My blunderbuss cannons would be of little use against the giant skeletons, but the metal shaft of my spear should crack a few bones. The only problem was the blades these undead wielded. They had carved easily though Glintzbuggle’s mech and would do the same to mine.
A few more Fail Weapons spells fizzled against my mech, the mana infusing my machine able to stop them from doing anything catastrophic. Lumpy was still firing magic missiles into the undead mages, so the threat of our mechs falling apart from spells was reduced, but the threat of them being sliced open by giant skeletons was very real.
The rumbling sound grew louder, but it was coming from behind me, not from the keep. As if on cue, I realized the rumbling sound wasn’t some new undead threat, it was the thundering hooves of gnomish cavalry mounted on their fearsome rams. With a battle cry that shook the very heavens, they charged into the fray, meeting the giant bladed skeletons that emerged from the rubble head-on.
Hot on the heels of the gnome cavalry, infantry flooded into the courtyard. Some headed toward the walls where they could hunt down the last of the skeletal mages, but most charged toward the trio of giant undead barreling down on me. One of the skeletons in front of me shifted his focus to the cavalry, his scythe slicing through ram and gnome alike.
Four of the riders went down, but several more slammed their charge home. The spears of the riders splintered against the bones of the skeletal giant, but then the rams, with their oversized curved horns, hit. Bone shattered and the skeleton collapsed to the cobblestones of the courtyard. Enraged over the loss of some of their herd, the rams proceeded to stomp and crush the fallen giant before it could manage to retaliate.
Just before the remaining skeleton hit, I lurched forward, swinging my spear. I used the haft of the weapon, doubting the blade would prove effective. The skeleton’s rib cage shattered from the blow, but when I tried to bring it around for another swing, I found the arm didn’t respond. My target had also been swinging its weapon, which hit the arm holding my spear, leaving only a jagged metal stump where the mech’s arm had been.
Not wanting the giant to get another swing at me with the deadly scythe, I stepped in close, making it awkward to hit me with the oversized weapon, while at the same time stomping on the bones of its lower leg with my armored feet. The skeleton toppled, and before I could continue my stomping efforts, gnomish infantry swarmed over the fallen giant, hammers and axes chipping away at the body of the creature. From the entrance of the keep, more skeletons, this time warriors armed with spears, poured out to face the gnomes.
"Keep pushing forward, Rico. We have to reach the heart of this stronghold if we want to stop Pharox. Mana is building inside the keep and whatever he plans to do with that mana can’t be anything good for us," Fitzfazzle ordered.
Good, Fitzfazzle was still alive inside his mech, but it might take a bit to extricate him given that when his mech had collapsed, it landed right on the cockpit, blocking his exit. My mech, minus all weapons save for my blunderbuss and stompy metal feet, moved toward the open door of the keep. Looking back, I could see Lumpy wasn’t going to be joining me. His mech had two of its legs cut out from under it, but the infantry had arrived just in time to swarm the giant he faced, saving Lumpy from a fatal hit.
As I advanced, I couldn't help but marvel at the sheer ferocity of the gnomish infantry, cutting down skeletal abominations left and right. The surviving cavalry, mounted on their battle-hardened rams, carved a path through the undead horde with brutal efficiency. The gnomes' determination and courage were awe-inspiring, and it ignited a fire within me.
Following in the wake of my mech was Warmaster Glumbleflump, Sir Goodwin, one of the human war priests, and a score of gnomish warriors. More reinforcements would follow once they dealt with the last of the undead in the courtyard. Before us waited the keep’s entrance, but no light could penetrate the darkened gateway, and we had no idea what waited for us once we entered.
As we breached the threshold of the keep, the air grew colder, sending a shiver down my spine. The ominous atmosphere weighed heavily on me, and I could feel the evil that Pharox had unleashed upon the world. With each step, the dread grew stronger, and the shadows seemed to close in around us. The short, but wide hallway where we walked ended in a massive chamber.
It must have been a grand feast hall or something of the sort before this place fell into ruin. Now, it was the playground of the necromancer. A small collection of skeletons, zombies, and a few ghouls lined up to oppose us. At the far end of the chamber was the unmistakable blue glow of a portal. Even with my limited experience with magic, I could feel the waves of power coming off that portal. More of the skeletal mages gathered around the portal, feeding it mana and giving it their complete attention.
