetrate it. Instead they danced around it, the wolves distracting and dragging its attention away while Wraith took each opportunity to pummel it with his arms and legs.
They had learned that the snake did indeed have poison. It was highly toxic and corrosive, eating away the flesh. Wraith only got a drop of it on his skin, but it took away ten percent of his health. This is getting too dangerous.
Wraith needed to find another advantage over the beast. When he dodged the next strike, he used his claws. He may not have been able to pierce the flesh, but there were no scales covering the eyes.
Unprotected, the eyes were slashed apart. The serpent whined shrilly at the pain of being blinded. Wraith smiled to himself. This here is its weakness. Each time he got in range, he put his fingers together and stabbed right into the eye socket. Blood coated his arm and the serpent's head, but he kept at it. He wrapped his legs around its neck and sat behind its head.
He was slammed into the ground repeatedly, but he didn't let up on his attack. He kept stabbing at its eyes, gouging out flesh until he reached the small reptilian brain. After several thrusts, it shuddered and then lay still. With the serpent dead, Wraith let out a breath of relief.
Level Up!
He didn't waste any time as he set out to skin the monster. He couldn't use his claws, so he brought out a hunting knife. It was far sharper and more durable, so it was able to pierce the skin. It took a few minutes, but he got all the skin off. He then carved into the head. He took out all the fangs, and then cut around searching for the poison sac. When he found it, he cut it out gently and put it in a large glass jar.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
You have learned the Skinning and Butchering skill
Whenever he skinned and butchered an animal before, he only gained a fraction of the usable materials. Since Royal Road gave out skills based on how often an action was taken, a skill was made for him. “Information: Skinning and Butchering.”
Skinning and Butchering
Passive
Increases the amount of viable material extracted from a corpse.
* 60% of extracted skin can be used
* 50% of extracted meat can be used
* 40% of extracted bones and other other organs can be used
After feasting on their kill, Wraith separated the rest of the meat and the bones and put them in his pack. After a short rest, they searched for more enemies. They found other serpents near by, but they were smaller and weaker than the first. They were easily able to slaughter them. After several hours of continuous fighting, they decided to head back home.
There was still plenty of daylight left, so Wraith decided to improve his crafting skills. He kept sewing until he had used up about twenty pelts. This got him to level seven. Normally it would take longer for players to develop such skills, but because he already studied how to properly make clothes instead of relying solely on the skill, his clothes were better and gave more experience. Unfortunately he didn't have the handicraft skill. Not only would it help with crafting, it would also help him increase his attack power.
Since he didn't have a crafting class, he couldn't learn the skill. He would be forced to rely on other means to improve his skills and combat abilities. The only guaranteed method was hard work and determination, and that he had in spades.
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Fenella was exhausted. She had spent an entire day trying to figure out a way to dispel the curse afflicting the lizardmen. It was difficult and extremely complex, but she had finally cracked it. This wasn't the typical curse that could have been removed with a wave of the hand, this was one that affected the entire tribe, leaving them barren and impotent. To remove such a curse meant coming up with the singular combination of sigils and magical chants to remove it.
Though they were fools to raid the temple of one of the ancient goddesses, she still had to help them out. With the curse cracked, all that remained was to put it into effect. It was going to take a few hours and all her Mana to remove the curse, so she went to sleep for the night.
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There were only about six days left before Wraith was summoned away, so he had to make the most of it. Quests tended to give a lot of experience, but he didn't think that he had enough time to do one. He was forced to rely on grinding to get stronger.
As a result, he and his pack went back to the hunting grounds they were at the day before. There were the same monsters that he saw there before, but they weren't a real challenge since they had gotten used to fighting them.
He explored the area, moving away from the safe hunting grounds he had already verified. From what Calder said, this realm was host to any number of powerful beasts. Most of them would be beyond his capability to fight, but if he didn't take a risk, he wouldn't be rewarded.
He set Sarin and Vangar to sensing enemies, while he led the group forwards. They walked for an hour through the hot sands, not seeing any enemies. They were about to give up when they saw a hole in the ground.
He heard a rushing sound come up from the bottom of the hole. “Get back!” he yelled to the wolves. The edge of the hole burst up. Sand came raining down on their heads as a giant worm extended its head out of the hole.
