Chapter 2.2 - Walden Necropolis

I awoke in a land of greys and browns. My master was heading towards the land of death. I was unafraid, as I was of the wind. Their grasping hands and cutting claws could not hit me. I looked at my Master. [Master, what shall I find?]

This caught him off guard. I don't think he had thought of how powerful I was. My small frame and speed of flight. My sharp eyes. My booming shriek. I was the most powerful of the elementals. I then saw it.

A desert Gecko. Not much older than I, but already aware. He looked at me with his pompous grin, and licked his eyeball. He must have had a powerful mission to be so smug about it. My master finished his quick discussion with the others. He then spoke to me,

"Songbird. Find treasure."

The songbird was confused. [What is treasure?]

My master mentioned the others. They smiled. One pulled out a shiny golden chunk of rock. The other pulled out a small blue stone. This object glowed with a faint magical aura.

They wished for shiny metal and magic items. These the songbird could find.

***

They had started to truly work as a team. Serin and Rachel thinned out the targets at range, while anything that came close was rebuked by Allister's spells. The undead fell, those that did not turn to ash were unable to move from Serin's disabling shot, and were quickly lit aflame by a nimble gecko. Between the three familiars collecting deadhearts, it was quick work on the ground. And since the zombies were drawn in by animosity from all three adventurers, the familiars did their work in peace.

Every few hours the songbird flew over Serin's head. Still on its search for treasure. If there is treasure to be found, it will be closer to the center.

Serin looked at his stats. He was no longer receiving experience for killing zombies. Or if he was it was so minimal it didn't register. He was however actively increasing his marksmanship skill. And gaining deadhearts. And of course slowly increasing his skills through passive gain.

'I will ask Jericho about heading closer to the center.' Serin thought to himself.

***

Jericho was waiting at the gates. "Any progress?"

Everyone looked a bit defeated. Serin looked at Jericho, "Can we head in towards the center of the cemetery?"

Jericho narrowed his eyes, "at your skillsets that would currently spell your doom. You still have much to do before you can do that."

Allister didn't understand, "We quickly dispatch any creatures that come near us, why couldn't we take on higher level undead?"

Jericho seemed to deflate, "The downside to the three of you is that you are all 'glass cannons'. You all have very high attack for your level. But how many of you have gone head to head with these creatures and taken a few hits?" Jericho looked at Rachel and remembered the scratch she received. "Rachel your ability to take damage is no higher than when you received a glancing blow from an undead. It was enough that it needed medical treatment. Rachel is the swiftest of all of you and she still took damage. Allister one solid hit and your story would end. As for Serin, he has no defense whatsoever."

The three kind of looked. Jericho continued, "If you wish to do that you will all need to purchase basic armor and learn to fight in it. Or learn a higher level spell and master it."

Serin perked up, "Like [resist]?"

Jericho said, "Exactly." Then his eyes narrowed. "You already had this plan?" They all smiled.

Jericho smiled. "Then you are in luck. There might be a way to speed this along." Jericho then grabbed Serin, and funneled magic into him. Serin looked at his status plate and saw that, among the other skills, Resist was active." Jericho looked at Serin. "Did you gain the skill?"

Serin shook his head. Jericho frowned. He released the spell, but then immediately renewed it.

"How about now?"

***

It took 17 tries and an exhausted Jericho before the spell was learned by Serin. In that time, an exasperated Rachel and smirking Allister had completed the supplies run. Serin had asked that they use part of his share to purchase rounds.

Rachel was upset. "I cannot believe that Kincade person. He demanded that to get the previous pricepoint for ammunition, I had to purchase 4 thousand rounds and give him 3 days to complete."

Serin just started laughing. I guess there was another purpose to the Charisma skill, and Rachel drastically needed to improve hers.

Rachel dismissed Serin's laugh. "It seems that simply purchasing such a large quantity of goods increased the [mercantile] skill though, as mine is now at novice level 5!." Serin's laughter disappeared. 'Had I known I would have started making larger purchases.' he thought

Jericho then winced and interrupted, "Getting Serin to learn this skill has left me partially brainburned. Try not to have a late night. Serin's Power will leave you brain burned as well."

***

Allister and Rachel readied themselves. It was going to be a long 4 hours. "What spell do you want?" They both looked at Serin. "How much mana does Resist use?" Serin looked down at his spell.

- Resist – affinity 0%. This spell resists physical damage. It is based on Affinity and understanding of the associated skill, but will never be below 10 points of damage.

- Spell cost is based on affinity and associated skill.

Current cost to activate and keep active, 40ME

Serin answered. "40 ME"

Rachel Winced. "That means I will be subject to brainburn."

Allister looked at Rachel. "What's you Intelligence?"

Rachel frowned. "16. I needed it up for basic life magic."

Allister then smiled. "You will be fine. If you don't remember, learning this spell will put you at 17. So you will be fine."

Rachel thought about it. Then smiled.

Serin concentrated, and he imagined pushing the information directly from his mind into theirs.

Serin was met with painful groans, then Rachel yelling "Cover the lamp!"

Serin guessed it was going to be a late night for everyone but him.

***

The next few days were extremely uneventful for Serin. While Rachel and Allister did most of the combat against the undead, Serin remained focused on his Hard Lessons power. As long as he did not use active magic or attack. So instead, on the first day, he opened his bag, and pulled out a bit of cloth and a needle. His [crafting] skill extended to mechanical and technical designs. He knew how to build many crafter's objects. His mother had always told him that there were many other skills outside the normal [crafting] skill that well complemented it, and at one time he knew most of them, but with his change to boundless they were all erased. The first he would relearn is the [Textile] skill. It was like crafting but focused on working with textiles. He knew as he upgraded the skill, besides more intricate designs, he would be able to work with more advanced materials, like leather or magical beast skins. After a long day of stitching and pricked fingers, Serin had relearned the [Textile] skill, as well as put several levels into it. As well as increasing his Agility score.

He noticed that every now and then one of his skill increases gave him an ability point, a welcome return.

He also noticed that because Resist was an Intermediate level skill, keeping it active the entire time was raising his Novice [Abjuration] skill twice as fast. When they met up with Jericho, he said "Why do you think I forced Allister to walk with weight the first time and it quickly got rid of his wet cough? I forced his [encumbered movement] skill much farther than its normal ability, which is based off of his horridly low endurance skill"

As a repeat of the evening before, Serin taught Allister and Rachel another skill through [Hard Lessons]. Serin knew that they both had Life magic as a class skill, but neither had transmutation, so the skill he taught them was a spell that fell under the [transmutation] skill called [Acute vision].

Day two, Serin decided to relearn another skill, [Culinary Arts], and practice textiles by making a leather toy for his fire gecko, as the cloth doll he had made the day before was destroyed in mere moments. The ingredients for cooking were expensive since this Burb was not an agricultural one. Especially the cheese. But using a bit of charm he got a decent deal and increased his mercantile skill a point.

