Morning arrived uneventfully. I was slightly concerned about sleeping. I had needed to rest longer than my standard two hours to rid myself of all the 'Tired' debuffs that had accumulated on my way to the city. Dalimont's assurances had brought about the opposite of their intent. Were knives in the dark and poison something I needed to be worried about?
It looked like I was going to have to resume my standard sleep pattern. Two hours is a much shorter window of vulnerability.
Besides, I was still basically immune to knives. I was still immune to every poison known to Riley, and thus most likely immune to every poison in existence. Finally, Threat Sense still worked - although I still wasn't sure it would be able to warn me of danger that I couldn't detect in the first place.
In any event, I was awake and contemplating how to most effectively use my free time when there was a knock on my door. "Yes?" I called out.
A young woman in a maid's outfit opened the door. "Breakfast has been served in the main dining room, m'lord. Would you like me to show you the way?"
I nodded. "Sure."
The palace was a lot more active during the day than last night. I'd barely seen anyone else when Ser Dalimont had escorted me inside, and we'd been actively avoiding the servants during the impromptu testing of how arrow-proof my armor was. This morning, I saw several of the staff while we walked to our destination. We arrived at the 'main' dining room, and I was surprised both at how large it was and how many people were within.
I glanced around before sitting next to Cara. "Am I supposed to sit here? I don't know anything about etiquette." I whispered to her.
"Neither do I." She whispered back. "Eat your food and act like you can't hear anything. Unless someone speaks directly to you try to avoid saying anything."
I was obviously on the 'lesser' end of the table, alongside the Thronebearers, Cara, and people who I assumed were guests or associates of other people. Seraphel sat with the 'in' crowd, but closer to us. It seemed likely that her placement was a reflection of her reduced social status.
Breakfast consisted of a poached egg, black bread, and black gravy. It tasted well enough, I assumed. Flavor wasn't something that I'd really paid attention to since my Trigger. Food was more of a HP recovery tool than anything else. It was a shame, I would probably be able to get more mileage out of my ability to Craft food otherwise.
There was little conversation on our end of the table, but Ears of Babel let me overhear what everyone else was talking about. Most of it was concern for the undead, questions about when Ovela's reinforcements would come, and speculation about how soon the army would arrive.
Most people thought Ovela's troops would arrive in a few days, and that the undead would take a week to reach the city.
I did pick up a few derisive comments about Cara and I. They were along the lines of how we didn't deserve to be there.
It wasn't until the end of the meal when the plates were being cleared away that a white-faced messenger burst into the room. "The [Scouts] have returned! The undead are a day's march away!"
The conversations stop. Half begin to panic, the other half start demanding details from the messenger. I figure they're a minute away from calling him a liar. I catch Seraphel's eye and jerk my head to the side. She nods in return.
Cara looks up at me as I stand to leave. "Are you going to try and stall them?"
I nod. "More than that. Like I said, I have plenty of firepower."
"Good luck."
I follow Seraphel up the stairs and out on a balcony. She extends her arm and points. "That's where the scouts say the army is."
I nod, and un-Inventory my regular armor and then the Cawthorne. The princess and her Thronebearers gasp in surprise. "Stand back." I turn my head to address them as I move towards the edge of the balcony. "My flight produces a lot of heat."
Gravity Resistance lets me lighten myself so that the Cawthorne's rockets can more easily propel me upwards. They ignite, and as I rise into the air I hear Dalimont exclaim from below. "Fire power indeed!"
I review the integrated weapon systems that the Cawthorne possesses as I speed towards my destination. I have ten missiles, two shoulder mounted lasers, and a force field generator. I've optimized the load out for my personal use. The missiles are precision explosives. Strong, but with a radius where their energy just stops. I keep the more destructive ones in the 'automated' drones that Boo and his clones pilot. It's the same reason why most of the systems go towards maximizing the force field's power, range and duration.
Mainly, if I was ever facing something that required that level of deadly and widespread power, then it was best to have an army launching it. Threat Sense made the force fields far more effective as a battlefield control option. They also combined with Juggernaut surprisingly well.
