[ Main Quest update - Whittling Sanity

Objective: Find Genbar

Description: The strange house in Abahru Canyon was abandoned and littered with disturbing findings. It seems the Carver, known as Genbar, may be responsible for the demonic incursions, but an ancient cave nearby might have the answers you seek. ]

Pointing the door on the room to the left to Lorath, the duo pushed the minions to the frontlines again and ventured in.

"Rift of a Thousand Eyes..."

[What? What's that?](Lorath)

"The name of this place, it seems..."

Walking through the narrow passage behind the house in search of the cave mentioned by the system, they found tens if not hundreds of stone carvings of demons, Lilith included.

[Oh, Mother, thank you for opening my eyes. Your hatred fills my heart - I cannot stop my hands from working!](?)

[Genbar, you poor fool...](Lorath)

Hearing a man's voice, the ex-Horadrim shook his head while Michael dealt with some of the weaklings summoned by the Carver.

Instead of moving forward, the Necromancer waved at Lorath and brought him to a passage. Climbing a flight of hidden stairs, they stood in front of a strange sight.

[Is this one of the Altars of Lilith you mentioned before?](Lorath)

"Yes."

[...activate it. I'll try to see if anything of notice happens.](Lorath)

Doing as he was told, Michael infused his Essence into the Altar, and it immediately glowed red, signifying its activation.

Lorath remained quiet while the Necromancer saw his experience increasing by over 4,300 points.

[Strange... something was supposed to happen, but it was suppressed. Try not to activate them in the near future. I'll look into it when I have more time. There might be something wrong with them.](Lorath)

Agreeing while returning to their search for Genbar, Michael wondered when they'd figure out Lilith's plan.

If it were when it was already set in motion, then it would be too late. They could only follow the breadcrumbs she left behind, trying to piece them back together into a proper loaf.

They soon found the ancient cave and the Carver kneeling before a massive statue while praying.

[Thank you for sending Master Elias to show me the way. I long for the day when we stand by your side... and set the cleansing fire.](?)

Walking behind the man but stopping about five meters away, Michael looked at Lorath, who nodded back.

"Ahem! Genbar?"

[Visitors...? Did Master Elias send you?](Genbar)

['Master Elias'... well... yes, in fact, he did. Ours is a very important mission.](Lorath)

"..."

Rolling his eyes at the ex-Horadrim, who sucked at both acting and conversation in general, Michael prepared for the inevitable fallout.

[We have something for the Master, but we had heard he was with you. Do you know where he is?](Lorath)

"..."

Looking strangely at Lorath, who was speaking with the Carver as if he was a mentally retarded patient, the Necromancer ordered his minions to encircle the target.

And sure enough...

[Liar! Dirty, pig-born liar! The Master has all he needs! Rise now, my wretches! Come to me... Ugh!](Genbar)

Unfortunately for Genbar, Quarterback was already smashing its fists toward the man's face after hearing how shitty the ex-Horadrim's persuasion skills were.

After taking a passive beating for about half a minute, a weird red circle appeared under the Carver, and neither minions nor ranged attacks could approach him.

[Ahh, Master Elias, hear me! Your enemies are here!](Genbar)

[Haha! Lorath Nahr... I have waited a very long time for this.](?)

"..."

Sending a despising look to the crappy 'teacher' at his side, Michael quickly counted the number of Corpses in the room.

Fortunately, as soon as Genbar was attacked, over ten demons attacked the minions, only to be turned into 'resources' by them. Now, the Necromancer could wait for the real enemy to show up and get blown into High Heavens.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

[I have a gift for you. I hope you find it... entertaining.](Elias)

With the voice's echo fading away, the red circle under Genbar shone brighter, and something appeared to attempt to cross over.

Not panicking and signaling to Lorath to prepare some crowd-control skills, the duo watched as the second Boss entered the fray.

