In a starving crucible of hungry villagers, under an ancient castle filled with parasites and an insipid plant creature, a battle raged in the very depths of a research labyrinth.
Armor thundered and steel smashed as all alike funneled into a passage filled with the vile Ova. Poisonous and near-unkillable, the decaying knights crushed them underneath, but still the Ova fought back, attacking with whatever parts of them could still move.
The rusted armor blocked most of their attacks, but not all. It was a tiresome battle, but as long as at least one knight died, the armor would rust and fall apart. They would claim the body parts and would have the last victory.
In the grand chamber, with a small army of Ova surrounding him, Jay was safe. Behind him, a silver portal crackled with unfathomable energy, distorting the surrounding air.
Nearby, a giant flesh-root head pumped, each pulse like a ticking clock counting down to Jay's death. Yet to this moment, it had not even moved.
And while Jay was safe, it also trapped him here. He could not guarantee his safety on the other side of the portal.
The only other escape option? To climb onto the giant milky sap-carrying root and run along it, though even that was not much of an option.
The tentacles waited near the head, along with a sea of knights about to break into the room.
For now, he could only hope that whatever Red, Lamp and Handy were doing on the other side of the portal would help, and that they were not stuck there.
Jay watched as more of the knights charged to their deaths, and now, just as many were being killed by the tentacle as by the ring of Ova around him.
With some spare time, checked his quest, wondering how all of this related.
Yet at the top of his notifications was another one waiting for him. One he received before but ignored and had since forgotten about.
[Level up - Level 13]
[Locked dungeon - Time dilation of 1:10 until dungeon is completed.]
[You may not leave until the dungeon is completed]
[Dungeon Quest: Save the innocent]
[Requirements: Level 15 or below]
[Innocent: Unsaved]
[Rewards: Level up]
[First clear reward: Passive skill]
[Temporary Item acquired: Needle of the Starved]
"Level thirteen? Finally. I knew I was close. Now, I want more skeletons, but I also want them to reach level five and fully realize the benefits of their roles." Jay nodded, hoping to see what Blue would become.
He made a quick choice as he already planned what to do with his skill and attribute points. Beside, the dungeon quest also promised another level up as a reward, so there were plenty more points coming.
"I'll have gained two levels by the time I leave this place, reaching level fourteen… and Asra will still think I'm a level four guy named Bob." He thought with a chuckle.
"She will probably think I simply left to take a piss. Maybe she'll still be asleep by the time I get back." he smiled, then paused for a moment.
"… Am I looking forward to seeing her? Hmm." he shook his head.
Jay's thoughts about Asra were changing. She was becoming more like a beacon of hope than a source of laughter, even though he still felt nothing for her, and she undoubtedly felt nothing for him.
Jay added his skill point into his [Undead Mastery] ability.
As for the five attribute points, he dumped them all into his energy statistic, which gave mana and stamina; mana being something he constantly found to be his weakness.
However, as he raised it from 45 to 50, another notification greeted him.
[Energy stat evolving]
[Choose your path: Stamina, Mana, Energy.]
[Warning: You cannot undo your choice. You will still get base mana and stamina each level, but cannot increase them directly unless you choose it as your path, or remain neutral with the Energy path.]
"Permanent, but not a hard choice. The only time I have needed stamina was when I traveled, but even then, I could just make the skeletons carry me. Obviously, mana." Jay thought, locking in his choice immediately.
[Chosen path: Mana]
[Evolving stat: Energy > Mana]
[Mana: Grants mana regeneration and increases mana capacity.]
"Oh, fuck yes." Jay grinned, seeing the bonus regeneration.
Before Jay checked his class, the helminth reformed and dropped from his neck, as it leveled up too.
The helminth stared up at Jay and snapped its jaws a few times; Jay knew what it wanted.
Standing on the center of the large root, he made a pile of bones for it, adding a silt-wolf spine too, just in case it would need another.
With the bone worm taken care of, he could finally check his class, along with his new abilities.
