On his way to the closest shop - the Rings and Amulets one - he opened a Herb, Salvage, and a Murmuring Cache, replacing the boxes in his inventory with three random Rare items, as well as 10 Bundled Herbs, 2 Veiled Crystals, and 25 Obols, bringing his total to 498/515.
Scratching his head and deciding to replenish some Whispering Keys later, he stepped in front of the stall and greeted its owner.
Maybe because the man was in a good mood or because the items were of much higher value than before, but he ended up gaining an extra 354,262 gold coins after the sale was completed.
Finally, he visited the Blacksmith next and exchanged his Legendary shield for 2 Rawhides, 2 Iron Chunks, 2 Veiled Crystals, 1 Baleful Fragment, and 1 Coiling Ward.
With his business handled and his inventory empty, he stepped back through the portal and was slapped in the face again by the horrendous smell of the Dungeon.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Guulrahn's Canals
Objective: Slay all enemies in the Offal Pits. ]
Rolling his eyes while wondering if the Sanctuary has been moody lately and the demons somehow pissed it off, Michael ordered his minions forward and began his assault.
Dealing with the foul-smelling Undead, the Necromancer spotted some strange skeletal remains and immediately dashed in their direction.
After moving the left femur away, he recovered a torn parchment from under it, curious to read its contents.
[ We hid among the corpses. The rotten ones that even the Tyrant and his monsters deemed unworthy of eating. The herbs Khulun gave us helped. Dulled my mind. Put my stomach to ease.
Mercifully, I can't remember much. Only a thumping noise as the cannibals pulled the cart through the streets. Then, the trickle of water when they dumped us into the old canals.
It reeks of death down here. But it seems safe. A paradise compared to the streets. Tomorrow, we will explore deeper into the canals. See if there might be a way out. ]
Glancing at the pile of bones, the man shook his head gently and realized their plans might've failed.
Still, for them to think this disgustingly smelling place a paradise... It made sense when above they would endure a much worse fate.
Patting himself on the back for getting rid of Brol and his minions, the Necromancer steamrolled through the Undead until the Dungeon Quest finally asked him to move deeper inside the tunnels.
With nothing better to do, he agreed and explored the depths of this horrendously smelling place as he cleared whatever monsters popped up on his way.
"Let's see... this area is called the Drenched Nests, so I should be in the right place. Judging by the Quest, this Dungeon shouldn't have a Boss."
[ Dungeon Quest update - Guulrahn's Canals
Objective: Destroy the Cocoon and the Corpse pile. ]
A bit horrified by the idea of having to deal with both Undead and spiders, Michael hesitated to move forward, but he was already more than halfway done with this place.
Sighing, he continued killing monsters and even picked up a Resplendent Chest after dealing with its 'protector.'
The reward was in the form of two Rare item boxes, a Legendary one, and a Rare Tempering Manual.
He immediately 'learned' the tempering recipe and then checked the new item, trying to compare it with his current one.
[ Hulking Boneweave Treads
Legendary Boots
507 Item Power
Legacy Item
-----------------
254 Armor (+30 compared with the currently equipped item)
* Attacks reduce Evade's Cooldown by 0.6 seconds
-----------------
* +24 Dexterity
* +13.0% Fortify Generation
* +13.5% Shadow Resistance
* + 1 Rank of Corpse Tendrils (Necromancer Only)
Legendary Aspect: Your Golem has a 10% chance to reduce its active Cooldown by 2 seconds and a 5.0% chance to spawn a Corpse each time it attacks an enemy with a normal attack. (Necromancer Only). ]
[ Archon Greaves of Metamorphosis
Legendary Boots
583 Item Power
-----------------
254 Armor (+30 compared with the currently equipped item)
* Evade grants +75 Movement Speed for 1 second
-----------------
* +47 Intelligence
* +118 Maximum Life
* +460 Armor
Legendary Aspect: When you Evade, you turn into a cloud of bats, becoming Unstoppable for 2.5 seconds. Enemies along your path take 2,138 Physical damage and are inflicted with a Vampiric Curse. Evade's Cooldown is increased by 9.0 seconds. ]
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Reading the description, it took no more than five seconds for Michael to take off his currently equipped boots and swap them with the new pair.