There, just past the thin line of undead defenders was the necromancer. Mounted upon a rotting, undead lizard that was the size of a city bus, Pharox loomed over the battlefield with a menacing presence. His greasy black hair hung limply around his sunken face, and his unnatural voice echoed through the chamber as he commanded his forces to attack.
The necromancer's attention snapped to me, his hollow eyes narrowing as a wicked grin spread across his face as he surveyed the damaged machine in front of him. He began to speak, but I didn’t stop to listen, and instead charged forward with my mech.
“Nope, don’t want to hear it,” I shouted through the viewport of my mech as I aimed the blunderbuss and ignited all the barrels at the necromancer and his hideous ride. Attacking immediately and not letting a necromancer speak was probably the best thing to do in this situation.
One after another, the blunderbuss barrels fired. Flaming chunks of stone slammed into the lizard, which had shifted its position to protect Pharox from the worst of my attack. Unlike the skeletons, the lizard had flesh to burn and nearly its whole body was smoking as the stones penetrated its rotting hide and began to cook it from the inside out.
In response to my actions, Glumbleflump and the others charged to attack the other undead. The clash of blades against bone echoed through the chamber, adding to the cacophony of battle. The lizard retaliated against my attack as I closed in. Snapping forward, the monster’s rotting teeth closed over the blunderbuss, snapping it off. It then swung its tail, which swept the legs out from under my mech, crushing them beyond repair.
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In that moment, the war priest hurled a bolt of divine energy at the undead lizard, staggering the beast and sending Pharox tumbling from his perch. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly disengaged my mech's cockpit clamps and exited the badly damaged machine. I pulled my wand and war hammer as I slid off the mech and charged toward the crumpled form of Pharox.
"Ha! You’re all by yourself and without your contraption. How can you stand against me?" Pharox sneered, scrambling to his feet. As he stood, he raised his hands, the air around us crackling with dark energy.
"Maybe you’ll take me down," I retorted, gritting my teeth as I readied myself for the final confrontation. "But I’m going to return the favor,” I taunted as I cast Psionic Jolt at the necromancer and triggered a charge from my wand.
Pharox shook off my Psionic Jolt with little effort, but the magic missile struck home, slamming into his chest, pushing him back. Pharox lost his concentration and the spell he was casting fizzled. The necromancer then turned and ran, heading toward the portal. As he ran, Pharox waved his hand and a thin, translucent red shield appeared around him.
I gave chase but stumbled as the undead lizard collapsed somewhere behind me, shaking the flagstone floor. The gnomes would be rushing to my aid, but I needed to do everything I could to slow down or stop Pharox. That portal was bad news, and maybe if I could deal with Pharox before he reached it, the thing would shut down and break whatever spell or ritual they were working on.
With the cooldown over, I triggered another magic missile, which fizzled against the shield that protected Pharox. Casting a second Psionic Jolt, the spell was unaffected by the shield and caused Pharox some pain this time. He grunted and almost fell, but after chanting briefly, he continued to run toward the portal.
I waited for the skeletal mages to turn and blast me with spells, but their attention was locked onto the portal as they continued to feed it magic. Just a few steps from the portal, I fired another magic missile which also fizzled. Pharox was a powerful necromancer, but he was also an old man, and one that was much slower than I was.
Finally catching up to the necromancer, I swung my hammer at his head. The red shield around him, weakened by a few magic missiles, collapsed. Though it collapsed, the shield had managed to absorb some of the power of my swing, and the head of the hammer glanced off the back of his head. It was enough of a blow to send the frail form of Pharox down to the ground, only a few steps from the portal ritual he was trying to reach.
I fired a magic missile and lashed out with my hammer again at the prone form of Pharox. The missile penetrated deep into the necromancer’s back, causing him to shout in pain even as my hammer crunched into his ribs. Quick as lighting, the necromancer turned and latched his hand onto my arm. I could feel the entire limb go numb, causing me to drop the weapon.