Serin remembered his mother and how she had made the same thing for breakfast on each of his birthdays. He remembered the recipe and remembered making it, but when he tried it was like he was using someone else's hands. He tried and failed two dozen times, but by halfway through the day, he had relearned cooking and handed off a grilled egg, cheese, and ham sandwich to Allister and Rachel. As he ate, he then started to make a new doll for the fire gecko.

By the end of the day, Serin had increased several skills, Learned the [Culinary Arts] Skill, and most importantly, made a new doll for his gecko. Allister and Rachel requested another combat skill that night. Rachel already knew [One handed], and Allister already knew [firebolt], so they exchanged that evening. Allister would fight short range the next day, and Rachel would switch between [firebolt] and regular arrows that were on dipped in kerosene and set with sparkrock.

When Serin awoke for day three he saw his gecko fighting the doll, and the doll had survived the attacks. He had seen his normal nightly increases to skills, then was surprised to see that his pyro tamer had jumped by quite a bit. He asked Jericho why.

"Well, while you consider that doll a toy, the gecko sees it as an opponent. It will continue to fight the doll until one of them is destroyed or you tell it to stop. Since it was usually just standing guard during your rest, this activity is perfect for training him. And since that doll is leather, it will hold up for quite a while."

Day three was like the previous two days. Serin kept quite a bit of passive magic running, while letting his [Hard lessons] power take effect. Although there was less undead being killed, Serin was still being given a cut of all deadhearts. His point count for the extermination quest however hadn't risen, and even with many level increases in his passive skill, he had only gone up 1 level in the past 3 days.

Serin needed to catch up. He saw a plan coming to fruition. And he was pretty sure Allister and Rachel would be in on it. But for now he decided to manually clean everyone's equipment, clothing, and gear. He was unsure if cleaning would give him a skill, but he did know that the items would lose durability if they weren't regularly maintained. He laughed at the thought of what others would see if they ran by. There was a man in a cloak fighting with a club, a woman with a bow who also was slinging spells, and a goofy looking person cooking, doing laundry, and cleaning, in the middle of it all. Serin had strung up a clothesline between two trees. A zombie had snuck in through the closest copse of trees and took a swipe at him.

Between his cloak spell and his resist the zombie's swipe did not do any damage, but the yelp Serin elicited caught the attention of Allister and Rachel.

That was the first time I have been attacked. 'Had I not been using these spells, I could have been seriously injured. I guess that is what Jericho meant by us being 'glass cannons'.' Serin thought to himself.

Serin resolved to increase his skills even faster.

That night he looked at Rachel and Allister. "Is it ok that tomorrow is the last day I sit out of the fighting? I was thinking if I could teach you passive skills, I could just have you do a day of brainburn. If I can teach a skill to you every 4 hours that's 3 skills in one day."

Allister and Rachel looked at glanced at eachother. They did not want to be partially incapacitated in such a dangerous area, and Serin knew it. Serin showed them his plan. "They sell basic status relief potions at the magic shop for 500 credits each. They keep a user from feeling the effects of brainburn for an entire day. I was thinking if I could then spend the day teaching you many skills, increasing you attribute points, and also racking up a lot of kills. The only downside is that while you are brainburned, even if you don't feel the effects, you will not recover magic. So if you are going to fight, it will have to be with a martial skill. At a small cost of 1000 credits a day we can all increase faster."

Allister and Rachel understood and saw the merit in the plan. Rachel was the first to reply. "why don't we start tomorrow?"

Serin smiled, "I need to make some modifications to my weapon to be more combat effective. Plus I don't get my ammo until tomorrow evening, remember?"

Rachel blushed.

***

Serin headed out for shopping. Allister and Rachel were left to suffer through brainburn, but Serin had 4 hours of quiet until the others recovered and they all turned in for the night. Jericho decided to accompany him.

Serin had been thinking the whole time of how to make his weapon more combat effective. Serin had thought of his design. He also knew it would need to be light but strong. Right now, his rifle fired one round of ammunition, then he had to activate the bolt by hand, and manually place his next round. So his first thought was, 'What if there was a box that housed rounds that automatically fed rounds into the rifle?' That would greatly reduce his time for firing. He had then thought, 'What if I could have the bolt automatically eject the round, and return, cycling a round from the magazine?'

He had gone over his thoughts with Jericho. Jericho shook his head. "I know they had these weapons pre-Shift. Seen pictures of them in ruins and dungeons. They were very dangerous. After the shift much of the information on these repeating rifles were lost. You see Serin, you are extremely unique. I have never known of a hunter with an advanced non-combat ability like [crafting], and I have never known of a crafter with an advanced combat skill like [marksman]. You might be the only person to have thought of this design, and have the knowledge on how to create it."

Serin then visited Kincade's shop. Kincade was hard at work fulfilling Serin's order, but he had a moment to chat. "Good evening Mr. Serin. Your order is not quite ready, and will not be until tomorrow evening. Is there something else I could help you with?" Serin thought of his [transmute] skill. He could change the shape of an object, and at this level it just could not exceed a 1ftx1ftx1ft cube. This would be perfect for his ideas.

"Do you have scrap metal for sale by the gram?"

Again, Serin spent far too much money, be he decided, If I am upgrading my weapon, it's going to be for a long time.

Serin had completely disassembled his rifle, as he had done countless times. This time however his rifle would get a complete overhaul.

The first thing he did was change the stock and chassis. Because his transmute skill was low, he had to put the stock into interlocking parts. Normally if it was wood the downside would be it would have made it more heavy and prone to breaking, but that was where the extra money spent came in. He made a stock that folded down on a hinge. The stock was made of a light metal called Aluminum, commonly used in lighter automaton plates. The folding piece was made from Titanium. The tiny locking pieces in the hinge, mithril. Unlike his other stock, his had a space formed for externally loading ammo boxes. These he crafted out of aluminum and titanium. He realized very quickly that they needed to have a slight curve to them to accommodate more ammunition. A twenty round capacity should be enough. He figured he would be able to make about twenty of these, but he wanted to wait until he was complete with the main assembly first. Next he changed the bolt carriage assembly. This was re-instrumented to eject rounds that were extracted out of the bolt chamber. 'I could recycle the blast that was fired to push a rod, and this could be used to recycle the round.' Serin had determined.

It seemed that his understanding of advanced [marksman] and advanced [crafting], it was as if this inspiration had come to him over the past couple of days.

Finally the barrel was replaced with a lighter titanium barrel that broke down for ease of carrying, and was able to be used at both short and long ranges. If we are going to be going into catacombs, this has to be usable at shorter ranges.

Serin ensured that the mage-killer attachment was able to be quickly added and removed.

It seemed that he was able to produce 28 magazines, which meant 480 rounds for the ammo boxes.

I am going to get some sleep.

***

Bang, crack, click, Tink. That was the sound of his autoloading rifle firing, hitting, expelling the cartridge, and loading a new round.

