Chapter 14: Meeting The Boss

As I walked behind the undead general, I glanced at the skills that had leveled up thanks to my necromancy ritual.

Mana Affinity SkillSkill Type: PassiveSkill Rank: UniqueSkill Level: 6Exp: 30%Effects: Any skill using mana cost 6% less. You are more sensitive to the mana. This enables you to know when someone is about to cast a spell due to the amount of mana being gathered. Anything mana related comes easier to you.

NecromancySkill Type: ActiveSkill Rank: RareSkill Level: 4Exp: 65%Effect: Allows the user to reanimate dead corpses. The stronger the skill, the stronger the corpse. Certain rituals will change the corpse’s characteristics.

My mana affinity was now level six. The reason for the level up was because of all the mana I was using. Not only did I have to dump mana into this ritual, but I also had to convert it to air mana. So it was no surprise that this skill leveled up. The mana cost for my spells was also reduced by six percent. It wasn’t that much, but it was getting there. Slowly but surely.

The other skill to level up was necromancy. This skill had received quite a chunk of experience. And I deserved every bit of it. The ritual to create Viola had been extremely taxing on my mind. A single mistake and the ritual would fail. And if it failed I wouldn’t just be able to try again. I would be dead. The higher rituals were always dangerous to attempt but they yielded better results. In an hour or so I would be able to see if it was all worth it.

Closing my skill windows, I looked around to see where I was walking. Similar to the walls around my base, the walls around me had moss on them. Some patches shone brightly while others gave off a dull light. Without the moss I would have a hard time seeing so I was quite thankful for it. My enhanced vision was leveling up quite well however I still couldn’t see completely well in the dark. I was making progress at least.

While I was examining my surroundings, a question arose from my head. Where was the loot from the rats I had killed? My eyes narrowed unconsciously as I began to think. I had killed quite a bit of rats in that battle so there should’ve been at least one piece of loot. Did the bats pick it up? I had seen one picking up some gauntlets so the idea wasn’t that farfetched. But if they did, then I might have a problem. I needed that loot since I no longer had my iron sword. Unlike some people I preferred fighting with a weapon in my hand. I would fight bare handed if I had to however a weapon would be more preferable.

Hmm. Would they give me my loot back? They should, shouldn’t they? I was pretty sure I was on good terms with them so maybe all I had to do was ask. The problem was what to do if they said no. There were plenty of reasons why this could happen. They needed my loot to protect themselves, greed, and many other things. Either way I still needed to play it safe. At least until I was stronger.

After thinking on this little conundrum for several minutes, I turned towards the undead general. But before I could utter a single word from my mouth, he began to speak.

“We’re here.”

Closing my mouth slowly, I walked a couple more steps until I arrived in a clearing. Taking a stand beside the undead general, I glanced around. Unlike the other clearings I had been in, this one was quite big. Even the battlefield I had fought in wasn’t this big. Pieces of the earth jutted out from various places in the clearing. If I looked closely I could see dark silhouettes standing on them. I also noted that Viola was closer to me than usual. Huh, maybe she was nervous.

Several feet away from me, two bats were sparring. The fight resembled a melody of death. In a blur of black, a bat would disappear. Only to reappear seconds later behind his opponent. But before he could strike, his opponent would jump back and dodge the blow. Man, I didn’t even think I could fight that could. Even with all my skills. As I watched the fight I noticed something odd.

Shadow Bat - Lv.12

Hp: 55/70

Sinister Adult Bat - Lv.10

Hp: 40/55

Hold up. My face scrunched up in confusion as I tried to comprehend what I was seeing. Why the hell were these two bats so powerful? They were as strong as the general! Well at least the shadow bat was. The undead general and the shadow bat were both level twelve. That was double my level. I wasn’t the only one who had gained levels in the battle against the rats. Man, I wish my level wasn’t so low. Before I could go off on a tangent, Viola sent me a wave of encouragement through our mana connection. Taking a deep breath I calmed myself down. Worrying wouldn’t help me so there was no point.

