Level Up

A kernel of bone crumbles off my leg bone. Pop! The crack on my right shinbone now runs from my ankle to my knee. I don't have any weapons on me and death touch only works when the monster has already lost health. The Ferry Moth flies deeper into the tunnel it is probably looking for a way to the higher floors through one of the natural vents. I desperately need to get at my level and rank I can't fight monsters directly like a Passion Pearl getting one is an automatic level up. For me it's a double bonus since I can use the soul it ferries to strengthen myself. I move forward through the mud praying.

[You take divine damage -10]

Cursing! Out Loud at my poor undeserved luck. The Ferry Moth is staying just outside my range like it si avoiding me I know it hasn't spotted as it would bolt. They have an inbred fear of the undead. I have never been on the side of the maze. Any living person would need an Eternal type flame something that's only high-level people have. Looking around these are your typical pestilence plants around soft and brittle just like my bones. Why can't I find an Iron Fern or something useful like a tree? A tree would be could. Ahead of the tunnel snakes along I dash. Or at least what appears to me as a dash. I'm lucky that the Ferry Moth is not the best flyer.

You would also take the risk, I don't know where this thing is leading me. Places that stay uninvestigated for a reason. The fucker like a jet fighter flanks me. I catch my falling jaw in midair. I leap onto the wall of the tunnel. I'm the hunter here using all my might I jump...I actual jumped without looking where I am jumping too. Fuck! I am almost at the Ferry Moth I reach out with my hands. In that second between success and the feeling of falling. I look down I'm over a body of water but it's at least thirty feet away.

Swoosh I fall into the water, a large crack on my skull appears. I managed to turn over lifting up my hand which is EMPTY! Then I see a sparkle that hint of soul leaking out when a Ferry Moth is full. It flies back into the tunnel. Did I just get tricked by a Ferry Moth? Nah! No way I'm just unlucky. I lie there and let the water take me away I don't care right now. What else am I supposed to do, I'm just here with the light in the river. I just want this to stop it's not even fair, it's just sad.

Wait this is not a natural light, it can't be?

Many years ago

Back when I was a level eight Paladin was still blinded by faith and optimism. I was doing a mission for the church. I was resting at this old man's farm who had a daughter with a massive, well-rounded personality. Anyways he told me this story once. it has always stuck with me. He had that deep thick cold storytelling voice like a great honeyed mead.

" Lantis Secutum El Casuis Rau! Beneath Death Lies Atlas' greatest power." He starts lighting his brown wooden pipe and opening the window to let the storm noises in. His window is angled so that the rain doesn't come in but the ambience of rain dancing and wind blowing adds juicy storytelling umami to the red smoke room. Plus it really helps with his thick tobacco smoke evacuating through the window.

"Atla was a mighty lord the first-ever in peace and provide his people prosperity. Her strength came from her ability to control death. None in is her Bosom feared death, they lived besides death. Then the unthinkable happened the people she protect turned against her. Jealous of power and beauty they stole from her stripped her of pride and power and lied her bare on the streets and to their shame they mutilated her. The once-mighty Atla was tortured for a hundred days and a hundred nights. She was flailed her skin used to create the lands we live in, her organs were used to create all the creatures of the world. Her blood becomes over rivers and her tears are our magic. Yet her heart remained till the last day. Removed and hidden below death lies Atlas' greatest power."

The reason it has stuck besides being an amazing piece of lore, it is unique in all the worlds. There is no historical proof, an ancient tome, a lost treasure that I was ever able to find. Except this story told all across the lands by farmers with beautiful daughters smoking a pipe in the middle of an unseasonal rainstorm. It always bothered how the clues never lead to more no matter where I went. I thought it was the ultimate quest but I never figured out how to trigger it now. Hell, no one ever did it became the only easter egg where could never break.

It makes sense if you think like a gamer it's pretty obvious, isn't it? Having the greatest source of power in a beginner area where everywhere starts but only by going the path no one travels will you be able to get the power. I should have known the Undead Maze was special but how could I have known. Atla is an ordinary figure her history in my mind is thinner than my forearm bone. This water is not doing me any favours but it beats walking to where ever the water leads. The cold swim took about twenty minutes I could feel it in my teeth like eating an unending festival of frostbite.

