164 Chapter 164. Setting out once more
The rays shining through the window woke the Necromancer, alerting him of the time past his usual waking hours.
Turning his head and seeing a smiling Helen, he pulled the lady closer and kissed her lips.
[Feeling better?](Helen)
"Much better now."
Rolling her eyes at him, Michael gasped, feeling the tigress pinch his skin mercilessly.
Raising the white flag again and begging for mercy, the duo messed around in the bed for a while.
[You're Level 45 already.](Helen)
"Mhm. Fortunately, I level up slower without the Elixirs, so even if I clear the Stronghold Event in Malnok, I shouldn't get to 50 for now."
[What about your skill points?](Helen)
"I spent them during the fight with the Butcher. I maxed out Crippling Darkness and put one more point in Reaper's Pursuit. Those two are the real reason why I am still alive, alongside the bubble and Blood Mist."
Sharing the screen to refresh Helen's memory on what the skills did, Michael also stared at Corpse Tendrils, showing 5/5.
[What's wrong?](Helen)
"Well... I feel that I wasted those four points in Corpse Tendrils. I'm thinking of taking them out and maxing out the other two darkness skills instead."
[Hmm... That's not a bad idea. With those three skill points, you can max out Gloom and Terror. They should be more useful.](Helen)
Spending around 3,500 gold coins to reskill, Michael felt more comfortable seeing the changes.
Next, the duo checked the full inventory of the Necromancer and combed through the useless items.
[The gloves are what the Butcher dropped?](Helen)
"Yes. To be fair, I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting... more."
Seeing the woman laugh at his plight, he wisely decided to seek redress later tonight rather than fight her again now when he was weak.
Comparing the Legendary items to his current gloves, Michael decided on the swap.
[ Bitter Hold
Rare Gloves
401 Item Power
-----------------
200 Armor
* +13 Intelligence
* +8 to All Stats
* +1 Rank of Blood Lance (Necromancer Only) ]
[ Adventurer's Gloves of Plunging Darkness
Legendary Gloves
502 Item Power
-----------------
251 Armor (+51 when compared with the currently equipped item)
* +3.2% Attack Speed
* +7 to All Stats
* +25% Overpower Damage
* +1 Rank of Blood Lance (Necromancer Only)
Legendary Aspect: Bone Prison spawns a pool of Blight that deals 110% bonus damage for 6 seconds(Necromancer Only). ]
Checking his Aspect inventory, Michael grinned.
"Looks like I'll have to visit your dad today again."
Showing her the Utility Aspect of Occult Dominion, which would add two more Accountants to his field troops, the Necromancer laughed proudly.
[With your current gold reserves, you can replace the affix, which gives the +1 Rank to Blood Lance as well. You can get something more useful instead.](Helen)
"That's not a bad idea. Speaking of which, where can I buy a Ring of Communication? Also, does it utilize an item slot?"
[It doesn't. Also, you can only buy them in Gea Kul, but I can go buy you one if you'd like.](Helen)
"Please! That way, we can keep in touch even when I'm in the wilderness or clearing Dungeons."
Seeing the excited and proud Michael, Helen glanced at her 238 million gold coins and agreed while smiling.
She accepted the trade request and took her boyfriend's money. Is not like she couldn't afford to pay for the ring, but the proud Necromancer wouldn't accept such an expensive gift. Furthermore, it wouldn't do justice to all the effort he put into gathering this sum.
The couple enjoyed the breakfast served by Raskya and visited Orzen's shop next. Michael sold all his Rare and Magic items, gaining 223,738 gold coins even after his loss for the reskill.
"*Sigh* Back to 509,422. Not bad, though. Now I can work toward the next goal?"
[What goal?](Helen)
Looking at the beautiful tigress, Michael smiled and kept quiet. He would surprise her later.
Zivek also helped the duo by agreeing to repair the Necromancer's damaged equipment and helping him salvage five out of the six Legendary items he wouldn't use.
The material gains were decent, with 5 Iron Chunks, 1 Silver Ore, 3 Rawhides, 1 Superior Leather, 3 Baleful Fragments, and 2 Coiling Wards.
