Michael took in his current skills and the points spent on them.
Starting from Basic Skills, he had Reap and its two upgrades, which were Enhanced Reap and Accolyte's Reap. Since he used this skill only to generate Essence and Corpses, he didn't bother adding more than the three skill points needed to open the next tier.
That brought him to the tier in question, called Core Skills. Here, he skipped all active skills and added three skill points into Hewed Flesh, which guaranteed a 12% chance to create a Corpse per each successful hit he or his minions made upon an enemy.
The third tier was Corpse and Macabre, where he spent the most so far. First, there was his main damage skill, Corpse Explosion, as well as its two upgrades, Enhanced Corpse Explosion and Blighted Corpse Explosion. Furthermore, he upgraded it twice and gained two more levels from his items, bringing this skill's current level to 4/5, dealing 613 Shadow damage over the course of 6 seconds.
The second active skill he chose in this tier was Blood Mist and its two upgrades, Enhanced Blood Mist and Ghastly Blood Mist. As this was his only way of becoming invulnerable, as well as a current core mechanic of his combo - especially now with the Legendary Aspect of his helm, which detonated Corpses he walked over - he was planning to max it out to 5/5 in the future.
Next, he added some points to two passive skills called Grim Harvest, which he used to unlock the Fueled By Death. Since the first one was used to generate 2 Essence for each Corpse he used, he didn't bother adding more than one point, which was used to unlock it. He maxed out the second skill to 3/3, though, as it increased his damage by 9% for six seconds after using a Corpse. And his combo was based around using Corpses.
In total, the Corpse and Macabre tier took a total of 11 skill points from the Necromancer, unlocking the next tier in the process.
The Curse Skills tier is where Michael selected his Decrepify active skill, as well as some very interesting passives. Since the active skill was good, he also picked up its upgrades, Enhanced Decrepify and Abhorent Decrepify, which increased his chances of stunning enemies affected by the curse, as well as giving him a way through which he could decrease the cooldown of his other skills. Because of all the upgrades, the skill now applied a 43% slow to enemies affected, as well as reducing their damage by 20.9%
One of the best passives he found so far for his current combo was Amplify Damage, which he maxed out to 3/3 since it would increase his damage by 12% to enemies affected by curse skills. He also unlocked Death's Embrace and Death's Reach, two passive skills that increased the damage he dealt to enemies both close and away from him, respectively. Furthermore, Death's Embrace decreased the damage he would take from close enemies by 3%, which was pretty good.
Overall, he counted eight skill points used in this tier and moved forward to the next one.
Corpse and Macabre II was where he found his best crowd-control skill. Corpse Tendrils was used to both group up enemies and inflict a Vulnerable state on them. It was currently at 2/5, courtesy of his Stomp Rival boots adding an extra level to it. Obviously, he also picked the skill's two upgrades: Enhanced Corpse Tendrils and Plagued Corpse Tendrils. After all its upgrades, the skill deals 99 damage to all enemies affected by it. It also slows them by 50% of their total movement speed, stunning them for 3 seconds, and applies a Vulnerable state for the same period.
Next on this tier were the four passives used to increase the capability of his Shadow build. Reaper's Pursuit, Gloom, Crippling Darkness, and Terror would each add specific modifiers either onto himself or the enemies he would encounter. The first would increase his movement speed by 5%, the second would increase the damage enemies would take from him and his minions by 2%, the third added a 15% chance of stunning enemies affected by Darkness skills for one second, while the last added a 6% increased damage (3% to enemies slowed or chilled + 3% to enemies stunned, immobilized, or frozen) based on all his other skills.
Unfortunately, he didn't have enough skill points previously, so he only added one point to each passive skill, which was enough to unlock them. Overall, he spent seven skill points on what this tier offered.
Next was the Ultimate, which was where he found his Bone Storm, and its only currently picked upgrade Prime Bone Storm.
Usually, Michael would forget to use this skill unless in a pinch, but after getting his Golem, it became an absolute must-have for dealing with large droves of enemies or Bosses. This Ultimate skill created a storm of bones around him, the caster, as well as his Quarterback, each dealing 749 damage over the course of 10 seconds. With his Golem tanking at the front and him joining the fray, they could deal 1,500 damage to a Boss in ten seconds only by casting it. Not only that, but the upgrade he selected increased their survivability rate by a lot through a 15% Damage Reduction when it was active.
Finally, the last tier was unlocked recently: Key Passives. Here, Michael picked his Shadowblight. This passive skill increased the damage he dealt by 111 each time an enemy was hit a tenth time.
Against Minion-level monsters, it was quite useless, but against Elites and Bosses, it was very much welcomed.
[Michael!](Helen)
"Huh!? What's wrong?"
[...I've been calling out for a while now. What's wrong? You were so lost in thought that you didn't even hear me.](Helen)
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Sorry. I was looking over the skills I have right now. I must say... they are quite well synergized."
[Mhm. Have you decided what to add the four skill points in?](Helen)
"I am still not sure. I was considering maxing out Corpse Explosion, but judging by its upgrade pattern, I think it will increase only to around 730-750 damage total. I thought investing in passive skills that increase my overall damage might be better. What do you think?"
[Death's Reach and Death's Embrace, right? It would be pretty good. You would max out both of them, and that requires exactly four skill points.](Helen)
"Let's go with that then. As I gain more levels and better items, these two skills will also help me in the future since they won't go anywhere. It's the best current option, I think."
