Watching the MAP as he headed toward the Call of the Underworld Quest marker, Michael belatedly realized that he could've completed the bandit camp Quest.
"Hmm... it's a bit embarrassing to turn around now, so let's just do that after wrapping up this one. Furthermore, I can look for that fanatic Monk in Kyovashad after I'm done here. Actually... it would be good to let Helen know about it first. Something about him rubs me the wrong way..."
After an almost 30-minute walk through the wilderness, Michael was lucky enough to find a chest randomly hidden in some bushes on the side of the road.
Curiously, he opened it and got Rare Gloves from it and a bonus ambush by the goatmen, alongside a Teleporter Elite. After quickly dispatching it, another two Rare item boxes stood on the ground, which the Necromancer happily accepted.
The experience bar, which currently shows 46,148/94,500, made him even happier.
"Already halfway through Level 26. I'm moving much faster than Helen said I would. Maybe it's because of the Quests?"
Deciding to add that question to the already long list he had in store for her, Michael continued on his way to the Quest marker.
The marker was strangely placed, and he had to climb up some cliffs and descend in the middle of a strange place. There was also a cellar, which he thought might be the location of the Quest; therefore, he promptly entered it.
The strangely called 'Lakeside Retreat' cellar was nowhere near a lake. Also, inside it, he didn't find the Quest objective, but rather, more goatmen, which he had to eliminate.
To make matters interesting, even if an event wasn't announced, a chest appeared in the middle of the empty room after killing the Elite with the Frozen modifier.
"Can't say no to freebies. The fuck!? Only gold, 5 Grave Dust, and that's it!? No items? Stingy!"
After checking with the Blacksmith, he confirmed that the new materials he's been collecting, Grave Dust and Demon Hearts, were indeed crafting materials.
Only... their names were a bit odd. And creepy...
Leaving the cleared cellar, Michael continued to explore the Quest area. Unexpectedly, the marker brought him to a Dungeon of sorts.
"Looks like it's underground. Full of stalactites and stalagmites... also creepy spider webs. *Sigh* I hate spiders..."
Fortunately, the Dungeon wasn't big. Instead... even the cellar was larger in its underground expansion. The Quest quickly updated as soon as he entered the location.
[ Quest updated - Necromancer: Call of the Underworld
Objective: Open the Jar of Souls. ]
Michael took in his surroundings, muttering a 'that can't be good' but still walking toward the strange object.
In a 'main room' that was obviously man-made, there was a strange altar with a creepy statue holding a vase. Realizing it should be the Jar of Souls, the young Necromancer took a deep breath and approached it.
Nothing happened after he touched it, so he decided to infuse some Essence and see if anything changed. And boy... it did.
The Jar started floating and released a strange forcefield around it, pushing Michael back. Then, out of the ground, Ghost Warriors and Archers started climbing toward him.
"Well... At least they're not spiders."
Halfway through his killing spree, he noticed that every ghost killed would be absorbed by the Jar, ever so aptly named.
Furthermore, an Elite popped up out of nowhere when the last ghost fell. A Wraith!
"I hate these bastards the most..."
[ Phantasmal Tyrant (Elite) - Level 31
*Multishot: All ranged attacks are mirrored by two more attacks dealing 100% of the initial damage.
*Mortar: Randomly throws five fireballs toward an area occupied by an enemy. ]
With how much the damned thing floated around, it took Michael over 10 minutes to deal with it. Halfway through the fight, he even had to switch to the Legendary Shield, as he was blasted from all directions with the Mortar modifier.
Done with the creature, the young Necromancer inspected the ground for some loot but found nothing of sorts, bumming him.
What he did find, though, was Maltorius, the Master Necromancer, patiently sitting near the Jar of Souls.
'Let's hope I don't make an enemy out of him. It would be a fucked-up scenario. To begin with, I don't think I can handle a punch from the guy.'
"Sir Maltorius. I've managed to clear the souls. What should I do next?"
