Frimri, the young frost dragon who just so happened to be the mother of Tahsi’s unhatched child, hung sadly in the air, wrapped tightly in the ropes of the Overlord’s dragon catcher. A captive audience could be heard in the distance cheering and shouting as the Overlord shocked the helpless dragon with wicked electrocution spells.
Less than a block away, and well within the sad, distracted dragon’s field of vision Isabelle, Tahsi, and Sir Jingles sat on their horses at the outskirts of Cloud Reach’s biggest courtyard and stared at the twenty odd skeletons drawing their weapons. Isabelle dismounted from Lugano, and her party members followed suit. Tahsi finished a final bite of bread and cracked his knuckles, ready for some melee fighting. Sir Jingles didn’t necessarily look ready for, well, any fighting, and had already puffed up like a cheerleader’s pom pom.
“Hey, Jingles,” said Isabelle. “Do you need a weapon or something? I’ve got a bit of a surplus.”
“That would be cool,” said Jingles. “I think I’m all out of throwing daggers. Then again, how much mana do I have? Maybe I can confuse a whole hell of a lot of these skeletons!” Jingles shrugged to check his stats. “Aw fuck. I only have five mana. Really? After all that leveling up? Who would’ve thought that was a good idea, to leave me with only five fucking mana?”
Isabelle tried to hide the expression of shame on her face upon the realization that Jingles’ lack of mana was her own fault.
“Whatever,” said Sir Jingles. “I need to level up, actually, so I’ll just go ahead and do that real qui—oh, that’s right, I can’t. Because we’re in combat mode against, what, twenty odd skeletons?”
Isabelle didn’t have much to say, but thankfully she didn’t have a lot of time to not say it, either. The skeletons charged all at once like a sort of hive mind.
Isabelle noticed she wasn’t even wearing any fighting clothes! She’d apparently defaulted to wearing her necromancer’s robes when she enchanted all her armor. It almost felt like dreaming she was going to school in her underwear, but it was a real fight! Of course, Isabelle could just try out some of her magic on these skeletal bastards real quick before changing into her fighting gear. Thinking quickly, Isabelle raised both her hands—although she wasn’t certain it was even necessary for the spell she had in mind—and thought ‘Cast Ring of Fire.’
In a poof of warming flame, a perfect ring of fire surrounded Isabelle. All of its flames aimed outward, towards the charging enemies.
Hey, fifty two percent mana, not too bad. A good bit of Isabelle’s mana had thankfully already recharged from all the enchanting she’d done in preparation for battle.
[3042 damage dealt]
[2013 damage dealt]
[2646 damage dealt]
[1003 fire damage dealt]
[1201 fire damage dealt]
[1027 fire damage dealt]
The three skeletons that had ran towards Isabelle and hit her ring of fire ran away with screams of agony as they ignited in flames.
Obviously, these skeletons were not resistant to fire, Isabelle was happy to notice.
[Mana 48%]
Still, even though she was protected for the time being, Isabelle was itching to jump into action. After all, it wasn’t like her party members were going to do an awful lot, and maybe it would be better to save their help for the Overlord anyway. These skeletons didn’t seem all that formidable. So, she opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 217.4/232
Item
Traits
Sleek Young Red Dragon Armor (human) (enchanted)
+2 electrocution, +3 fire resist, +7 hp, +12 str, +13 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Boots (enchanted)
+1 electrocution, +2 fire resist, +4 stm, +4 dx, +2 str, +7 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Gauntlets (enchanted)
+3 electrocution, +2 fire resist, +5 damage, +5 stm, +5 dx, +4 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Cloak (enchanted)
+2 electrocution, +5 fire resist, +3 char, +3 stm, +5 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Helmet (enchanted)
+1 electrocution, +7 str, +5 char, +3 speechcraft, +3 carry weight
Young Red Dragon Glaive (enchanted)
+3 electrocution, +2 fire damage, +7 damage, +2 str, +6 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
[Sleek Young Red Dragon Armor (human) (enchanted) equipped]
[+2 electrocution]
[+3 fire resist]
[+7 hp]
[+12 str]
[Young Red Dragon Boots (enchanted)]
[+1 electrocution]
[+2 fire resist]
[+4 stm]
[+4 dx]
[+2 str]
[Young Red Dragon Gauntlets (enchanted)]
[+3 electrocution]
[+2 fire resist]
[+5 damage]
[+5 stm]
[+5 dx]
[Young Red Dragon Cloak (enchanted)]
[+2 electrocution]
[+5 fire resist]
[+3 char]
[+3 stm]
[Young Red Dragon Helmet (enchanted)]
[+1 electrocution]
[+7 str]
[+5 char]
[+3 speechcraft]
With all these skeletons around, there was no question that her young red dragon glaive was the way to go.
