-Day 24 (Monday), mid-afternoon, somewhere in the Netherworld, Daniel's P.O.V.-
"Let me get this right: you were being paid to follow him around?"
She nodded.
"Huh… and he didn't know?"
She shook her head.
"That's just sad."
She shrugged.
"You don't like talking much, do you?"
Another shake.
"Works for me."
Me and my little group were still exploring the countryside, hoping to find a place to stop at. During the few hours in which we'd walked, we learned a few things from the succubus following us: first, Ingemar was actually one of the weakest contenders to the throne, but he'd managed to go uncontested until now due to dumb luck and no one really considering him a threat. Second, this Netherworld was called Edrua, and was split in three main zones: the plains in which we were; a mountain range northwest of us; and a volcanic zone further beyond that. Nothing really lived in the volcanic zone, except for some monsters. Third, the Overlord's castle was based just on the border between the mountains and the plains.
Lastly, I had a lot of work ahead of me.
New quest – Way of the King
Objectives:
-Get rid of Ingemar
-Get rid of ?
-Get rid of ?
-Get rid of ?
-Get rid of ?
-Get rid of ?
Rewards:
-for every target: (Enough Xp for 5 levels, Rank-up skill token)
-for three targets: (Enough Xp for 10 levels, [Dimension Gate] spell scroll)
-main: (Enough Xp for 50 levels, three Legendary-rank techniques of your choice)
Well, I had a big interest in completing said quest now. I wasn't sure why the Xp wasn't just written as a number, but I really didn't mind anyway.
Nonetheless, our main goal for now was to reach the Castle and gather as many demons who were still loyal to my ancestor as possible… thank goodness that demons lived for a long time. And I mean long: thousands upon thousands of years, I mean. I was curious as to whether it applied to me as well, but all I could do to check was wait and try not to die.
"Speaking of lasting, could I make my clones more durable? Or maybe give them a bigger Mp pool?" I mused, while walking. "I need to take note of these ideas. I keep losing them, and it's awful."
I pulled out my notebook, and scribbled down a new list.
Training ideas:
-more durable clones (add more MP?)
-get an unarmed style (claws - tiger style?)
-see if I can fly (maybe Aer magic helps?)
-TELEKINESIS (Motus?)
-more physical applications of magic (Telum/Tutamen?)
I put the notes away, took a look around. Pyra was chatting with Sora, who was listening patiently. The succubus was to my right, acting disinterested. She did sneak some glances towards us every now and then when she thought we weren't looking, though.
I then realized that I still hadn't Observed her.
Kellea - N/A
Race: Succubus (+2 MAG every level)
Lv: 37
Hp: 160/160
Mp: 300/300
STR: 18
VIT: 16
AGI: 33
DEX: 38
MAG: 30 (104)
LUK: 50
As a succubus, Kellea has an extensive knowledge of the seductive arts, though she has never particularly cared to use them… on anyone. Ever. She was regarded with curiosity and concern her whole life due to her choice, but she has grown used to it.
"Huh… is she asexual or something? I might be reading too deep into this and she just doesn't like manipulating others… whatever, not my problem anyway. If she isn't going to do it, it's enough for me; regardless of the reason."
Her magic was good, but her reserves were pretty pitiful… she wasn't really a threat in any way. Though, a little problem came up: how would I train Pyra and Sora without her knowing?
There I was hoping that we wouldn't have to deal with stuff like that. And yet!
Our best bet was to have me play it off as a spell I devised for training, and leave it at that. Thus, I called for a break.
Kellea gave me a sideways glance. "…Tired?"
"Nah," I answered "there's something I need to deal with." I then approached the two dragons, who glanced at each other and then back to me. "This place is dangerous. As such, you both need to be able to deal with threats on your own. That means, that I will train you. Understood?"
Both of them nodded.
"Good. Your training begins—" I threw an arm up, and the world rippled "—now."
The telltale buzzing of grublins started to approach, and I took a moment to explain what was happening before sending them off.
"Right now, we are in a dimension layered over the previous one. In other words, there's a lot of targets for you to practice with. I'll be looking, and stepping in if it gets too dangerous. So come on, go nuts."
