Ellie was giggling with excitement.  Did she nearly just die? Yes.  But that paled in comparison to the quest she had just gotten!

Quest: Rid the evil and purify the shrine

An evil, greater than before, as embedded itself inside the Grimwar Caves; brought here by the shrine setup before the sin had reached its end.  Defeat the embodiment of this evil and purify the shrine and you will be rewarded with a unique class all your own.

Reward:

Divine Smith

Elite Class

Creator of all objects of divine nature, this class is able to create weapons and armor as strong as a Master Smith.  However, creating such objects is not easy, nor is leveling this class.  However, upon reaching the maximum level, the class will then become a Titled Class.

Ellie knew that this was an amazing class after reading its description.  What was an Elite Class?  Everyone (except for a very rare few) has a normal class.  For Ellie this was Crafter.  Blacksmith was an Advanced Class.  After blacksmith were Weapon Smith and Armor Smith as Elite Classes.  Master Smith was the fruition of all the smithing classes and was called a Titled Class.

What was a Titled Class?  A Titled Class did not only have powerful skills, but it also carried authority.  Some of the other Titled Classes were Headmaster, Guild Master, and Oracle.  But the most recognized was the Titled Class of King!

For an Elite Class to have the strength of a Titled Class was astonishing.  But for that Elite Class to then advance to become a Title Class, that was unheard of.

Jude had sprinkled a healing potion over her and was talking, but she hadn’t heard a word.

Divine Smith, was the only thought that was going through her head.  And the incessant giggling didn’t stop.

It wasn’t until Jude slapped her across the cheek did she come back to reality.

“There will be more coming!” Jude said. “You need to be rea—Oh no!”

The plaza was now lit up.  Torches around its perimeter were blazing at twice what they should be and four braziers also burst into towering flames.  Then a wave of sulfur scent hit them like a tsunami, Ellie nearly threw up from it.

The still remaining in the plaza started running around erratically until one in the very center arched its back, arms spread wide, screamed at the top of its lungs!  The other now seemed to find a purpose, ran straight towards the center .

They began latching onto the first and joined in the screaming.  The unholy chorus continued as more joined in.

When the finally stopped the noise, they were all in one large pile.  The pile then pulsated as vile magic filled the air.  Then something even worse happened.  They started to melt.

This brought on a whole new horror as the flesh and bones melted away then reformed into something else.  As the creature started to rise from the slimy goop of undeath, it let out a low and terrible rumble.

***

Jude had seen some freaky things from horror movies and even some video games.  But personally seeing one, especially one that wanted to kill you personally, was incredibly horrifying.  Its two legs were like tree trunks and its abdomen was filled with the faces and clawed arms that hadn’t melted.  Its arms stretched almost to the ground and were nearly as thick as the legs.  Its head looked to be a ghoul split in half with sharpened ribs as teeth.  This new ghoul was a .  It was ranked as a Boss.

He was in no condition to be fighting a boss.  But when he looked behind him to the hole that they had entered this place, it had already caved in.  The only hope was to go forward.

Perhaps we can hide in the buildings and launch attacks from the sides, Jude thought.

The abomination then raised its hands above its head and slammed its fists into the ground.  The sear strength of the monster caused the ground to quake and its fists destroyed the floor that they landed on, leaving only a large crater behind.

Then again, buildings might be more dangerous, if that thing collapses them on us.  But if I hide Ellie in there and distract it out here, it might be safe.

“Ellie, hide in one of the buildings.  It will be safer there.” Jude said.

“Wait, give me the parts, perhaps I can make something to help,” she replied.

Jude quickly dropped the items out of his inventory and separated himself from Ellie.  Jude knew that he wouldn’t stand a chance against this boss at his current level and mana.  Another would be too weak with the mana he had left.  Keeping a out, like he did that one time when he cleared out the tavern, would give less than a minute before his mana ran dry.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  The was still getting used to its new body, so Jude took this chance to try out something he had been thinking.