Serin had retrieved his ammunition and test fired his weapon. It seemed to work well. He only fired a few dozen rounds, a functional check of his design, and then went back to helping Allister and Rachel, as they fought the undead. He inspected his weapon for any damages. It seemed that his previous design would have definitely not survived the increased pressures involved in this new design. Serin thought about creating a way to catch his brass, so he could transmute it into empty cartridges. It was one more step into creating his own ammunition.

If he could imbue his rounds himself, he could create fire ammo without the use of expensive chemicals. It would be good if his ME reserves ever ran dry. 'Or if I need to create ammunition to fight a certain enemy.' He pondered.

Serin also knew his intelligence was up high enough from passive gains that he could activate an additional novice spell. He opted for [Strengthen], another [transmutation] spell that increased his strength score by a minimum of 5. He was excited for the next day. Rachel and Allister would be the ones on the sidelines, while Serin took on the monsters of the Walden Cemetery.

***

Shopping concluded, Serin taught Allister and Rachel The [Haptics] Spell, and everyone turned in for an early night.

The following day was uneventful for Allister and Rachel. They didn't suffer from brainburn due to their potion they had purchased. The first skill Serin forced, despite a bit of opposition, Cooking. That way while they learned their more applicable passive magic skills, they could improve their Culinary Arts skill. Each spent the afternoon making dish after dish. Food really for a small feast. Quickly improving their culinary arts skill.

The other spells were a bit more useful for them. [Strengthen], and [Acute vision].

Serin was not as uneventful. He had 28 magazines and boxes of ammunition. After he took off his mage-killer attachment, the weapon did more damage to the undead, completely severing them at the neck, however they came in larger numbers due to the increased noise.

Several times Allister and Rachel were pulled off cooking duty to load magazines. 'This is truly a torture test for my design.' Serin thought. The zombies started to come en masse. Serin didn't like the look of it. "We will have to ask Jericho what is going on." Serin yelled between shots.

In the end it was a successful day. Allister and Rachel received quite a few attribute points from their efforts. Serin was exhausted because not only because he spent the day fighting off all of the zombies, he had been running all of his combat enhancements. His Intelligence was maxed out at 95%, just over the threshold of falling to brainburn, and he could feel it.

However he felt it would be worth it. The next day he could relax. Also there was a bit of wargaming that they had to do, since the horde provided him with easily over a thousand zombies.

***

2647. that's how many zombies he killed. That was the final count of deadhearts. Serin immediately purchased two brainburn potions and imbibed one immediately. Jericho was saying something but he just couldn't process anything.

Serin's head started to unclog, and he saw he was sitting at dinner with Allister, Jericho, and Rachel. Rachel and Allister had been telling Jericho all about Serin's triumphs.

"He was like a machine. I could barely load the magazines fast enough. He needed both of our familiars and both of his just to keep up with deadheart collection." Allister was beaming

Rachel was impressed too. "Not only that, we learned a few spells today, and just like the perk said, got attribute increases as well."

Serin finally pipped up. "There were so many. They came in hordes."

Jericho nodded. His eyes blazing, "I didn't think this would happen so soon." Jericho then pulled up the signage for the extermination post. The completion ratio for the quest was now at 10% Complete. Not only that, but the quest requirement had changed. It was now only open to 'Brass' Adventurers only.

"You see Serin, you have killed off all the straggling undead. Now higher level undead are coming in their place. What you faced were hordes, where individual zombies start to gain a sort of intelligence, but only in mass. Normally I wouldn't recommend these creatures in a group as small as yours." Jericho then looked around at the completedly full tavern, "If you haven't noticed, most people here are in 2 or 3 adventuring parties. These parties are made up of a lot more members."

Jericho then smiled, "However if you can funnel them into a tight space, they are easier to deal with. Also, they are a much higher level than regular zombies, so a team of several level 20 adventurers could easily take them on. Serin, if you look at your experience, you should have gained quite a bit from them."

Serin looked, blinked, then looked at Jericho. "Jericho, how long did it take for you to reach level 20?" Jericho's eyebrows raised. "I was a bit slow moving and had to share my kills among a larger party for safety. But when I was your age I hit level 20 within a year. You are in a group of three, I fought in a band of about 12 most of the time. The risk for you is that you are now in a lot more danger. The reward is more experience."

Jericho then looked at Serin, "What are the available rewards for the 1000 point and 2500 point levels? Only twice in my life have I hit the 1000 point mark and only once the 2500. You are very lucky that the higher level folks are still fighting the other extermination quest."

Serin looked at the quest rewards, blinked, then looked again.

Total Points = 3361

Points Redeemed = 0

Points Remaining = 3361

Rewards

50 = 1000xp boost

250 = 10,000xp boost

500 = 1 Common Magical Item

1000 = +5 to any attribute

2500 = +15 to any attribute

5000 = ???

10,000 = ???

25,000 = ???

Serin started to talk, "The 1000 point mark is a +5 to any attribute. The 2500 point mark is a +15 to any attribute"

Jericho's demeanor changed. Serin could see a change in him.

Jericho then began to speak. "Serin, I would like to offer a proposal…"

***

Jericho would no longer be sitting on the sidelines. But he wasn't going to fight with Serin and the others. He signed up individually, and planned to fight from Dusk until Dawn.

"I will be camping out inside the Cemetery during the day." Jericho began packing a bag with various items, and pulled out a strange looking sword. "I plan on acquiring only 2500 points during this, then I will leave. It will be just enough to bring my luck Attribute to 50. Afterwards I will use all the credits I earn to help you found your guild. I only ask for the following. First, When you set up your guild, please appoint me as your assistant guild master. Second, please begin imparting your skills as you learn them to me. I can assist in getting you access to higher level skills and spells. I can assist in a lot of ways." Serin was taken aback, "Serin, please listen. When I moved out to Waterford Burb, I moved out there to live out my days and die. I was sure I had reached the end of what was possible for me. However, this can be a second chance for me." There was a glint in his eyes, something Serin hadn't seen in their weeks together.

Serin understood. Rachel and Allister were excited, as this meant their guild would have a seasoned hunter on it."

Serin then stood confused. "What about us? How will we know when we are supposed to switch off?

Allister Laughed, "We are all going with him, dummy."

Serin then noticed Allister and Rachel had been packing their bags as well. "We are leaving the cart, so take only what you can reasonably carry."

Allister carried very little at this mention. He could probably carry more gear than when they first started out, but in reality he could spawn any items they needed. He was unsure how much magic that would take.

Jericho looked at Serin, "did you learn [Earth Wall]?"

Serin nodded,

Jericho smiled, "good!" Each campsite we get to we will setup as a large circle, except at one end we will create a narrow corridor. This will be our horde funnel. When you finish forming the walls I will make them stone, and then slick. This will force the zombies to come through the funnel."

Serin had picked up a large amount of ammunition, as he knew they were going to be out for a while. Kincade, ever the optimistic merchant, hadn't stopped making ammunition. So Serin didn't delay the group.

***

As with any of Jericho's plans, this well thought out plan worked. After the spells were enacted, Jericho spent time setting up camp, cooking meals, brewing herbs, and writing in a journal.