Just as I was done talking, a group of four grublins landed near us, holding their clubs up threateningly. Neither dragon moved, unsure of the situation, but when a brave grublin came forth they both sprang into action. Bites, claws, bursts of fire and ice, they didn't hold anything back as they wiped the floor with the grublins. When the last one tried flying away, it got sniped by Pyra.
I gained no Xp from the fight whatsoever, but I didn't really mind: this was for them, not me. I could grind during the nights, after all I only needed to sleep every couple of days.
Both Pyra and Sora gained a couple of levels from that one fight, and the notifications caused them to jump in shock. Luckily, it seemed that only I could see them, other than them of course. Kellea didn't give any sign of seeing the notifications, which was one less hassle to deal with.
"Ugh, if only we didn't have to deal with her I could explain things in more detail…" I complained in my head. All I could do was bear with it; what could I do, kill her? Nah.
"Alright, good job you two. Let's keep moving." They both preened under my praise. "I'd say that hunting down thirty of these things should be good enough for today." And there went their good mood.
They both nodded sullenly, and went to work.
While they did that, I made a few clones to work on some things on my list. Three dealt with Telum and Tutamen, working out how to increase my physical defense and attack by quite a lot. Two worked on Motus magic, trying to control some stones and other things I had lying around in my inventory. One was trying to fly… with varying degrees of success, from what I could see in the distance, and four were integrating the Tiger kung-fu style in my own combat.
About a few hours later, Sora and Pyra had experienced an exponential increase in power, gaining 35 and 37 levels respectively, bringing them to 58 and 57… I was so proud of them already. They didn't want to stop after feeling the rush of power that came with grinding, so I dealt with the bosses and let them run wild with the weaker mobs. I didn't level up, but I did get a good number of new skills and spells.
Tiger style (Initiate) +5
-Your familiarity with the Tiger kung-fu style. You know the basic stuff, but that's it.
Attack boost (200 Mp/hit)
-Pure violent energy coats your strikes.
-adds an extra .5(+.5) multiplier to any physical strike
Defense boost (100 Mp/sec)
-Pure defensive energy coats your body.
-adds an extra 50(+5) Physical and Magical protection
Flight (Novice)
-Your familiarity with your wings. You can fly very slowly and carefully, and not for long.
-Flight time equal to VIT score in seconds
-maximum flight speed is 5 Km/h
Confusion (20 Mp/sec)
-A light kinetic force applied through your mind.
-maximum force applicable: 20 kg
-force is divided through the surface.
The latter spell was a bit more confusing to figure out than I'd like to admit, but the gist of it was that I had to keep a light thread of mana between me and the item I wanted to control, pooling motus vis in a certain direction to move the item in that same direction. Simple to explain, hard to figure out from scratch. I was starting to lack Up, so I thought that it was about time I started grinding Xp again… maybe work on my summoning a bit too? More things to add to the list.
At any rate, after the kids got done with their grinding for today we had dinner, and just decided to stay where we were and continue the day after. I cleared a spot from grass, sticks, and anything else that could cause a fire with a quick application of black fire, made an actual bonfire in the clear patch, and pulled out a bench, along with some sleeping bags… yeah, I had to spend a bunch of GP on that stuff, but I had more than enough to go around for small amenities like that. It did sound a lot like plot convenience, but I had the chance! Why shouldn't I take advantage of it?
I decided to give a bag also to Kellea, in the end. Just because I never asked her to come along was no reason to be a prick when I could be nice. And if it netted me a new friend, then yay.
While the kids went to sleep, I made a couple of clones to keep watch around. Didn't really trust Kellea, even if she wasn't an enemy yet.
Just to pass the time a bit, I scrolled through my skill list, and that helped me realize an important thing: Observe was still only at Acolyte rank! It needed to be increased heavily. My immediate goal was to gain Master rank, but in theory I could reach Legenday if I spent a total of 175 Up from right now. That would be… 156 levels. Ouch. Doable, but it would take a lot. Better to just concentrate on the next rank.
I wasn't going to use my ID while Kellea was still awake, so all I could do was wait for now. I took the time to examine her again.
Long green hair, pale skin, red eyes, pointed ears, relatively skimpy clothes (though not so much when considering what the other succubi wore), slim… yeah, she had the look of a demon alright, but didn't strike me as a threat. She was mainly just cute. Not gorgeous, not sexy, just… cute. Not 'little girl' kind of cute, but 'early twenties' cute.