Then, they rushed to Deyman's shop, where Michael paid an initial 4,419 gold coins and 1 Veiled Crystal to change the Legendary Aspect on the gloves, and then another 15,971, 3 Veiled Crystals and 1 Angelbreath to modify one of the affixes on the item.
The two replacing options he got were a +20 Intelligence or a +1 Rank to Bone Spear.
Rushing back to Zivek's, they hounded the poor man to help them upgrade the gloves four times.
Paying 55 Rawhides, 16 Superior Leathers, 9 Veiled Crystals, 2 Coiled Wards, and 22,080 gold coins, they maxed out the item.
Its upgrade satisfied both customers greatly, as it was a vast improvement compared to before. He might've lost a good chunk of materials and gold coins, but the end result was worth it!
[ Adventurer's Gloves of Occult Dominion (+4)
Legendary Gloves
522 Item Power (+20 from upgrading)
-----------------
261 Armor (+61 when compared with the currently equipped item)
* +4.5% Attack Speed
* +10 to All Stats
* +35.7% Overpower Damage
* +28 Intelligence
Legendary Aspect: Your Maximum Number of Skeletal Mages is increased by 2. (Necromancer Only). ]
After selling the Bitter Hold Rare gloves for 2 Rawhides, 1 Superior Leather, and 1 Veiled Crystal, the duo rushed back to the Jweler shop to see if they could put some sockets in the items.
That way, Michael would be even more safe in the future.
In the end, the duo had to give up after seeing that only his weapon, shield, and amulet could gain a slot, but the Necromancer disagreed to do that after realizing he was missing the 3 Scattered Prisms needed for the 'upgrade.'
Helen insisted for a while, but he reminded her that he was close to Level 50 and would change gear continuously at that point. It was better to save some materials while he could.
[Fine, fine! What next? Uncle Zivek said he'll need at least an hour to hammer your equipment back into shape?](Helen)
"Let's visit Ms. Veroka. I need to upgrade my potions."
[Right! You're Level 45 now. Do you have enough alchemy materials?](Helen)
"I think so... Let's go check with her."
The Alchemist charged him 900 gold coins per vial changed (4,500 total), 20 Gallowvines, 17 Howler Moss, and 5 Demon Hearts.
His stock decreased again for both gold and materials, but he felt it was worth it. After all these upgrades, his survival chances would increase a bit even if he were to meet the Butcher again. A bit...
[ Moderate Healing Potion
Potion
--------------
Heals 255 Life Points instantly and 35% of your Maximum Life over 3 seconds. ]
With more time left on their hands, Michael brought Helen to the Purveyor of Curiosities, where he spent 40 Obols to try his luck with chest armors.
The result was... atrocious.
[ Tunic
Common
452 Item Power
--------------
791 Armor (+53 when compared to the currently equipped item.) ]
Taking a deep breath and deciding to throw the garbage in the trash where it belongs, Michael walked away while Helen did her best to hold back her laughter.
"It doesn't matter. I just wanted to clear some space for more Obols I'll gain in the Events later on. I'm at 470/515 now, so it's all good."
[Mhm. *Pfft*](Helen)
Ignoring the tigress's twitching lips, the Necromancer's chest heaved up and down violently, unable to understand how his luck was that bad.
Fortunately, Zivek finished repairing his equipment and contacted Helen through the Ring of Communication.
With all his stuff back into shape, Michael quickly equipped everything and prepared to leave. He had to vent this unpleasant feeling of unhappiness.
[ Class: High Necromancer
Attack Power: 646
Armor: 3,222
Life: 2151
--------------
Strength: 262
Intelligence: 325
Willpower: 339
Dexterity: 316 ]
Glancing at his stats page, the Necromancer kissed his girlfriend and bade her goodbye.
Reaching the Waypoint, they teleported to different parts of the MAP. Helen traveled to Kehjistan, while Michael traveled to the Bear Tribe Refuge.
With all three remaining Dungeons grouped up in this region, his plan was simple.
'First Anica's Claim to warm up. Then, I'll try the Stronghold Event. Finally, the Kor Valar's Ramparts.'
Without hesitation, he traveled to the location of Anica's Claim Dungeon. Unfortunately, he underestimated his bad luck.