Once I reach high enough altitude, wings made out of energy extend from my back. They drain the batteries, but they allow me to conserve fuel. Batteries can be recharged with MP. Crafting more fuel requires high-quality ingredients. I fly using that configuration for several hours before I come across something.
The undead army is easy enough to spot from the sky. I mean, I can't tell that they're undead from this distance, but it's not hard to make out an army that size. If a single Necromancer can do that, then I'm kinda surprised they don't rule the world.
...Or have been hunted to extinction, which is the more likely scenario given what little I know. Goodness knows that Earth Bet had its share of incredibly dangerous individuals. That was why it had so many Quarantine Sites before Dragon took over and handled most of them.
My lasers fire, and two figures fall. Hmmm... The nice thing about lasers is they're easy to aim. With projectiles you have to worry about gravity, wind, and your target moving. Those aren't problems for condensed light. However, they still aren't ideal to use against so many targets.
I hover in the air and rain light down on my targets, and they don't seem to notice. Sure, I'm killing them, but it's not quickly enough. From what I can see, the front ranks are made of zombies. They aren't moving particularly fast, but I effectively have to cut them in half to make them collapse.
This only stops the rest of the undead in the sense that it takes them a slight amount of effort to crawl over their remains.
There are two major flaws in my approach. First, I'm not really 'stopping' the army. They're far too many of them for me to kill them as fast as they're approaching. Second, I'm going to run out of MP before I finish them all off.
The truth of the matter is, my lasers just aren't designed for AoE attacks.
...At least not the integrated ones.
I un-Inventory my Juggernaut Laser.
Unfortunately, my Juggernaut Perk doesn't actually work with laser attacks despite the name I've given my weapon. Lasers don't exactly have 'momentum' in the first place. Well, Dragon said they do, but not enough to matter in most cases. Still, the name is apt.
I begin to fly backwards and descend. I don't want to get too close, but I need a better angle. I wait until I'm about three feet off the ground to open fire.
The two-handed weapon looks like a futuristic mini-gun. It even has a custom battery pack that fits on the back of the Cawthorne. A high-pitched whining sound comes from the barrel as it charges up. The sound grows louder and louder until a brilliant beam of light pierces through the air.
...And all the undead in a straight line for a mile.
I sweep the gun in an arc from the left to the right. I don't know how zombies 'see'. Since their eyes are probably rotten or missing, I'm guessing the laser beam isn't actually blinding them. That is to say, it's not blinding the ones that haven't been cut in half. A mile away, my attack strikes the Earth. The immense heat causes the ground to expand rapidly. In other words, it explodes. The dust in the air, along with the ground that was just struck both reflect the light. The result is a light show that would've blinded me if not for Gamer's Body.
In fact, it's only because the ray of light is super-heating the air itself that the beam is visible. In a vacuum, my weapon would be invisible - until it struck.
The Juggernaut Laser powers down. It fired for barely a second, but the power reserves have already dropped to 90%. It's not an efficient weapon, until you take into account how many undead were killed in that attack.
Approximately four and a half seconds later, the sound of the explosion reaches me.
I gain altitude and observe the state of the undead army. It's still moving. A good number of the corpses that I bisected are still animated. The bodies in the front are little more than legs, while the ones furthest away still possess a torso. The top half of hundreds of undead are still determinedly dragging themselves forward.
In fact, the legs of the zombies that were closest to me are spasming.
How does that even work? I mean, I guess if even skeletons can be animated, then biology doesn't matter. The muscles aren't moving because of signals sent by the nervous system. Instead, whatever effect that animates them, magic, is causing them to move.
I raise my gaze to the rest of the army. It's still moving too. The undead continue their relentless march. I've destroyed thousands of undead, and crippled three times that amount, but it's a drop in the bucket.
...Well, it's more than that. I don't know how big this army is in total, but I'd just wiped out a significant chunk. The nine shots I have remaining with my Juggernaut Laser should be sufficient to stop their advance. My first attack decimated them, so only stragglers should be left once I'm done.