…I started rambling, didn't I?
Admittedly, after almost a month of not seeing anything humanlike (beyond Loki, but that cunt doesn't count), I was having a hard time not looking at her. Part of me was actually glad that she came with us, but the other was a bit worried that I'd do something I would regret. Hopefully I'd be able to control myself enough to do something about it.
I was reconsidering my opinion on hiring a prostitute.
Shaking my head, I looked away. She hadn't paid me any mind, probably used to being stared at, being a succubus and all, but I needed to stop anyway. It wasn't healthy for me to keep thinking about that any more than I should as a hormonal teenager. A demonic hormonal teenager. A draconic, demonic, hormonal teenager. It kept getting worse.
I was starting to feel scared of myself.
My eyes were glued to the fire, not daring to stray. I didn't even realize that two sets of light snores became three. One of my clones had to shake me, to get my attention and point it out to me. I chose to try a new dungeon, to get my mind off the issue entirely. The one I hadn't completed yet was the DOOM arena, so I wanted to try it. But first, I went to an empty dungeon to get an extra summon: the Hell Knight. It was a surprisingly simple manner to beat it, just had to pummel it into the ground with my fully-boosted 350+ STR, and it immediately chose to serve me. Cowardly things, these demons. But I can't fault it: I'd bow to a stronger being too, if I had no other choice.
Dismissing the demon, I opened the DOOM dungeon, getting ready to wreck absolute havoc. The first few fights were incredibly easy, so much so that I opted for doing them only through physical combat to avoid wasting mana. The Mancubus was much easier this time around, going down after only two hits. I slowed a bit during the tenth wave, to analyze the new enemy:
Hell Baron
Lv: 130
Hp: 2.375/2.375
Mp: 1.750/1.750
STR: 150
VIT: 155
AGI: 105
DEX: 105
MAG: 130
LUK: 5
They looked just like what you'd expect of a stereotypical demon: big, red skin, cloven hooves, horns, permanently snarling, and flinging green fire.
It didn't last long.
I mowed down everything the waves had to offer easily, showing just how over-leveled I really was. After the Baron, the fifteenth wave added the Hell Guards. These were a bit more difficult to deal with, as they resisted physical attacks. Fortunately, after figuring out their weak point it was just a matter to Stinger at them, and reap the benefits of a critical hit.
"Alright, wave twenty. Let's see what you've got for me."
BGM playing: Flesh and Steel (DOOM 2016)
"Huh, I have a music player? Might be a new addition."
A gigantic portal appeared in front of me, wide at least five meters from top to bottom, and out of it hobbled out a hulking monstrosity. Red, beady eyes peered down at me, the face framed at both sides by gigantic horns. Two legs like oak logs underneath it, both made of metal. In the place of the left arm it had a machinegun, an on the left a blade. It was the one, and only:
Cyberdemon
Lv: 200
Hp: 16.500 /16.500
Mp: 850/850
STR: 300
VIT: 380
AGI: 80
DEX: 150
MAG: 85
LUK: 5
Physical Protection: 500
Magical Protection: 250
Boss rank: EX
An ancient demon, returned to life through a mixture of magic and technology. Its only goal is to kill, and if you don't destroy it, it will be free to accomplish just that.
I wasn't sure if the description was just something the game made up to give me an incentive, or it was real; I wasn't going to let it live anyway.
The two Guards coming up to its sides were easily dealt with by two clones, and now it was just me and the Cyberdemon. It let out a low rumble, and levelled its gun-arm at me. Just as the barrels started to spin, I rushed in close to it. No way I would let it have the first move. I used my new wings to hover in place, and let loose a Million Stab at the few fleshy parts it still had. I wasn't able to stay up for long, and so the demon had a chance to smack me away with its blade-arm. My thick scales took the brunt of the impact, and coupled with my resistance to slashing damage I could shrug it off easily. I let myself use some magic, and threw a Zanma at its feet to destabilize it. The sharpened gusts of wind left deep cuts into the flesh and steel of the legs, making it wince and stumble back.