Thick snow covered his field of view as a permeating cold wind seeped deep into his bones.
"The winds are too cutting. Even for this parts... It's also almost spring. What the hell!?"
[ World Stronghold Event joined - Malnok
Objective: Search for the source of the storm. ]
Grimacing and cursing his bad luck, Michael looked around him, trying to find a landmark he could reference.
Fortunately, after stumbling in the dark for a while, he found the entrance to Malnok and was shocked by what he saw.
From the walls to the houses and even some people and guards, everything was encased in a thick layer of ice. Furthermore, the storm was even stronger the closer he got to the middle of the outpost.
Cautiously advancing, he was shocked to find a large group of goatmen moving around strangely around a ridiculously huge Ice Clan member. If comparing sizes, it was just a bit smaller than the Woodsman he faced the other day.
'What in the unholy fuck is going on here!? And what are those three streams of energy?'
Inspecting the weird grayish energy, he found it very similar to his Essence. The difference was that if his Resource Pool was like a calm breeze in the summer, this one was a violent snowstorm in the middle of the winter.
Realizing that the goatmen were somehow harvesting the power of death by sacrificing this entire outpost, the Necromancer was shocked.
[ World Stronghold Event update - Malnok
Objective: Slay the Ice Clan Stormcallers (0/3). ]
With the Sanctuary pointing out the source of the problem, Michael sneakily moved past the middle area where the goatmen were busy dancing in the strange ritual and moved toward the location of the first Stormcaller marked on the MAP.
Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy. As soon as he approached the area, Ice Clan Impalers and Marauders swarmed him.
Using his minions to distract them, he attacked the Stormcaller by himself.
"Zero damage!? What the fuck!? Why is it invulnerable?"
The answer came hurtling from behind him in the form of a large axe. Barely using his shield to block, Michael was sent five steps back and lost 250 Life Points in the exchange.
[ Coldaxe, Ritual Guardian (Elite) - Level 50
*Cold Enchanted: All attacks deal an extra 350 Cold damage.
*Chilling Wind: Summons a wall of wind to block all ranged attacks.
*Frozen: Summons four balls of frost. Upon explosion, they freeze and deal 700 fixed damage in a five-meter radius.
*Vampiric: Each successful hit on an enemy heals you for 75% of the damage dealt. ]
The Ritual Guardian was a pain in the ass to deal with, mainly due to its height advantage. Fortunately, Quarterback and his minions joined the battle.
Four Reapers, five Cold Mages, and one hulking Golem began pummeling the Coldaxe Elite.
The strange thing was these weird oversized snowflakes created through the combination of multiple modifiers of the goatman. Every time they appeared, they would lock in on a target and follow it until it collided with it or something in its path.
Once that happened, it would deal immense damage and freeze the creature in place.
Furthermore, this Elite would use its Chilling Wind modifier to block in front of it, forcing his minions and Michael to pass through it. Once they did, they would receive damage and a 'Chilled' debuff, slowing them considerably.
After Coldaxe fell, the Stormcaller was much easier to deal with as it only had the Frozen and Chilling Wind modifiers. Furthermore, it was a Mage, so its Life Points were considerably less.
Collecting the three Potion Orbs on the ground, Michael sighed upon seeing how he had already used four of his five Healing Potions in a fight with two Elites. And this was before his Second Class Awakening.
These Frozen modifiers were just as much of a pain to deal with as the Poison ones.
Tracking the next Stormcaller on the MAP, Michael moved silently between the houses of the outpost. He saw lights still on and people huddling together for warmth.
Knowing he couldn't prolong this fight in fear they might freeze to death, he quickly advanced to the next place.
The second Stormcaller was also protected by a Ritual Guardian, which was just as strong as the previous one.
[ Winterspear, Ritual Guardian (Elite) - Level 50
*Cold Enchanted: All attacks deal an extra 350 Cold damage.
*Teleporter: Teleport randomly in a 10-meter radius range to avoid taking damage.
*Frozen: Summons four balls of frost. Upon explosion, they freeze and deal 700 fixed damage in a five-meter radius.
*Multishot: All ranged attacks are mirrored by two more attacks dealing 100% of the initial damage. ]
