SCOUTING THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

I sat in front of the entrance to my lair. I pulled my knees in and wrapped my arms around them. My eyes stung with mana burn, and my skin prickled with blissful pain. I stared blankly at the scarred burnt marks that plagued my arms.

I was trying to take control of Recall Memory, but the moment I faltered, the memories of their death came. I grimaced and palmed my forehead—pulling at my hair in an effort to stop the vivid memories.

PAIN

Why do I care?

I cried into the air, but deep down, I knew the answer... I hated being alone.

A sudden yip of an animal caught my attention, and the memories of the massacre seemed to fade away. I lifted my head and keened my ears—a scuffling sound? The sound intensified as I focused. It was coming from behind me and inside my lair.

I stood, flipping over the earthly slab hiding a dip into the ground leading to the secret doors to my lair. As I entered my hideaway, the weight of despair and sadness was lifted, and I felt protected and at ease. But that feeling was quickly washed away—before me was a school of rabbids in a frantic act of breeding within their pool of manure, piss, and other bodily fluids.

The scuffling sound of digging caught my attention from above, and I saw two rabbids digging their way in through the ceiling. If it were not for the iron veins I detected with Petty Scan blanketing the entire roof, these rabbids would have caused the ceiling to collapse.

They had to make do with the small hole they dug through, hoping to survive the long fall as they bounced off the ground with an amusing yelp despite my mixture of frustration and sadness. I then Petty Scanned the rabbids; No-named, rabbid. As for their classes, there were Hoarders, no classes, and Warriors.

Fascinating, I never knew fiends could have classes, but as I stood there, the Warrior rabbids all faced me with snarls, their bodies hunched up—ready to attack. I eyed the pile of dead rabbids that did not survive the fall—partially eaten by their kind. I distracted the Warrior rabbids with Telekinesis, tightening the pile even further before Summoning Undead Black Arachnid.

My arachnid emerged in its second stage, and its arrival taunted the Warrior rabbids. But as my Black Arachnid rolled through them with its web drawn between its limbs, simply crushing them, they had little hope against it.

I telekinetically piled the mush of dead rabbids together again, tensing at the yucky feeling transferred to my hands, and Summoned Undead Cave Arachnid to help clear the infestation. I took a moment to watch the rabbids Warriors fight and witnessed their horrible coordination. They were wild and frantic, even retaliating on their kind after an accidental friendly attack. I shook my head, hopped down the stairs, and placed my hands on the ground to cast Earth.

Using the ground as a medium, I formed a sphere of soft dirt and telekinetically hurled it at the rabbid hole within the ceiling—forcing it deeper with Telekinesis. I exhaled heavily, still tired from the vampire battle.

The smell of shit and corpses ached my temple, so I fled to my room to eat and rest. I lay within my resting area of soft dirt and robes, mentally planning my next course of action.

I yearned to fly back, rip that damned village from the ground, and hurl it into the sky. But I had no power to do such a thing. I would only be rushing to my own demise or capture. There was no way in damnation I could head back north. I doubt an army of soldiers would be eager to travel back to North Star right after a skirmish.

I figured they would wait around, possibly scout for more action, and if they were like the Earth Kingdom guests that visited the Fire Kingdom, they would lounge around and eat through Dagon's food supply.

I rolled over, my mind replaying the images of the southern plains. It seemed like the time was right; I should head south, and with my ability to fly, I should be able to escape anything.

*****

I awoke early the following day—not because I wanted to, but because I was paranoid and worried about being found. I double-checked my lair's entrance from the outside, ensuring it did not look conspicuous. I covered my nose as I set fire to the remaining piss and shit. Afterward, I reinforced the rabbid hole with more dirt… hmm. Why stop there?

I spent a good chunk of the morning casting Earth, using the ground as a medium, to form smooth girthy pillars—the height of my pillars reaching no further than the longest stalactite. I took a quick meal break after forming six pillars—despite my growth, the task was still draining.

I continued to work, using the raised pillars as a canvas to sculpt earthen sheets that gradually formed a ceiling. It was a shame I had to cover the iron veins that ran throughout the roof of the Arachnid's Lair, but in the future, I should be skilled enough to completely reform the entire lair however I see fit.

As for now, I just needed a bit of reinforcement. Hmph, I would not be surprised if a wandering miner sensed the iron blanketing the roof of the lair. I dismissed the idea and left for a second break.

The collapsed tower bugged me as I ate—fixing that would take all day and possibly into the night. I sighed,

PAIN

It might be safer to stay inside tonight anyway.

And so, I decided to give it a go and posture the collapsing tower.