Before I could watch the spar anymore, I was nudged away by the undead general. There was a smirk on his face so I guess he was amused that I was interested in the spar. Shrugging my shoulders I followed him once more. If you saw a battle with the opponents displaying considerable skill, you couldn’t help but stop and watch.

As I walked toward the end of the cave I couldn’t help but notice some of the bats reactions toward me. All of the undead bats I saw looked at me with excitement or interest. Some of the normal bats however looked at me with contempt and disgust. I guess they didn’t see humans that much. Some of the more bold bats insulted me under the breath and spat at my feet. I had no idea what they said since they were speaking too low, but from the way the undead general looked, it wasn’t good. I also avoided the spit by stepping somewhere else. I hoped my presence here wouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t want to get into a fight with one of them, but if they kept on trying me, I would show them that a higher level didn’t mean shit.

After passing the particularly rude bats, I walked for a few more minutes until I reached an entryway. But before I could meet the boss, the undead general and I were stopped for questioning. As they talked back and forth, I realized something. I could understand the bat that the undead general was talking to. And it wasn’t an undead. Why was this? The only reason I could think of was because I already understood the bat language thanks to the undead general. Since the undead bat spoke in bat language and I automatically understood it, then I would know the bat language even if an undead spoke it.

For example let’s say I had an undead fish. If I conversed with the undead fish I would understand fish language. Therefore if I spoke to another fish of its kind, I would be able to understand it. Or at least that was what I thought. Maybe there was a different reason. I doubted it, but it was possible.

 I was interrupted from my thoughts when I noticed the bat guards motioning for me to go inside. I guess the negotiations went well. Stepping through the entryway, I arrived at a room that could only be fit for a king. Weapons, armor, potions, and anything valuable was displayed in an extravagant manner. Although it looked nice I noticed that some of these weapons would be helpful in battle. If the boss was being smart, he would let his soldiers use some of this stuff. If he did, they would get better results in battle.

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After examining my surroundings I looked at the area in front of me. On an earthen seat stood a giant bat, far larger than any I had ever seen before. If I had to guess, I would say he was bigger than my Mustang that I owned. He was bigger than a car. I would hate having to fight him. I could only imagine what the rat boss looked like. Taking a closer look at him, I attempted to see his status.

Giant Berserker Bat[Boss] - Lv.??

 Hp: ????

Tch. The only thing that I could see on his status was his name. His level and health points were all question marks for me. I could tell he was the boss thanks to the boss that was beside his name. If I had to say, I would say that the name fit him well. Not only was the boss giant, but I could see several scars that lay across his body. No doubt from the multitude of battles it had fought. I had to make sure I was respectful when I talked. If this creature decided to kill me, there wouldn’t be anything that I could do.

Before I or the undead general could say anything, the bat boss spoke in an ominous tone.

“Why have you brought this….creature here?”

The voice of the bat boss left me in shivers. Even its voice was filled with power. Just how high of a level was it? I also noticed that it didn’t say my species. It said creature instead. Had it never seen a human before? I mean I had never seen these giant bats before, but I had seen their smaller versions. Before I could think anymore, the undead general spoke.

“I believe he can be useful. He is able to bring corpses back to life. Although he can only bring back a few, a few is better than none. I also witnessed his skill in battle when I first met him on the battlefield.”

Once the general finished speaking, he motioned towards the entryway. After he did this, my reanimated bat walked towards where we were. The undead general then proceeded to explain how the bat had been killed in battle and how I had brought him to life. As he was saying this, I could see some interest on the face of the boss. Viola nuzzled closer towards me as the boss fixed me with a curious gaze.

“Is what he said true?”