It was a long fight for Serin and his teammates. Serin would fire a few ammo boxes, then step aside and let Allister cast his spells. These higher level undead were quickly eating up his mana bar, even though it was a lot higher than it was only a week before. When Allister's Mana reached about half full, he sat down, drank one of the mana recovery potions. Then Rachel and Serin would alternate. Rachel firing healing magic from her bow, Serin with his rounds.

Serin had noticed he was able to hit the brainstem, without fail, on zombies now. He also saw that because of the previous fight both his Advanced [marksman] and Agility attribute had skyrocketed.

Serin at times had to solo incoming hordes as Allister and Rachel both refilled their ME. Jericho had pointed out that by eating a snack and resting, it refilled a bit faster.

Eventually the sun was setting, Rachel and Allister were recovering, and Serin was continuing to fire at the continuous stream of undead. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Jericho pipped up. "I'll take it from here. If you could do me a favor and ask your familiar to continue to collect deadhearts, it would be appreciated."

Serin then watched as Jericho drew his bright red sword and took a specific stance. Serin recognized it as some kind of skill. Then, as the zombies funneled in, Jericho began to cut them down. Quickly. It was effortless as he was focused.

The three of them did a bit of upkeep. Serin transmuted his spent rifle cartridges into ingots for travel.

Serin, Allister, and Rachel, having been thoroughly exhausted from the day, and content in the safety provided by Jericho, passed out not too much time later.

***

Serin awoke first. It was close to sunrise, and what he saw was amazing. This must be Jericho's Reaper ability in action.

Jericho was unphased from an entire night of fighting zombie hordes. He had done so with a single blade. Jericho could feel Serin's eyes on him.

"In case you are wondering, my record is 14 days." As Jericho continued to gracefully swipe zombies into pieces, turning them into dust instantly. "So if you three would like to sleep in, you are welcome to it." Jericho continued to slice.

I guess this was the difference between an experienced veteran and a novice. Serin thought how Jericho effortlessly fought off the same hordes the three of them could barely handle. Serin then remembered that he could cook 4 people food and Jericho would be greeted after his shift with a warm meal.

Soon enough Allister and Rachel awoke. Serin's cooking must have roused them. Shortly after setting themselves for the day, the three of them prepared to swap out with Jericho, who quickly dispatched everything 20 meters from the entrance and hobbled back into the basecamp. As Jericho sat down for a tasty meal, the three of them began fighting off the hordes.

***

It had been several days, and the hordes had not stopped. They were running low on supplies. Ammunition was low. Serin had started using his spells to spawn rations. They tasted terrible. Serin was wondering when they would have to change tactics.

Jericho stood up when the sun was starting to go low.

"Alright, I wanted to let you fight the remainder of the day, but tonight, relax, check your stats, and sleep. Tomorrow morning we leave back for town."

There was a verbal and visible sigh of relief. Serin had completely forgotten his stats. He had also forgotten to do anything beyond preparing for the next day. He had a lot of information to check.

First he looked at his skills and Attributes. He knew that zombie hordes were a higher level than zombies, but he was floored when he saw how much he had improved. He was already level 30.

He had been adventuring for a little over 2 months, and he was already at a level expected of midrank adventurers. His stats were also way too high for his level. He remembered his instruction and recalled that it was common for someone to reach one attribute over 50 by their first year. He had 2. And the rest were not far behind. He then remembered that with a high luck, gaining a level in a skill can sometimes give you an attribute bonus. That answers that question.

Serin Level: 30 Class: Boundless

Affiliations: Adventurer's Guild – Iron Member

Strength: 22(+)

Agility: 37(+)

Endurance: 19(+)

Intelligence: 93(+)

Willpower: 38(+)

Charisma: 26(+)

Luck: 76(+)

Points to assign: 40

By running more and more passive spells, his skills had risen continuously. However 2 skills and one spell were blinking and were at their highest level. I would have to ask Jericho about this back in town.

Serin also blinked when he checked out his extermination quest.

The quest is now 23% complete. He looked at the hordes. They were growing larger in both number and size of zombie. They were moving a bit swifter than a few days ago. Soon enough it would be too dangerous to keep up this fight, even with Jericho.

Serin then looked at his points for the quest reward.

Total Points = 5016

Points Redeemed = 0

Points Remaining = 5016

Rewards

50 = 1000xp boost

250 = 10,000xp boost

500 = 1 Common Magical Item

1000 = +5 to any attribute

2500 = +15 to any attribute

5000 = Upgrade to a Rare power or lower

10,000 = ???

25,000 = ???

What could the 'Rare Power' be?! Serin could barely contain his excitement. Should I wait to get up to the 10,000 point reward or cash out now? I guess it depends on what the team decides to do. On top of that, there were quite a few deadhearts to turn in.

Serin then noticed that he had enough points to bring his luck up to 100. He smiled, then triggered the points. Instantly he regretted not doing it as soon as possible.

Perk (Epic) – Scavenger

- Defeated creatures now have a small chance to drop additional rewards. The additional reward dropped is dependent on the rarity of the creature, the difficulty of the creature, and the luck of the User.

Perk (Legendary) – Lucky

- Chance favors you more often, because in life sometimes skill is not enough.

He was unsure how the second one worked, but he was sure that the first one dealt with dispatching the dead. He would have to ask Jericho about it when he got back.

***

The first thing Serin and the others did upon returning to the Hostel was drop gear and head to the baths. A week spent fighting through zombies and the dirt and grime had piled up. Even with Serin's [Hygeine] spell, there was only so much that can be done when in a killbox filled with gore.

Afterwards, they split the deadhearts (52/16/16/16) and met up at the tavern for a well deserved meal. Serin then mentioned the reward. "Jericho, the 5000 point reward…" Jericho smiled, "I know, I also received that many points during my evenings fighting." Allister and Rachel were both kind of shocked.

Jericho continued. "It's a pretty powerful item. When you receive an upgrade stone, you can upgrade any skill of the listed power of lower. Upgrade stones themselves are very rare, so if you wanted you could sell it for a few hundred thousand credits."

The three of them just stood flabbergasted. "Of course, you could also use it, and upgrade a perk or power to a higher ability. If I had to choose," he smiled "I would use the stone. Every time."

Serin then asked about the blinking skills. Allister excitedly piped up on this one. "So it was something that was automatic when you were younger, but that signals a skill is ready to be advanced to the next level." Serin just kind of curled his eyebrows. "why would you want to wait to do it?" Allister smiled, "go ahead and activate one."

Serin went to his advanced marksman skill, and pressed the small (+) symbol next to it. He felt his senses reeling, his heart racing, and his head pounding. For a few minutes he sat there with his head down on the table. When he recovered, he looked up and saw the change.