His sword in one hand and the in the other, Jude activated both single sword and .   Then he tried to bridge the gap between the two skills like he had done with and to get them passed Rank III.

At first, it didn’t seem to want to work. 

Was there not enough mana to create the connection?  Or was it just not possible to create a connection inside the Modicuit? He thought.

Jude decided it was a mana issue.  After all, if this didn’t work, they would most likely die.  So it had to be a mana issue.  So Jude then focused on the circuit, willing it to be the power source! 

Draw your mana through this!

 Connecting it directly to the sustaining input of .  He willed that would draw power from and felt out the path between the two.

POP!

Jude’s whole body shook and his brain felt like it split in two.  A little blood ran from his nose and he actually lost a few HP!  His Modicuit looked slightly warped and worse of all, his circuit was gone!  He had a notification, so he quickly looked at it.

Skill Lost: Meditation

Special Skill gained: **

Rankless

The Dymana provides mana power for all sustained Spectral Weapons.  Initial mana cost is the same.

Jude remembered the power of his sustained .  With it, he was able to clear an entire room of skeletons relatively easy.  The downside then was the massive drain on his mana.  But if this new skill did what it said it would, just how awesome would that be?!

From beginning to end, this whole process only took a few breaths of time.  Jude opened his eyes to see that the abomination was now ready and coming for him.

Not wanting to be cornered, Jude rushed towards the plaza where there would be more room for maneuvers.  At the same time, he cast his .  Eight swords hovered around him in a protective formation. 

His mana was low after creating the new skill, but at least it held up to its description.  Still, only having a few mana left to his name made him nervous.

Jude finally reached the square plaza and began to make tactical observations of this boss.  First of all, it was big, about 4 meters high.  But it was also slow, Jude could easily cover twice the distance it could.  However, it was undead, so Jude would probably tire out well before it did.

Jude decided to go with a classic kiting technique and lead the boss around the edges of the square.  Now that his were sustained, their attack distance was much better than before.  Otherwise, this tactic wouldn’t have worked.

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He sent his first volley of 8 swords into the .  The swords streaked through the air, lining up one after the other.  The first sword cut into the blobby mucus that was the abominations flesh, but oddly didn’t go in very far.  The next two swords were so close behind the first that Jude didn’t have time to redirect them as they haphazardly slammed into the first sword.  The other swords split away like birds sinking into the ghoul's flesh in other locations.

The first sword exploded into spectral shards and disappeared while the rest of the swords sunk deep into the flesh.  Jude regretted losing a sword but then noticed another problem.  The fleshly wounds quickly sealed up and the swords were not pulling free!

That first strike had done a lot of damage to the ghoul, taking at least 10% of its health.  But now its health was regenerating at a quick rate and he was losing control over his swords! 

Dismissing his swords, he summoned a new set.  His attacks now came in a flurry of shallow cuts.  Even with his attacks dealing damage on the lower end of the spectrum, the abominations regeneration was not quick enough to completely compensate for Jude’s attacks.  As long as Jude could keep his distance, this battle would end in attrition.

***

Ellie stood in a second story window watching the battle below in the old town square.  She watched Jude and the run what looked like the strangest race course ever.  Between the torches and the braziers, a kind of race track formed.  Jude was always out up front as his swords, like bees, zipped to and fro striking the large abomination from all sides.  The swords would return to him once again when he would run forward to keep his distance.

She couldn’t see the health bar like Jude could, but she did know that the hulking bulk of flesh was slowly being wounded.  She herself wasn’t sure what to do.  She had asked for the parts in Jude’s , but she wasn’t sure what she should do with them.  All she knew was that she had to help.  And not just to complete her quest, for that was obviously to kill this beast.  But to help her one true friend.

She hadn’t known Jude for long, but she knew that he was different.  And it wasn’t just because he seemed so much stronger than others.  Or that his ideas were radical and interesting.  But something about the very core of him was different.  It was warm and inviting, it was a comfort and secure feeling.