Assuming, that is, that they stay relatively close together.
If I were their commander, I'd have them spread out. I can't give him that chance.
I move forward. The intact members of the army have already moved past their crawling brethren. I frown. It would be nice to rake the laser over the fallen bodies, but that would either require me to use a sub-optimal angle, or to backup and wait for the army to advance further.
Since I'm not going to do either of those, the legless undead will simply have to be ignored for now.
The sea of twitching body parts beneath me is disturbing, but I need to be this close to line up the next shot. It's the headless zombies that concern me the most. If they stood up, I'd be within clawing range. Better to finish this quickly and not give them the chance.
The high-pitched whine sounds again as the Juggernaut Laser powers up. The second attack is just as devastating as the first. The unstoppable beam vaporizes undead flesh as it sweeps across the ground.
Once again, I rise higher into the sky and examine the aftermath. It's mostly the same. I see larger... things still moving. Black ichor pools around them as other undead cease their forward movement and come to their aid. Or at least they crawl towards them and allow the crypt lords to start attaching them to their bloated mass.
That's... something I should never let Riley experiment with.
I begin focusing my shoulder lasers on them one at a time to burn them to ash before they... reform? Reattach? Regenerate? Whatever the correct term is, I need to finish them off before they can do it.
The crypt lords spit at me as I incinerate them, but I'm nowhere near close enough for their attacks to reach. I manage to take out three before the wave of undead sweeps over the remaining ones.
Persistent, I'll give them that.
I float back towards the ground while charging up the Juggernaut Laser for a third strike. It's high-pitched hum is suddenly drowned out by a horrible shriek!
Five ghostly woman emerge from the ground at my feet! Their mouths stretch unnaturally wide as they scream!
Then, they stop. Or at least I stop being able to hear them.
At the same time, the world goes black. I can't see! I can't sense anything with Ears of Babel!
Whatever they did, I've been struck blind and deaf!
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
Not all my senses are gone. I can feel ghostly hands clawing through me!
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
I surround myself with a force field.
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
It doesn't help. I lash out around me with my suit's lasers.
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
I don't notice a difference. I'm calm. I'm need to think. I have just the thing for enemies that can't be affected by regular attacks.
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
Instead of a protective sphere, I shape my force field into a sword. I have a vague sense of where they are from where their attacks land. I swing my weapon with all my strength!
-5 HP
-5 HP
I swing again!
...I think I got them. Juggernaut gives me 'Additional benefits against defenses normally immune to damage'. I'm still blind, deaf, and without Ears of Babel, so I can't tell what exact effect it had on the incorporeal creatures. Did I 'kill' them? Wound them? Cause enough discomfort to drive them off?
I need to get some distance. I begin to ascend, but crash into the ground. My thrusters plow a line through the dirt as I bounce off of it. I must've gotten turned around while attacking.
Hands grasp at me as I clamor to my feet. I can shake them off easily enough, but another attack that I can't block might come at any moment! I can no longer sense gravity with Ears of Babel. It makes standing up harder, but I manage it.
A mental command ignites my thrusters.
-10 Con
Something strikes me in the chest! I feel cold. Numb. Like I just died a little. I frantically pat the place where it struck me!
My armor's still there. I also don't feel any rends from the ghostly women's attacks. Whatever is going on it's happening on a non-physical level.
-10 Con
I'm struck again! The icy void within me grows! Breathing is painful, but that sensation is easily muted by Gamer's Body. I need to retreat!
I turn my thrusters to their maximum setting and rocket into the sky.
Timothy watched the... golem? vanish over the horizon. "What was that creature? It couldn't have been undead, or the scream wouldn't have worked." He limped though the mass of bodies he'd concealed himself in. "I drove it off, but what if it comes back? Where did it come from? Ailendamus? Raganest promised to help me. Has helped me. Why would he send such a creature to hunt me?"
The [Necromancer] turned to face his beloved. "Are you okay? That must have taken a lot out of you and your sisters."
