He admired the changes to his weapon and felt it's new weight. It had grown both heavier and more balanced, somehow being easier to hold despite its added heft. His eyes ran over the carved patterns and he smiled. It gave him the same feeling as when he rented his first apartment not too long ago, it was his and he had earned it.
Conscious of the need to get moving, he only allowed himself a few seconds to drink in the physical changes, then he [Analyzed] it.
[Skeletal Armament - Bone Axe
Tier II Hafted Weapon
A Bone Axe made from the [Lesser Skeletal Armament] Trait and upgraded through absorbing the bones of its fallen foes. It was won in battle and has served it's owner faithfully since
Damage: +11-14 slashing
Additional Properties: +8-9 fire damage
Progress towards being Named: 1/3
Tier I: Can repair and upgrade itself through absorbing inanimate bone it is in contact with
Tier II: Improve the effect of any Spirits used on this weapon by 1 Level]
The first change he noticed was that it was no longer considered a [Lesser Skeletal Armament] and had somehow had the [Lesser] removed from its name during the upgrade. The description said that it was due to the bones that it absorbed and he wondered if that part had been removed because it had swallowed the bones of a [Skeleton] that could make [Skeletal Armaments]. The next change that caught his eye was the damage increase. It had good be from addition some extra oomph to his attacks to almost doubling his damage output. This part, he very much looked forward to trying out.
His eyes had skimmed over the Tier line when he had jumped to the description to try and find the reason for the axe's name change, but as he reached the end and saw its new Tier ability, he looked back up to check and, sure enough, his weapon was now Tier II. The bonus, which he could only use when his main arm recovered and he could use it again due to his Tier I Ambidexterity Skill not being high enough, seemed amazing. An extra 10% damage when using his [Spirit of Death] would make his blows stronger once again. And that was before he acquired any more Powers that might affect the weapon. Before that though, he either needed to raise his [Ambidexterity] Skill to the next Tier or wait for the paralytic venom to stop affecting his arm.
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He adjusted his grip on the axe and got to walking. He felt his injuries make their presence known, but pushed through them for the sake of getting further away from whatever creature or creatures Ander Phyris decided to send after him next. The lich had to have some way of telling when his minions were slain as it had noticed when the first few undead went missing and had sent that trio after him for causing it. From the looks of it, the lich hadn't spent too much time or energy raising the three he had just bested and they had beat him within an inch of his life multiple times. He had kept on fighting through spite and points in Vitality, the Level Ups one of the main reasons he had survived. Unfortunately for him though, he was currently still pretty battered and needed to find a place to rest up and hopefully come across some weaker enemies that he could beat easily to bring him towards Level 7.
The main issue, beyond his Health, was his lack of Lifeforce. In the description for the [Path of the Spirits] it had said that it would be restored at Dawn. It had been mid afternoon when this whole thing had kicked off, and a bit over 2 and a half hours had passed since then. This meant he had to survive about 10 hours before he could use his [Spirit of Death] Power again. It was either that, or get to Level 7 and get the point of Lifeforce that came with it. He had already gained a point when he hit Level 6 and another would put him at the 2 he needed for another minute of his Power, something he would probably need against whatever new threat was cooked up and sent against him.
It took another few minutes to come across something. He heard the shuffling of feet from ahead and peared around the corner to see what it was. He saw two [Lesser Zombies] bumbling about, knocking into each other and the walls. He [Analyzed] them to get their levels.
[Lesser Zombie, Level 4]
[80/80]
[Lesser Zombie, Level 5]
[80/80]
He smiled, this would be the perfect chance to test how far he'd come. With confident strides, Liam rounded the corner and approached them, their heads snapping towards him when they heard his footsteps. They stumbled towards him with their arms out and he raised his axe.
The first staggered forwards, as if it were drunk, and attempted to slam into him. Liam stepped back, and in one swift motion he lopped the thing's head off. The undead didn't die, but it's HP dropped by a massive chunk. Being faster than it, he quickly landed two more blows that chopped each of the thing's arms off and it dropped to the floor, dead as its magic was drained. The second was right behind it and suffered a similar fate in the next few moments.
Liam grinned down at the bodies, marvelling at how easy that had been. 4 Levels and an upgraded axe made an absolute world of difference, but the main reason it had been so easy was the experience he had gained in combat, something he completely lacked after living in the modern world all his life. Sure, he had done a couple years of martial arts but that was nothing compared to the real thing. He had now realized the joy of combat, and was even glad this system has come to Earth.
He was broken out of his thoughts by a roar that shook the catacombs. It came from behind him and shook him to his core. The lich had stepped up his games it seemed, and he didn't want to find out by how much so soon. He took off sprinting, hoping to buy some more time before he had to face it. He would soon find out if it was enough.