Outside in the brisk wind, the heat from the previous day had vanished, and cool air nibbled at my skin. My entire body tensed at any sudden movement—constantly mistaking floating leaves and swaying trees and grass for soldiers.

I stood before the leaning tower and knelt to get a feel of its foundation—completely all stone. I grimaced—I would have to rely on Telekinesis.

Despite my staff's stable nature, it lacks precise accuracy in which hand magic excelled. I took a deep breath and began lifting the tower with Telekinesis using both hands. I had barely moved it an inch before beads of sweat formed at my temple.

Feeling my energy draining quickly, I started rushing—dammit! I needed to cast Earth but was stuck holding the tower in place with both hands. As I tried to set it upright, the ground began to shake.

In fear, I let go, causing the entire tower and ground to cave in an earthquake of smoke and debris. I quickly slid away from the treacherous terrain after falling onto my ass. My staff was about to fall in when I stretched out and grabbed it telekinetically.

Once the rumbling ceased, I carefully stood and inspected the damage. The entire pit was filled with large slabs of stone and tower pieces upon a bed of dirt and debris. Hmm... there was nothing about this pit that screamed, There is a hidden lair below!

I was sure to fail—yes, now realizing it only after I failed. I never attempted to cast two spells simultaneously and thought of it as something I should try to achieve. So, I spun around and returned to my lair to inspect the damage from inside.

Inside, half of the hall leading towards the—now truly Collapsed Tower—was barricaded entirely by ceiling debris. I shook my head at my stupidity but was still content that nothing would be able to enter through here. Well, not unless they were dungeoneers and had Earth magic.

Messing with that tower barely took time out of the day, so I checked the items I acquired from Ignoc. First was the sapphire puri, looking precisely like the ruby puries within the Arachnid's Lair but light blue. They felt slick but left no trace on my hands when I grasped at one, which promptly slipped from my grasp.

I then looked through the books, and my eagerness to read them rekindled as I held them in my hand; The Missing Bishop by Ezekiel, Past of the Elemental Kingdoms by Ignoc Soreled, Law of the Land by Coronor Soreled, Basics of Mediums by Isaac Nomad, and lastly, three books all by the same author, Raw Teachings of Passives Vol. 1, Raw Teachings of Willpower, Techniques and Skills Vol. 1 and Raw Teachings of Magiks Vol. 1 by Pit Lucas Lore, Grand Priest of Sainte June.

I had a basic understanding of magic and passive abilities, but I had no idea about skills or Willpower. Sure, they came up in books I read back within the Fire Kingdom, but not a single book contained any explanation—I figured Dean made sure of that.

And then there were mediums—I was also still ignorant about those. Hmm... undecided, I grabbed a gold puri coin and etched a faint scratch on one side before flipping the coin. It landed with the scratch mark facing down—mediums it is then.

*****

Basics of Mediums were detailed and a bit too easy to understand. As if it was intended for young kids just starting. Considering my former knowledge of mediums, I might as well be a young dumb child.

Night had already fallen by the time I finished the book. Nevertheless, my body ached for some action, so I shrugged off any lingering fear of soldiers searching for me, ate, stored some food and potions in my Inventory, and left my lair to explore the southern plains.

At my tail, I had two skeleton Slashers and Defenders, along with my cave and black arachnids. My skeletons were much thicker compared to when I first summoned them. With my massive mana pool, my Slashers' sword arms were sharper, denser, and nearly reached the ground. The Defenders' shield arm extended past their elbow and sealed fist, resembling a linear V-shaped tower shield of dense bone along their arm.

The sky was clear, and the moonlight was strong. The wind tugged on my robes as my party, and I stomped down the hills into the woods south of our lair. I refused to fly, for now, only to allow my Recall Memory to get its fill on every detail about the woods. Well, anything that I could make out—the trees blotted out most of the moonlight that I could barely see.

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The few rays of moonlight that pierced the trees caused small critters to rise as undead. An undead squirrel hopped toward me, and I kicked it a few feet ahead.

PAIN

Hmph, that... that felt good.

I quickened my pace and kicked it again. And again. Until it eventually shattered into bits.

An hour into my journey south, I have already slain two mandrakes, several dumb wudos that actually thought they could sneak up on me, dozens of skeletal animals, and plenty of undead critters. The further south I went, the more abundant the animals and fiends became. Finally, I whipped my head up at the flurry of heat signatures of two black hawks amid an altercation upon a thin branch.

The losing hawk fell off the branch, and I watched it bounce off the ground. It attempted to fly at the sight of me, but its left wing was broken. It tried to hop away as I approached it.

PAIN

No glory in losing, is there?

I mumbled to myself.