To defend this friendship, she would try with all her might.  She just had to think of that idea that was out of the norm.  One that could tip the scales at just the right moment.  Just like when Jude covered them in that spectral blanket.  Or advanced his skill at an astonishing rate with ideas that she had never heard before.  Or that time when she took out her small and weak hammer and defeated a .

That was it, she had an idea.  It wasn’t a new idea; it was one she had for a long time now.  But had never been feasible.  Now if only she could pull it off.  Perhaps she could find what she was missing in these buildings!

***

Things began to change after a quarter of the health was lost.  Instead of slowly lumbering after Jude, it stopped.  Jude stopped as well and recalled his swords back to his side.

The then did a strange thing, he made a fist and threw a punch from 20 meters away!  When it’s already long arm came to the apex of the punch another strange thing happened.  The whole arm exploded like a geyser covering the 20-meter gap easily!

Jude formed a shield with all 8 spectral swords at the same time trying to jump back and out of the way.  The partially liquid fist of decrepit gore crashed into the swords and was diverted enough to only graze Jude.  That ‘graze’ still took a third of Jude’s health, sending him tumbling to the ground.

The fountain of an arm didn’t stop as it sucked the main body dry.  In the course of a few seconds, the body had then reformed near Jude where the fist had landed!  Jude barely got his spectral swords up for yet another block as the abomination swung its arms at him yet again.  The close range attacks didn’t have the same power that its launched fist had, so Jude was able to get away with a mere block.

Jude then put some distance between him and waited for the ranged attack.  He didn’t have to wait long, in fact, he barely had time to get into position before the ghoul began to wind-up his fist. 

Jude was already moving before the geyser fist even shot out.  Running diagonal to the shot, he managed to escape its blinding fast speed.  After dodging, he then controlled his swords to sink deep in the more fluidic flesh.  This earned him extra damage as the body hadn’t solidified enough to stop his swords.

Black gore splattered as he was able to get two strikes with all eight swords before the monster reformed.

After another round of evading the geyser fist and counter attacking, the once bloated was now a lot thinner.  With a roar, it’s body tightened further.  It now looked more like the slim from before, only three and a half meters high.

It was now much faster.  It launched itself towards Jude, cracking the ground where it started.  Jude barely had enough time to get four swords to block each hand.  The impact was so hard, that it pushed Jude back through his connections to the spectral swords before scattering the swords.

The swords were fast and Jude quickly recovered. And he soon had four swords spinning in front of him while the other four lashed out in a counter attack.

Now the exchanges became fast.  Jude’s swords would hack and slice mostly hitting their target.  The would turn and dodge, occasionally blocking with one of his black claws, but the spectral swords were just too nimble and able to attack from any direction for it to evade and block all of the attacks.  Not that the beast was only on the defensive.  It too would launch its own attacks.  Jude relied on the distraction of its four attacking swords to successfully defend with the four remaining. 

Still, even though he wasn’t being directly hit, the force behind each of the attacks hitting his swords was still chipping away at his health.  The very first graze he suffered when the beast launched its first geyser fist took off 22 HP, leaving him with 44.  But with the quick exchange rate, they were fighting now along with the slow chipping of Jude’s health he was already down to 26 health.  The abomination still had a third of its health and if things kept going this way it wouldn’t end well for Jude.

Jude was getting desperate until, in the corner of his eye, he saw Ellie…

***

Ellie ran out of one of the dilapidated buildings surrounding that surrounded the plaza.  Her had searched nearly all the buildings to find each piece that she needed.  Now in her hands was a large bundle.

The first thing she set up was a large tripod.  On top of that, she attached an oversized crossbow.  Any weapons she made at her level would produce low damage.  However, the larger the weapon the more damage it did naturally.  Siege weapons were often made by low-level crafters and would still have an impact on the battlefield.  This crossbow was so big that it was a semi-siege weapon!

She only had 2 shots and each one was different.  Cranking the crossbow back, she loaded the first shot…

Aimed…

And Fired!