A tactical Bufudyne flash-froze the ground underneath the demon, and the steel of its feet could not find traction. It fell. I jumped up, and went down blade-first. I impaled it straight in the eye, using also my new Attack Boost spell.
Critical hit! Vital Hit! 7.573 DMG!
Dungeon God: Cyberdemon Lv: 200 Killed!
BGM: Stop
I pulled my trusty Deadric Longsword out of the limp skull, and hopped off of it. Looking back at the horn as long as my leg in front of me, I decided to keep it. Who knew, maybe it would be useful. At the very least, I could make a weapon out of it. A quick kick later, and it was broken off, headed straight for my inventory.
*ding*
Congrats! You completed your first arena!
Your rewards for this dungeon will be given as soon as you leave.
Do you want to exit the ID? [Y/N]
"Yeah, I think I'm good for tonight. I think I should get at least a few dozen levels from this. If not, at least I had fun… I need to find some better hobbies, though." I thought as I pressed the prompt. A few ripples in reality later, and the world was back to normal.
You gained 4.919.000 Xp and 295.600 Gp!
You gained the title: Doomslayer!
You gained 92 Argent Shards, 31 Argent Fragments, 21 Argent Gems, 8 Argent Clusters, 1 Argent Crystal!
You leveled up a lot! (214 – 260)!
Due to reaching over level 250, you now gain one extra Up every level!
You gained 230 Sp and 56 Up!
You gained several perks:
Supernatural Strength – STR 250
Supernatural Endurance – VIT 250
Supernatural Agility – AGI 250
Supernatural Dexterity – DEX 250
Four perks have been combined into one:
Supernatural Body – STR, VIT, AGI, DEX 250
-Your physical prowess is well beyond that of mortals
-Hp gains a *2 multiplier
-Your attacks cannot be resisted, but will still be nullified or repelled
-You can run at sonic speeds
-You hardly get tired
-You can perceive incredibly fast things easily
Well, now that the info-dump was done, it was time to check out the goodies. First, all my relevant stats had gone over 300, with my MAG being two points away from 500. The rest… I wanted to raise them, and become absolutely unstoppable, but that would be too much of a waste of points. I just needed to start working out again. I could start just after I was done.
The "Doomslayer" title would make weaker demons cower, while strong ones would try to kill me. It was a risk/reward deal… I would only use it when needed. Also, other demon hunters would be more friendly, even if I didn't equip the title. That was nice.
My inventory was full to the brim with Argent: I really needed to use it in some way. Well, that was a problem for future me, as now I had training to do!
"Oh, wait. First off…" I pulled up my skill list, and increased Observe to Expert level. I could have used my last 50 Up to increase it to Master, but… I decided instead to increase my elemental affinities: it was long overdue.
"So, Gelum to Adept, Fulguris too, also Aer… Telum, Tutamen, and Motus can go to Initiate. That's all my points, but they were well-spent."
When I closed the skill list, a new notification appeared before me.
*ding*
You unlocked the REP screen! To open, use the command: "Reputation"!
I opened it, curious as to what it would look like. In front of me, appeared a list of people I knew, along with values, and what I assumed was what they thought of me.
Loki: 10/100 (Amusing kid)
Tundra Polar: 25/100 (Trustworthy aquaintace)
Star Polar: 10/100 (Unknown)
Pyra Sun: 50/100 (Big brother/Mentor)
Sora Sukai: 30/100 (Savior/Friend of a friend)
Arashi Kumo: -5/100 (Annoyance)
Frost Polar: 15/100 (Comrade)
Lei Ji: 20/100 (Lost child)
Vulcan: 30/100 (Friend)
Zilan Astaroth: 0/100 (A way out)
Ingemar: -25/100 (Rival)
Maiko: -50/100 (Scum)
Kellea: 5/100 (Safety)
I was rather surprised that Ingemar hated me less than who I assumed to be his sidekick, but also Kellea was no less of a surprise. Why would she consider me… 'safety'?
"Just what is up with that girl?... No matter. I have things to do now."
To the training I went.