It was featureless, without eyes or ears. All it had was a circular mouth almost a metre wide in the middle of its head. It was covered completely in pink and brown skin, with small tentacles covering the body, likely used for sensing prey.
“Okay everyone, lets tear this thing to pieces.” They all ran at it, attacking it from all sides. Since it didn't have any teeth or claws, the only attacks it could use were to swallow them whole or to smash its enormous head into them. It was a slow monster, so it was easy to attack and dodge, but it had a tremendous amount of health.
He kicked away at it, and used palm-strikes to send shock-waves through its body. The wolves gouged out chunks of flesh from its unprotected body, and slowly but surely they chipped away at its life. It was getting weaker, blood dripping from multiple lacerations. It knew it was dying, so it tried to pull itself back into the hole. Oh no you don't. You're not getting away that easily.
He put his fingers together and buried them into the worm's body. He pulled back at the worm, preventing it from escaping while the wolves continued attacking it. His muscles were straining to hold it back, his legs were slowly being dragged across the sand.
It was difficult but he managed to hold it back long enough for the wolves to kill it. It had taken every ounce of their stamina, but by killing it, they all gained a level. Because it was so big, it took him a long time to extract all the meat he could. He was only half-way in when the body started to disappear. Still he collected a respectable amount. “Identify.”
Desert worm meat
Meat from a rare type of monster. Prized by chefs for being a high quality ingredient, it can be sold for a high price or cooked by a chef with a high enough skill.
Tier One cooking material
They were too exhausted to keep fighting any longer so they headed back to the city. As he walked through the street he saw a restaurant. It was a big place with seemingly expensive dishes. Since he knew the meat was expensive he sold it to them for four gold. After all, his cooking would only waste the meat.
Once he got home, he spent the rest of the day sewing and making potions. It was dull and repetitive, but he made significant gains in his skill levels. His tailoring, now at beginner level nine was at a level that he could craft decent clothes for himself.
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“Highness, you have to stop. It's just not possible.” Daciana begged Fenella to stop. She had been at it for hours. Having run out of potions, she was soon going to be drained of all her Mana.
“It's alright, I can convert my health to Mana.”
“That's too dangerous,” Daciana was worried that it would take more than Fenella possessed to undo the curse. She silently kneeled behind Fenella, who was sitting with her legs crossed in a meditative stance. She put her hands on Fenella's back and channelled her Mana into her.
“I can manage by myself, there's no need for you to do this.”
“My job is to protect you, even at the cost of my own life.” Fenella smiled slightly at this and went back to removing the curse.
By sundown, she had finally managed to succeed, though it left both her and Daciana drained of all their Mana, as well as a good chunk of their Hp.
Now all that was left was for Fenella to take the cursed item the lizardmen stole away from the village. Escorted by Daciana and five lizardmen, she walked a kilometre away from the village and purified it in a fire.
Having finished the ritual, Fenella turned to Daciana and said, “that takes care of that. Lets head back to the village.”
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The punitive force made great time, and arrived at the area Circe last saw her killer. Instead of two days, it only took one and a half. They spent hours scouring the area but found no clue as to his whereabouts.
The priest that accompanied the punitive force then made an announcement. “If we do not find the man you spoke about soon, we will have to turn back.”
This pissed Circe off to no end. Punitive forces normally had at least a month to return back home. However, they were usually sent after entire tribes of monsters. Sending so many people after one person was almost unheard of, unless they were very, very powerful and very, very evil. The only reason the force was approved was because of Ayrsted's personal connections.
It was also the reason only one NPC came with them. The church didn't expect the force to find anything during the trek. Since the priest was the representative of the church, he had absolute authority over the force. If he ordered them back, they would have no choice but to follow.
“Hey, we found something.” One of the adventurers, a level fifty-nine warrior, called out to Circe. “We saw a few lizardmen with two women walking in that direction,” he said while pointing south.
Two women walking side by side with monsters? They know something about him, I'm sure of it.[i] She took the punitive force in the direction of the women. Within minutes they would be upon them, and she would have her answers.
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As they were walking back to the lizardmen village, Fenella heard the pounding of hooves against the ground. From out of the trees burst a group of people. She could see that they weren't there to make friends. They dismounted and stood before them. The lizardmen readied their spears and took their stance.