I nodded my head since my throat was too dry to speak. Man, I didn’t think I was this nervous. This was my first time meeting someone so strong after all. The undead general didn’t really count since if things went south, I was positive I could defeat him. Not without a couple wounds of course. But the battle would still be winnable. Until I got stronger however, I wouldn’t even be able to touch the boss. The next words out of the boss’s mouth chilled me to my bones.

“So you say he is useful even with his pathetically low level? Hmm. Normally my advisors would have you punished for letting this creature inside and have it killed, but I won’t listen to them this time. He did bring one of my soldiers back after all. And for that he must be rewarded. Any good deed towards our kind must be rewarded. That is our way.”

After he said this, the boss then turned towards me.

“I will allow you to pick one thing from my multitude of treasures. After you got what you wanted, I want you to leave. You will be able to return once you are a higher level. Just the sight of your low level sickens me. And as for you Vasinar, your level is also lacking. I am saying this now since your one of my favorite generals, raise your level along with the prophet. There have been some complaints about letting an undead be a general and your low level doesn’t help.”

Once he was done speaking, the undead boss turned to the side and began talking to what I assumed was his advisor. Although I was a little annoyed by the jab at my level, I kept silent. In a way he was correct. But what he didn’t know was that I had been raising my skills instead of my level. I wasn’t that angry though since I was being rewarded for helping them. Even though I didn’t really have a choice. I also noticed that the undead weren’t really liked here. Maybe that was why a lot of the bats didn’t like me. Not only was I an unknown creature, I also possessed an undead aura.

Turning around I surveyed the array of valuables. I wanted something that was powerful, it didn’t matter if it looked nice. The question was if I wanted some armor or a weapon. Potions and other valuables weren’t an option since I needed something that would last me a long time. Hmm. Turning towards my barat, I asked her what she thought.

“That’s a hard choice to make. While armor would allow you to have more defense and take more hits, a better weapon would allow you to kill your enemy before he damages you. It’s your preference but I would choose a weapon. You have been surviving without armor for a while now and I wouldn’t recommend fighting a monster barehanded, even with your magic.”

My barat had  a point. There was no need for armor if I killed the opponent before it could touch me. I could always use magic to fight with but I felt more comfortable with a weapon in hand. This choice wasn’t that bad since I could always make some earthen armor. I hadn’t tried it before but for some reason I had a feeling the technique would be successful.

Now that I had decided to choose a weapon, I needed to decide what type. Long range, short range, or medium range? I didn’t really want a long range weapon such as a bow because it would be useless if my enemies got close. I could also use my magic to attack far away enemies so a bow would be unnecessary. Medium range was like long range, I could use my magic instead. This left me with only one option, short range.

Short range weapons included swords, spears, axes, and a few other weapons. . The bat boss didn’t have that many any other weapons of those types, so I didn’t really have that much of a choice. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t complaining. I actually thought it was impressive that he had this much to begin with. Just the amount of stuff he had made me wonder where he got it. I highly doubted that he received all of this as loot. It was just impossible. I had been down here for two days and I only got loot like two times. At least I think that was the number, I couldn’t really remember.

Maybe this stuff was brought with the boss when he was dragged away from his planet. The reason I assumed he was from a different planet was quite simple. There were no giant bats on earth. I was quite certain of this. If there was, I would’ve heard it on the internet by now. How was he even brought here to begin with? Did he just teleport here? It was a shame that I couldn’t get my answers answered. Maybe when I raised my level I would be able to ask him the questions that I had. I might even be able to ask for help in finding my phone. However in order to do all of this, my level would have to be higher.

Shaking my head, I focused on the task at hand. What weapon should I choose? A spear would give me reach but I was more used to a sword. Using an axe would be challenging but the massive amounts of damaged it delivered would be worth it. The other weapons had pros and cons also. This was going to be a hard choice. What weapon should I choose?

 AN: Post in the comments what you want Colm's new weapon to be and why. I kind of know what I want it to be, but I'll take suggestions into mind. If your explanation is good, I might just use that specific weapon. Thanks for reading!