Dirt exploded up as he jumped back, pelting Dren harmlessly as the massive axe blasted into the ground where he had been. On reflex he parried a flash in the darkness, the Blademaster’s katana ringing as it struck his dagger. Horror filled the man’s stern face as the dagger bit into the weakened blade, notching it. That moment of hesitation was long enough for Dren to counter with a rarely used skill. Focusing on the glowing crimson outline of the man’s heart he activated Snatch. Stamina rushed into the skill as his hand snapped out. While the skill was meant to disarm or steal from an enemy, Dren had used it on body parts against monsters. Most notably the core of the mushroom-like monsters in the Profane Ruins.
His hand slammed into the man’s chest but was unable to tear through it like he had the monster’s spongy flesh. Dren wasn’t upset. He had even expected this result. But his real goal was met. His arm significantly strengthened and sped up by the skill slammed into the man like a battering ram. With a sickening crack, he felt ribs give before the man was blasted away.
‘Expensive but powerful.’ Dren eyed his greatly reduced stamina just before he teleported away to avoid another massive blow from the Berserker. Just like his using the ring’s mana barrier’s ability to change shape for offense instead of defense. Skills could be far more versatile than they appeared if you were creative enough. Like instead of shaping a barrier to protect allies you could shape it to contain an explosion on an enemy. Or using a skill meant to steal something from an enemy, to just empower a blow. One just needed to spend some time thinking outside the box.
As he appeared across the small burning clearing to eye down the two melee fighters Dren was preparing to rush back in when the sound of shattering stones followed by an avalanche-like scream drew everyone's attention. The translucent shield the Aegis wielded was now glowing crimson, while the towering stone titan’s arms were in the process of crumbling after their last blow against the shield. It appeared a wave of vibrations rushed up the length of the Titan’s arms shattering them up to the torso of the behemoth. The still enraged titan was bellowing a sound like a falling mountain. It drowned out the shout from the Aegis who glared up at them with a look of pure hatred.
Returning his attention back to the now charging Berserker and Blademaster, Dren grinned impressed with the Witch’s curses. Just before they re-engaged in combat, a slight tremor beneath his feet made him jump back. A spike of stone erupted from under his feet, trying to impale him. Yet, he wasn’t the only one targeted. The Blademaster gracefully danced away from the spike that tried to impale them. While the charging Berserker rushed forward so fast the spike striking at him erupted behind him. But this momentum carried him head first into the tall thick stone spike meant for Dren. A resounding crack joined the cacophony of sounds as his face smashed into it.
Screams were added to the racket as Dren pushed his focus further, earning himself a notification of a rank up to his Battle Focus while allowing him to drink in the scene before him. The Aegis was being lifted off the ground by a spike of stone that impaled them in the back. It was unable to pierce their armor but it lifted them off the ground before flinging them forward towards the Titan.
Blood welled from the healer's shoulder where a spike had erupted from the ground beneath her. While the magic shotgunner was screaming, the same spike that had grazed the healer had impaled his shoulder while he hunched over her. He was now being carried up into the air, skewered like a screaming kabob. All the spikes other than the one impaling the shotgunner rushed back into the ground. Then there was another slight tremor before more erupted forcing everyone but the impaled man to dodge new spikes. When the third and then fourth set erupted in rapid succession Dren growled. ‘I can’t let you steal my kills. That is my experience and quest progress. You just raced to the top of my list.’
Ignoring the rest of the natives he teleported high overhead, letting gravity slowly reclaim him as he eyed the towering titan. There was just one problem, he still couldn’t pierce that stone armor. His decay dagger was still impaled in the back of the monster, but a bulge of stone had pushed up around it. Like a blister or boil over an infection it prevented it from doing what he needed. “I need a longer blade.” He glared down at the monster as he started to fall and gave a slight nod knowing what he needed to do.
Pointing his dagger down ward he envisioned what he wanted while using his Manafest Blade ability. He pictured a three meter long blade attached to his own dagger. Then fed it a chunk of his own resources. It formed rapidly, almost instantly just like he imagined. A shimmering blade of azure, crimson, and bronze light formed. Three meters long and as wide as his existing dagger. It even had a notch on the end exactly the same size as the blade of his dagger. It was exactly what he pictured. Only it didn’t appear where he expected it to. Instead of manifesting attached to his existing dagger, it appeared hovering near his hand, looking more like a long slender arrow than the extension of his own weapon.
Plumetting towards the giant he couldn’t spend too much time considering this phenomenon. Instead, he focused on the connection he still felt with the manifested blade and grasped it with his will just as he would the flow of his own resources within himself. Feeling his will grip the blade he thrust down with it, sending the blade ahead of him as a streak of light. At the last moment, he remembered to activate Reaper, and to his excitement, the blade of streaking light turned deathly black right before it impaled the titan. All around the clearing the stone spikes erupting from the ground froze where they were. Some erupting from the ground, some retreating, it didn’t matter. Each stopped right where it was and the bellowing roar from the titan ceased. For a moment there was just the cracking of burning trees, the pained whimpers of the impaled Shotgunner, the sobs of the healer, and the silence of the night. Then the blade of dark light still impaling the titan winked out and a new sound was added. The sound of stone crumbling and falling to crash onto the forest floor.
“Three down.” Dren panted, his face pale. Despite not taking much damage during the fight he had used plenty of both mana and stamina up until now. Then drained away a good deal of his own resources to manifest a blade strong enough and large enough to kill the Titan. But that was OK. It really was closer to four down, no five. The shotgunner was still impaled and considering the state the healer was in she was neither going to help him nor be much of a threat. In fact, seeing her state and everyone still confused. He teleported away, appearing beside the healer his dagger again was coated in darkness before it struck. “Another down.” He growled softly. Around him the three still able to fight natives were snapped out of their stupor and charged him. But despite his resources being low, Dren wasn’t worried. Like falling dominos, with each that fell the fall of the next came quicker.
