Chapter VIII – Old Bones and Ages Past.
Verdant waited expectantly as several seconds later a prompt appeared, this one was of the typical blue variety.
Would you like to claim this location?
Yes? No?
He impatiently confirmed that ‘Yes’ he would like to claim the objective he had been working towards for the last couple of days.
The prompt disappeared and a chiming was heard. A new notification appeared. He had expected this one, to be fair.
Quest Updated!
Home is where the monsters won’t hurt you (1/3) {Corrupted}
You have arrived at [The Forgotten Hall] and initiated a claim of the Central Node of location [Verdant Green].
Objective Updated. Due to the presence of {Corrupted} enemies, you must destroy them before you may claim the Central Node.
Objective
Destroy 5 waves of the {Corrupted} undead contained beneath these lands. 0/5 waves cleared.
Rewards
Permanent Caretaker Status
Other rewards contingent on performance.
A boom resounded from high overhead, shaking the stone room he was currently in. The air felt charged with electricity. Verdant pulled his hand back from the crystal and drew his warpick from his inventory, slinging his shield down and over his left forearm “What the hell was that?”
Quest Updated!
Home is where the monsters won’t hurt you (1/3) {Corrupted}
The first wave has arrived. Destroy the {Corrupted} with impunity. 0/50 (1/5 waves)
“Oh, so it’s like that is it?” Verdant turned and ran from the room, he passed the throne and made his way down the stairs, feasting tables passed on his right. He picked up speed as he approached, then passed the central bonfire and by the time he reached the sleeping area, he felt like the ground was disappearing under his feet, moving inexorably towards his goal. There was no longer any room for fear, only battle and glory.
Heat built in his chest as he exited the entrance of the hall and went cold, stopping him in his tracks when he saw what had become of the world outside.
The entire area inside the settlement’s walls had filled with a thick, dark fog, sparks of green light shot through intermittently and souls of the damned howled through the night sky; lightning cracked overhead and another boom echoed across the open space, far too loud for his comfort.
Some of that fear started to creep in once more. How was he supposed to find anything out there, he couldn’t see more than a meter or two in front of him. ‘Don’t panic, there was something telling me how to get here when I was looking for the node, maybe, if I concentrate, there will be a pull leading me to my objective here as well.’
Verdant took a deep breath, exhaling in a gust, blowing out a cloud of steam before him. Concentrating, he closed his eyes and sure enough, there were dozens of feelings, pulling him in different directions. He tried to focus more carefully and choose the one closest to him. When he locked onto it, the others faded into the background and Verdant set of once more, this time with much greater care due to the reduced visibility.
He jogged a steady pace down the sloping hill for several minutes, suddenly he had an idea. ‘I wonder if I can make my HP and MP appear in my vision as coloured bars.’ He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, willing the system to do what he wanted. Then, there they were, a red bar in the top left of his vision and underneath was a blue bar. He was pleased to note that they had refilled since his earlier activation of Bloods Wrath.
He focussed back on the pull and found that it was suddenly stronger. Grasping his shield firmly and preparing a backswing with his warpick Verdant inched forward, prepared for anything.
A shadow appeared in the mist, and he put on a burst of speed, planting his foot and swinging with all his might. The flat end of his weapon made contact with something solid in the dark. A satisfying crack echoed through the night and a loud screeching howl left the body as a bright wisp of light shot out from within, up into the night sky. Two new notifications appeared for his perusal, and he absently made them appear with a flick of his eyes, causing a flash of blue light to momentarily blind his dark vision. Grumbling now, he squinted at the text, reading it as his vision returned to focus.
Kill Notification
1 x Rattling Dead [Raeskir] Level 15{Corrupted} Slain
+180 XPs Gained
Passive Skill Unlocked!
Weapon Mastery: Warpick (Uncommon) 0 > 1
Your affinity for the warpick has awakened, granting you enhanced precision and control over this versatile weapon. With every swing and strike, your understanding grows, honing your ability to wield the warpick with devastating efficiency.
· Damage Bonus: +5% to all attacks with a warpick.
· Critical Strike Chance: +3% when targeting vital areas.
· Improved Handling: Slightly reduces stamina cost for each attack and increases recovery speed after a missed strike.
Every strike hones the edge of skill; every swing bends the will of the storm to your hand.
Quest Updated!