I crawl onto the ground from the cold glowing river. I leak out all the glowing water from my poor aching bones. I can't risk any mishaps so I stop for three hours to make sure I'm completely dry. My health has not recovered at all it will probably come back at the next dusk. It's fine I'm still okay ninety per cent is more than enough at least. I don't need to eat even if I'm starving, lifeless are passionate people with a history and culture. I have never experienced it but the building in front of me is an example of Lifeless Architecture.

The Vanta building is a typical Lifeless construct they are don't age just like the lifeless just like me. The sixty-foot obelisk in the lowered floor surrounded by fire covered in green translucent stairs. The Obelisk is written with golden runes, the runes are written in Black tongue. Black tongue is the prime language, the Sung Desolation, the rhythm of Unlife. The Underverses are beautiful both harmonic in script and song. I haven't studied it extensively but I desecrate my neck bone. I mimic a Lifeless Dirge tongue. The structure of bone is surprisingly mailable and my dirge tongue allows me to speak. It's not a difficult thing to do now that I have done it. I don't sound human rather it's like a small complex organ that produces words. I never realised how complex bone working could be this is similar to Bonesmithing. This gives me a little idea that I should have had early. I have already built my magic pathways this is just an extension, I desecrate my bones from the Dirge tongue down everything becomes thinner. I sculpt myself into a thin six-foot frame. If an ordinary person saw me now they would think I was a child's stick figure come to life. I don't care I spent most of my time scripting my fingers. With my fingers acting as magic scripts they should be able to do the trick.

I read the rhyme out loud I hear my voice for the first time. It is sublime if I say so myself like a handcrafted piano. Then I sing the Dirge written on the Obliesk in black tongue, the song is a history of Atla World Ruin, High mother Unlife Despoiler and Cur to all life! The song continues telling a history very different from the one I know. It is not clear but the high note of the dirge clearly says that this is where her heart is. I miss sing that note a Lifeless's heart is their soul stone. If it is here then I could...My bones rattle, I sing in haste finishing the low Shanti and Black Prayer in record time. The runes light up with each note. The Obelisk shakes and hymns a loud high pitched noise exactly like the Death wail of Weeping Reaving.

[-40 blunt damage]

I am struck by a pale porcelain statue of Easereal. I would know those high cheekbones, thick sun rise thick eyebrows and awe defying chest. I land across the building parts of me all over the place. I have unleashed something ancient. My vision and magic sense show me it is a Stone Slice. A fucking Stone Slice here! How is that even possible. My eyes and magic sense cover every inch of it. He isn't even wearing any clothes. His Warhammer just sways about.

[The Lord of light enjoys your peril, you have been granted analyse]

[Stone Stasi- Mythic [STATUS HIDDEN BY THE LORD OF LIGHT] ]

Hp: 10 000 000/ 100 000 000

Mp: ∞

The sick fuck wants me to know exactly how screwed I am. Still, I look who wouldn't look at a living Stone Slice. It is a complete magical construction made real. Is one of the hardest things to do as a magician is to take energy and make it physical.

[Analyses upgraded +1]

[exp +2]

[????????? Blocks fate vision]

[Your curse is triggered!]

My frame explodes with decimation it goes towards the Stone Slice. I can't let it happen Decimation is the pure form of death touch. The ash cloud dusts my bones to work so I run back. Using all my abilities to analyse every part of the Stone Slice.

[Analyses upgraded +4]

[exp +2]

I run back as the ash flows towards the Stone Slice, this is a guardian slice so I moving back should prevent it from attacking me further. The problem is that my curse is eating my leg. I hop the last couple of feet before sitting on the stairs overlooking the Obliesk where I landed.

