As he approached, he watched for any clues as to what the blot was and what the new undead were capable of. He saw that the [Lesser Ghoul's] claws passed straight through their target but left slight green stains in the beings body. Its scythes, however, did not have such a subtle effect. Wherever it stuck, gashes would open and fetid pus would leak out from the Ghouls' skin. The red skeleton seemed to be a better match against the being as its sword lit up with flames whenever it struck the being, and burned small chunks out of it. The skeleton fought tactically, only entering striking range when the being was preoccupied with attacking a ghoul and moving behind the creatures whenever it was not attacking
As this all happened, Liam had reached only a few feet from the most injured ghoul and stalled, waiting. The next exchange of blows happened and the skeleton stepped in to strike the incorporeal being. That's when he struck.
He kept forwards and brought down a chop that cut deep into one of the ghoul's wounds and went further still. He cleaved it from shoulder down into its chest where its heart should be and he watched it's HP drop to [3/150]. All of the combatants' heads snapped towards him at his intervention and he fought to get his axe free before they turned on him. He needn't of worried, however, as the floating being quickly drew their ire back onto itself by taking advantage of the opening and landing 2 solid blows on the [Unknown Lesser Skeleton] with it's scythes. Left unmolested, Liam firmly planted his foot on the ghoul's back and yanked his axe free, taking the last of its HP with him. A notification flashed and he opened it, and was surprised to see what it was.
[Level Up!
You have reached Level 3.
You have 5 Free Attributes to assign.]
Either he had gotten the majority of the experience from landing the final blow on the thing or there was something else going on. He would figure it out later, for now he pumped all 5 points into Strength, wincing momentarily as his muscles expanded, and threw himself back into the fight.
He aimed for the red skeleton, hoping to take it out whilst his ally of convenience, in that they were fighting the same foes, would deal with the other 3 ghouls. His axe met its sword and flames erupted from the point of impact. Heat washed over him but he pressed on and his newly invested Strength showed its worth right away. He was pushing it back, and not by a small amount either. He forced the weapons down, until he and his opponent were staring each other in the eye, before bringing his axe back up and slamming it's top into the skeleton's jaw. Its head rocked back and it stumbled from the combination of the blow and sudden lack of pushback on its sword. Then Liam was upon it.
He smashed it back and forth with one blow after another, keeping it off balance and reeling. Each time his axe met its bone, flames would burst out and attempt to burn him. He ignored the small blasts of fire, tanking the small amount of damage each time he hit it. It hurt, but his focus was on one thing.
[46/110]
[24/110]
[5/110]
And then finally, with a roar of pain and exertion, he battered the skeleton into one of the passage walls upon which it broke apart. He took a couple of deep breaths and checked his own numbers.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
[HP: 49/120]
[Stamina: 62/130]
He had only taken 15 damage from the battle so far, but his Stamina was at half and he would need to pace himself if it were to last the fight. He looked over to see how the other side of it was going and, without the red skeleton to restrain it, the floating being was dominating the ghouls. It had savage each of them to under 30 HP each, though this was not without cost. Green streaks polluted almost a quarter of its body and it moved sluggishly compared to how smoothly it had been before. But even with the damage, it would still win.
With Liam backing it up, they made short work of the ghouls. He made sure to stay out of reach of the creatures' claws, so that he would never have to experience their paralytic venom in person, and made sure to land the final blow on each.
With the battle over, the two stared at each other. A notification blinked in the corner of his vision but he couldn't risk even a moment of intention against a being who showed that they were willing and able to exploit it. Liam used the standoff as a bit of a break to recover some of his Stamina, but he kept his guard, and axe, up even as he relaxed his muscles. He jumped when a voice spoke in his head.
"I must thank you for helping me put down these perversions of the natural course of things."
Its voice sounded like a gruff whisper, as if it were the dying gasp of someone powerful.
"I would grant you a boon should you wish it."
The words were phrased as if he had a choice but the tone made it sound like his decision was already made. A new notification blinked into existence and he opened it.
[??? Would like to bestow [??? Lore I] upon you. Do you accept?]
[Yes/No]
His mind spun at the offer. [Undead Lore I] had been extremely useful so far, allowing him to figure out how to kill the [Lesser Zombies] he had encountered, as well as giving him information on the other foes he faced. A new Lore skill would be nothing but helpful. However, experience had taught him that nothing came for free and, sure he had just helped it out but, he didn't trust anything that came without a price tag.
He debated internally whether it was an offer he could even afford to refuse, but what tipped the scales was the risk that refusing would turn this being hostile towards him and, considering he didn't even know if he could hurt it, that could be very bad. He mentally accepted and time suddenly stopped, the clouds above freezing in place and the being stilling. Notifications appeared and he quickly opened them to figure out what was going on.
[You have acquired [Spirit Lore I]]
[Spirit of ??? has challenged you, do you wish to accept?]
[Yes]
[Challenge accepted, the following are the rules:
Challenge of Spirit Binding
Prerequisites:
Spirit Lore I: Met
Lifeforce: Substituted, Spirit of ??? will pay HP
Acceptance of Challenge: Substituted, compensation [Preparation] given
Defeat your opponent to bind them to you and use their power. The Spirit of ??? will match your Level (Current Level: 4). The Challenge will end when one party reaches 1 HP, protections are put in place to ensure neither party drops below that.
Reward: You bind [Spirit of ???], chance to embark on the [Path of the Spirits]
Penalty: You are bound to the [Spirit of ???], your [Path] is cut short]
[Time until preparation ends]
[4:32]
He had been tricked! Though it was far from the worst outcome. It seemed like death wasn't even a possibility, and whilst being bound to a spirit, whatever that meant, would be bad it beat becoming a shambling zombie. Still, he fumed inside and started plotting against the being who had somehow tricked him into this challenge. He used [Analyze] on it, hoping his new skill would be worth the trouble it was causing.
[Spirit of ???
Spirit Lore I: Spirits are incorporeal beings that embody a concept. They are generally split into 4 categories: Lesser Spirits, Spirits, Greater Spirits and Grand Spirits, each more powerful than the last. They cannot survive long without being bound to a person or place so free spirits roam searching for a suitable person to challenge or place to bind themselves to.
Experience: Immune to physical damage. This particular spirit is injured and will become more so once the challenge begins.
Threat: High (Moderate - with injuries)]
Whilst the whole lot of information was interesting, the key take away for Liam was that it was completely immune to physical damage. He made to move but found that he was unable to shift anything but his head, which he turned to [Analyze] the bone sword which has harmed the spirit.
[Lesser Skeletal Armament - Bone Sword
Tier I Bladed Weapon
A Bone Sword made from the [Lesser Skeletal Armament] Trait. It has been imbued by an Unknown Power to deal fire damage as well as physical.
Damage: +5-7 slashing
Additional Properties: +3-4 fire damage
Tier I: Can repair and upgrade itself through absorbing inanimate bone it is in contact with]
Seeing this, the beginnings of a plan began to form in his head and he looked towards the frozen spirit with a grin. He would show it what happens when you messed with him.