He nodded at the reassuring words that only he could hear.
"You're right. I've come too far to turn back now." Timothy's hand trembled as he reached for another mana potion. The ornate wooden staff he held slipped from his shaking fingers. "No!" He lost his balance as he grasped for it and fell to the ground. Pain blossomed in his bad leg. He laid on the ground for a moment before shaking his head.
"Yes, my love. I'm okay." He used the ancient artifact he'd been given to prop himself up. "I'm just a little... tired is all. Another mana potion and I'll be right as rain." He looked up at the transparent floating woman. "I know. I know." He picked the vial from the ground. The seal was still intact. None of the precious liquid had spilt. "I'll be okay. I just need to..." Timothy winced as another sharp pain lanced through his leg. "I just need to keep going for a little while longer." He swallowed and then wet his lips as he brought the potion to his mouth.
Timothy only hesitated for a moment. He needed the potion. He NEEDED the mana it would give him. The army was beyond his capacity. Activating the staff and casting two deathbolts one after another had pushed him past his limits. The potion might kill him, but he would surely die without it.
It tasted like fire. The pain in his leg was forgotten as the rest of his body contorted and spasmed. He made sure to keep his mouth closed so he wouldn't bite his tongue. That was the most important thing, aside from maintaining his grip on the Staff of the Banshee. He couldn't let go, or all he'd worked for, everything he sacrificed would've been in vain.
When his neck muscles relaxed enough for him to continue speaking, he repeated his vow. "I'll bring you back. I'll kill your murderer. I'll bring you back. I'll kill your murderer. I'll bring you back. I'll kill your murderer."
Timothy's breath was ragged as he hobbled alongside his dead lover and his army. His leg was ruined, but it could still support his weight. Just like his twisted magic could still support his army. There was no other option. He had to achieve his goal. His actions were necessary. As long as he drew breath, he would fulfill his vow.
"I'll bring you back. I'll kill your murderer. I'll bring you back. I'll kill your murderer. I'll bring you back. I'll kill your murderer..."
I lost track of time.
All I can be sure of is that I'm no longer being attacked. There's still a dull ache in my chest from whatever struck me. Breathing hurts. It doesn't feel like my lungs are crippled, or any other specific part of my body. Rather, everything feels weaker.
I need to get back to Afiele. I'm not so arrogant to think that they'll all die without me, but I could do more.
Except that I'm currently blind and deaf. I couldn't even find the city if I flew directly over it, much less help in a fight.
I miss Riley. She'd be able to figure out what happened to me. Well, perhaps not. Threat Sense hadn't warned me of the ghost's attack. That meant it was something special about this version of Earth. Magic. Something so alien that the Shards couldn't predict it.
With nothing else to do, I sit and make plans. It's obvious I underestimated my opponents. I need to bust out the big guns. I don't want other people to die because I held back.
...
I sense something. I still can't hear or see, but I can tell that there's someone, or something squatting next to me... and determinedly biting my foot.
Ears of Babel! My power is working again!
I may not be able to see, but the background static is growing louder again. Just because there's no message hidden in the light that's striking me doesn't mean that my perk can't sense it.
I stand up and kick at the creature that won't let go of my foot.
I miss.
Echolocation it isn't, much less a replacement for my sight. At least on its own. I still have some cameras stored in my Inventory. I pull one out and connect to it with Tongue of Babel.
I can see again!
It's a little disorienting until I affix it to the center of my helmet. I turn my head and take in my location.
It's a farm. Or at least it's what left of one. I walk around. There's blood, claw marks, and other signs of a struggle. The only 'survivor' is the small, dead dog that's still trying to gnaw my foot off.
The residents here must've been attacked by the undead army, and then added to its ranks. I'd look around some more, but I've already seen enough.
I activate my thrusters, but nothing happens. I must have burnt through all my fuel during my blind escape.