-Day 25 (Tuesday), morning, Daniel's camp, Daniel's P.O.V.-
With a combination of Gravity Seal, Supernatural Body, and Diarahan, I was able to train so hard that my muscles tore themselves to shreds, and I would keep healing them. I hardly got tired, so I just kept going the whole night. It was more than worth it:
+10 STR, +13 VIT, +11 AGI, +12 DEX! All in one night! I was shaping up into an absolute monster.
Name: Daniel Samuels
Title: The Gamer
Race: Demonic Drake
LV: 260 (23.450/117.000 XP)
GP: 1.270.000
HP: 10.600 [27.000/27.000] {+2.120/min}
MP: 28.300 [42.450/42.450] {+5.660/min}
STR: 338 [507]
VIT: 321 [481]
AGI: 339 [508]
DEX: 340 [510]
MAG: 498 [747]
LUK: 235
Stat Points: 911
Upgrade points: 0
Physical Protection: 310
Magic Protection: 90
Resistance: Slash, Pierce
Null: Fire
If one were to run the math, my total stats would match those of someone a bit over level 400, and with my Drake Body boost active that would increase to just a bit less than level 600! I didn't even really need to use my extra points anymore.
Though, as I had literally no way to increase LUK other than points, I would need to use them there anyway. Thoughts for later.
As my party was taking a bit to wake up, I pulled out some food from my inventory and got started on breakfast. Some bacon, sausages, and a salad for me and Kellea… if she didn't want it, more for me. I would've made eggs, hadn't it been that two of my teammates were born from eggs. Thus, I chose to abstain.
"Alright, it's ready. Let's wake up the slackers," I muttered.
Not a moment later, I noticed that Kellea wasn't in her sleeping bag. A quick look around revealed that she was already scarfing down the food with gusto. I cleared my throat, waiting for her to realize I was watching. She stopped her movements immediately, her eyes landing on me. She looked at me as if I'd found her with the hand in the cookie jar.
"I see you like it. Let me know if you want more, ok?" I said, and left her alone as I went to wake up the dragons.
+5 REP with Kellea
"Huh. Seems I can see this stuff in real time now. Nice."
I shook Pyra and Sora awake, both of them grumbling. It seemed that while they could work under game rules, their bodies wouldn't act like my own. Though, after getting a bite of my food they immediately perked up. I honestly didn't get why; I wasn't such a great cook anyway. Just about average, really.
While the group ate, I considered my plan again. Reaching the Overlord's castle was good and all, but what afterwards? Even if some demons were still loyal to Machrosias, there was no guarantee that they would follow me. And even if they did follow me, how many would do so? There were too many 'ifs' in that idea. What I needed was some actual support, more than two young dragons and a succubus. What I needed… was an army.
My eyes fell on my DOOM summoning skill. I needed to increase its rank massively, but when I did manage to do so, the results would be great. It was time to get myself a legion of demons.
New quest – Call to arms
Objectives:
-Get Alienis Magic to Expert rank
-Make all the demon summons obey you
Bonus Objectives:
-Get Alienis Magic to Master rank
-Forge 4 Argent Armor sets (0/4)
Rewards:
-Bonus 1: +700.000 XP, +500.000 GP
-Bonus 2: +2.000.000 Xp, Rank-up skill token
-Main: +1.500.000 XP, Title: Demon General
All the better for me.
…Though I was feeling a bit lazy: I'd just got done grinding, couldn't I get a break?!
I ran the math in my head. "I get two Up every level now, so I would need… 45 levels to get it all the way to Master. Ugh. Wait, I can grind along with my clones. If I make a lot, we should be able to cut down the time a lot, increasing profit. Ok, I should grind until I reach at least another 60 levels. I need to increase my forging before I create the armor. And if my gut feeling is right, each one should be fitted for the members of my team."
I was brought out of my thoughts by a nudge. Pyra, Sora, and Kellea were all holding their plates out in front of me. Kellea was looking anywhere but me, while Sora seemed amused. Pyra, instead, had a gigantic grin splitting her face.
"Seconds, please!"
A small smirk grew on my face as well. "How about I enjoy the moment first?"
"Alright, give me a few minutes," I said. I cracked my knuckles, moving to the fire and pulling out my pans again.
-Same time, Overlord's castle, ?'s P.O.V.-
"A new challenger for the throne, you say? What do you know about this one?"
