After a good night's rest, Michael and Helen woke up and enjoyed a hearty breakfast while she taught him the alphabet and how to write some common words.
Although his attributes weren't fully synchronized, and his body still couldn't use most of them, his Intelligence was at least five times better than before his awakening as a Necromancer.
Going by Earth's standards, if he was an average person with an IQ of 110-120 before, he reached at least 160 after these three months in the Sanctuary.
Even if his attributes would be considered synchronized to at least five to six times more than they were at his awakening, suddenly becoming five to six times smarter was too much of an exaggeration.
However, the effects were noticeable upon a more detailed inspection of his daily life now, compared to the beginning.
'The changes aren't as exaggerated as suddenly becoming a super-genius, but it's not like there isn't an improvement. Perception, computation speed, general understanding, calculations, analytics... all improved considerably.'
[What are you thinking about? Please pay attention when I'm trying so hard to teach you!](Helen)
Smiling and kissing the tigress to appease her anger, Michael took her on his lap and gently ran his fingers through her hair.
"I was thinking how much my mental capability increased compared to before I was a Wanderer. Now, even during fights in the Dungeons, I have enough time to analyze the general situation before coming up with a plan. And all that can happen in less than a second."
[Isn't that normal?](Helen)
"It might be for Wanderers, but it's a realm beyond comprehension for normal people."
[Your point is that you can learn easier as well? That's why you're slacking?](Helen)
"I wouldn't dare!"
Though he was messing around, it was true that he already had a fundamental understanding of the Sanctuary's primary language.
He could even draw some connections to the books he looked at in the Lost Archives and the Horadric Vault, but without understanding most of it.
With his girlfriend's tutelage, he should be able to read and write at an average level in a week.
Seeing that his patience with learning already ended, Helen also gave up.
[What do you plan to do first? The Side Quest or the Dungeons?](Helen)
"The Side Quest, probably. The idea of a murderous lunatic roaming the wilderness in search of prey is discomforting. Maybe I can even find clues for Aylin about that bastard's whereabouts."
[Okay. Be careful, and don't take unnecessary risks.](Helen)
"I know."
[What about the Dungeons? Which ones are you going to clear today?](Helen)
"Hmm... Dead Man's Dredge near Yelesna, and the two near Kyovashad, the Immortal Emanation, and Forsaken Quarry. My quick travel teleportation will be on cooldown until much later today, so it would be best if I were closer to the city after I finished."
Seeing that it was already 8 AM, Michael stood up and left for Nevesk. He decided to meet with Helen tonight at his room in the Inn.
There wasn't a specific reason, but he felt he took advantage of the girls too much by sleeping at their place so often. Then, there was also Raskya, who nagged his ears off at every chance she got about how he was paying for the room but wasn't using it.
'*Sigh* I was happy I am this close to one million, and I can buy that Ring of Communication, but it looks like I need to buy a house soon. There's also the option of buying the land and building it myself from scratch, but I don't know if it's a good idea. It could cost me anywhere between 5 to 10 million gold coins, depending on its location and size. I could go for a normal house instead of the Wanderer version, but it's not a good idea.'
One of the main reasons Wanderer homes were expensive was the materials and magic arrays used in their construction.
Then, if you wanted to add spatial arrays, such as in the case of the sister's bathroom, it would cost even more. Then, there are strengthening arrays to ensure you won't accidentally step through the floor or punch through the walls, temperature control arrays, soundproofing arrays, etc.
'The more I think about it, the more I feel 10 million won't be enough. Let's take it one step at a time. First, let's deal with this Side Quest.'
Exiting the portal in Nevesk, Michael opened up his MAP and checked the surroundings. The Sanctuary helped him locate the area where he would find clues about the axe.
It was east, but it covered a relatively large area. With no other choice, he walked on foot and cleared the monsters that jumped at him now and then.
After almost an hour of unsuccessful search, all he could do was clear a cellar and tons of undead in the wilderness.
'Well, fortunately, there's only one area left to explore.'
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The Sanctuary identified the area as Boulder Ridge, and the disgusting smell of blood was probably the first thing anyone with a nose would notice.
Visually, there were two things: the weirdly satanical-looking tree, which was obviously used for Heaven knows what kind of rituals, and the tree stump next to it, which had an axe firmly planted in it.
Michael had a bad feeling when the system notified him to get the axe.
Getting his minions to group up around him, he wrenched the damned thing free.
Obviously, a peal of sinister laughter echoed through the suddenly silent area as a stupidly large summoning circle appeared on the bloodied snow.
"*Sigh* Just how many people were killed here for the snow to be this red... Also, aren't you ridiculously huge for a damned Woodsman!?"
The legendary killer took the form of a demonic Warden. Big-bellied, super tall, with four horns and a massive axe in its hands.
Judging from the distance between them, Michael approximated its height at nine meters at the very least. It was easily the most imposing enemy he had met up to date.
[ The Woodsman (Elite) - Level 50
*Vampiric: Each successful hit on an enemy heals you for 125% of the damage dealt.
*Terrifying: Summons five spell circles on the ground. Targets affected by it would fall into 'Terrified' status. Targets inflicted with Terrifying would become 'Vulnerable' for three seconds.
*Cold Enchanted: All attacks deal an extra 500 Cold damage.
*Shield - Generates a shield protecting from all incoming attacks, equal to 100% of total Life. ]
Michael didn't know where to start complaining after seeing the fraudulent introduction.
The fact that the damned demon was seven levels above him? The fact that its Cold Enchantment modifier allowed it to one-shot all his minions except the Golem and himself? And even then, they could endure two hits at most.
Or the stupidly overpowered Vampiric that would over-heal the damned bastard? If not, surely the Shield, which doubled the damage he had to deal to kill it.
