Chapter 175. In a party again

Waking up to the first ray of sunlight, Michael took out one of his pocket watches and checked the time.

[*Yawn* How early is it?](Helen)

"6:22. You can go sleep some more."

[I can't today. I'm meeting the girls for potential trainees. I'll need to walk from city to city with them, and we'll pick fifty of the best for starters.](Helen)

"Huh? You don't have the second training array ready, do you?"

The Necromancer stopped dressing himself up and turned to look at the tigress curiously. If the second array were suddenly ready, it would change many things.

[Not yet. But we don't need the arrays to teach them Wanderer common sense. Plus, if we focus on building their foundation for about a month, they can use the first array you experienced. Then, if the second one is ready, that's fine. If not, they'll start clearing Dungeons. If there's one thing we don't lack, it is people. We can train multiple waves, and with each one *YAWN*, we'll know what must be improved further.](Helen)

"I see. What about tonight? Are we still doing that?"

[Yes. Mira and Beatrice have been hounding me, so we can't escape it. Didn't you already instruct the kitchen staff on what to do?](Helen)

Hearing the tigress use the word 'staff' instead of 'servants,' Michael smiled and kissed her. 

"Let's go downstairs. I'll prepare you something delicious. I managed to steal it from Aylin's inventory."

The couple enjoyed waffles with cocoa milk, after which they separated at the Waypoint. 

As for the event later today, it was a barbeque party where they would enjoy good food and share the knowledge recently learned from Lorath's letters. As it turns out, the content of the letters was so ridiculous that not even Helen had heard anything remotely similar before.

So, tonight, the relevant parties in Kyovashad would meet at a barbeque party and listen to the story of Sanctuary's origins. 

After a few steps forward, the Necromancer exited the Waypoint in Menestad and spotted the Barbarian trio. Only now did he realize that not all of them were tall and bulky as hell, but there were some normal ones in the midst. 

[You're here!](Gonk)

"Good morning. I hope I am not late."

[Not late at all. We just arrived minutes ago. These two are Kor'Tha and Amurin, both proud warriors of the Silver Wolf Tribe. Introduce yourselves, you two!](Gonk)

[*Sigh* No wonder Chieftain Glous always complains about your laziness. You can't be bothered even to talk. I am Kor'Tha, the current Shaman of the Silver Wolf Tribe. That's both my Class and my calling. I have just finished my Second Class Awakening, and I am Level 51.](Kor'Tha)

[Amurin, warrior of the Silver Wolf Tribe. I am a Spear Thrower. Level 50 and in the process of undergoing my Second Class Awakening.](Amurin)

"It is a pleasure to meet both of you. I am Michael Corbett, a Level 47 Necromancer. I promise I won't hold you back."

[As if! I heard you recently fought the Butcher and won.](Gonk)

[What!? Is that true?](Amurin)

[That's most impressive! It looks like we'll have an easy fight ahead of us.](Kor'Tha)

Looking at Gonk with surprise, Michael smiled and wordlessly thanked the man. He was surprisingly intelligent for his size, even capable of throwing such a line in so that the other two wouldn't underestimate or look down on the Necromancer for his lower level. 

Keeping in mind the Barbarians' temperament, Michael recounted the fight with the Butcher in the Dungeon, much to the amazement of all three party members. 

After being invited to the party, the second surprise of the day came from Gonk's level.

"You reached 52 so fast? I heard that it's super hard to level up after going through the Second Awakening."

[Mhm. I finished the Capstone Dungeon and advanced to Tier 3 World Difficulty. The experience gained is 100% more than on Tier 1, and gold is also increased by 15%.](Gonk)

"What about the monsters?"

[Ugh... don't remind me. First, after accepting the tier difficulty change, all your resistances drop to 20%.](Gonk)

[What!? You didn't say anything about that before! All of them?](Kor'Tha)

[All. And if that isn't enough, you'll start encountering Champion monsters everywhere. These Champions have a Resistance Aura modifier, which obviously increases their total resistance by a certain amount. In the Capstone Dungeon, I fought against an Elite with this modifier. All the damage I dealt was reduced by 50% when facing it...](Gonk)

The other three men cursed at the revelation, worried about their future. Still, none of them looked deterred. The two warriors of the Silver Wolf Tribe were more excited than before, stunning the Necromancer.

"Kor'Tha, why do you look so surprised? Haven't you also gone through all that?"

[Not yet. The Capstone Dungeon must be cleared solo. I have already tried and failed twice already. It's a daunting trial as a Mage Class. Fortunately, after this Stronghold Event, I should level up and max out one of my main skills. With it, I am confident in also challenging the Nightmare Tier.](Kor'Tha)

"It's called 'Nightmare Tier'? How... lovely. What about the items? I heard that after Level 50 if you switch to Tier 3 World Difficulty, a new type of rarity appears among the looted items."

[The Sacred items, yes. Not only those but there's a very small chance of Unique items for different Classes to drop. I didn't get lucky yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I want to change my weapon.](Gonk)

"Oh, right! Speaking of weapons..."

Taking out the Grizzly's Maul and handing it over to a confused Gonk, the man gawked at the hammer in his hands after seeing its description.

[Isn't this our Sacred weapon!? Did father retrieve it from Rimescar Cavern? No... he wouldn't have gone alone. I guess he tasked you with it.](Gonk)

"Father? Wait! Your dad's Chieftain Glous!?"

[Huh!? You didn't know?](Amurin)

"I... didn't. Neither of them mentioned it. I know Gonk is a warrior of the Bear Tribe, but I didn't know he's the Chieftain's son."

[Well... father is probably still angry with me. After all, I left the tribe to become a mercenary Wanderer instead of searching for the Ancients' Call with him.](Gonk)

After ten more minutes explaining how he retrieved the hammer and the Side Quest he went through with Chieftain Glous, the four men reached Menestad's eastern exit, where they all summoned their mounts.