Home is where the monsters won’t hurt you (1/3) {Corrupted}
The first wave has arrived. Destroy the {Corrupted} with impunity. 1/50 (1/5 waves)
Closing out of the notifications, he bent down in the fog to examine the Raeskir undead he had defeated. He touched the collapse skull of the creature with his hand, running his fingers over two bony protrusions; weirdly they had the appearance of a dark wood with rough bark. ‘They have horns, just like Bolva. Are they his people? What on earth happened to them?’
‘I wonder what kind of loot they drop, bones?’ Verdant skipped past the loot confirmation screen and read over the loot list briefly.
Loot Acquired
1 x Tiny Aether Crystal {Corrupted}(Common)
1 x Raeskir Soul Fragment {Corrupted}(Uncommon)
‘Those soul fragments are new; I’ll have to ask Bolva about them.’ Verdant had held his breath this time, anticipating the explosion of dust when he looted the remains. Standing he shook off the black particulate and focussed in on the next signal in the mist, calling to him. Begging for release from their torment. Or so he’d imagined.
He moved quickly, from location to location, many of the were located without a few meters of each other, in what would have been the main street when the buildings here had been standing. It was like they had been killed and buried here only to rise directly from the ground when the quest started.
As it turned out, these creatures were laughably easy to put down. Even without striking from ambush with a full powered attack, a single strike from his warpick to the head and they fell to inanimate remains once more; they were painfully slow and had zero survival instincts, most of them didn’t even get to swing their arms at him before they were ended once more.
When Verdant looked up, he noticed a whirlpool of souls circling above the encampment. Though the monsters were easy to kill, Verdant felt uneasy; every single kill had resulted in that same screeching wisp flying from the body and into the sky joining the maelstrom of souls swirling above.
Strangely, he noted that with each kill he received the same experience point reward and exactly the same loot.
Almost two hours after starting his quest began, he pulled his pick from the skull of the final enemy, receiving his quest update and requested a summary of combat since the wave started.
Summary of Notifications
Combat Summary
50 x Rattling Dead [Raeskir] Level 15{Corrupted} Slain
7500 Kill XPs +20% Hubris’ Folly bonus.
Total XPs = 9000XPs
Loot Summary
50 x Tiny Aether Crystal {Corrupted}(Common)
50 x Raeskir Soul Fragment {Corrupted}(Uncommon)
Skill Summary
Pathfinding(C) earned – 5 > 6
Combat Tactics(UC) earned – 1 > 2
Target Weakness(R) earned – 5 > 6
Weapon Mastery: Warpick (UC) 1 > 3
Summary Complete
Access System log at any time to view old notifications at your leisure.
‘Well, the combat wasn’t terribly difficult; honestly the skill gains are more than I deserve considering the level of difficulty and the experience gain is frankly ridiculous. Oh, well. I’m not going to look at gift horse in the mouth. No sir, not this black duck. Not today.’
The ground just in front of Verdant exploded in a wave of dirt and rocks, as a surging bolt of plasma touched down, digging a sizeable crater in the hard road, throwing him several meters backwards.
He landed lightly, dipping into a roll before coming to his feet, holding his pick ready in front of him. Luckily, he had stored his shield some time ago, or the angle of the fall may have broken his arm; as things stood, his left arm ached with the force of the landing he’d absorbed before rolling back up.
There stood a tall figure in the crater, it wasn’t just another skeleton like all the others; the glowing blue orbs in its eye sockets seemed to stare right through him; something about it called to Verdant. Assess, he used his skill without hesitation.
---{Eirikr Thorsson [Champion of Thunder] Level 25 {Corrupted})---
Eiríkr Þórsson was a mortal born son of Thor, who died and became an Einherjar. He died defending a settlement from a {Corrupted} horde of the undead.
Primary Ability
Lightning Aegis – Lightning surrounds Eirikr protecting him from harm.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Cursed to live in torment until his existence is ended. Like all the others.
KRAA-KOOOOOM!!!!
The thunder of Eirikr’s landing reverberated across the open area, shaking the earth and rattling Verdant’s bones. He struck an intimidating figure in the night, especially when, without warning, his bones were wreathed in crackling lightning, forming a second skin over the stark white of Eirikr’s decayed body. The energy seemed alive, shaping the outline of a large, muscular man with long, electric tendrils flowing down his back and from his chin to his waist, mimicking hair braided with glowing beads of light.
Eirikr stepped from the crater, his movements jerking unnaturally. It was painful to watch. The once peerless warrior now stumbled forward with all the grace of a broken puppet. Verdant couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for the fallen champion. ‘A man like this, a warrior celebrated in the halls of Valhalla, deserves better than this grotesque fate. It will be my honour to lay him to rest.’