[You did well, child. We are now ready for the last part. Repeat after me: Spirits, I offer you this vessel. Protect us so we may protect the balance.](Maltorius)
Hesitating briefly, Michael realized that the role of the Necromancers in this world might be more important than he initially thought.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
But the chant itself didn't pose any logical traps, so it was safe.
"Spirits, I offer you this vessel. Protect us so we may protect the balance."
[ Quest complete - Necromancer: Call of the Underworld
Reward 1: 7,560 experience points
Reward 2: 1,350 gold coins
Reward 3: Ossified Prayer Beads (Rare Amulet) ]
As soon as the words were spoken, Maltorius vanished, spooking Michael. However, a strange connection appeared in the depths of his soul, similar to his connection to the Skeletal Warriors and Mages.
Even after using the Sacrifice for the bonuses, he could still feel them... they were somewhere in a different realm, channeling their power to him.
"*Sigh* Well... let's see what this Golem is about then, shall we?"
After replacing his Reap skill in the skill slots with the newly appeared Golem skill, something that could be only called an abomination rose from the ground.
It stood four meters tall and looked like a normal Skeleton driving a mech made of flesh and bones. It was nothing but intimidating.
[ Golem
Skill Type: Summoning
-----------------
Cooldown: 15.04 seconds
Passive: You are protected by a Golem with 607 Life that deals 201 damage.
Active: Your Golem becomes Unstoppable, Taunts nearby enemies, and takes 30% reduced damage for the next 6 seconds.
When your Golem dies, it respawns after 20 seconds.
-----------------
Bone Golem: A horrid protector that taunts enemies, forcing them to attack it.
Upgrade available: Open the Book of the Dead to select an upgrade.
Maximum Golems summoned: 1
Damage Type: Physical ]
Stunningly enough, the Golem was both a tank and a damage dealer. Furthermore, its damage was constantly at 201, while its Life points were almost as high as its summoner's after he went through a Class Awakening.
The only downside was that he had to renounce a skill to keep it active. He could only think of Bone Storm since all others were necessary for the Corpse Explosion combo.
Opening the Book of the Dead and inspecting the new entry, Michael realized that only the Bone Golem was available.
The others required Levels 28 and 32, respectively.
"I have high expectations of you... Don't disappoint me. Let's see. What are the upgrades for the Bone Golem?"
[ Upgrade 1: Each time your Golem takes up to 20% of its Life as damage, it sheds a Corpse.
Upgrade 2: Your Bone Golem gains 10% Maximum Life, and the number of Thorns it inherits from you is increased from 30% to 50%.
Sacrifice: You gain a 10% increased Attack Speed but lose the ability to Summon the Golem. ]
Each of the upgrades was amazing in its own right. Especially the first one, which would add at least 5 Corpses in a fight with a Boss or an Elite before dying.
Furthermore, after 20 seconds, it would be right back, able to repeat the process.
The second upgrade was even more ridiculous. With a Taunting ability, if he could pass this Bone Golem to Helen, she would probably wreck every Dungeon she comes across without having to do much herself.
"Unfortunately, for now, I need to Sacrifice it. I'll decide later what to do with you, big guy."
The spirit flame in its eyes flickered, and it knelt on the ground to show its allegiance. Michael was even more convinced now that he could probably find a build where he would use his minions as main damage dealers.
He was probably not high-level enough just yet.
"Furthermore, now that I reached my first Class Awakening, at levels 28 and 30, I can open two more slots. Maybe I can add the Raise Skeletons and the Golem at that point. *Sigh* That means I need to change my skill build, though. One step at a time, I guess."
Since the quick travel was used earlier, Michael walked back to Menestad, which took him about 30 minutes, now that no monsters were in the way.
He first headed to meet with Meros and wrap up his Quest. After that, he planned to return to Kyovashad through the Waypoint.
Meros looked calm as if he already knew the result of the Quest. Complaining mentally, Michael decided to have the girls look into this man. The Merchant Alliance was getting on his nerves lately.
"I have returned with your payment."
[So, the deed is done? Excellent. I knew you would prove worthy of my trust.](Meros)
With twitching eyebrows, the Necromancer stayed quiet and nodded his head in agreement.