[Young Red Dragon Glaive (enchanted) equipped]
[+3 electrocution]
[+2 fire damage]
[+7 damage]
[+2 str]
Isabelle charged towards the skeletons. Her ring of fire blasted in to four of them.
[Mana 44%]
[1224 damage dealt]
[2031 damage dealt]
[1748 damage dealt]
1936 damage dealt]
[1002 fire damage dealt]
[989 fire damage dealt]
[1025 fire damage dealt]
[1001 fire damage dealt]
The skeletons screeched in agony as they burned in flames. Before they could scurry away, Isabelle raised her glaive and twirled it in the air, swinging it around for three quick and comprehensive slashes.
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[2056 damage dealt]
[2214 damage dealt]
[3001 damage dealt]
[2636 damage dealt]
[2001 electrocution damage dealt]
[2020 electrocution damage dealt]
[2069 electrocution damage dealt]
[2420 electrocution damage dealt]
[1999 damage dealt]
[1969 damage dealt]
[1970 damage dealt]
[1962 damage dealt]
[1776 electrocution damage dealt]
[1888 electrocution damage dealt]
[1920 electrocution damage dealt]
[1420 electrocution damage dealt]
[2001 damage dealt]
[2012 damage dealt]
[1817 damage dealt]
[1812 damage dealt]
[1011 electrocution damage dealt]
[1411 electrocution damage dealt]
[1313 electrocution damage dealt]
[1169 electrocution damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[Achievement unlocked: rack up a massive combo of crit hits] [Stamina 88%]
[Mana 39%]
Well, that had been awesome. The skeletons lay in weak piles of bones beside Isabelle. That said, she still had, what, sixteen damn skeletons to go? What a headache! Oh well, it was time to slash them to bits.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Isabelle leapt forward.
[Stamina 87%]
There were two skeletons nearby. Her ring of fire hit them.
[1001 damage dealt]
[878 fire damage dealt]
[1426 damage dealt]
[978 fire damage dealt]
[Mana 36%]
These fuckers already looked weak. For the first time, Isabelle felt maybe a little bit overpowered. It felt good. She slashed her glaive at a skeleton’s neck.
[Critical hit]
[3045 damage dealt]
[1201 fire damage dealt]
[1244 fire damage dealt]
The skeleton’s head popped right off and ignited with flames and electricity.
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
The other skeleton actually looked a little nervous, which only made Isabelle feel confident when she swung her glaive at its neck, too.
[Critical hit]
[3001 damage dealt]
[1401 fire damage dealt]
[1212 electrocution damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Lopping the heads off these fuckers was proving effective and economical. Isabelle just needed to keep moving while she had her ring of fire activated, maybe she could take them all out!
Isabelle noticed that Tahsi was punching at a cluster of five sekeltons, that had surrounded him. Sure, Tahsi’s melee was decent, but it couldn’t be that good. Isabelle ran up to them and ran around the foes, hitting each with her activated ring of fire.
[Critical hit]
[1040 damage dealt]
[956 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Wow. Maybe Tahsi had been doing better at hurting these skeletons than Isabelle had given him credit for!
[Critical hit]
[1203 damage dealt]
[982 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Hell yes! It seemed each time Isabelle hit one of these already weakened skeletons with her ring of fire it was just about guaranteed to burst into flames and subnsequently drop dead.
[Critical hit]
[1136 damage dealt]
[945 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Only one more skeleton to go!
[Critical hit]
[1411 damage dealt]
[972 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Isabelle smiled as the skeleton burst into flames and fell part.
“Thanks for the help, Isabelle,” said Tahsi. “Those skeletons had me pretty overwhelmed!”
“Any time,” said Isabelle. This almost made up for the fact that Tahsi’s stats were seemingly still so much better than hers. Almost being the key word, of course.
There were ten skeletons left, and they were all running towards Isabelle and Tahsi now. Hadn’t these idiot skeletons learned anything? Isabelle just stood there and waited for the fools to ignite.
[1057 damage dealt]
[946 fire damage dealt]
Isabelle wasn’t going to wait for another skeleton to run up. She raised her glaive to this first skeleton and jabbed into where its heart would’ve been.
[Critical hit]
[2389 damage dealt]
[1156 fire damage dealt]
[994 electrocution damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[Stamina 72%]
Isabelle ripped her glaive out of the skeleton’s chest and watched its body fall to pieces. It was just in time, too, because up ran three more skeletons. They all hit her ring of fire. Obviously, these skeletons had abysmal wis and int scores, there was no question there.