Embarrassingly, he kept using Evade, but nothing was happening except for the sudden movement in a specific direction. There was no 'bat cloud' forming.
Annoyed, he took his anger on the Undead and the two objectives he had to get rid of, finally completing the Dungeon.
His experience bar was already at 468,431/1,964,430, having reached 25% of his current level.
As he was preparing to return to the Hidden Overlook and take the Waypoint further away, he noticed two things: one, there was one more Dungeon further south in this area, and two, there was suddenly a Side Quest in the Hidden Overlook.
[ Side Quest: What Remains (Level 50+)
Description: Victims of the cannibals are rarely afforded the dignity of burial. ]
Scratching his head, he found the Questgiver, a woman named Bayarma, silently weeping in front of a bleeding sack.
It was plenty obvious what was inside.
"I'm sorry for your loss. Are you injured?"
[*Sob* I barely made it out of Guulrahn. My friend Erdene was not so lucky. I went back for his remains, and... well, the cannibals didn't leave much.](Bayarma)
Wincing while looking at the blood-soaked sack, Michael couldn't help but be impressed by this lady.
She actually went inside the city swarming with cannibals and recovered her friend's body. Or whatever was left of it.
[I don't know if I have the courage to carry this bloody sack halfway across the Steppes. *Sigh* Erdene didn't get along with his family, but he belongs back in Farobru just the same, damn it!](Bayarma)
"I see. Do you need help bringing him home, then?"
[*Sob* Please, if there's any chance you are traveling that way, could you bring Erdene to his father?](Bayarma)
"I'll take care of it."
Nodding gently, he touched the sack and stored it, surprised to see it placed in his Quest Inventory rather than turning into the usual coffin and occupying space in his normal one.
Opening the interface, he checked the Quest Item.
[ Erdene's Remains
Quest item: What Remains
--------------
The grisly remains of a cannibal victim. ]
Curious as per why the system was making a distinction between the normal bodies he had previously recovered and now - as well as remembering the recent case where he stored a goat that ate too much salt and entered a food coma - the Necromancer understood that everything depended on the Sanctuary's mood.
[ Side Quest issued - What Remains
Objective: Bring Erdene's Remains to Yeshi in Farobru
Description: A refugee from Guulrahn has asked you to deliver the remains of a cannibal victim to his family in Farobru. ]
Setting aside the Quest temporarily since he had another Dungeon to clear, Michael headed south through the Trail of Bones, targeting the Buried Halls.
[ Dunge: Buried Halls (Level 50+)
Description: The Triune fight to reclaim these ancient halls. ]
Seeing the missing 's' in the word 'fight,' he immediately connected the dots and figured out this must be a 'recording' of sorts.
It should replay the Triune's attempt at taking ownership of the place, only to get sucked into the Dungeon space-time.
'Though, that's only my guess. Let's see... Oh, there it is!'
Finding the entrance after riding on horseback for about ten minutes or so, Michael stepped inside after refreshing the Elixirs.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Buried Halls
Objective: Free the prisoners (0/5). ]
Once inside, he took in his surroundings. There were plenty of statues of different dimensions, with all of them looking demonic.
The area was called Grand Gathering and it had a certain unique flair to it. At least, the Necromancer had yet to find such a place until now.
'How does architecture even work in this world!? How did they sculpt the floor and the statues like that?'
It was hard to put in words, but along the normal floor of the Dungeon, there were huge pits of over twenty to thirty meters in depth with nothing but a large statue of a Prime Evil standing in the middle of it.
Furthermore, the necks of these statues were at the same height as the floor of the Dungeon, making passersby feel like they were being watched by the huge heads.
His gawking was interrupted by Lilith's mannerless Chosen and Disciples, who rushed at him with all the passion in the world.
Unfortunately, it wasn't that type of reunion, but the more violent kind, which ended with gold coins and items being dropped.
More than half an hour later, he hadn't found even one single prisoner to free, even if he had crossed over ten kilometers worth of halls and monsters.