Master Marksman (AGI)

- This skill governs the use of long range single shot weapons and spells. As its level increases, the additional damage done increases.

o At Novice Level, the user can use weapons he meets the strength and agility score for

o At Intermediate level, the User can fire at targets at point blank range without suffering any penalties

o At Advanced levels, while aiming at a target at medium distance or greater, the User may spend stamina at a rate of 10pts per second to slow down time to increase accuracy

o Master: If the target is unaware of the user, the first shot never misses, and does critical damage.

o Grandmaster: Locked

- Current Damage increase: +50%

Serin understood now, had that happened during a battle, it could have killed him.

"So what was it, that was a bit stronger of a reaction than expected"

[Master Marksman]

Rachel blinked, "I only have Intermediate."

Allister was impressed. "I have two advanced skills, but I am very far from turning them into master skills."

Jericho pipped in "If you have any others do them now. No reason to wait on your decision"

Serin then activated the [Fire Familiar]. Besides becoming Intermediate, he watched as his gecko began to change.

***

My master and I have worked together for what feels like a long time. Our tireless activities have brought me closer to the spark of being, I can feel the change enacting in me, and soon I shall become a Tegu.

***

Serin, Allister, Rachel, and Jericho watched as Serin's Gecko grew and shifted in form. The dark spots were replaced with stripes. The gecko size transformed, shaping and morphing until it became 4 feet long. Serin heard a voice.

[Master, I am a Tegu, I need a new name.]

Serin thought for a bit, 'You are Ignis"

The Tegu smiled, then curled around Serin's feet.

Serin looked at Jericho, "How often do extermination quests come up?"

Jericho scratched his head, "They are a bit rare, usually only coming up in an area once every few years. Two at once is almost unheard of, so that is why we are lucking out. The adventurers you have seen here assume they are on the only extermination quest, and while it is 3 groups, the weaker of the three would want to peel off and start working on undead if they were aware that was an option.

Jericho smiled, "but luck has seemed to favor us until now. But speaking of favor, I am cashing out now for the rewards to Walden cemetery. Lucky for you Serin, I don't have any perks rare or lower I would want to spend an upgrade stone on" Jericho walked over to the adventurer's guild. When he returned, he was smiling. "You see, I just wanted the attribute bump. And I went ahead and used my earnings to help purchase these". Jericho described the items as he pulled them out. 'This is a guild scroll. They are expensive, but their rules are backed by divine power. Besides any contracts being magically enforceable, they give us the right to procure property, which is then considered part of the guild estate. I can go into what that means later."

Jericho then pulled out a few other scrolls, "These are experience booster scrolls. commonly used to speed along the rate in which someone's skill increases. They aren't used too often by professionals because they don't work after intermediate level, and they don't work on non-class skills, but for Serin, they will come in handy."

Then Jericho pulled out a small red stone with a black rune inside. "Serin, this is an upgrade stone. It was not hard for me to catch up to the three of you and your kills in the Walden Cemetery. I only ask that you use it on your [hard lessons] perk. What its more advanced form is I have no idea, however It can only help us in the future."

Then Jericho handed him the small red stone. As Serin gripped it he saw on his status plate a few of his perks and skills were blinking, showing that they can be upgraded. He picked Hard lessons. The stone crumbled in his hands, and he watched as the description of Hard lessons changed before his eyes

Perk (Rare – Locked: Boundless) – Hard Lessons II

- The User is able to teach all non-class locked Skills or spells to friendly targets with a high success rate, regardless of class. Forcing this upon someone results in minor brainburn for 4 hours. While Brainburned, a person cannot receive a skill.

o When the friendly target learns a skill this way, the User can choose to increase the speed of their lesson advancement. This effect works on all friendly targets within 10 meters. The target can never bring the skill or spell to a higher proficiency than the User.

- Depending on the Luck of the User, the user can learn any skill, spell, power, or perk, if he watches it in use, or is the target of it's use. This skill can be combined with either the [Observe] Skill or [Study] skill.

Serin relayed this information to the group.

Jericho just began to laugh, "You are just full of surprises aren't you?"

Serin asked, "What are the Observe and Study Skills? I have never heard of them"

Jericho started to explain "When you are granted a class, there are three different skill types that you can learn. The first you know, which is class-specific. These are skills that your class allows you to learn faster, as you have an aptitude for. The second are non-class skills. These skills are those that are not belonging to your class. You learn them slower. Within those there are the skills that are considered class specific by another class, and those that are general skills. To my knowledge, Culinary arts is a general skill. For Rachel, class specific skills include Life magic and Archery. Her non-class skills include some of the spells Serin has taught her. The last type is class-locked. Hard lessons is a good example of a class-locked ability. Another would be my reaper skill. Observe is also a class-locked skill stealth classes like rouges, rangers, and scouts. Study is class-locked to spellcasting focused classes."

Rachel looked at Jericho, "I have no idea how to learn the Observe skill." Allister pipped in as well "I know how to learn the Study skill, but it would take a year or two before i could meet the prerequisites" Jericho laughed, "I expected as much, but there are a few shortcuts, specifically skillbooks" Jericho continued, "which can be purchased for a very high amount of money from the right dealers."

Rachel and Allister looked at eachother, "Who are the dealers?" Jericho motioned over to the adventurer's guild representatives, "They are. They dole out rewards, and this world is built to accommodate those who follow its rules. As an effort to ensure nobody's forward progression was ever halted due to that system, any class skill can be purchased from the exchange." Serin looked at Jericho, "why haven't I been doing that the whole time?" Jericho's expression was neutral. "For one, all of those transactions are watched by the grand general's magistrates, as it is public knowledge. And also because they are 20,000 credits. Serin, you can never purchase a skill from that repository as it will openly show your class when you do so." Jericho then leaned back. "However this time we are in luck. Allister can purchase the study skill, and Rachel can purchase the Observe skill, and with any luck, you can learn both."

"Why would we want the observe and study skills anyways?" Rachel asked.

"Because they give you a significant edge on your opponent." Jericho pipped in. "Observe is a skill in combat, while study is a skill out of combat. It can also tell you specific information about the target unless they are warded if you spend the time to do so.

Serin thought about it. "I can offer to give each of you some credits to partially cover the costs of getting the skills." Rachel shook her head. "You still need to get the closed eye circuit. And that will easily cost alot of credits." Jericho shook his head. "I have looked into it. The grand general has cracked down on their use. It seems he doesn't want anyone becoming powerful enough to challenge him."

Serin was worried. He was walking around unprotected, and one scan from a curious bystander would show his age not matching his level.

"But we are not without hope. There is a different enchantment. One that should suit Serin very well. The spell is called 'false identify'. It is an illusion spell that changes what information is pulled up to anyone who does any intermediate or lower divination on Serin. It is often used by people to avoid being killed for experience. It only changes your class and level. It does not affect your appearance though so we will have to ensure your level reflects your appearance and external skills. Based on your charisma, strength, and dexterity, you look to be about 8th level."

Serin looked at Jericho, "So how do we get these spells enchanted?"