The hawk backed up against the tree trunk and kept its eyes on me. Fearful it was, but as I said, there was no glory in losing. I telekinetically grabbed it and brought it close. I studied its menacing frantic movements and figured I would be afraid if I were it.

I looked into its eyes; it became still and breathing heavily. Had it except its fate? I loved animals—they lived and strived on instinct—no true evil within their intentions, just a will to survive and protect themselves.

I squeezed hard, killing the hawk swiftly. I let its corpse drop to the floor and Summoned Undead Ritual. The hawk came back to life just as it was before I killed it. I first noticed the hawk's more extraordinary senses compared to my arachnids. The signals it sent me, along with my arachnids, gave me a blurry vision of my surroundings.

As we continued south, my undead hawk took to the air and relayed signals of its vision. Good, I was still going directly south of my lair. I assumed I had already veered off my intended course with all these trees in my way.

The sound of snarls and eating suddenly reached my sensitive ears, and I looked over in the direction of where it was coming from. I ordered my hawk towards it—three animals, it seemed. It was slightly west of us, and after maneuvering around a few trees, I spotted two blindinus ripping apart a slain blacat.

One of them raised its head, and then the second one. They both sniffed the air before looking over in my direction. I was distracted by the thoughts the scenery of these canines gave me. I clenched my jaws at the sweet memories of how Locness and I sneaked into the fiend keep back within the Fire Kingdom. I could not help but wish she was still here with me.

The blindinus attacked, and I plunged deeper into my memories of Locness as my familiars dealt with the blindinus. However, I was cautious enough to ensure they kept one of them uneaten.

I heated away the formation of tears before Summoning Undead Blindinu Ritual with their corpses. More signals from my hawk; there were more blindinus, four pairs, fighting off several blacats. I had a strong love for blindinus, but I had to get rid of them before they drove away all the animals in the area.

If the blindinus usually lived within the southern plains, they could be why the woods were crawling with animals fleeing north. I Summoned Undead Ritual on the slain blacat, and it came to life—its red eyes piercing through the dark and its slick black body nearly invisible.

Emerging into a sparse area of the woods where the moonlight lit the area, I stopped at the edge and watched the altercation of blindinus and blacats. Pairs of blindinus attacked their kind without a thought, but despite the unity of the blacats, they could not overcome the blindinus' toughness and wind magic.

I watched the blacats move, their steps making no sound, their attacks precise and always aiming for the neck. Unfortunately, the blindinus' had a thick coat of fur that could be considered light armor. The blindinus would howl before emitting a faint golden aura, and their fur would extend outward into sharp blades—that was new.

Two blacats were left, their mouth bleeding from attempting to bite into the sharp coats of the blindinu. They backed away, knowing their defeat as the remaining two pairs of blindinus fought each other.

I refused to let the blacats escape; they were fresh corpses for my familiars, so I sent my familiar ahead to end them. They were quick to flee but not faster than my black arachnid that pounced onto their bodies, shredding them into bloody pieces. The four blindinus were so focused on their fight that I easily strolled behind them and commanded the earth to impale them.

I allowed my undead blindinu and blacat to eat the corpses of their counterparts.

Active Acquired:

Summon: Undead Canine Ritual

Summon: Undead Panthera Ritual

We continued on our journey south, and after another hour of walking, my hawk took notice of a building. I peeked through the trees and spotted a tower—judging from its girth and size, it must have been a watchtower.

We continued, and the sound of the river reached my ears. Moving slightly east towards the watchtower, I saw that the ravine had leveled into a swift-moving river full of fish. The woods began to clear as I stomped down alongside the river.

The remains of a demolished stone bridge that had crossed the river were in front of us. I glided over the bridge while my arachnids quickly leaped over. As for my skeletons, I left them on the other side of the river—it would be a shame to have them slip and fall. On the other hand, it would also be an amusing sight...

The clearing around the tower was spacious, and the moonlight made my shadow solid and elongated. If the tower was occupied, my position was already noticed. But I teemed with confidence because I felt no eyes staring at me. I quickly approached the towers, expecting the building as I neared it.

No lights, cracks along the outside, and mold festering at the top. I sent my hawk toward the top of the tower—no movement or living things were detected.

I continued, brushing up against the base of the tower. I crouched against the building and sent my Black Arachnid around the front—nothing. I edged around and saw that the doors were broken and hanging off their hinges.

I noticed a trail of blood leading inside. Not too old from the way it glistened in the moonlight. Signals from the Black Arachnid told me nothing alive was inside, so I stepped into the murky tower. I first noticed a dead body propped up against the bottom of a spiraling staircase. I looked around, and a few pieces of furniture; bookshelves, tables, crates, and chairs were covered in dust and cobwebs. Mold and vines grew within the walls. Decayed paintings and sconces hung along the walls.