Gripping his warpick tightly, Verdant braced himself. The weapon had already ended no fewer than fifty restless souls in the last few hours, but it had yet to face a real challenge. “Maybe this one will finally prove worthy,” he muttered under his breath, stepping into the fight.
Verdant twisted at the hips and unleashed a two-handed underhand strike. The warpick’s iron head found its mark, slamming into the ethereal chin of Eirikr. The lightning-wreathed energy lashed back violently, coursing through the weapon and into Verdant’s body. He gritted his teeth, muscles locking under the electric assault. The leather-wrapped handle dulled some of the shock, but it wasn’t enough to fully protect him.
He swung again. And again. Each strike sent another jolt through his arms, burning his muscles and leaving him gasping. Sparks flew with every impact, the weapon glowing faintly as it absorbed and reflected the plasmic energy. But Verdant noticed something worrying: the warpick was failing.
Each blow warped the iron head further, faint cracks spreading like spiderwebs. The once-solid tool of destruction glowed a dull red, the metal straining under the repeated collisions with Eirikr’s lightning-infused form. Verdant cursed under his breath. ‘At this rate, the weapon’s going to shatter before I even scratch him.’
Eirikr remained unmoved, his undead form bearing the blows in eerie silence. His translucent lightning skin rippled and pulsed with every strike, its integrity unaffected. Verdant’s frustration mounted. ‘I can’t even touch him. He might be slow, but I can’t land a blow that gets through this shield. And when this warpick breaks, I’m dead.’
As if reading his thoughts, Eirikr moved. He raised his own weapon, an electrified warpick that mirrored Verdant’s, though its lightning-wreathed surface made it seem more divine than corrupted. With an almost casual motion, Eirikr brought it down in a crushing two-handed strike.
Verdant barely managed to block, holding his warpick horizontally to absorb the blow. The sound of cracking iron filled the air as his weapon’s head glowed white-hot under the immense force. The shaft splintered in his hands, and with a final snap, the head of his warpick was sent flying into the mist. Verdant stumbled back, clutching the useless remains of the shattered weapon.
He looked at Eirikr, whose lightning flared brighter, the energy crackling around him in defiance of Verdant’s continued assault. Sweat ran down his head in thin rivulets, his chest heaved like the bellows of a smith’s forge. ‘I can’t beat him like this. My health is nearly gone, and all I’ve done is wear out my weapon and my body’
Verdant’s eyes darted to the resource bars in his periphery. His health was flashing, dangerously low, barely sitting around fifteen percent. His mana, however, was nearly full. He tightened his jaw. ‘Didn’t that relic say something about being almost indestructible?
As Eirikr wound up for another devastating strike, Verdant activated Blood’s Wrath for a fraction of a second, channelling the ability’s power to his legs. With a surge of explosive force, he launched himself sideways, just barely avoiding the attack. Eirikr’s electrified weapon struck the ground with an earth-splitting crash, sending dirt and rock flying into the air. The crater it left behind was enough to convince Verdant. ‘That would have killed me outright.’
Rolling to his feet, Verdant glanced at the remains of his broken weapon, then back at Eirikr, whose electric aura only grew fiercer. Fuck me, who the hell decided this was a fair and reasonable challenge? Where is the appropriate skill and level scaling? This is pure insanity.’
He dismissed the shattered tool into his inventory and latched his will onto the only other weapon in his storage—the ancient relic. His blood surged with anticipation as he summoned it.
The relic materialized in his hand, its battered form dull and worn but exuding a faint glow. It vibrated slightly, and he felt the familiar song stirring in his veins. Verdant tightened his grip on the leather-wrapped handle, his resolve hardening. “Alright,” he muttered, steadying his stance. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Regardless of the weapons questionable state, it felt right in his hand, like a natural extension of his arm. He swung it in light arcs across his body, feeling the weight and balance. It looks pitted and worn, but it felt incredible. ‘I guess there is more to this weapon than what is listed in the Assess results.’
Verdant looked towards Eirikr once more and noted that he had significantly closed the distance between them with his stumbling, broken gait. ‘He might be slow, but he’s not going to stop until one of us is dead.’
‘What have I got that I can use, Bloods Wrath would just as likely kill me as it would him with how much health I’ve got left. What about that web skill I got from the spiders? I haven’t used it yet but what have I go to lose? Maybe I can slow his movement even further and line up the perfect shot on that sparkling dome of his.’ He contemplated his next move while circling around his enemy, maintaining the distance between then and looking for an opening.