Jericho responded, "I special ordered an item. Based on my level and my hindrance, it wont raise any flags. And don't worry about the cost." Jericho looked around, "I know this tavern seems pretty calm, but i am sure someone has scanned me in the least. You three haven't been bothered by other adventurers because you are with me. If you weren't you could have easily fallen victim to some of the more predatory guilds, or worse, killed or enslaved."

Serin was dumbfounded. "Jericho, i don't know how i can repay you." Jericho laughed, " you can repay me by making me the assistant guild master, and letting me review the contracts for membership. But tonight we should rest. Take tomorrow to get refitted and re-armed. And when we are ready, we head back out to the cemetery. Same as before. The goal now is to increase our skillsets, and with Serin present we should be smart. His power only assists us if his is higher than ours. So Allister, you need to learn to use a marksman's rod, or a caster's rifle. It's like Serin's but it is strictly used as a magical implement. Highly accurate, but not as good in tight quarters. Rachel should stick to the bow."

Serin was blown away, and was excited to get back out into the fray. But first, he had to talk to Kincade about getting more ammunition.

***

The rest was longer than anticipated. Rachel and Allister went ahead and learned Observe and Study respectively.

Serin watched them activate and deactivate them enough that after about an hour he learned both.

Observe (AGI) Class-locked - Novice - lvl 1

This skill lets you learn more about the targets you view. This is a passive skill that is always in effect

At Novice Level, you can see a target's level threat in relation to you.

Intermediate level: Locked

Advanced: Locked

Master: Locked

Grandmaster: Locked

Study (INTO) - Novice - lvl 1

This skill lets you learn more about the world around you, but is not present during combat. This skill is otherwise always in effect.

Novice level information unlocked

Intermediate: Locked

Advanced: Locked

Master: Locked

Grandmaster: Locked

Additionally, Serin had spoken with Kincade and it would take another few days to procure the supplies to complete such a large order. Knowing what he needed to keep fighting for a week, and that larger orders means a high mercantile skill, he ordered 10,000 rounds of ammunition. It cost him 4000 credits, but it did bump his [mercantile] skill up another 10 points.

Serin then stopped by to visit Simon.

***

"Serin! How fares life? It's been a week? Did you come in to peruse what spells I have available?"

Serin didn't bother with pleasantries, "Simon, be straight with me. How many more novice skills do you have, and how many more can you get?"

Simon looked a little defeated. "I only have two more novice level spells. There are hundreds out in the world though, and i have heard that the more established guilds can make new ones. But to the point, the two i have are [create Ice], a cryomancy spell. Really great at parties."

Serin thought about it, "and the other?"

Simon whispered in hushed tones, "Its the [drain] spell. At novice level it only drains stamina, but be warned, constant use and it leads down a dark path of magic."

Serin really only wanted it for the free attribute points,

"Simon, will you be getting any new spells in stock soon?"

Simon shook his head, "I would need to learn the spell myself and be at least one caster level higher for my [magical skrivner] skill to work."

Serin though about it. "That is so interesting Simon. I have always had an interest in how other people work. How about this. I will buy these two spells from you, but in return you let me watch you work."

Simon thought about it. "That should be alright. I would never sell you a skill book on my class skill.

Serin smiled.

***

Serin left with much more than he expected. He learned the [magcal skrivner] skill, so he could create magic tomes. And two new novice spells. He then smiled, as his INT had passed 100. He wanted to review the perks such high magic .

He looked, and he laughed. It seems that Intelligence, for all its worth, isn't very original . I will have to inquire with Jericho when we meet up for dinner.

Perk - High Magic

You have been granted access to High Magic and have met the prerequisites to cast it

Perk - Intelligence Reserves

Your ME Pool is doubled. This perk stacks with Intelligence boost.

Serin did some quick math in his head and started to laugh.

'I could keep every single active effect spell i have active, at all times, have a magical pool of 570, and still not be at risk of brainburn.' Serin mused.

Serin instantly activated the only magical spells he hadn't had active, and activated them, Adding shield, heightened hearing, muffle sound, and detect poison to his expansive list of active effects.

Serin then decided to go for a stroll through the various shops. He knew that Tomas and Simon had the corner on the magical skills, but Serin knew that he had to increase his other skills, specifically his physical ones. So for that, he headed over to a new shop. It was a weapons shop.

Unlike Tomas' pristine shop, this one was more of a hodgepodge of weapons, books, and various traveling kit.

Serin heard the voice of a woman, strong and fierce "Young one, what brings you to my shop today? Looking to protect yourself? Maybe deal some damage."

Serin looked, "I am a novice monster hunter, and I don't want to die on my long first excursion. I am looking for a piece of armor or a skill book that can increase my survivability.

The female shopkeeper stepped out from behind a shelf. "Knowing one's own weakness and trying to improve it. That is admirable. I have seen you walking with the old wolf, so I will not insult your intelligence. Instead of finding a skill book for you, i will instead lay out a few skill books from your class and of non-class and you can peruse. No doubt Jericho has told you to stay on guard, hmmm?"

Serin was unaware she knew him, "You know Jericho?" The shopkeeper laughed, "Everyone here knows the white wolf. We have kept our distance from him, but I have seen you with him. He is your mentor, yes? "

Serin did not want to keep giving information away, "If you give me your name, i will send him your way."

The shopkeeper smiled, "quite the deflection. You might survive your first year yet. Here, I am sure you did not pick up this skill yet. Its from the duelist class, monster hunters use it all the time. "

Serin looked at the book, "It is a simple skill called 'sense move'. It allows you to know when you are the target of the attack during melee combat. Be warned though, it only lets you know the hit is coming, it does not stop it.

Serin looked, "and the cost?" the shopkeeper smiled, "500 credits. Per book. Knowing that paranoid old man, that is my private sale cost, and the cost of me losing the receipt".

Serin kept his face blank, "what else do you have? "

****

Serin Left with 4 skills that day. The four skills he picked up were pretty simple: [Strength] skill when active burned through stamina but temporarily added 20% higher to his strength attribute. 'I could probably double this up with the Strengthen spell.' Serin had thought. [Sense move] let him know when he was the target of a melee attack. Like a weaker version of Jericho's 6th sense power. [Push] was a skill that spent a large portion of Stamina, but gave Serin the ability to push an object 2x heavier than he could normally push. And [Throw] amplified his ability to throw an object.

Serin had also learned that the shopkeeper's name was Lorel, and he would have to ask Jericho about that.

***

Jericho almost choked on his dinner at the mention of Lorel. "That she-devil is here? If this lucrative quest wasn't here I would recommend we move on, but it's too good to pass up."

Serin had been feeding his spells steadily to Rachel and Allister. They had been living off of their brainburn potions since their return from their first expedition. They looked at Jericho with a bit of a tired look. "Who is she?"

Jericho started, "I used to be in a guild and she and I were guildmates. Part of one of the first great guilds," Jericho raised his arm to show a faded scar that looked like a mark, next to his banking circuit. "When you leave a guild it leaves a reminder."