[What about the Darkness passives?](Helen)
"I was considering those as well, but not for now. They are good for crowd control, but I'll get them maxed out in the future."
With the decision made, Michael maxed out both skills and was back to zero available skill points.
[ Death's Embrace (3/3)
--------------------
Close enemies take 6% more damage from you and deal you 9% less damage. ]
[ Death's Reach (3/3)
--------------------
You deal 12% increased damage to Distant enemies. ]
Satisfied with all the upgrades he got today, Michael kissed Helen goodbye and took the Waypoint to Yelesna. It was time to find Neyrelle.
After reaching Yelesna, he opened the MAP and found the general area he should search for.
'According to her, there's a Horadrim base somewhere around there. Judging from the MAP's general location, I'd say it's at the top north from the city... right around... here.'
Placing a tracker to guide him better, he didn't summon his mount this time but rather decided to walk there. It would be better if he could kill some monsters and level up on the way since he was this close.
And it proved a good idea as he found a Wood Wraith, which was tanky enough to survive three stacked Corpse Explosions, increasing the damage it took quite a bit. Seeing a 580 tick, he grinned and moved further after cleaning up the loot.
Walking further in, he even found a Volkdak (the werewolf-like monster), which could tank enough for a 680 tick of damage to pop up, pleasing Michael to no end.
He didn't manage to level up, but after finding a strange three-faced statue with an inscription saying, 'Behold the truth that lies within,' his Main Quest was completed and updated.
[ Main Quest complete - Wayward
Reward 1: 11,220 experience points
Reward 2: 1,850 gold coins. ]
[ Main Quest issued - Shroud of the Horadrim
Objective: Enter the Darkened Holt. ]
Creeped out by the statue resembling three suffering people, Michael looked around and finally saw an entrance to a cave surrounded by trees and cliffs. Luckily, there were candles lit around it, which might be proof of Neyrelle finding this place first.
"There's something strange going on here for sure... This place is super creepy. Neyrelle must be nearby, though..."
Taking a deep breath, he urged his minions to lead the way as he followed from behind.
Unfortunately, after moving about five meters in, the Necromancer felt like he had passed through a thin film, making him realize that he had entered a Dungeon.
Furthermore, once inside, the weather and time changed. While outside, it was sunny... inside, it was snowing heavily, and it was already night-time.
'This is too damned creepy... even by Sanctuary standards. The Quest updated, and it only tells me to search for Neyrelle. Let's do that...'
Sighing, he moved forward slowly after ensuring each bush was properly searched. It didn't take long for the first monsters to jump him, which, fortunately, were Wrathful Phantoms.
As they were melee enemies, they were easily handled by the Golem and the Reapers, as Michael only cast Decrepify from the backlines.
Further in, he was ambushed by three Wood Wraiths. The tall, moving trees slapped his Reaper minions away and almost got to him. Fortunately, he used his Golem's taunt and managed to get the situation under control.
The roads were many, and there were forks almost at each one hundred meters or so. Annoyed, he decided to just walk straight ahead.
"What the fuck!? It's been more than two hours of walking. Where the hell is Neyrelle?"
[You're stuck in an illusion created by the Horadrim. The portal will lead you through this crude trap.](?)
Michael had a mini-heart attack at the sudden response. His minions also entered battle positions as a large wolf was calmly looking at them. The creature was over three meters tall, and to Michael's horror, it was wearing a skull on its head.
He immediately remembered the dream he had in the snowstorm during the night he reached Nevesk. He saw the exact same creature looking at him from afar.
Shocked and scared shitless, he watched as the wolf rose from the ground and walked inside a fiery portal that appeared out of nowhere.
[ Main Quest update - Shroud of the Horadrim
Objective: Enter the Fiery Portal. ]
"...can I fucking not!? Which part of this looks normal to you, Sanctuary!? The three-meter-tall talking wolf? Or the portal that appeared out of nowhere, and it looks like a damned burning flame!?"
The Necromancer walked back and forth for over fifteen minutes trying to decide what to do. If the wolf was right and he was indeed trapped in an illusion of the fabled Horadrim, then following it would result in getting out.
On the other hand, following a goddamn unknown talking wolf that materialized out of thin ether wasn't something his poor heart was comfortable with.
Seeing that the portal wasn't going anywhere, Michael stomped the ground in annoyance and walked in. Some things just couldn't be avoided.
Entering the portal, he found himself atop a cliff, at the bottom, where a river of either lava or blood flowed. Judging by the heat, it should be lava, seeing as it was bubbling. Hopefully...
Some stone buildings appeared to be burning on the sides of the cliff, making Michael want to turn around and run. Unfortunately for him, the portal had vanished.
[Relax. No harm will come to you here.](?)
[ Main Quest update - Shroud of the Horadrim
Objective: Speak with the Bloodied Wolf. ]
Swallowing the curses that almost left his lips after being scared again, Michael watched as the wolf slowly moved further away from him and into the burning village.
On the left side, he could see a blood fantom struggling in pain and weeping, as what was probably its home was burning in front of his eyes. Further ahead, there was a dusty fountain which was probably once the pride of the village, now in disrepair and long dried.
The scariest thing was even further beyond, as a demonic magic circle was inscribed on the ground, guarded by some writhing bodies.
If he hadn't known better, he would've thought he entered hell with how scarily looking the demonic 'constructs' were. Especially seeing the bodies trapped inside them.
Seeing the wolf lying on the ground and patiently waiting as he explored, Michael carefully walked past it and inspected the remaining buildings.
"What the..."