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*****
Maria pursed her lips as one contract after another vanished from her menu. When the fourth one vanished she closed her menu. The outcome of the second assassination squad’s fate was clear to her. Nearby Richard cackled having been watching her face. “So, they failed? What a waste. I could have used their bones.” Despite the situation, his voice was full of confidence and almost joy.
Glancing over at him sitting on his freshly made throne of bones, Maria noticed he had leveled up since she last looked at him. The skeletal lord watched her, his skull resting against his bony fist as he leaned to the side while sitting in the chair. As he sat there unmoving she saw the flames in his eyes flicker and waver as he leveled up again. “I see they are clearing the dungeons faster now.”
“Yes, with each one they clear they grow stronger as well.” He cackled again. “Did you know there is a stat that gives bonus experience for clearing a dungeon solo on the first try? It stacks with the stat from clearing them on the first try as well. Twenty percent increase per dungeon in effect.” He cackled away again. “Welll?” The skeleton asked with glee in their voice.
Maria wondered if he was intentionally trying to seem like a cartoonish villain at this point. It was hard to tell, Richard had been like this before turning undead. But his new appearance made it all the worse. “I admit it. Your plan worked better than I believed possible.” Maria admitted.
“Ha! See you don’t know everything woman!” Richard said as he sat up and smashed his bony fist into the arm of his throne, the bones of the chair rattled wildly. “I told you it would work.”
Maria bobbed her head in an admission of defeat. She really hadn’t expected it to work. Sending out squads of dozens of skeletons to clear dungeons while he stayed here safely seemed far too much of a cheat. But it had worked and the results couldn’t be denied. His skeletons themselves could level up on their own from killing enemies. On top of that with each level Richard gained he could increase their power as well. It created a snowball effect allowing the groups of skeletons out there to clear dungeons faster. It was true that only skeletons taken from system integrated beings could level up. Unlike the ones, he could now summon out of thin air. But that didn’t matter. There had been plenty of dead to harvest skeletons from early on. With the Monster Surge soon to happen, there would be more.
“You should be happy. I am doing just like you asked and clearing dungeons. I should be level twenty before they arrive.” Richard said cheerily as he stood up, his eyes flashing with another level up. Maria just nodded. Things weren’t going exactly as she planned, but they were still going in the direction she wanted. “Now, let us go to our prisoner. We need to be in place for when our friend calls.” Richard cackled gleefully.
Maria pressed her lips into a tight line again. She had insisted they kill the girl from Little Garden once they finished interrogating her about Dren’s abilities and his connection with Little Garden. But Richard had refused, wanting to keep her alive to taunt the Invader with. When she had tried to calculate the outcome of doing so, it had been impossible. The paths twisting and changing so rapidly she couldn’t make any guesses. Not being able to get an idea of the future from her class was suddenly terrifying. She had gone her whole life without knowing the future. She hadn’t even believed in horoscopes. But since the first day of her new life in this deranged world full of monsters, magic, and systems. The ability to see the future had been her sole comfort. As long as she had a safe path to walk, the horrors and terrors of this new world didn’t both her. But now she found her comfort stripped from her.
Paths beyond the point where they killed the girl were more stable. Even if most of them lead to a dead end, at least she could see the future with some clarity. But as long as they kept that woman alive, she was as good as blind to the future. Just like everyone else.
Yet, she knew if she killed the woman now. Without convincing Richard her own fate was sealed. Richard would not stand for any disloyalty nor would his narcissistic personality accept anyone else's actions as better than his own. It was why she had needed to go to such roundabout methods to evolve him. For the thousandth time, she wondered if another would have served her purposes better. Yet as she watched the Skeletal Lord in front of her, his level going up again, she had to admit she couldn’t see anyone else being a better choice. ‘Except Scourge, but that one won’t be controlled by anyone. Besides, trying to use the one destined to become Earth’s Champion as a pawn would be a suicide mission. That one is even more dangerous than Richard. At least Richard is just like dealing with a bratty child. As long as I make him think it was his idea and don’t push on things he won’t budge on. It will all work out.’
Her thoughts trailed off as they entered the room where they held the prisoner. A cage of bones surrounded the girl who sat in the middle, avoiding all the grisly bars. “Let me out of here you disgusting fucks. You pieces of shit. Cowards. Cockless bag of bones….” The list of insults continued, some becoming quite creative. It seemed she had spent her time stuck in the cage productively at least.
“Silence wench!” Richard bellowed and then cackled, though the girl simply raised her voice to match his own. Enraged at her disobedience the Skeletal Lord started shouting insults back at the young woman. Both their voices rose in volume as they tried to drown one another out. It was like watching two children having a screaming match. Maria sighed, not even bothering to keep it just a mental sigh. They wouldn’t be able to hear her either way over their shouting. Instead, she checked her menus and found that only one contract from the group was still active. It would be soon. She pulled out the metal cube and moved over to set it up for the incoming call. Behind her, there was the clatter of bones as the cage reshaped itself. Her head was starting to hurt from all the constant screaming back and forth. She was relieved when it suddenly stopped and glanced back to see the woman now bound in a chair of bones, a grisly bone in her mouth for a gag. She glared daggers at the gloating Richard even as her face turned slightly green at having a rotting bone clamped between her teeth. It pressed her checks back some as the horizontal bone pressed her head back against the equally grisly bones of the chair.
Richard was taunting her with glee. Maria shook her head and brushed out her robes while waiting.