[1134 damage dealt]
[989 fire damage dealt]
[1009 damage dealt]
[1002 fire damage dealt]
[1012 damage dealt]
[897 fire damage dealt]
It was easy to see the best choice of action as the three skeletons ingnited with flame and screamed in terror and agony. Isabelle raised her glaive and slashed at their necks for more head-popping action.
[Critical hit]
[3324 damage dealt]
[2134 fire damage dealt]
[1989 electrocution damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[Critical hit]
[3145 damage dealt]
[2938 fire damage dealt]
[2156 electrocution damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[Critical hit]
[3208 damage dealt]
[2947 fire damage dealt]
[2314 electrocution damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Six skeletons to go. Ugh, that was just too many.
[Mana 0%]
Fuck. Isabelle’s ring of fire deactivated. And all six skeletons were running towards her!
[-2 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
[-4 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
[-2 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
The fuck? Isabelle was getting struck by flaming arrows from skeleton archers left and right! Apparently the ring of fire had been protecting her from them.
[-2 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
[-1 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
[-3 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
This was annoying as shit. Plus, now Isabelle had arrows sticking out of her neck and chest! It didn’t necessarily hurt, other than the stings of pain to her chest with each loss of hp, but it was quite irksome. Isabelle wanted to end this fight, and quick. She slashed her glaive at the two skeletons closest to her.
[2254 damage dealt]
[1005 fire damage dealt]
[987 electrocution damage dealt]
[2163 damage dealt]
[1938 fire damage dealt]
[1004 electrocution damage dealt]
Ugh. They weren’t dead! The ring of fire had been so helpful.
[-2 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
And these arrows were the worst!
[-10 hp]
Shit! Now the skeletons were actually getting hits in on her!
[-15 hp]
Isabelle gasped as a skeleton stabbed a longsword into her gut, yanked it out, and stabbed it back into her gut twice more.
[-8 hp]
[-11 hp]
Shit, this was not okay. Worse still, another skeleton had gotten behind her and had stabbed Isabelle in the back!
[-10 hp]
Shit. Isabelle was feeling terribly weak. Not completely drained of hp, but she was starting to get there. Light tunnel vision was setting in. The skeleton in front of her raised its sword, preparing to strike her neck.
“I’ve got you, Isabelle!” said Tahsi. He swung a scaly fist forward and punched the skeleton point blank in the temple. The creature’s head shattered to bony bits.
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Isabelle wanted to thank him, but there was still a skeleton behind her, and it was rearing up to attack her again!
[-1 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
Damn arrows. Didn’t Isabelle have some potions that could help in this mess? Sure, she had wanted to save them all for the Overlord, but that train of thought was only worth it if she actually succeeded in getting an audience with the Overlord and not perishing beforehand in the first place. As the skeleton swung its blade, Isabelle opened her inventory.
Inventory: Isabelle
Carrying capacity: 217.4/232
Item
Traits
Potion of Endless Stamina x3
+0.5 carry weight
Potion of Greater Mana x3
+20 mana, +0.5 carry weight
Potion of Greater Health x5
+20 hp, +0.5 carry weight
Potion of Giant Strength
+155 str, +0.5 carry weight
Abbreviated list based on prior use. Focus to see more items…
[Potion of Greater Health consumed]
[+20 hp]
[-5 hp]
Isabelle leapt backwards as she took damage from the skeleton’s stab. She’d had that potion just in time, otherwise she would’ve died. Then again, didn’t she have three potions of greater mana? Isabelle decided using one of those on this fight was well worth it. Obviously these skeletons made up for their weakness by being capable of dealing some nasty damage.
[Potion of Greater Mana drunken]
[Mana 36%]
That gave Isabelle less mana than she’d hoped. Still, she had some great spells left. She figured, seeing as these damn skeletons were so weak to fire, she’d just give them some fire. She raised her left hand to the closest skeleton that had just stabbed her and thought, ‘Cast Flame Blast,’ powering it up slightly.
[Mana 32%]
Flames shot from her fingers and engulfed the foe.
[Critical hit]
[3033 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Hell yes. That left, what, four skeletons? And they looked all to be archers.
[-2 hp]
[You resisted fire damage]
Ugh! Now to take these fuckers out. Isabelle dashed forward and pointed at the closest archer.
[Stamina 75%]
She thought, ‘Cast Flame Blast.’
[Critical hit]
[2989 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Three more. Isabelle approached the next skeleton. She was getting angry, and it seemed to be giving her a little bit of a boost of focus. Isabelle grabbed this skeleton’s head quickly, squeezing it between her fingers, and, creatively enough, thought ‘Cast Draw Flame.’