A woman stepped forward. From her garb she seemed to be a mage. She was more handsome than beautiful, with short, cropped hair. “I should introduce myself. My name is Circe, and I'm looking for someone. From your features, I assume you would know who I'm looking for.”
She gave a short description of the person she was looking for. [i]My god, they're looking for Wraith. Daciana barely has any health and Mana, and I'm not doing much better. “I don't know who you might be referring to, but we're just simple travellers. We can settle this peacefully, I'm not a big fan of violence.
Circe smiled cruelly, “unfortunately for you, I am.”
Fenella knew that she didn't have enough Mana to defend herself and Daciana. They might be able to kill most of the people there, but they would undoubtedly lose their lives as a result. She held up a crystal and cast a quick spell, covering the area with light. The light then went into the crystal and stayed inside it.
When she did this, the punitive force murmured among themselves and wanted to attack, but Circe held them back by saying, “that wasn't an offensive spell.” She turned back towards Fenella. “So you have no more information for us?”
Fenella didn't say anything to her, but turned to Daciana instead. “Show them the crystal and tell them what happened.” She pressed the crystal into Daciana's hand. She seemed confused at Fenella's actions, but understanding soon dawned upon her face.
“No, you can't! My job is to guard you, not to be protected.” Circe and the punitive force looked on, not understanding what was happening. They probably thought that since they had no chance of escape, they were saying their goodbyes.
Fenella smiled sadly at Daciana. “Tell Wraith that I loved him.”
“NO!” Fenella chanted a spell, engulfing Daciana in light. When it was over, Daciana was gone. The punitive force looked on awe-struck. They had witnessed a teleportation spell. It was something that only very high-level mages could do. Teleportation gates could be used over and over again because there were two fixed locations. The spell she cast had some strict requirements. Because it can be used to travel between any two places that she knew, it required a lot of Mana.
In fact it used up all her remaining Mana. It was also something that required time to recharge, and as such it can only be used once a day and only when the caster is out of combat. It can also only be used on one person, either on herself or someone else that she knew extremely well.
“What did you do?” Circe asked this in a low tone, hinting at her anger. She had underestimated Fenella's abilities and it had cost her.
“Well, since you were going to kill us, I sent my friend to safety.”
“So since you're still here, I take it that you can't teleport yourself out of here. That was foolish of you.”
“You're right that I can't teleport myself out of here anymore, but I wouldn't call it foolish. I'd rather call it honourable and noble. Then again, I suppose you wouldn't know what that means, do you?”
Circe's eyes narrowed at this. She pointed towards Fenella and the few lizardmen surrounding her. “She won't give us and information. Kill her.” At her command the warriors charged at her while the mages readied their spells. The lizardmen met the warriors in combat, while Fenella used the small amount of Mana she recovered to cast a few spells.
They did their best, but against the face of overwhelming numbers, the lizardmen quickly fell, hacked to pieces by the swords of the warriors. They bought enough time for Fenella to ready her spell. From her hands, black lightning forked into the warriors bodies. The weaker ones died quickly, cooking in their own armor. The stronger ones survived, though their bodies were charred and paralysed.
She put up a shield to deflect the mages' fireballs, but she couldn't sustain them. The shield was soon broken, letting their attacks through. The few warriors unaffected by her attack closed the distance and slashed at her, splitting her flesh in several places. She threw them back with a basic fireball, but she was hit by a mage's thunderbolt.
She yelled, gasping with pain as the electricity coursed through her. She fell to the ground, only a small bit of Hp left. Unable to move, she could only watch as Circe walked closer towards her. Circe lifted her hands up, apparently shaping Mana into an attack. She looked down at her with a smirk on her face, intending to ask one last time.
“If you tell me what I want to know I'll show you some mercy.”
Fenella couldn't help but laugh at this. “Do you want me to tell you where to stick that mercy of yours?”
Circe's mouth tightened at that as she brought down her hands. A giant invisible fist hammered down on Fenella's stomach. Her body bent around it as she screamed with pain. Her organs were under immense pressure, he blood vessels threatening to burst. Circe didn't stop at this, but kept slamming her fist down over and over again.