Serin was curious, "Why did you leave the guild?" Jericho looked a bit defeated at the question, "Our guildmaster, wished to be the most powerful in the land. So much so that when his son was born boundless, he forced him into servitude with contract magic. He became the first of the chained. Although all of the original members of our guild have left or been killed, our guild is still around, but it is full of chained and high magistrates, because the guildmaster goes by the title 'grand general' now."

It was Serin's turn to cough his food. "You knew the grand General?" Jericho looked defeated. "I knew him when his name was Marcus. He was everything you could hope for in a guild leader, but he had a dark side, and when he learned too much dark magic, his tainted soul fell in. He was not like our Allister. Allister was called in as a Necromancer, so the lingering taint on his soul doesn't appear. He simply views the world differently. If Serin tried to master most of Allisters' class skills without that safety, he would be subject to all manner of negative effects. Specifically, any skill that attempts to drain life from the living, or bind their souls."

Serin thought about it. This is what Simon was referring to. Jericho looked at Allister, "Allister can maintain a neutral soul because his class sees light magic and dark magic as equals. Just as Rachel becomes more powerful in the woods. Her domains she has discovered bend to her will as a Ranger."

Serin hadn't noticed but it made sense.

Jericho then looked at Serin, "I get that you will want to learn spells from others, but you can never use Dark magic on the living humans. Without any protections, you run the risk of losing your humanity, and I am not sure the world is ready for another Marcus."

Serin thought about it for a minute. He understood. He would refrain from using most of the dark magic spells, at least those that targeted the living. He would definitely still learn as many as he could though. Hard lessons was an extremely powerful perk and he could not let it go to waste. Serin looked at Jericho.

"I understand. I did have another question. What is high magic?"

Allister started having a cough this time. Jericho turned white. "Where did you learn about that?"

Serin started, "after my intelligence attribute passed 100 it told me i had unlocked high magic."

Jericho was resigned that Serin would constantly advance. "Serin, high magic is magic that can do the most wondrous things. It can resurrect the dead, extend life indefinitely, or cause unimaginable suffering." Serin thought about it.

"I don't know any high magic spells. Do they cost a lot of magic?"

Jericho laughed, "You technically know tons of high magic spells. You just don't know it."

Serin looked quizzically, so Jericho continued. "Pick any spell. Look at the bottom, what do you see?

Serin looked at his [firebolt] spell,

Firebolt – upon command, user casts a long range spell that deals fire damage. At higher levels, spell can grow stronger. High Magic: Using additional magic essence will increase the damage of this spell on a single target.

Serin was confused, "What's magical essence?"

Jericho explained, "You have your Magical Energy, or ME. Essence is the ME of other beings, given willingly or taken. A great example of a Magical essence is this", and with that, Jericho produced a deadheart.

"Serin, before we had no chance of finishing this extermination quest, because I can almost guarantee that at the center of that necropolis, there lies a Lich. Normally a Lich can team wipe an entire guild raid team. Allister might survive the first Necrotic burst. But past that, you three would perish, however there are two things that can overcome this problem. The first is that Liches are prone to not engage first. They are too wrapped up in their studies. Veteran adventurer groups are known for sneaking in, surrounding the lich, and casting all of their spells at once, causing a supernova of destruction. We can use their distracted nature to our advantage. "

Rachel looked over, "Whats our second thing?" Jericho laughed, "because with enough deadhearts, Serin can kill him in one blow."

Serin looked confused, "How many is enough?'

Jericho laughed "probably at least 2000. Pulverized into a fine powder. We will practice when we go out having you cast with magical essence."

Serin could not wait to go out.

***

'This is definitely more powerful.' Serin thought this to himself. They were already back in the Walden cemetery and were able to get within sight of the necropolis before they barricaded up. In no time Serin had figured out how to draw magical energy from the crystals. It seemed that the deadhearts caused an additive effect on the spell. He was unsure of the math behind it but he knew just one deadheart would pay for itself with a fast kill of a hoarder zombie. Serin noticed that there was a faint White pip above the normal hoarder zombies. This must be my observe skill.

Additionally, Serin noticed that sometimes the zombies were starting to drop other things when they died. Mostly it was an extra deadheart or two, but now it was including ammunition for various weapons, a few arrows. A book even fell out of one of them. Ignis, his Tegu, was starting to create a small pile in their camp. In their off time, they had to load everything into a small handcart they had bought for supplies. Serin asked why they didn't use the auto cart and Jericho's answer was "what happens if we have to run away?"

So the battles continued. Serin, Allister, and Rachel worked during the day. Serin used more spells than rounds now, as his ME pool was enormous. Rachel stuck to the bow, as she was constantly having Serin train her new spells. Allister, would swing his club at any straggler zombies. His progress to increase his physical attributes was slow, but Serin could already see an improvement.

At night when Jericho took over, They prepared meals, prepped for the next morning, and loaded the handcart.

Each day they moved closer and closer to the center, as the hordes had thinned on the outskirts. Serin could probably walk a mile inward before he found a zombie. 'We have killed a lot of undead.' Serin mused.

It was this movement when they discovered a new threat. Some of the zombies ran. Serin looked at them to see, after a moment of concentration, these had yellow pips above their heads.

When encountering these zombies, it took multiple shots. Serin often had to slow down time with his [marksman ability], and sometimes use the [Slow] spell to slow down the target. But it continued, and Serin exclusively hunted these, as he was the only one able to hit them at range. The team was unafraid, and once they reached a good spot, they setup a new earth wall, and created their new fatal funnel.

Serin could tell that he was getting experience from these new monsters. This made Serin smile. As the runner undead started to increase in number, Serin figured out how to use his ability in concert of Allister and Rachel.

'I [slow] them, then Rachel does a hobbling shot, severing one of the ankle tendons. Then I dispatch them with either a firebolt or a round or two.' Serin had the pattern down

The introduction to these new zombies had caused Serin to take a few hits, but what wasn't resisted due to his [resist] spell, was deflected from his [shield] spell. And although it caused his ME to drop a bit, it was a good baseline for where his place was. 'Although my ME is high, we could very easily get crowded, and numerous hits would eat through my ME.' Serin thought.

***

They fought and moved like this for 5 days before reaching the necropolis. Then they found their next target, giant zombies the size of an autocart, slow but with fists the size of boulders. They had above them an orange pip. Serin figured it out, 'The darker and closer to red, the more difficult the opponent relevant to the person looking at it. Rachel seemed unnerved. It must look much more difficult to her, since she is a bit of a lower level.'

Serin took his time and for all their might an overpowered firebolt took these gargantuan creatures down with ease.

When they did reach the necropolis, Jericho stopped them. "Let us rest here, in a fully domed wall. There are still straggling undead. We will do a supplies count, and then if it's safe we will continue. Also, before we enter, we must form a guild."

Serin looked curiously. Jericho explained. "If we don't then if we kill the lich and finish this extermination, it will list us by name on the adventurer's guild registry. If we create a guild, it will list the guild. If we four solo this quest, it will certainly bring the magistrates upon us."