[Mana 29%]
For less mana over a short distance, Isabelle’s hand erupted in flames that quickly engulfed the captive head of the skeleton archer.
[Critical hit]
[3145 fire damage dealt]
[3032 fire damage dealt]
[3129 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Two more skeletons to go! Isabelle raised both hands at either skeleton archer and thought, ‘Cast Flame Blast.’ She also powered it up with all the rest of her mana, because Isabelle figured why not?
[Mana 2%]
Flames shot brilliant out of both of her hands and snaked their way to the two skeleton archers. Plumes of flames battered and burned the foes, scorching them to death.
[Critical hit]
[Critical hit]
[4000 damage dealt]
[2214 fire damage dealt]
[3999 damage dealt]
[2198 fire damage dealt]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
[‘Skeleton’ is dead]
Isabelle smiled as she saw the flame subside and nothing but piles of rubble and dust remain in their stead. However, frustratingly enough, she did not exit combat mode.
And then, something horrible happened.
All of the dead skeleton bones started rattling and chattering with a dreadful life. It was starting to feel like the statues all over again as each bone zipped through the air and amalgamated together with the others. Soon, an army of three skeleton monsters stood in the courtyard. One had eight arms, each holding a blade. One was just a giant skeletal mouth. One other was like a giant skeletal snake, and it could even use its bones to rattle and hiss convincingly.
Isabelle didn’t know if she was necessarily scared of these skeletal monstrosities, but she did know that they annoyed and irritated her terribly. She was here to fight the fucking Overlord, not a bunch of stupid skeletons!
“Hey! Frimri finally noticed us!” said Tahsi with joy. He waved up to the ensnared dragon. “Don’t worry, sweetums! We’re gonna get you away from that rat bastard of an Overlord!”
“Tahsi, are you not seeing these skeleton monsters that just formed in the courtyard? Don’t we need to focus on fighting?” asked Isabelle.
“Who dares call the Overlord a rat bastard?” asked the screeching voice of a lady from afar. The three skeleton monsters suddenly stopped groaning and growling with menace and actually started chattering their teeth and the rest of their bones in fear.
“This feels kind of ominous,” said Tahsi. “Tahsi, shut up,” said Isabelle.
“I was just remarking on the ominousness of it all!” said Tahsi with frustration.
“Oh, stuff a piece of bread in it,” said Sir Jingles. It was only on hearing him speak that Isabelle realized Jingles had been hiding under Stefano the horse instead of attempting to fight.
“Jingles—” said Isabelle, “—why don’t you just go ahead and cast confusion? At least confuse one skeleton monster or something! Come on, do something!”
“Look at the skeleton monsters, Isabelle! Like, really look at them! They’re shaking! They’re already fucking confused! And what’s more, they’re scared of whoever that lady was that ominously shouted at Tahsi for calling the Overlord a rat bastard!” said Sir Jingles. “And, even more than that, I couldn’t cast that damned spell if I wanted to, Isabelle!”
“Why?” asked Isabelle. “Sure, you don’t have a lot of mana, but I mean—”
“I have five mana. The spell costs twelve mana, Isabelle. Do the fucking math!” said Sir Jingles with a hiss.
Isabelle sighed. Clearly she’d made a bit of a miscalculation.
“Okay, I admit it!” said the lady’s voice from afar. A lady in jet-black, shimmering armor stormed into the courtyard and crossed her arms. She was wearing gauntlets that morphed into claws at her hands, and had two wicked-looking curved blades slung over her shoulders. “I know who said that the Overlord was a rat bastard. It was the insufferable kobold with a bread fetish!”
“It’s not a fetish!” said Tahsi. He stuffed another piece of bread in his mouth. A single tear ran down his face from his left eye. “It’s a passion! There’s a difference.”
“I don’t give a fuck!” said the lady. Isabelle noticed that her lips were bright red, and they stood out from her pale skin. “Now I’m going to do what should’ve been done a long, long time ago. It’s time to put this player down.”
“Put me down?” asked Isabelle. She realized she knew this lady’s voice. This was the lady who’d been speaking to Isabelle in her mind earlier, who’d told her to beware the Overlord. Isabelle didn’t know this lady’s name, but she had her pegged for a fucking psycho.
“Yes, put you down,” said the psycho lady. “Put you down before you fuck everything up.”
Isabelle wanted more of an explanation, but this lady didn’t look prepared to give one.
“Get ready to die, bitch!!” said the lady. Isabelle thought that calling her a bitch when this lady didn’t even know her was kind of uncalled for. The foe drew her large, curved blades and twirled towards Isabelle, screaming with angst, fury, and rage.
This was going to be interesting.