Fenella couldn't escape or fight back. With no Mana left, she was helpless. All she could do was cry out in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks. Before the final attack hammered down, she had but one fleeting thought. I'm sorry Wraith. Her Hp then went to zero, and she let out her last breath.
Circe looked down at the robe that was left behind. It seemed expensive and well-crafted. The priest that accompanied the punitive force came towards Circe. “We need to get back. The man you are searching for is obviously gone somewhere else. But no need to worry, the Archbishop will be pleased that you dealt with such horrible traitors and heretics.”
Though she wanted revenge, she knew that she wasn't likely to get it. She had no choice but to forget about him and use this incident to gain reputation with the Church of Freya. “Hey! Leave the robe where it is.” She warned off one of the players in the punitive force. If that man did come by here, he would see the robe and what it meant.
She rounded up the rest of the players. “Alright everyone, lets get back and get our reward.”
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Wraith was sewing a pair of deer skin pants when he heard a noise. He went out to see that Daciana had appeared. He was going to greet her, when he saw her face. Something was wrong. “What happened?”
Daciana didn't respond to him, but instead fell to her knees. Wraith went to see if she was injured. “Daciana? Where's Fenella?” When she still didn't say anything, he shook her lightly, his heart in his throat. “Where is Fenella?” Sarin and Vangar had come over when they heard the commotion.
Wordlessly, she handed over a crystal to him. The crystal disintegrated and light filled the area. The scenery changed to a forest, and Wraith realized that it was an illusion. He saw Fenella facing off against a group of people. As he scanned the faces, he saw that two stood out. One was Ayrsted, the other was the woman that tortured the pack of wolves. They were standing beside a priest of Freya. He quickly realized what this all meant.
“Daciana, we need to go to her. Where is she?” The thought that she might still be rescued seemed to fill her with life. With Sarin and Vangar in tow, Wraith followed Daciana through the teleportation gate. They ran non-stop for hours. Even though rain started to drizzle down, they trekked through the mud, determined to get to Fenella. Partway through, Wraith had transformed into his werewolf form so that he could run faster and keep up with Daciana.
Eventually Daciana came to a stop. It was the field he saw from the crystal, but there was no one there. The field was burnt and ruined, filled with deep marks where there were explosions, as well as a deep impression in the ground, as if something had been hammered down on it. Right in the center was a piece of clothing.
Wraith walked forward, past Daciana who had already broken down crying, and made his way to the cloth. The robe was black with crimson designs. He recognized it since he had seen it so many times before. As he picked it up, he smelled Fenella on it. It was the slight floral scent of lilacs. He could even feel her warmth in it.
He was filled with pain, his heart feeling as if it had torn in two. There was only one reason her robe was there and she herself wasn't. The woman he had come to care for as a mother had been killed. But they didn't just kill her because she was an enemy, they killed her to get to him. Why?! Why her?!
He wanted to track them down right away, but the rain had washed away their tracks and their scent. All he could do was shake with burning fury and despair. Over and over, he replayed the memories that he had made with her. He remembered her scent, her laugh, her soft smile.
As he was thinking about how he would never see her again, something snapped deep inside his soul. He had come into this game with a wide-eyed wonder. Now that child-like innocence was lost and broken. He truly understood that this wasn't a game. A game wouldn't give him such pain.
These thoughts and emotions swirled chaotically in his head. He had always been in control of his emotions, but he had never truly been tested by such a loss. The fragile hold he had held on them broke free, and his feelings overwhelmed him. His eyes brimmed with tears and his face contorted, a gasping sound rising from his throat. The sound steadily grew in volume till he was screaming in pain, though in his form, his scream lengthened and stretched out until it became a howl.
Skill unlocked
Cloak of Wrath has been learnt
Shroud of Despair has been learnt
Sarin and Vangar join him in mourning, as they cried out in loss and grief. While he was spilling his emotions out to the world, he made himself a promise. No matter how long it took, he would find the people that did this and he would make them regret crossing him.
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Circe was far away from where she had killed that strange-looking woman when she heard the howl of a wolf. It was in the distance, but her spine tingled. It was a predator's cry for vengeance, filled with grief and bloodlust. She didn't know what the wolf was howling for, but she couldn't help but shiver in fear.
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