29 More Options
Several shadows in the sky above covered their location.
"How many do you spy, Quinne?" Jerrick asked.
"Eight in total!" She peered up at the sky with her hand blocking the sun.
~Okay, well, we can't outrun them, right? We'll have to stand and fight!~
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Emille smiled just as he did when fighting Gerard in the ruins during his past life.
[Be careful. Some wyverns have a breath attack, similar to the Archillian you fought in the past.]
*I won't give them a chance to use it.*
[Well said.]
With a thud, the first one landed. A monster similar to a dragon, but much sleeker and smaller, stood before them. Its radiant purple scales glistened in the sunlight. A high-pitched shriek made the adventurer party cover their ears, but it did not affect Gerard.
[Resistance to Pain has prevented the debilitation status effect.]
*Good! Let's see how well this combination goes against a wyvern. Stone Spike and Tornado Strike!*
Out of the ground, several spikes of stone shot up. The high-impact wind from the Tornado Strike propelled the spikes through the air like bullets before riddling the wyvern's stomach with holes. It crumpled to the ground.
*That can't be right.*
[You have gained 28,750 experience. You may not level up any further.]
*Damn. Why are these things so easy to kill? And yeah, you mentioned not being able to level up when you weren't the real you.*
[It's a shame I don't have access to the memories of that time.]
*We'll figure that out one day. Let's finish with this first.*
[Of course. I wish I could help.]
*Trust me, one day, you'll have strength that surpasses even my own.*
[Really?]
*Yup.*
Their exchange lasted only seconds, but it was enough for Jerrick to throw out a warning.
"Nice one, Gerard, but there are more coming!"
Six more thuds shook the ground simultaneously, and the horses broke free from their shackles before running back towards Therinus. The final wyvern, bigger than the rest of its brood, swooped down and plucked one of the horses from the ground.
Emille's eyes opened widely as he marvelled at the creature.
[That's an alpha wyvern. Be careful.]
*Lesser Strength, Lesser Defence, Lesser Speed!*
Gerard felt his body swell with power.
~Jerrick and the rest of you. I'll leave the big guy to you this time. Let me take care of the smaller ones!~
"Do you think we can?" Jerrick looked from his sword to the gigantic creature flicking the horse around in its mouth mid-flight.
~Make use of your blitz skill, and you'll all be fine!~
Gerard jumped forward to kick a wyvern's head away from the distracted Emile. A blast of fire flew past Emille's head.
"Thanks, buddy! If we live through this, fight me, won't you?"
The large wyvern landed, flinging the dead horse from its mouth.
"Time to fight the alpha! Let's take care of it like we hunted the behemoth in the ancient archives, okay?!"
"But we've got no structures." Quinne looked around the area of the alpha.
Nothing but the road and open space all around the beast before them.
"Right, Gerard, can you make us a couple of pillars?"
~Okay!~
Gerard chanted ten stone spikes a few metres from the alpha while defending against the tail strike of a wyvern.
~Good enough?!~
"Perfect!" Jerrick charged in, Emille by his side.
Another wyvern moved forward and, in a swift bite, tore off Gerard's right arm entirely.
*Really? I can't grow that back!*
Another wyvern also tried to have a taste.
*Shadow Step!*
Gerard momentarily became a mist of shadow and appeared a couple of steps behind his original position, just outside of the wyvern's reach.
*Let's boil you from the inside! Water Shot! Lightning's Embrace!*
A giant ball of water, sparking with electricity, flew down its throat. A soft explosion erupted inside it, and blood poured from its mouth.
[You have gained 28,750 experience. You may not level up any further, but your extra experience points may be spent to improve your skills.]
The tail from another wyvern knocked Gerard into the air.
*Relentless! Sprite, my health and mana?*
[HP: 578/3640]
[MP: 129/1534]
*Seven hundred health is gone with two attacks and over five hundred mana, too.*
[Most of that mana was used to give Jerrick the blitz skill.]
Gerard landed on the ground.
*Well, I didn't know we'd be fighting dragons. Stone Spike!*
The enemy closest to him took a spike through its skull.
[You have gained 28,750 experience. You may not level up any further.]
[Wyverns, not dragons.]
*Same thing.*
[If they were dragons, you would all be dead already.]
Gerard chuckled.
*Well, that's something I can look forward to fighting in the future.*
[Battle maniac.]
*Encyclopedia!*
---
Three of the captured bandits were eaten, and two were crushed by the wagon when it turned over, while the others cried for help beneath the wagon.
*Stone Spike! Tornado Strike!*
The final wyvern took a stone spike to its left rear leg. Gerard sat on the ground, both legs severed and his armour in tatters. He wobbled slightly, holding his body up with his last limb.
The wyvern broke free and limped towards Gerard. A ball of electricity spiralled into shape in its mouth.
[You are suffering from mana depletion.]
*Sorry, Sprite. This might be-*
[You have gained 28,750 experience. You may not level up any further.]
*How?*
[One of the wyverns you injured died.]
[You have met the requirements to evolve.]
*Perfect timing, then!*
[Would you like to-]
*Of course I do!*
A flash of light surrounded Gerard, blinding the wyvern.
Gerard's limbs grew anew, one after the other. He quickly stood up.
[You have evolved into a Lich.]
*Stone Spike!*
The spike struck its stomach, but the ball of electricity grew only larger. A figure appeared before him and punched the wyvern's jaw, forcing it to shut. Emille stood beneath the wyvern, gripping its mouth with both hands. The wyvern's body seized up and shook before falling to the ground.
*Ah, my precious experience points.*
"So, we're even now, right?" Emille smiled happily.
~I suppose so; you saved me. Thank you.~ Gerard tried to lighten the sound of his thoughts but was unsure if his sarcasm would shine through.