[Analyses upgraded +4]

[exp +2]

The Stone Slice looks at me. Cracks appear all over it as the Stone Slice is barely able to contain the full power that has descended into it. On the inside, I'm frowning and The Stone Slice says, "No no little skeleton there is no way out of this, Die for me." I know that voice that sweet sublime serenade of clouds covered in light. It's Easereal in all his glory Stone Slices are one of the few God skins that don't require rituals they are pure Faith made flesh. It's one a god technique that few people have ever seen. I bet if Merlin saw this now he could revive himself. Still, I look him in the eyes of course I'm pissed scared on holy spell and I'm dead. His eyes are amazing to beautiful and functional l can see a construct inside. It's way too complex for me I'm still at the brick building phase of magic this guy's eyes alone are like if an alien made a metamaterial that is so advanced it looks like magic.

[Analyses upgraded +4]

[Conditions meet!]

[Analyses upgraded to True sight]

[exp +2]

True sight reveals a lot of stuff to me about the nature of magic. It's amazing that in the end I finally understand magic. It would I'm relieved it's been hard to be a Skeleton. I even know how he is manipulating my curse. We are still connected to each other, Yep Easereal and I are still bonded. I point my finger at him. I change the script on it. A plume of magic small and innocent filled with all my will flies at him. A normal spell is always attuned to an element, with my true sight I found out what mine was so I send a simple spell. My death bolt is ranged death touch, my element is decimation. He gave it to me so now in the end I'm going to kill this construct. It hasn't been maintained for many years to it is operating at less than one per cent.

[Death Bolt!]

It is all I can cast in a short time. Like any magician, the first three spells are an attack, a forcefield and a teleport. Now that I know my element, I have magic pathways and ways to cast them through scripts I send this spell forward. If he is still Easereal he will tank it and kill me. My spell is like a purple mirror, the Stone Slice flies through it. Its fists are about to hit him when my god controlled ash meets its intended target. Even I had forgotten because I was getting to grips with my powers.

It started when Easereal descended, he couldn't see the flow of the world since his fate vision is blocked. Demigods have something similar they use to avoid death by seeing strands of the future. Gods have a perfect version of this vision. It's how they can be in many places at once and always avoid dangers like the Irath. His descension into a Lifeless Construct hurt him the same way his holiness hurts me. Then there is the Stone Slice he is a god of life and life progresses towards entropy. When my death bolt hit it I removed one per cent of its health. Its total health is one billion so one per cent is ten million health points!

[Level up!]

[Your curse is Trggered]

[Reward Blocked! - Title - God killer - 500% to all stats ]

[Reward Blocked! - God Stone - One stat to ∞]

[Reward Blocked! - Fate Change Scrolls]

[Reward Blocked! - Rank Up ]

[Reward Blocked! - Evolution ]

[Reward Blocked! - Level Up x 6666]

[Reward Blocked! - Monkey Paw]

{?????? Intervenes!!!!!!!!!!!!!}

[One skill tree point]

"Woe to you my foe, Dread me for I come. Today was not my time, Yet Dusk tonight shall come." I spew every word at him as he crumbles in front of me. The Stone SLice cuts daggers at me with his eyes. He turns to celestial dust the magic energy flowing back into the world leaving nothing but worthless god touched dust. I am beyond furious I have never rage like this. Everything I have just lost is beyond anything I thought possible. If this was still a game it would be broken. A sensible man would take that point and invest into the Desecration path but fuck all that I want to kill him with my bare hands and For that my specialisation has to be physical.

[Input accepted]

[Dread Specialisation acquired]

Combat mastery opened - empty

I say, "Open the character window!"

[Character Information]

Name: Pluto

Title: Rising Horseman

Level: 1

Rank: [0]

Type: Skeleton [F]

Exp: 2/22

Hp: 138

Mp: 118

[Basic Stats]

Strength: 2

Vitality: 1

Intelligence: 1

Focus: 2

Dexterity: 2

Luck: 2

[Skills]

Death Touch - Level 1

Death Bolt - Level 1

Death Shield - Level 1

Teleport - Level 1

[Passives]

Sealed Decimation - Cursed Level 9

Domination - Control Spirits

Desecration - Reconstruction

Dread - Empty -

[Resistances]

Immune - Mental Effects [Fear, Threat, Confusion ]

[Weakness]

Holy Damage - 400%

Blunt Damage - 200%