< [Necromancer - Level 13] > (Pure)
[Race - Human]
HP: 232/232
MP: 114/114
Strength: 20
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 35
Mana: 5/5
-Energy: 50/50- (Locked)
Exp: 252/36,000
[<[Skills]>]
<~ [Necromancy Skills] ~>
[Raise Lesser Undead (1)]
[Summon Bone Helminth]
[Shell Restoration (1)]
[Unstable Teeth (2)]
[Host (1)]
[Mind (1)]
[Mass Summoning]
[Undead Mastery (4)] (Passive)
[Necrotic Sense (1)] (Passive)
[Scrimshaw (3)] (Passive)
[Soul Sense (1)] (Passive)
[Shift] ~ [Living Blueprints] ~ [Transplant] ~ [Amputation]
[Uncaring Rip]~[Pitiful Mortal]
<~ [Other Skills] ~>
[Mana Regeneration (5)]
[Mark]
[Mana Sense (1)]
[Mental Coating (1)]
[Mana Membrane (1)] (Passive)
[Iskean/Asklin] (Equipment)
[Dagger Proficiency (1)] (Passive)
[Poison Resist (11%)] (Passive - equipment)
[Running (2)] (Passive)
[Stealth (1)] (Passive)
[Stress Response] (Passive)
[Sword Proficiency (1)] (Passive)
[Class Utility] (Passive)
[<~ [Research] ~>]
[Chimera Research (31%)]
[Immortality Research (5%)]
[Skull-shield Projector Research (32%)]
[Dread-mourn Turret Research (22%)]
New Skills:
< [Mana Regeneration - Level 5] >
[Regenerate five mana per minute]
< [Undead Mastery - Level 4] >
[Your undead can reach a max level of (5). Level up is permanent.]
"Excellent." Jay nodded. "Hopefully, the skeletons can get up to level five quickly. The regeneration is a pleasant bonus too."
He then turned to the helminth which was happily crunching down bones at his feet.
"Now, my precious bone parasite. Level four now, huh?"
Jay checked its stats, but only paid attention to the ones which changed.
< [Bone Helminth - Level 4] >
[Type - Undead, Parasite, Spellcaster]
[HP 60/60]
[MP 50/50]
<[Skills]>
- [Sentinel Form]-
- [Natural Form]-
[Spectral Bolt]
- 8 Magic damage (Necrotic)
- 20 Bolt capacity
- 1 Bolt produced every 240 seconds
- Cost 2 mana
[Ensnare]
[Symbiotic] (Passive)
[Grave Visitor] (Passive)
[Grave Soil Miasma] (Passive)
"Awesome. More damage and more bolts; twenty should be enough for most fights. At least against enemies with bones, it will always be useful." He nodded.
"And having sixty more bonus health to protect me will go a long way. I pity whoever will try to strike me."
Jay watched the bone worm eat for a while as it grew into a larger form.
Its slender skull got slightly bulkier, with new bone plates forming on the sides.
Its skeletal body got thicker, and new pieces of armor trailed down its back along either side of its spine.
Hitting level four, its length grew longer than Jay was tall, meaning it could protect more of Jay's body.
Yet what stood out the most to Jay was its eyes.
"They seem… fiercer. Full of hunger and life." He thought, though he saw a loyal adoration whenever it gazed back up at him.
"Alright, now the quest… something doesn't seem right about it."
[You may not leave until the dungeon is completed]
[Dungeon Quest: Save the innocent]
[Requirements: Level 15 or below]
[Innocent: Unsaved]
[Rewards: Level up]
[First clear reward: Passive skill]
[Temporary Item acquired: Needle of the Starved]
"Requirements level fifteen or below? What if I was level twenty? Would I not get the quest? Then that means I can complete the dungeon without it." He scratched his chin in thought.
"But then the question becomes, how do I complete it without doing the quest? As for rewards, I get a level up for completing the quest, but a passive skill for completing the dungeon?"
Jay shook his head at himself. "All along, I have been assuming that finishing the quest means completing the dungeon…"
"Ah, the devil is in the details… but I bet killing the plant and the knights will accomplish both… At least, I hope."
Jay turned back to the portal, glancing into the shimmering, silvery surface. It concerned Jay, as he did not know the situation or what the skeletons were doing on the other side and a swarm of knights was about to break into the room.
"Where is Red..." he frowned.
Sorry there are not many discord links, I don't want the discord being overwhelmed. You can also access it through the patr3on.