No matter. I Inventory the fuel tank and replace it with a full one. I also have Energy Pylons designed for recharging my suits in the middle of a fight. My Juggernaut Laser gets Inventoried, and a pylon appears in my hands in its place. I let it top off my armor while I fly back.
...
It's a good thing I flew away in a straight line, and that I crashed into the ground when I landed. Otherwise I'd probably be lost. As it is, time seems to pass much more slowly as I make my way back to where I'd fought the undead army.
As I flew, my sight slowly returned followed by my hearing. I don't know if the magical effect was temporary or if Rapid Regeneration was fixing the damage. In theory, I could injure myself and see if that slowed down the recovery of my senses. In practicality, there were multiple flaws with that idea.
Mainly, I wanted to get my eyesight back as quickly as possible. There was also the fact that it was hard for me to 'slightly' injure myself. Doing so would take at least a week's worth of MP regeneration.
Eh, knowing my Luck I'd run into someone else who can pull the same trick. I can experiment when or if I get blinded again in the future.
One of the problems with flying away at maximum speed was how quickly it drained my fuel reserves. The other was that every second spent flying away was another I had to spend flying back. If I'd stopped sooner, I'd be back already. Or I might've wound up as zombie chow.
It's no good to second guess myself. The ache in my chest is still there. My pain resistance may make it as noticeable as recognizing the color something is, but it still meant that I was injured. I'll ignore it for now. Instead, I need to deal with the problem in front of me. I needed a better weapon or tactics for the next fight.
Hmmm...
I can clearly see the result of my first encounter with the un-living horde. There's a gouge in the earth that's noticeable even from this height. Not to mention the remnants that are still strewn about. I slow down to get a better look.
There's still movement, but that mainly seems to be limited to the various body parts that are still animated. Most of the torsos are gone. I wonder if the other dead are carrying them, or if the Necromancer is using them in some other fashion.
It's something to think about later. I need to catch up with the army. In the best case scenario I'll come up on their flank - it that even means something to an army of the dead. I doubt they have support troops or a supply line. In the worst case scenario, they're already at the city.
The limited daylight faded away as I flew. It wasn't surprising, days only lasted hours in this country. It was night by the time I returned to Afiele.
The monsters were already at the walls. The horde surrounded the city, with undead of every type clawing at the cities first line of defense. The bonfires at the top of the ramparts lit Afiele up like a torch. Zombies struck the wall with their claws, while those in back crawled over the bodies in their way.
Defenders at the top of the wall struck back with spears, pitch, and projectiles of their own. A ball of fire the size of a small car arced from within the city and exploded within the horde. Hundreds of zombies were incinerated, but thousands were ready to take their place.
My camera magnified the image and I saw a soldier take an arrow to his throat. He collapsed, only to have a former comrade throw him off the side! By the time I arrived, his body was already back on its feet and joining in the assault on his former comrades.
I'd thought about what I'd do if the army had reached the city before I was able to return. Really, all my plans were pretty much the same. The only variable was how I needed to calibrate my trump card.
The Golden Gun was my most versatile and potent attack. The downside was how absurdly expensive it was. At least my current version wasn't limited to a single shot. It had taken most of a year and several ability points to Craft a permanent version, but it was worth it. I was no longer limited to a single ten second blast.
I aimed my weapon as I angled my flight towards the city. A golden beam of light lit up the dark. Scion's signature attack wasn't a laser or some other form of energy projection. That was just a side effect. It's true power was the ability to cease all movement in what it struck.
However, it was the power of a Shard that did not have their usual limitations in place. When it stilled something, it stilled ALL of it. Kinetic energy, bio-electric energy, heat, sound, molecular bonds. Its reverse wave could negate ALL of these.
Or just some of them. Its selective destruction made it almost the perfect attack.
I'd prefer to have it only disintegrate dead flesh, but that was a little too precise for my capabilities. Instead I was using it to cancel all non-plant based biological matter. I already had practice with that.
Choosing exactly what to annihilate was the main difference in the scenarios I'd come up with as I'd flown back. I didn't want to accidentally destroy the wooden wall around the city. I also needed to aim so as to not include any defenders in my attack, but that wasn't too difficult.