Gerard turned to watch his comrades deal with the colossal alpha wyvern, and Emille returned to fight it.
Jerrick knocked each of the wyvern's attacks away with his shield, disappearing from view with the blitz skill between each strike to protect his comrades. Rose appeared, slashed its legs, and disappeared back into the shadows. Quinne darted behind the pillars, launching electrified arrows. Emille punched pieces of the pillars through the air towards the wyvern.
*Beautiful teamwork. If they fought like this against me in my first life, I wouldn't have stood a chance.* Gerard climbed on top of a wyvern's corpse and watched the battle unfold.
The wyvern lost its balance and, with a final thud, collapsed.
"What a thrilling fight!" Emille laughed from the depths of his stomach.
"Leaving us in the middle of the fight could have been disastrous, you idiot." Rose reappeared to kick the back of Emille's knees, sending him to the ground.
"He was trying to help Gerard!" Delilah looked at Gerard, watching them from his new seat.
"Thanks to him, we managed to get out without a scratch." Quinne slung her bow over her shoulder.
They wandered back over to Gerard, who promptly jumped from the wyvern.
"Wait a second! What happened to you?" Emille looked Gerard up and down.
Gerard's body, mostly uncovered now, resembled the appearance of a malnourished, partially festering human rather than a half-skeletal being.
"Oh, I just evolved."
"Evolved?!" The five of them yelled in unison.
[You did, and you have three of five options to select from.]
*Options?*
The adventurers questioned him persistently, but he drowned them out to listen to Sprite.
[Liches have inherent abilities upon creation. Evolving into one with System Access allows you to select your own.]
[Total Recall - The ability to recall memories perfectly.]
[Spell-Weaving - Combine known spells to create new ones. Note: The spells used to create one are forgotten.]
[Magical Decryption - The ability to learn magic by watching it.]
[Shift - Attain the appearance of any humanoid being of your choosing and mimic their voice.]
[Undead Commandment - Gain full authority over undead that don't have a master or sentience.]
*Losing spells to create new ones? I'm not interested in diminishing my already small collection of spells. Who knows just how many spells exist in this world in the first place? Controlling the undead also sounds like a villain skill, and we know how evil is treated in this world. No, thank you.*
[So?]
*So, I choose Total Recall, Magical Decryption, and Shift.*
[Magical Decryption and Acquisition have merged to become Absolute Attainment.]
[Absolute Attainment - Acquire magic and skills by witnessing it, studying it, and being affected by it.]
[You have a new evolution available.]
*Evolutionary Tree!*
[Archlich - Kill a thousand humans. (20)] [Currently killed: 124/1,000.]
*I'm not sure I can do that in this life and get away with it. We'll see. That's the only evolution?*
[Yes.]
*Okay. Status Screen!*
[Gerard Blythe - Level 20 Lich]
[HP: 4,250]
[MP: 3,220]
[Strength: 29]
[Dexterity: 35]
[Defence: 24]
[Resistance: 86]
[Mana Conductivity: 2,500]
[Resistances: Pain]
[Weaknesses: Holy Magic]
[Immunities: Sleep, Poison, Exhaustion, Starvation, Dehydration, Disease, Fear, Paralysis, Decay, Confusion, Blindness]
[Skills: System Access, Evolutionary Tree, Mind's Eye, Telepathy, Absolute Attainment, Shadow Step, Total Recall, Shift]
[Spells: Bind, Divine Ray, Hellfire, Water Shot, Tornado Strike, Stone Spike, Fireball, Link, Transference, Cleanse, Fire Lance, Lesser Strength, Lesser Defence, Lesser Speed, Lightning's Embrace, Field, Turn Undead, Flash]
*This is starting to look really cluttered. First order of business; Sprite, please stop telling me when I get experience. There's no point if I can't level up anymore.*
[Understood.]
*Now, let's see how this works! Shift!*
Gerard's body spun into a much younger version of himself. Although he felt no different, being that it was only an illusion, he was happy to see human hands and legs attached to his body.
"What the fuck?" Emille cursed.
They all stopped questioning him and took a step back.
"Is your curse broken?" Delilah asked, bringing her hands together.
"Sadly not. This appearance of mine is just an illusion, provided by a new skill upon becoming a lich." Gerard spoke clearly for the first time since Rena ended his previous life.
"You can speak, too? Have you become stronger?" Emille's face brightened.
"I'm changing how my ghastly voice sounds with the same magic. And yes, I should be stronger, but with no way to heal my wounds or replenish my mana, I won't be fighting you; sorry, Emille."
"I'm glad you'll be able to blend in as a human now." Jerrick carefully looked over Gerard's new appearance.
"So do I, but enough about that; let's get these prisoners back onto the wagon and get moving." Gerard pointed to a bandit hastily crawling away from the carnage.
"Of course."
After Jerrick removed the scales, horns, and the leather of the wyvern's wings, he placed them inside a bag, which seemed to have a much bigger interior than the exterior would have you believe.
"What's that?" Gerard pointed to the bag.
"Oh, a spacial mage in Solares made this for me after I saved his life on a quest. You can get a similar one for a hundred platinum coins."
*If a gold coin can buy a horse, and a platinum coin is one-hundred gold coins, then a hundred platinum coins should be worth more than my mansion back from my original world...*
Gerard sighed.
"Yeah, good luck. Only royals, heroes, or lucky people ever get their hands on one." Quinne looked at Jerrick's bag with envy.
*Maybe I can make one someday.*
[Yet another goal you've set for yourself.]
*You can't achieve something without first setting your mind to it.*
Gerard, Jerrick, and Emille flipped the wagon over to reveal three living bandits, the leader being one of them. After attaching longer ropes to their bindings, they marched their prisoners towards Solares.