"Not much. He just popped up out of nowhere, and beat some upstart. I think that one's name was… In-whatever. Can't remember. Still, the newbie seems pretty strong."
"Nothing else?"
"Well, I know for a fact that he travels with two young dragons, and he seems able to turn into one too. Some voices say also that a succubus has joined him."
"In other words, he is a foolish child traveling with weaklings. I don't see why it bothered you so much, just send someone to deal with him. Let me know when he dies."
"Alright then, bye~!"
*Slam*
"Ugh… that girl will be the death of me one day, I can feel it."
-Day 25 (Tuesday), afternoon, somewhere else in the Netherworld, Daniel's P.O.V.-
We marched for… a while. It was rather mind-numbing, all things considered. All I had to do was look at stuff, Observe stuff, and chat with the others every now and then. Like now.
"Sooo… what are you, anyway?" Asked Pyra, ever the curious one.
Kellea shifted uncomfortably, probably not wanting to tell the young girl the details.
"…Succubus," she muttered.
"And what's that?"
I decided to step in before things could degenerate. "Another kind of demon. They're a bit subtler in how they do things compared to me, but beyond that? Not too much of a difference."
"Huh… Ok then!"
Kellea and I exchanged a look, both of us thinking "Crisis averted" at the same time.
+5 REP with Kellea!
"Nice."
"Waaait a second—" Pyra turned back around. Behind her, I could see Sora perform a face-wing. "—What do you mean with 'difference'? There is a difference, no? You just said so."
"She's getting too observant. Crud." I was wracking my head for a solution, when Kellea stepped up.
She pointed to herself. "Mind magic. Weak." She then pointed to me. "Element magic. Strong."
Pyra stared us in silence, as if trying to catch a lie. After a few seconds, she shrugged and moved on.
I held my breath for a bit longer, waiting until Pyra was out of earshot and back to chattering Sora's ears off, then releasing a relieved sigh. Kellea did the same at my side.
I moved a bit close to whisper to her. "Thanks for the save. I really don't want to explain that to her. Not yet, at least."
She nodded. "Thank you too."
We didn't exchange words for a while after that accident, but I could tell that Kellea trusted me a bit more now. I did too, but I wouldn't stop keeping a metaphorical dagger under my metaphorical pillow until I got her REP up to 50 minimum. As demons, it wasn't a good choice to trust others easily. Maybe I was exaggerating, but I didn't want to get stabbed in the back because I let my guard down.
-That evening…-
That evening, we had to camp out again. I was getting more than a little fed up with it, and I assumed the others were too. So, I did what I like doing most and delegated my work to my clones.
"Ok, boys. Go full-speed and search around for an actual town. This is really getting ridiculous. And while you're there, see if you can find a way to make some quick money too. Forging could work, but let's not limit ourselves."
My clones gave me an ironic military salute, and then half of them ran off in different directions. I then turned to the rest.
"You know what time it is?"
"Grinding time… yay." They all dully said.
"You all like it as much as I do. Let's just get a couple of hours in, then we'll sleep. Alright?"
When they all muttered out affirmatives, I opened a new ID, the Ghost ID. Inside, the first enemy we encountered was an ethereal, humanoid being. It had sharp claws instead of hands, a mouth full of fangs, and it screeched as soon as it saw us. I tried to punch it, but my hand passed through like nothing. It slashed at me, and this time it found purchase on my skin.
I moved back to examine the enemy.
Vengeful Ghost
LV: 100
HP: 300/300
MP: 750/750
STR: 130
VIT: 30
AGI: 130
DEX: 130
MAG: 75
LUK: 5
Physical Protection: 0
Magical Protection: 25
Null: Blunt, Slash, Pierce
A spirit full of vengeance who died in a gruesome way. It wants to kill all living beings in front of it, which includes you.
"So that was the reason. Well, good thing that I'm still a caster for the most part," I thought as I let loose my signature black Agidyne.
2.867 DMG!
Vengeful Ghost LV: 100 was killed! You gained 2.500 XP!
And that was one fodder enemy dead. It wasn't a lot of XP for me, all things considered, but it would accumulate. If the fodder enemies had such a high level, how much would the bosses give?
I was excited beyond belief.
The excitement died down a bit after thirty ghosts, but thanks to my clones the progress was much faster than it would've been otherwise. The mini-boss gave me some hope.