Fortunately, he did add one more collectible to his treasure box.
[ Triune Decree
You are hereby chosen by Magnus Elias. Ancient knowledge lies within the lands around Mt. Civo, hidden away by the Triune of old. Seek out these caches of power and unearth their secrets.
Those who return to Magnus with tribute in hand will earn more than his favor - they will earn the favor of our Mother. ]
"This must be how Elias fooled the Triune into recapturing Mt. Civo. That explains their large numbers when we invaded and stopped the ritual. That bastard really has his way with manipulating people, doesn't he?"
Another half an hour later, all Michael had to show for his efforts and wasted time was another Greater Radiant Chest, which increased his reserves by another two Rare items, 5 Angelbreaths, 5 Gem Fragments each, 7 Bundled Herbs, 7 Iron Chunks, and 7 Rawhides.
With this, he had finally reached 53 Angelbreaths, though it didn't seem like a lot given how many were needed to craft a handful of Elixirs.
Another attractive gain dropped after wrecking an Elite in the form of another Rare Tempering Manual.
[ Necromancer Motion
Rare Temper Manual
Mobility
----------
*+[8.0 - 10.0]% Movement Speed
*+[15.5 - 20.0]% Movement Speed for [4] seconds after killing an Elite
*+[28.5 - 37.5]% Movement Speed during Blood Mist. ]
While passing by another ridiculously large statue of a demon with inverse horns and four hands, Michael was pondering the idea of adding that movement speed for his Blood Mist.
After all, when using the skill he would become invincible, and he usually used it to distance himself from his enemies.
Unfortunately, the skill had an inbuilt effect: his movement speed would drop when he activated it.
His pondering was cut short after finally locating his first prisoner, who vanished after taking about ten steps away from his savior.
Clearing the halls and saving the prisoners, Michael had already spent close to two hours in this damned place.
It was already noon, and he had only cleared almost three Dungeons.
[ Dungeon Quest update - Buried Halls
Objective: Travel to Spectral Awakening. ]
Rolling his eyes at the implied meaning behind the words, he made his way to the Boss Room and fought with the damned Ressurected Malice.
It was a spectral Banshee-type Boss who kept hovering away from him and his minions, prolonging the fight more than necessary.
Fifteen minutes after he started pummeling the creature, he finally cleared the Dungeon and collected three Rare items and a pair of Legendary gloves.
Comparing the two, he deemed the new piece unworthy to be worn and threw it in his inventory to be salvaged at a later date.
[ Adventurer's Gloves of Occult Dominion
Legendary Gloves
522 + 20 Item Power ( Upgraded x4 )
Legacy Item
-----------------
261 Armor
* +4.5% Attack Speed
* +10 to All Stats
* +35.7% Overpower Damage
* +28 Intelligence
Legendary Aspect: Your Maximum Number of Skeletal Mages is increased by 2. (Necromancer Only). ]
[ Archon's Gauntlets of Empowering Reaper
Legendary Gloves
581 Item Power
-----------------
290 Armor
* +416 Life on Hit
* +2 ranks to Bone Spear (Necromancer Only)
* +20.0% Vulnerable Damage
Legendary Aspect: Damaging enemies with Sever has a 11% chance to spawn a pool of Blight under the target that deals 44% bonus damage. This effect can only happen once every 3 seconds (Necromancer Only). ]
Exiting the Dungeon, he debated if he should temper the new gloves and add the recently recorded Aspect, which increased the numbers of both Reapers and Cold Mages.
In the end, he could only give up since the Affixes on the gloves were terrible, and it wasn't something he could currently make use of.
Opening the MAP, he concluded the area was clear of Dungeons. Before returning to raid the Guulrahn's Canals, Michael stopped to briefly meet with the City Guards, who handed over the information Beatrice promised.
That way, he knew there were no more 'objectives' in his immediate vicinity.
Furthermore, with the number of Dungeons and Quests cleared, his Renown for the Dry Steppes region reached 2,000 points.
Grinning, he set his eyes on Qara-Yisu next since it had three Dungeons nearby.