Serin asked, "can't they just see how many members our guild is?" Jericho responded, "sort of. They can see how large our permit is for. Normally we would have gotten a beginner permit for about 100 credits. It allows for five members of a guild. However, I went ahead and spent 20,000 credits and got a permit for 50 members. If anyone looks up our guild, they will see it is a size 50, or intermediately sized guild."

Jericho pulled out a large stack of paper, "you can feel free to read this if you want. It is a very simple contract for guilds, but it ensures perfect anonymity of membership, structure, and our biggest secret Serin."

Serin began reading. Maybe a month ago it would have been complicated, but now thanks to his higher intelligence, he understood quite well the terms. It protected him from internal threats. It also determined barriers for application, and should a member leave, their knowledge of the guild would be locked within their own minds with contract magic. Serin noticed that it allowed for the purchase of property, shared bank accounts, dues, and permission to post quests. Serin would get into the technicalities later. For now he would sign. Jericho smiled, "with that there is only a name required. Serin thought about it. He knew it was his guild, but he wanted something that symbolized the team he was looking at now. He thought about it and smiled, "We are the Bone Arrows."

Allister and Rachel laughed.

***

Entering the Necropolis was the first time Serin was sure they had made a serious error.

Allister had put his club away. His deny the undead spell was the only spell keeping them from being overwhelmed in the necropolis. Jericho had joined the fray, but when the doors were opened, it was as if hundreds of undead had been waiting to poor out. Serin had removed his long barrel and was firing very close range.

As soon as they were able to dispatch the undead, they were replaced. None of them had white pips. All were yellow or orange.

Serin was trying to think of how to handle this surge of dead, and in his multitasking one had slipped passed, dead set on attacking Allister.

Allister watched as it broke past his shield. Right before it took a bite out of Allister he yelled "STOP". The zombies mostly stood there dazed, and the one about to attack looked blankly at Allister. Blood rand down Allister's nose and his eyes looked bloodshot as he looked at the undead runner who almost killed him and said a simple phrase, "Attack the other undead here." With that the runner zombie started to attack. Jericho and Rachel made quick work of the dazed zombies. Allister was doubled over in pain. He showed obvious signs of brainburn and his ME was zero, and his stamina and health were dropping fast. Serin and Jericho move the doors back in place, the Serin used his Lock spell to cast a simple lock on the necropolis door. The would need a break before they continued. Rachel instantly started feeding ME and HP into Allister, Serin following suit. Serin ran through almost his entire safe bank of ME before Allister started showing signs of stabilization

Serin looked at his skills. He had gained two of Allister's Skills, and one of Jericho's. The thing that really interested him was the spell Allister had used. It was [Command Undead]. As Serin looked over it himself, he saw it was powerful, but it cost ME dependent on the undead used. With the runner zombie attacking its fellow zombies, would they consider that a threat? They seemed to only attack the living.

For now, Allister would need rest.

***

"Yep he's brainburned, bad". Jericho commented. He did not look healthy. He was shaking and vomiting. Although he was a caster by trade, Allister was still too low in the strength and endurance traits. Serin thought about it and realized that Allister would be wholly undefended, as his resist and shield spells couldn't be activated.

The only thing we can do is protect him and keep him safe while he recovers.

***

Three days passed and Jericho was concerned. Serin looked at him, "Why hasn't Allister recovered yet?"

Jericho thought about it. "If he over extended his ME when he took command of that undead. It was too high of a level."

Serin pondered it, "so what do we do?"

Jericho pondered, "He will stay like this until he has commanded the creature for so long it is not a burden, or until the creature dies."

Serin pondered this, He then looked at the spell He had learned.

Command Undead - The user forces the undead creature to permanently bind to his will. This effect lasts until the creature perishes. Higher level Dark magic and other effects can increase the effectiveness and number of undead the user can control. Number of creatures currently enthralled 0/1. High Magic: A user can spend Magical Essence to form this bond in lieu of his own magical energy.

Serin looked at Allister. He was still unconscious, but his breathing had steadied, and his fever had broken. He must be increasing his skills.

***

Serin had finished grinding up the rest of the deadhearts they had collected. He couldn't wait to go through the other items that had been dropped by the creatures. The three of them sat around their packs. Being stuck in an earth mound meant that they could not light a fire, so it was cold rations and water.

All of a sudden Allister sat up straight.

Serin, Rachel, and Jericho looked at him, "Its good you finally awoke."

Allister was whiter than usual, "we need to get out of here."

Jericho was pondering, "Why the rush? We are safe here from the few stragglers we haven't picked off outside the necropolis."

Allister started to speak, but was cut off by a thunderous voice.

"Where is the fool that attacked me with my own minion?"

Jericho stood up, and threw his equipment in his bag, "I agree with Allister, it seems that we have lost our element of surprise and are sorely outmatched."

At this point, they opened up a small hole in the earthen wall and saw only hands coming in. It seems that the thick earthen barrier, although protecting them, had allowed for the undead to gather around it.

Jericho signed, "he has boxed us in. The best we can do is make a bit more room from the door, Serin, you work that side, i will work this side, push the earthen wall straight out. Allister, fill in the gaps. Rachel, watch the door. Serin's lock spell will only buy us a moment."

They all got to work, pushing the wall out. Serin had no idea what the plan was, but he could tell that the remaining undead in the lands surrounding the mausoleum door to the necropolis had filed in towards them, and they would be unable to slowly fight them off.

Although the three of them worked quickly, it was not quick enough. The door cracked as Serin felt his lock spell break. Suddenly, out of the door burst a being of pure rage.

The Lich was not what Serin expected. It looked human. Albeit it was dressed in moldy robes and was completely hairless, its fingers ending in claws. Then Serin saw the pip. It was a blood red skull with black smoke falling off of it. Serin realized then that they were about to die.

Jericho turned around to face the lich. Rachel fired an arrow and the lich waived it off to the side. It drove deep into one of the several undead trailing it. At that, the Lich spoke.

"I am Lord Harkonin. You, who has invaded my realm and destroyed my minions, by what right do you claim?"

Jericho spoke at this, "We are of the Bone Arrow Guild. This land is considered nuisance land. The divines have stated that since no living reside here, this land is to be purged so that growth of the Walden burb can commence."

The Lich turned up his lip. "Fools! You who follow their rule. I have been studying alone in this Mausoleum. I have been here longer than that small town, and I will be alive far longer than it is around. And since the four of you were foolish enough to come here, I will know to prepare. Your deaths will ensure that no group can take your mantle and destroy me."

The lich then thought for a minute and a rueful smile fell on his face. "What are your names adventurers? Before I kill you I wish to know, so when I raise you as undead I can address you properly. After the warning you have given me, it is the least i can do."

Serin knew this was his time to act. Serin slowly put his hand in his bag. He did not want the sudden movement to alert the Lich. So Serin pulled in the magics from a completely full bag of magical essence, and uttered one word.

"KNEEL"

***