"Fuck me sideways! I don't know which devil you signed with, but can I please have its contact information? I'd like to have a chat with that unreasonable bastard!"
[Haha! Pitifuly little lamb! Your blood will become a feast for my axe!](Woodsman)
"The fuck!? You can talk?"
[Hehe! No point in conversing with a dead person!](Woodsman)
The Necromancer almost peed himself after hearing the bastard talk. Not because his voice was scary, though it kind of was. It was because of the intelligence it still possessed.
This was no longer a puppet in a Dungeon or a demonic beast in the wilderness. It was a suitably smart and overly strengthened demon!
He wasn't given any time to ponder deeper as the giant axe fell upon his Reapers, effectively wiping them out in one blow.
Clenching his teeth, Michael activated his Bone Storm and ordered Quarterback to use his taunt ability and pummel the damned demon as much as it could.
Furthermore, the Necromancer stepped in melee range and used his Blood Mist directly.
Since his Ultimate was active, the Corpses created through Blood Mist were prioritized by it and consumed to increase the skill's duration. Now, he and the Golem could have a 15% damage reduction for 18 seconds instead of just 10.
'This bastard! He's toying with me!?'
Much to Michael's surprise, he didn't become the target after the Golem died to the chopping strikes of the Woodsman, but his Cold Mages did.
The damage dealt through continuous hits of Reap and Bone Storm was almost fully healed, and as a result, the demon's Life Points were still above 80% after all his minions died.
Seeing the sadistic grin on the Woodsman's face, he knew that the monster didn't do this only to heal through its Vampiric modifier but also to taunt and make him fall in despair.
'Eight Corpses on the ground. It's not enough to kill this bastard. Fortunately, the space on this cliff is sufficiently small, so it won't run away. All I need to do is drag on the fight.'
After analyzing its movements, Michael realized that resummoning his Skeletons was useless. They would only serve as lifesteal materials.
Fortunately, due to its size, the demons were slow. It also had only two attack patterns: an overhead chop and a sideways swing.
Given how his Golem died, it would return after 20 seconds on the battlefield. The Woodsman spent three seconds dealing with the Cold Mages and another four staring menacingly at him.
With sardonic laughter echoing throughout the valley, the demon took a large step forward and swung at the Necromancer with an overhead chop.
Using Evade, Michael avoided being turned into mincemeat, though the tremors created by the axe hitting the rockbed destroyed his balance.
Since it wanted to follow up with another attack, Michael quickly used Corpse Tendrils to test the waters. The demon was pulled and fell on its back in surprise.
'Good! As expected, since it's only an Elite and not a Boss, it's not invulnerable to crowd-control skills. Then, next, I need to ensure I distract him further...'
Using a single Corpse Explosion on the Corpse he used the tendrils on, damage ticks between 90 and 150 appeared over the enemy's head. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near enough to deal with the creature.
Since it wasn't a mindless puppet, the sideways swing continued as soon as it sat up. With how big the axe was, he could use Evade to sidestep it, nor could he risk jumping or crouching.
The only option was Blood Mist. Thanks to the Legendary Aspect on it, the three Corpses created also exploded, further creating more miasma, which dealt continuous damage to the Woodsman.
A familiar roar declared Quarterback's return to the fray. Michael immediately used its taunt to distract the incoming attack on him, and quietly exploded more Corpses.
Closing in on the demon, he used Reap once every four to five seconds, after which he distanced himself from it.
'Shit... that 125% lifesteal is absolutely broken. He's back to 90% Life Points, and my Golem is dead again. Fortunately, this should be enough.'
Retreating and drawing the Woodsman closer, Michael kept detonating the Corpses around him, stacking more and more Corpse Explosions.
When the overhead chop arrived, he would avoid it with Evade, and when the sideways swing closed in, he used Blood Mist to become invulnerable and deal even more damage.
The over thirty Corpses gathered since the beginning of the fight were used up, and the demon fell.
Panting but smiling, Michael lay on the bloodied snow without concerning himself with how badly his clothes would be dirtied. After all, that's why he had Cleaning Marbles.
"*Pant* It's there! *Pant* Haha! Compared to... *Pant* before, I grew stronger."
Laughing very unrestrainedly, the Necromancer remembered the encounter with the ex-Boss Vampire during his first World Event.
He faced a much weaker monster back then but suffered terribly under its claws due to his lack of experience and panic.
Now, the Woodsman didn't even touch his clothes. He summoned his mount after resting enough and returned to Nevesk's Inn, where he found Magdalena.
He approached her and calmly sat at her table.
"I have the Woodsman's Axe."
Placing the Quest Item on the table, the woman grimaced, and her appetite decreased considerably.
[It must have been a grim place, judging by how much blood is on the axe. I confess I'm eager to leave this place. I can't shake the feeling of being watched.](Magdalena)
Michael looked around with his peripheral vision and noticed many pairs of eyes checking out their table. Most of them should be because of the bloodied axe he foolishly placed on the table.
As for the woman being watched for a different reason, it wasn't his problem, and he didn't have the time or energy to care. There were still three Dungeons left for him to clear.
"I suggest you leave then. I can escort you to the Waypoint, just to be safe."
[It's fine, I can protect myself.](Magdalena)
Grabbing the axe and storing it in her inventory, she nodded at Michael.
[Now to get this thing back to Menestad and collect my due. I appreciate your help. If you travel to Gea Kul, visit me at the Inn. I'll treat you to a good meal and some drinks.](Magdalena)
Watching the woman leave, he noticed that nobody seemed to get up and follow, though some people threw her curious glances.
[ Quest complete - The Woodsman of Nevesk
Reward 1: 15,367 experience points
Reward 2: 2,200 gold coins
Reward 3: Murmuring Cache. ]