The golden light shone down from above and the zombies ceased to exist. Unlike my lasers, the stilling beam spread out in a cone.
I curved around the city, wiping the surrounding countryside completely clean. For my first circuit, I maintained my height. The beam obliterated everything ten or more feet from the wall. I would have to get closer to aim more precisely.
I was almost done with my first loop when I saw the same ghostly women emerge from a section of the army. I was too high up for them to take me by surprise again. I'm not sure if it was the Golden Gun's attack on them or on the section of the undead below them, but they vanished under its golden beam just like everything else.
I circled around the city again. This time I dropped lower which let me aim more precisely. It also brought me within range of the defenses. I couldn't say what was going through the soldiers minds. What did I look like to them? Could they even make me out, or was the golden light ruining their vision?
Arrows continued to fly, and another fireball was lobbed in my general direction. I wasn't sure if I was the target, as they didn't come anywhere near me. I was flying far too fast for something that slow to hit me.
For my final sweep, I flew only a hundred feet above the ground. The golden beam swept over the base of the wall. I didn't let it rise too high. It would be bad if I hit someone on the other side of the barrier.
Once I was certain that I hadn't missed a single undead, I ceased my attack. I rose back up in the air as I continued to circle Afiele. I'd scoured the land clean for miles around the city. The only signs that were left were some tattered pieces of clothing.
Hmmm...
The Golden Gun had 54% of its charge left. It would take me nearly half a year to build that level of power back up. Thankfully, recharging was much easier than Crafting.
I hovered in the air and considered my next step. I could just fly down. No. That would probably wind up with someone attacking me. Not a good idea since I didn't have any resistance to magic. After what had happened before, I didn't trust Gamer's Body to negate a fireball or Threat Sense to warn me. I could fly to the front gate and enter properly. No. Less of a chance of a random person freaking out, but why take the risk? What would be the upside? I didn't want any attention at all. Good, bad, it would just make things harder in the long run.
...Unless I purposely try to make a spectacle of myself. Instead of hoping Riley makes a name for herself and finding her that way, I could let her find me.
I frowned. It would be a viable plan if anyone on this planet knew about video games. With no internet and no video recording news must spread by word of mouth or by print. 'Brilliant Surgeon' is a simple enough concept, 'Cubic Flying Humanoid' wasn't.
No. It's best if I don't go down in costume.
Right. I'll need another way into the city. Thankfully, I left the cameras up in my room and the hallway in front of it. It will be expensive, but I can teleport that far.
I Inventory my Cawthorne armor, teleport into my room, and then Inventory my Samus armor.
There.
So... what now? It's late, but I'm sure there are people still awake. I could go and find Cara, Ser Dalimont, or Seraphel, but to what end? I don't want to brag, and I wasn't exactly subtle in my army destruction. I guess I could reassure them that everything is okay, but once again, that must be common knowledge at this point. Besides, while being in a princess's good graces might help me find Riley faster, I'm not beholden to Calanfer. There's no need to present myself. In fact, I think I'll wait for the excitement to die down before going out. Besides, it's the middle of the night, and I've racked up a few 'Tired' debuffs. I have time for a quick two hour nap.
[Hero Class Obtained!]
[Hero Level 1!]
[Skill – Famous Deed obtained!]
[Skill – Divided Reputation obtained!]
[Artificer Class Obtained!]
[Artificer Level 17!]
[Skill – Armed At All Times obtained!]
[Skill – Basic Repair obtained!]
[Skill – Clean Materials obtained!]
[Skill – Detect Flaw obtained!]
[Skill – Basic Crafting obtained!]
[Skill – Basic Identification obtained!]
[Skill – Body of Stone obtained!]
[Skill – Basic Aiming obtained!]
[Skill – Reinforce Armor obtained!]
[Skill – Ambient Mana Gatherer obtained!]
[Avatar Class Obtained!]
[Avatar Level 1!]
[Skill – Expanded Link obtained!]