[ Mahmon (Boss) - Level 58 ]

[ Genbar (Boss) - Level 56 ]

With the red Life Points bars appearing above the heads of the two targets, Michael immediately cast Decrepify and Corpse Tendrils and charged forward while activating Corpse Explosions on all the 'resources' placed in the area near the two targets.

Lorath wasn't idle either, as a strange purple diagram appeared on the ground under the two Bosses, and earth spikes impaled their feet and arms, locking them in place.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! With the upgrade I can finally deal over 2,000 damage per tick."

[Paragon Board?](Lorath)

"Yeah. Opened it this morning."

Seeing them banter casually while dealing with them enraged the demon, but it couldn't move easily out of the pit Lorath dug for it.

And with Michael's damage piling up, the two Bosses fell in under two minutes.

Lorath looked at the dead Genbar with pity, shaking his head.

[Oh, Elias... how vicious you've become.](Lorath)

"Let's leave that for later. What do we do now? Elias is gone. Any clues on where?"

[Bad news first. Genbar was expecting someone... so it does seem Elias has turned others to his madness besides this one. He also taught them to summon, too, I'd wager. You heard Genbar, 'The Master has all he needs.' They're about to do something drastic.](Lorath)

"*Sigh* And the good news?"

[*Scoff* Elias gave us a 'gift,' remember?](Lorath)

"This guy?"

Kicking the dead demon Boss to show his confusion, Michael waited for Lorath to explain his line of thought.

[This demon he sent to kill us... it is unique. It requires constant feeding -- human sacrifices, in fact.](Lorath)

"And you know this, how?"

[Orbei Monastery. They played with it in the past until it became forbidden knowledge. Anyway, if I cut open its belly, someone inside might hold a clue... maybe even tell us where it came from.](Lorath)

"Someone, huh... What a horrible way to die."

[*Sigh* Such is life. I must bring this big guy back to Ked Bardu for examination. Meet me there later?](Lorath)

"Some questions before you go."

After pondering for a while, the ex-Horadrim nodded as he walked to the demon's corpse, preparing it for 'transportation.'

[ Main Quest complete - Whittling Sanity

Reward 1: 84,480 experience points

Reward 2: 3,640 gold coins. ]

[ Main Quest issued - A Moment to Collect

Objective: Meet with Lorath in Ked Bardu ( 14 hours, 59 minutes, 10 seconds)

Description: You must return to Lorath to find out what he discovered about the demon Elias summoned to aid Genbar. ]

Realizing that the Quest would only continue tomorrow morning after Lorath finished his... autopsy of the corpse, Michael began asking the questions that bothered him the most.

"Why would Elias target the Dry Steppes instead of the other regions?"

[That's easy. The Dry Steppes have no Cathedral of Light, no Druids, no World Tree... and their capital city, Guulrahn, has been sacked. Many are vulnerable, just like Genbar. That's why we must learn what Elias has planned for them.](Lorath)

"I'll look into this request for builders I told you about. I hope I am overthinking it, though. What about Elias? You know him better than most. Has Lilith corrupted him somehow and convinced him into doing this?"

[Probably not. Elias had a talent for persuasion. Convenient trait for a Horadrim, given our dealings, but he could be... relentless when he wanted something. Even cruel. In that way, he and Lilith are similar. Suffering, bloodshed... to them, these are means to an end.](Lorath)

"This means that Elias is using Lilith to achieve her goals while she is probably doing the same. The main question is, who among the duo would come out on top?"

[That, I don't know. But I can certainly say they'll bring out the worst in each other.](Lorath)

Thinking for a moment, Michael wondered about this new threat they would face. He had read about it in Lorath's letters and heard others speak about it.

However, legends and old wives' tales are not reliable in terms of credibility. Lorath should know more, though.

"What are these Lesser Evils?"