***

Jude wasn’t sure what was going on, but hoped whatever Ellie was doing would help.   The ungodly device she brought out was rough and would probably not last long if used.  It was in a vague crossbow shape if a crossbow could have two bows shaped in an X fashion.   It was so large, it looked like she was worn out just bringing it to fire.

Then he heard it.

THWAP!

Nearly as loud as thunder, the fired bolt couldn’t even be seen as it was launched.  The impact, however, was quite vivid.  To call what was shot a normal crossbow bolt would be like comparing a bicycle to a motorcycle.  The bolt was comprised of two primary parts, an outer tube, and the inner bolt.  The outer tube had spikes on the back end, so as the bolt pierced the abomination, the tube firmly stuck in.  The inner bolt then continued flying and stuck itself into a nearby building.  It wasn’t very big, but it acted like a grappling hook as a chain extended from the tube to the hooked bolt.

Jude immediately took advantage and put some distance between him and the !  He then took this opportunity to chug a nasty tasting health potion.  Unfortunately, the abomination was strong, and the chain did not hold for very long.  But it was long enough for Jude to regain his health, so it was every bit worth it!

Jude and the then regained the momentum of their quick exchange of attacks and defense.  The constant flash of sword and claw where one mistake would lead Jude to an early grave.

The quickly realized that it lost its advantage and with a quick jump back and howled once again.  This time dark shadows like smoke came from everywhere, swirling about it.  The darkness was sucked into the abomination then with one more agonizing roar, the ghoul's flesh exploded!  Chunks of putrid black flesh rained down and a miasma slowly rolled across the ground.  The torches turned from a normal orange and yellow to green.  And in the abominations place now stood a skeleton.

This was no human skeleton.  Sure it had arms and legs, but its skull was that of some unknown animal.  It’s rib like teeth were still there, but the rest of it looked like some unholy fusion of various animal skulls.

The pale blue flames for eyes flickered to life.

The sight in front of Jude was that of a true horror. 

THWAP!

He heard the sound again.  This missile however was visible as it flew by.  It may have been slower, but something that large, flying that fast, was already impressive.  Ellie had shot a hammer!  But not any normal hammer, a hammer that was so large it was comical!  It reminded Jude of the hammer Mario used in the Donkey Kong!

The hammer slammed into the square into its chest.  The force was so great that its thick rib cage could not withstand it.  The hammer plowed through the chest and the broke right through the spine behind that!

“GAARUUU,” moaned the abomination as it slowly fell to the ground.  The pale blue flames slowly flicked out and the area slowly brightened.  The green torches returned to normal and ambient light from who knows where started to brighten up the place further.

Defeated!

Level up!

Level up!

Wizard Level 10!

Gained!

Combat Magic Rank I

The magic most suited for direct combat.  This magic contains both offensive and defensive magic abilities and is considered the standard of any magic wielder.

Unlocked:

Magic Missile

Magic Missile

Craft a missile made of magic.  These missiles can be imbued with an element for additional damage.

Damage: 150%

Quest: Cleans the Curse

You have cleaned the Grimwar Caves of a great evil!  But the Murl’s curse still remains.  Punishment has been dealt and it is now time to lift the curse.  Lift this curse and attain a class that belongs solely to you.

Accept quest? [y/n]

Yes, yes I do.

***

Ellie jumped and shouted with joy!  The abomination was dead!  Through the whole process, she gained 2 levels in Crafter.  She was about to hit level 4, but to already have level 5 was truly a surprise!  Now she only had to finish the easy part of the quest and she would then have a new class, Divine Smith!

She couldn’t wait, but she was also excited!

“We did it!” She said as she jumped Jude, giving him a hug!

Jude’s face instantly went red.  This made Ellie just giggle even more with happiness!

Jude quickly joined in the laughter.  They now sat in front of where the abomination died, just laughing and then breathing hard.  It had been trying, but it had been worth it!  They were alive!