Wraith
LV: 150
HP: 2.250/2.250
MP: 6.000/6.000
STR: 55
VIT: 150
AGI: 150
DEX: 140
MAG: 250
LUK: 5
Physical Protection: 0
Magical Protection: 170
Null: Blunt, Slash, Pierce
Resist: Dark, Death, Ice
Weak: Light
The remnants of a mage who tried to extend their lifespan and failed. It is now cursed to roam the gap between worlds. All it can feel is eternal rage. Be on guard, though, as it can still remember several spells.
The Wraith was a gangly thing, with extremely long and bony limbs. It had no face, leaving only a pitch-black hole to gaze into. It hurt to look at it.
A deafening screech came from the hole, and I found myself stuck in place. Using what limited motion I had left, I saw that my clones were in my same situation.
Status applied: Paralysis (00:29) [Afflicted beings cannot move]
The counter was ticking down at the edge of my sight, but not fast enough for my tastes. I eyed the Wraith warily, staring at it as it got closer. Suddenly, it picked me up by the neck, pulling me close to the hole on its head.
The pain I felt when I looked at the hole immediately spiked, becoming unbearable, and I saw some light blue droplets escaping my eyes, nose, and mouth, heading straight into the gaping hole.
Paralysis (00:26)
Soul drain [Afflicted beings lose 5.000 MP every second, or 1.000 HP when there is no MP]
"Shit, shit, this thing has an actual chance to kill me! What do I do?" I screamed internally.
(00:24)
Every second, I felt my mana draining away from me.
"Think, goddammit! My clones can't help, I'm stuck, and I don't have much time!"
(00:23)
"Come on, don't I have any skills that can help? Wait, maybe—" I tried using Ignocorpus, but all it did was make the Wraith suck harder.
"Ok, something else then!"
(00:21)
"I'm almost out of mana, I could really use some help here Game! Wait, help! That's it!"
I tried summoning some demons to help out, and that surprisingly worked! A small group of Imps and Possessed Soldiers, rained fire and plasma on the Wraith, making it screech in pain and throw me away. Fortunately, it didn't hurt, and I landed in a position that let me see the fight.
The three Imps I summoned were running around and taking potshots, while the Soldiers were keeping the Wraith's attention. Either my summons were smarter than me, or they knew what I knew, as every time the Wraith tried to screech someone would hit its not-face, dazing it and giving others time to get some hits in. I was admittedly damn proud of my demons when they managed to off the mini-boss a few seconds before the Paralysis wore off.
I finally got up. I looked at my demons, and then at my clones.
"I need some status resistances. And to blast all wraiths I see with some heavy Agidynes."
This chapter is a bit shorter than normal, only 5.5K words, but I felt like this was a decent point to stop. There was definitely a lot of grinding in this chapter, which… I have to say, while necessary for later, I don't really like to write more than one, maybe two grinding sessions per chapter. I would rather keep them a bit more rare, or off-screen as we did in Canaan. Though, with all the new stuff in here it wasn't really a choice.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it has its issues. I try to put at least some plot stuff in any chapter, whether it be foreshadowing or whatever. The small slice-of-life stuff was probably my favorite part to write. I should do more stuff like it in the future. Maybe a story filled with that?
…thoughts for another day, I would rather concentrate here for now.
Well, that's all I have to say for this chapter, so on to the reviews.
Spyro Fanboy: "Glad you enjoyed last chapter. I was honestly a bit iffy on the part with Nidhoggr, but I'm glad you were able to enjoy anyway."
BoinkChonkIII: "Yes, they will. If you read the rewards for the first quest in the chapter, you'll notice a 'dimension gate' spell. They might go back before the end of the Overlord ark, to fix up some leftover issues. Also, even if the main story ends, I'm planning a sequel/epilogue story to this, so we can go do Gamer shenanigans in the multiverse there. Don't be afraid, I'm not giving up on this story."
And that's all we had today… really? Again? Bah, why do I even bother. Just write what you will, people.
Oh, and before I go: With this chapter, we've finally breached 80K words, along with hitting over 8K views. I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for this, and hope to keep writing a story that you will all enjoy.
Xeno out!