[*Sigh* Perhaps you are too young, after all. Not what, but whom. The Prime Evils, you should know. Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal. The Lesser are their rotten kin. Azmodan, Belial, Andariel, and Duriel. Each of them has ravaged humankind since the dawn of history, and they will gladly do so again. Simply put, they are leaders among the demonkind, wielding power similar to that of their Prime peers.](Lorath)

"And Elias is planning to summon one of those? Sounds fun..."

[If he succeeds, the damage they could cause would surpass that of what Lilith can do. Unlike her, they still possess dominion over many legions of demons. With one of them summoned in the Sanctuary, many Rifts such as the one we saw today could be open and plunge our world into war and death.](Lorath)

"Again... sounds delightful."

[We'll deal with it as they come. For now, I'll return to Ked Bardu to examine this body. Come find me tomorrow morning.](Lorath)

"I got it. In the meantime, I'll look at the Dry Steppes' scenery and try to help those in need. I have about five Side Quests to deal with."

[Be careful.](Lorath)

"I will, don't worry."

Watching Lorath step into a portal and disappear, Michael returned to the house and investigated the immediate surroundings.

There were a couple of 'lost sheep' which he fortunately found fast and sent back to Hell, after which he opened his MAP to locate the closest Side Quest location.

In the end, the closest location was much further than what he could travel by nighttime, so he could only settle for wiping out as many cannibalistic thieves as possible by sunset.

The Sanctuary was strangely accommodating, even going as far as highlighting on the MAP most of the hideouts of these disgusting bugs, allowing the Necromancer to thoroughly exterminate them.

It was 9 p.m. by the time Michael finished the last 'stronghold' the system marked around Ked Bardu. The sun had long set, but the moon was shining particularly bright.

Even if the plains surrounding the great city were soaked in blood.

"Shit... I might've overdone it again. This is a bit problematic. I keep losing control of my emotions, which makes absolutely no sense..."

Back on Earth, one of the main reasons he was still single despite the many options he had, the main reason he had few friends even though he was very capable of socializing, the main reason he pushed his family away... it was all because of compartmentalizing.

He was incredibly capable of controlling his emotions, and that is something that the mind does. Not the body. Not the soul.

Transmigration or not, the mind didn't change. So his mood swings and being affected by the deaths of people he wasn't even remotely familiar with made absolutely no sense to him.

Scratching his head, he summoned his horse and wanted to return to the city, only to see the mount snort and retreat as if disgusted.

Looking at his outstretched hand and then at the rest of his armor soaked in the blood of the enemies slain, Michael felt like cursing.

Not only that, he was genuinely terrified.

'I fucking have ten minions capable of slaughtering these pests by themselves while I can assist from the backlines. How the fuck does it make sense for me to enter melee range and fight with them!? What the fuck is going on!?'

Worried about his collapsing mental sanity, he took out a Cleaning Marble and used it, but the horse seemed to disagree with the quantity.

Sighing, he used a second one, after which the smart horse finally allowed him to saddle up and return to Ked Bardu.

Although it was late, he found Gelek working still on his stand, trying to earn more for his family and loved ones.

When the man saw the Wanderer return, a big smile appeared on his face.

[You're back, Wanderer! Did everything go well?](Gelek)

"You could say so. For at least a while, there won't be any bandits pestering caravans around the city. I also retrieved some crates with food and other supplies. Where should I put them?"

Gelek and the surrounding people immediately stopped what they were doing and dragged the Necromancer to an empty warehouse, where he proceeded to unload about two hundred crates.

With the system's help, the crates were considered Quest Items and could be stacked up to ten pieces for one inventory slot.

Seeing grown men and women break down and cry upon seeing the recovered food, spices, and other useful items, Michael smiled and accepted a small purse Gelek handed to him discretely, alongside his heartfelt gratitude.

[ Side Quest complete - Thieves' Famine

Reward 1: 16,896 experience points

Reward 2: 2,080 gold coins

Reward 3: Salvage Cache. ]

Unfortunately, even after all this, he was still only at 197,263/1,666,350 for the total experience needed for Level 52.

There was a long road ahead of him.