I approached the body, a gent, Oralath, Kinan, No Class, who looked forty with black skin and light blue stringy patterns. I noticed his outfit was Earth Kingdom attire—rich attire. I only knew of their clothing during wealthy trades and meetings within the Fire Kingdom. The two nations were—I believe—friendly. But according to books about... hmm, I think it was called statecraft, countries tend to be outwardly courteous while hiding their fangs behind their backs.

Earth kingdom must be close by with this dead gent lying before me. So, I searched his body—a book... no, he kept a journal. I had my arachnids watch the entry as I sat next to the body and read the journal.

Hmm, he decided to become a vagabond with two other brothers. That was a mistake. Thinking back, I heard a few nobles did the same in the Fire Kingdom. It was a boastful move that the rich would make to prove that anyone could obtain wealth. I had hoped Noble Dah Challa would follow suit and become mandrake food one day.

Reading on, this gent left home with a caravan. I shook my head—idiot. That would only bring more attention. He sought to journey the wilds west of the Kingdom of Earth and form a village. So, this area was, in fact, the wilderness—good to know.

He had left with a group of trusted bodyguards that he handpicked ... I shook my head at the amount of positivity he had before starting his journey. He also packed rations, clothing, pictures—

PAIN

Bringing riches along with one does not prove anything.

I thought out loud. I pushed away my frustration and continued.

Two days in, they ran into undead—which he had never seen before? And monstrous fiends that he thought were fables? I chuckled at the thought of his sheltered life. He then spoke of what he thought was a city, but his soldiers began to fall dead as they approached it.

He mentioned; a sudden flash of white, and they were gone!

PAIN

A sudden flash of white?

Eagerly, I read on and learned that they fled from the city, and the sudden deaths ceased. They took refuge along the outskirts of dying woods, he wrote.

While they rested, he mentioned the night was suddenly filled with laughter. Devils! They were devils! What were those things? How could those exist? I had to flee. By the grace of Lady Luck, I caught onto my horse.

It went on for a bit in poor handwriting before clearing up. He had gone without food for two days. Afterward, he wrote in blood, and I made out the remaining lines; I'm sorry, Kalaka, for whoever finds this diary... please tell...

It scribbled off. I shook my head again and eyed his corpse.

PAIN

You should have read a book, you dunce.

I Stashed his journal and searched his body but found nothing of use. Instead, I saw a tiny puncture wound on his side. I sighed, stood, and summoned him as my familiar. He came to life resembling his healthy original form, but I quickly desummoned him, turning his body into a pile of meat and clothes.

Active:

Summon: Undead Kinan Ritual

PAIN

That is precisely what I am looking for.

I summoned Undead Kinan Ritual, and out of the pile of meat and clothes came a naked, bloody grotesque kinan that was thin enough to be considered a skeleton. It was about the size of a child, not that I wanted to look, but instincts took over, and I saw it had no genitals.

My arachnids noticed something outside. Not a threat, and so I strolled out to inspect. My arachnid had seen a pack further south along the blood trail. I went to retrieve it and looked through it while back at the tower. I found a burnt Earth Kingdom citizenship pass, but it was useless. Soul stamped by this fool, so it lit itself on fire in the event of his death.

He had some elegant spoons, forks—I tossed them out of the way—and a cutting knife which I Stashed. I dug deeper into the sack, filled with an endless supply of fine clothing.

PAIN

Damned silver-teeth!

I cursed. How much clothing did this fool bring? I finally dumped it all out, and after finding nothing else of use, I sighed and set his clothing on fire.

Just as I turned, something caught my eye within the fire. I doused the flames and stooped to look. A platinum Puri coin!? I scoffed internally. One million puries. I smiled softly to myself,

PAIN

Fucking silver-teeth...

What a cheating bastard. If the rich truly believed they could obtain wealth from nothing, they should leave with nothing. I shook my head in disbelief and Stashed the coin.

I exited the tower to receive an alert of moving creatures to the south from my hawk. I flew up to the top of the tower and squinted at an intense heat signature rising into the sky—smoke coming from a campfire that I could not see. The ground continued south in a series of cliffs, and I figured a camp was hiding within the shadow of a cliff.

Southwest of me was another plume of smoke rising from what looked to be a village in the moonlight, and far to the left along the river was a small watermill. Interesting...

This was far enough for tonight now that I know I had company within these wilds. If I wanted to avoid going on a mindless search for animals, I must head back to my lair to feed my familiars. Not only that, I was itching to read more educational books.

Active Acquired:

Summon: Undead Circus Ritual