Before I could do anything, Pharox pulled me to the ground, wrestling with strength that belied his aged and damaged form. He grabbed onto my other arm, and it also grew numb as the necromancer pulled me closer.
“This shell is done, but you’ll make an acceptable host to start things at my new destination,” Pharox muttered as something shifted under his skin and I felt his will scratching at my mind.
“Wait! You’re just a summoned being, I can’t use you,” Pharox said as his mind probed into mine. I could feel him sifting through my memories, learning where I came from and the person I was. With all the effort I could muster, I broke free of his mind, and followed up with a headbutt that left me seeing stars.
The sudden resistance and attack broke Pharox’s grip and my arms tingled as feeling slowly started returning to them. Pharox began to mutter words that I couldn’t make out, but I somehow knew should never be spoken. Dark power radiated from the words and Pharox pointed at me, driving the finger into my chest like it was a spear.
I expected pain, but instead, the same numbness began to spread. Just when I thought he was going to kill me, the necromancer stepped back, a cruel smile on his face as he looked down on my unmoving body.
“There, I have marked you, a mark that will follow even a summoned being back to its home. I go to a different world now, and once that is conquered, yours will be the next I seek. While I may have only caught a brief glimpse of your world, what I did see has intrigued me. Now, before your diminutive friends get here, I must be off,” Pharox said.
I was unable to move, but that didn’t stop me from casting spells, and I fired off another Psionic Jolt as Pharox stumbled toward the portal. The spell caused him to drop to his knees, but a pair of the skeletal mages rushed from their work at the portal and hauled Pharox up.
A blast of radiant, divine energy slammed into the undead mages, causing them to collapse to the ground. Pharox crawled forward, desperate to reach the portal as the other mages moved to protect him. Another burst of light, this time, hitting the portal itself, caused the thing to shimmer and warp. Heedless of the changing portal, Pharox crawled through. As he disappeared from my sight, I could hear a painful wail come from the man.
Gnomes rushed past me, heading toward the skeletal mages who, without Pharox’s power, collapsed to the ground. The portal sputtered out, and with the blue light of its magic gone, I could see only a thin metal framework, that the gnomes were quickly tearing down.
“That should be the last we see of him,” Warmaster Glumbleflump said as he marched forward to inspect the portal with Sir Goodwin.
“Rico, hang on, I’ll get you fixed up in a minute,” Fitzfazzle said. I could feel his mana push into me as he tried to counteract whatever spell the necromancer had cast. The war priest also joined him, adding his magic to the mix. After a few seconds of their aid, feeling began to return to my body and I was able to sit up and speak.
“Did he get away?” I asked, still a little groggy.
“Not likely, the portal was unstable, which should tear him to shreds. Even if he survived, he’ll no longer plague our world. Veriman and my people are safe from him, and part of this victory is due to your actions, Rico,” Fitzfazzle said. He looked as weary as I felt, but despite that weariness, he seemed relieved that the necromancer would no longer trouble the world of Veriman.
He clasped my hand to help me up, but I felt myself fade as a system prompt appeared. Fitzfazzle’s world was safe, but had I let the necromancer slip into another world to torment someone else? What about Earth? Were his threats just a last-minute boast, or did he really have the power to go there. Even if he somehow made it to my world, it wasn’t like his magic could do much there. A necromancer without mana was just a crazy old man.
The terms of your summoning contract have been completed.
Your performance rating is calculated as Astounding.
Your rewards will reflect the summoning tier of 0, rank 7, and your performance rating of Astounding.
Additional rewards are granted due to the duration and performance rating of this extended summoning contract.
You have earned 51 experience points.
You have earned 116 summoning points.
Congratulations on reaching Tier 0, Rank 8.
Congratulations on reaching Tier 0, Rank 9.
Congratulations on reaching Tier 1, Rank 0.
Class assignment has been unlocked.
Additional ability slots have been unlocked.
The training center for your personal space is now unlocked.
Your status is as follows:
Rico Kline, Summoned Being.
Tier 1, Rank 0.
Experience/experience needed for next rank: 11/25.
Summoning points: 131.
Prepare to return to your personal space.