In a burst of speed, Verdant took off; running in a large circle around his target, throwing Slowing Web before approaching from behind and winding up a double handed overhead swing aiming for the small of his back. In the moment before his attack landed, he triggered Bloods Wrath committed to ending this fight in a single strike.
Eirikr had turned slowly attempting to meet the strike, but his ragged undead state was not conducive to quick movements at the best of times, now further hindered by the Slowing Web skill, his movement was downright glacial.
Verdant struck true, bursting through the electrical aegis coating his enemy. And was thrown off his feet, flying through the air in a huge discharge of electricity, the sound was deafening, and the light was unbearable; like a bomb had gone off right in his face.
He landed heavily, the backlash from his successful strike had torn the skin on his weapon hand. Blood flowed freely from the split skin a long his fingers and palm, coating the handle of his warpick in a sanguine mess.
He was blinded and ringing deafened his ears; behind his scorched eyelids he could see the flashing red of his health bar, barely any colour was visible now. ‘I need to get up and move, this guy is slow, but I’ve been down for minutes by now. I can’t see and I can’t hear past this ringing; I have no way to know how close this guy is to me. He could be lining up a strike right now.’
Panic ran through him, he stumbled to his feet and struggled to regain his equilibrium. Shaking his head and rubbing his eyes to try and recover his senses.
In his addled state, he had no chance to react. Electricity kissed his temple in an approximation of cold iron, shattering the skull beneath and exploding half of his skull like a ripe melon. Verdant’s whole existence was agony. Until just as suddenly, it wasn’t.
Achievement Effect Triggered Jötunn's Endurance
Damage from last strike has been mitigated. HP value set to 1
Health and Mana Regeneration set to 10,000 x base rate for 60 seconds
Verdant rolled over, his ears ringing, and pushed up to his knees, blinking stars out of his eyes. Reaching up to touch the side of his head, he noted that while his face was covered in blood, he was undeniably whole. Glancing to his health bar in his periphery, he was shocked to see it filling rapidly, until he’d reached his maximum in seconds.
He looked down, seeing blood covering his form in a layer from his neck down. He was surprised to see his weapon still held firmly in his left hand. Blood now coated the pick in its entirety. ‘Is it glowing brighter than before? It feels hot in my hand. It’s getting warmer.’
Amidst his contemplation of the strange weapon, he was horrified when he saw the blood across his body begin to move. Sliding in an inevitable wave, across his torso and down his arm, along the handle of his warpick before reaching an engraved divot Verdant hadn’t noticed earlier.
The blood entered the divot in the composite steel as the glow around it increased. Slowly, the weapon repaired itself. A flaking of rust fell off in flakes, cracks welded shut seamlessly and the leather handle reformed anew, soft and supple under his rough hand.
A horn blared in his mind, announcing the arrival of a familiar golden screen.
System Notification!
Through the stimulation of your lifeforce in an extreme way and the subsequent sacrifice of your imbued blood a bloodline relic related to your ultimate sire has awoken once more. Care for it well and it will help you grow beyond the limits of man.
Item – Hrímrjóðr - Frost Breaker (Bloodline-Unique)
Level 0 - Kills 0/10 {Derelict}
This warpick was commissioned by an Æsir as a coming-of-age gift for his youngest mortal son. He placed within it, but a fraction of his true power in hopes that it would resonate with the seed of divinity in his offspring and spark the birth of another true Norse God.
When delivering a solid blow to an enemy, there is a chance that lightning will shoot from the wound, striking a nearby enemy.
This item may gain experience by making kills in combat and grow alongside its user.
This weapon is nigh indestructible. Only those who forged it know the secrets behind its destruction.
Blood calls to Blood. Connected through the ages; The line remains unbroken.
Looking up once more, the blur had gone from his vision and the howling of the souls above filled his ears in an indescribable cacophony of sound. The force of the earlier strike had thrown him back out of Eirikr’s strike distance and he was again closing the distance. Step by step, inexorable and inevitable; though it appeared that his lightning skin was exhausted for now.
Regeneration 10,000x Boost Time Remaining - 52 seconds
‘I’ve still got a bit of time on this boost. I can do this, there’s no electricity protecting him anymore and I’m getting something like forty health recovering every second. It’s time to put this guy down.’
Verdant felt his blood burning within him. His lifeforce was running rampant within him and he needed an outlet for all that power. Looking to Eirikr walking towards him, he smirked.
‘Let’s do it.’