[I'm sure you've heard the new word as it spreads... we will no longer suffer at the hands of the lesser. Our strength, our might, our destiny, is to triumph over the weak.](Meros)
The Quest was finally completed with a slogan similar to what he heard from Hitler and Mussolini's speeches back on Earth.
[ Quest complete - Gold Well Spent
Reward 1: 7,560 experience points
Reward 2: 1,350 gold coins
Reward 3: Gem Cache ]
Michael was confident that there was something wrong with this Merchant Alliance and was reasonably sure it had to do with Lilith. The way the people in Menestad acted was very similar to the people of Nevesk.
Drunk with power, trying to overthrow convention and instate themselves in the highest of positions.
Shaking his head inwardly at the departing Meros, Michael brought up his Inventory and looked at the two Quest rewards he got.
"The amulet is decent and even gives a +1 to all Macabre skills. However, I use none of those, so it's down to salvage. As for the Gem Cache..."
[ Gem Cache
Item Type: Magic Quest Reward Cache
-----------------
Contains an assortment of gems. Use this cache to receive your reward
Description: Precious gems embody innate magical abilities. When set in a socketed item, these gems can add powerful magic effects. Higher grades of gems have stronger effects. ]
After using it, Michal got 19 more Amethyst Fragments and another Rare scythe.
Stretching his muscles as he made his way to the Waypoint, Michael checked his Inventory for the materials he had gathered. In there, the gem fragments, as well as the gem themselves, were accounted for.
1 Crude Skull
1 Crude Amethyst
53 Ruby Fragments
60 Emerald Fragments
39 Diamond Fragments
46 Saphire Fragments
43 Topaz Fragments
65 Amethyst Fragments
49 Skull Fragments
He wasn't sure how many fragments needed to fuse a proper gem, but he would check in Kyovashad.
"Oh, right! There's that as well. The system mentioned that I reached Tier 3 in the Fractured Peaks region progress. Hehe!"
[ Fractured Peaks
Total renown: 910
Tier 3 achieved!
Reward 1: 7,560 bonus experience
Reward 2: 25,000 gold coins
Reward 3: 1 skill point
Claim now: Yes/No ]
After mentally selecting the 'Yes' option, Michael happily watched his experience bar reaching 82,617/94,500, signifying that he was very close to leveling up again.
Furthermore, his gold coins reached a staggering amount of 108,086, and he had two skill points to assign. After getting to Level 27 soon, he would have three.
He checked his MAP and saw that Voszalko was indeed in the Cathedral of Light. Being the territory of the Church, he didn't dare venture in randomly, even if a Quest was involved.
So, he did what any normal person would've done: asking Helen and Mina for help.
[Wait, wait, wait! Slow down! Meros, the merchant? Yes, I think he's in their alliance. Also, I've heard about this 'Cold-Hearted' bandit, but from my knowledge, he was on the alliance's payroll. This doesn't make sense! Why would he have you kill him?](Helen)
"Ugh... this seems to be more complicated than I initially thought. At least I completed my Golem Quest. Wanna see it?"
[Later. This thing with Voszalko doesn't sit well with me. Even if he fell out of power on the surface, behind the scenes, he holds almost the same amount of power as Prava.](Mina)
"I knew there was something wrong with him."
[Don't think I'll just skip over the fact that you were fed Lilith's blood, and that's where your connection to her comes from. I'm very unhappy with you keeping that away from me.](Helen)
"Ugh... I'll make it up to you, I promise. Furthermore, it's only been a few days since Voszalko approached me."
[Hmpf.](Helen)
[Okay, okay, you two. Later. Let's follow behind him. I'll ask Hella for a Magic Shroud. That way, we won't affect his Quest with our higher levels, but we'll be able to lend a hand if Voszalko does something out of line.](Mina)
With a pouting Helen temporarily ignoring him, Michael had no choice but to patiently await his punishment.
But, as things stood, something was definitely wrong with the fanatic priest.