Activating Bloods Wrath without fear, he burned a portion of his overflowing lifeforce before launching towards his enemy. Closing the distance, he wound back his arm and swung his warpick forward.
A resounding CLANG echoed around them as the flat of his weapon made contact with Eirikr’s sternum and knocked the skeleton off its feet. ‘This is it.’
Verdant jumped on top of his fallen enemy. Placing his knees just up from his target’s elbows, he pinned the creature in place and raised his hammer up before bringing it down, again and again.
He struck the corrupted warrior in the head with the full measure of his enhanced strength. ‘I need to hurry my time is running out.’
As the timer reached the final ten seconds, Verdant’s spirits rose once more as he saw Eirikr’s skull start to dent and deform.
As the timer ticked over its last second, both hands gripped his weapon bringing it down with the last moment of his enhanced might, spike first, screaming his rage to the skies above. A deep resounding thud echoed as the weapon pierced straight through the skull and buried itself in the ground below.
A crackling blue light, howling its rage at the world, shot from the body beneath him, flying up to join the maelstrom above.
In the aftermath of the moment Verdant absently remembered to turn his Bloods Wrath skill off when he noticed the first tick down of his health and mana.
He willed the loot prompt to appear and confirmed it as he rolled off his slain enemy, staring up into the chaotic sky above before going over the multiple notifications waiting for his attention.
Kill Notification
Eirikr Thorsson - Champion of Thunder {Corrupted} Level 25 [Elite] has been slain.
+3,000 XPs Gained
Skill Summary
Assess (C) – 3 > 4
Acrobatics (UC) – 3 > 4
Combat Tactics (UC) earned – 2 > 4
Target Weakness (R) earned – 6 > 7
Weapon Mastery: Warpick (UC) - 3 > 6
Bloods Wrath (BU) – 4 > 5
‘I can’t help but feel that the experience I am receiving for kills is nowhere near what the creature earned itself. Must be some kind of system tax. They say there are two things in life that you can never avoid, death and taxes. At least the skill gains were good…’ Losing the XP notification, he opened the next set waiting for his attention.
Achievement Earned: Over Achiever (Epic)
You have defeated an enemy whose level exceeded your own by 25+
+10 to all stats
+15% damage against higher levelled enemies.
Oh, we’re cooking with gasoline now!
Achievement Earned: Kicking Butt… (Epic)
You have defeated an [Elite] named enemy whose level exceeded your own by 10+
+10 free points
+20% Free Efficiency
Hostile forces feel a sense of unease in your presence.
Oh, Look! A Freebie.
Achievement Earned: …And Taking Names (Legendary)
You have defeated an [Elite] named enemy whose level exceeded your own by 25+
+25 free points
+60% Free Efficiency
Hostile forces may be intimidated by your presence.
Yes, nasty business that. He was a favourite nephew of mine.
‘Shit man, more stats are always nice. I wonder if I’ll get more achievements for pushing any other stats over one hundred while still a level zero. Okay what’s next.’
Quest Updated!
Home is where the monsters won’t hurt you (1/3) {Corrupted}
The first wave has arrived. Destroy the {Corrupted} with impunity. 50/50 1/1.
(1/3 waves)
Alert!
Second wave starts in 11hrs 59mins
‘I guess I get to have a break now. I’m bloody exhausted. I’m not sure what those skills did to me, but I feel wrung out like to little butter on too much toast.’ He got to his knees once more, opening the last notification he had been anticipating the most. Loot.
Loot Acquired
1 x Large Aether Crystal {Corrupted}(Common)
1 x Eirikr’s Soul Fragment {Corrupted}(Epic)
Closing the loot prompt, Verdant stood and started to walk back towards the hall up on the hill when he was startled by another prompt. This one accompanied by the increasingly common horn, playing a stirring victory call this time.
System Prompt
You have encountered a fragment of divinity aligned with your lineage.
Would you like to consume it to enrich your bloodline?
YES? NO?
Verdant was dumbstruck. He hadn’t expected to find anything like that. ‘I can’t choose this right now, I need to talk with Bolva, I can’t make a decision like this on a whim.’
He attempted to increase his pace and stumbled, almost falling. ‘What is happening… my health and mana are full, but I feel like I’ve just run a marathon. My legs are like jelly and my head is throbbing ‘I have to figure out what the hell this is and make a plan of attack for the next wave while still finding enough time to sleep.’
He started moving once more, working himself up to an unsteady jog, heading back up the slope towards the hall; he stumbled and fell multiple times before regaining his equilibrium and continuing in earnest.