The Shaman Kor'Tha stood out among the group with his silver wolf the size of a horse. While the other three looked on jealously, the party went to Kor Dragan.

"Ugh... speaking of which, would we face Tier 3 monsters since Gonk is the party leader!?"

[No. Before creating the party, I already lowered my World Difficulty Tier back to 2. I don't have the confidence to clear the Stronghold Event on Nightmare Tier yet...](Gonk)

"That's good. Also, Amurin, is your Class a rare one? This is the first time I have heard of it. It's a ranged Class, I assume?"

[Yes. I can show you rather than explain.](Amurin)

Pointing at a group of Ghouls ahead, Amurin grabbed the air around him, and a javelin was conjured. Then, while still on horseback, he hurled the projectile at one of the Ghouls.

Halfway to the target, the javelin burst into flames and accelerated significantly. It instantly pierced and killed the poor weakling before it or its pack could react.

Wide-eyed at the formidable display, Michael activated his energy vision and saw that the weapon he threw was condensed from fire-element energy. 

"Elemental damage? Can you use the other elements as well?"

[Mhm. I still have trouble with lightning and poison, but I can use fire, water, earth, air, and even light. I heard from the old Shaman that even darkness could be used, but I haven't become proficient enough yet.](Amurin)

[All in due time.](Kor'Tha)

The party discussed their plan once they were about ten minutes away from Kor Dragan. It was reasonably straightforward: enter, kill, re-ignite the Wanderer Shrine, and return for food and drinks to Kyovashad.

It wasn't that the Barbarians were simple-minded, but rather, they were VERY confident in their prowess. 

[The fort is in sight! Look ahead!](Kor'Tha)

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Wall as tall as Kyovashad's. What about the Cathedral's personnel? Are they inside the fort?"

[Mhm. We received the request a week ago, but the church delayed it until yesterday. Apparently, they wanted to handle it by themselves, but Aylin hinted that something might've gone wrong during the past couple of days and asked for help as a result.](Gonk)

"That sounds comforting..."

[The walls! Look at the base of the walls!](Amurin)

"Huh!?"

The walls were probably ten to fifteen meters tall, yet corpses of Ghouls stacked up to half the distance from the ground to their top.

As the group dismounted and entered a battle formation, Michael summoned his minions and had them look through the corpses.

"Shit... Not only Ghouls but Revenants and Blood Mages also. Furthermore, I found at least five Knight Penitents fully armed under the monsters' corpses."

[Now we know why the requested help...](Gonk)

[They've been overrun. Probably, there's nobody left alive inside...](Amurin)

[The Cathedral's hubris is as foolish as it always was. That's why I dislike even seeing the damned idiots.](Kor'Tha)

Everyone was annoyed at the unnecessary loss of lives, but what was done was done. They couldn't bring the dead back to life, so they would do the next best thing: avenge them!

Seeing Gonk effortlessly waving the two-handed hammer, Michael sighed in relief. Convincing the man took a while, given that the Necromancer earned the sacred weapon fairly. 

As for accepting it as a gift from a friend, Gonk was torn until he mentioned that the item was Class-restricted and it would end up gathering dust in his inventory.

'It's not like I didn't try selling it to Zivek, but the Blacksmith cursed and chased me out of the forge. He said he doesn't want the Bear Tribe hunting him for destroying their precious weapon with links to their ancestors. So... it's better to have someone capable of wielding it.'

[How is it, Kor'Tha? Can you see inside?](Amurin)

Looking at the eagle flying above them, Michael became increasingly impressed by the second with how versatile the Shaman Class was.

The eagle was a pet summoned from the Spirit World, and it allowed the Shaman to link its vision with his. So now, they were using it to scout the fort.

[Tons of Ghouls, Vampire Bats, and other types of disgusting undead. Uhm... no offense Michael.](Kor'Tha)

"None taken. Anything else?"

[There are some strange blood boils around the fort. I see two big ones and lots of smaller ones. The monsters seem to guard them.](Kor'Tha)

[Those should be our objectives, then. Any Elites?](Gonk)

[Plenty of them. I counted at least nine so far. Shit... 13 actually.](Kor'Tha)

Without hesitation, everyone downed an Elixir of Undead Slaying from their reserves. Given the large horde inside, the extra damage would come in handy.

"How do we get in? The fort is locked down, and I don't think we can scale it barehanded. I mean, we could, but there's a risk of drawing the monster's attention, and I don't want to get hit from above while stuck ten meters away from the ground."

[The monsters destroyed a portion of the wall on the western side. There's a makeshift ladder there.](Kor'Tha)

"Human or monster-made?"

[It's a proper ladder. I'd say human-made...](Kor'Tha)

[That's a bit problematic.](Amurin)

"So, you also think there was a traitor in the fort? Great... at least I'm not the only one."

The Barbarians' faces flashed with anger and disgust at the mention of the word 'traitor.' Nothing was more cowardly in a warrior's eyes than betraying one's kin. 

After discussing it for a while, Michael convinced the group to let him climb first. Then, he could resummon his minions and have them scout the area around while waiting for the trio to follow.

Amurin would be the second one due to his ranged capability, while Kor'Tha would be third as the most versatile role. It wasn't like the man needed protection, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Gonk would climb last since he needed to ensure they wouldn't get attacked from behind and placed in a vulnerable situation.

"Okay. Let's get moving. Oh, right! Do you three have plans for tonight?"

[Huh? I don't think we do. We were planning to drink at Aunty Raskya's.](Gonk)

"Then you can join me at Helen's place. We're throwing a big party with tons of food. All six representatives of the Sanctuary will be there."

[Miss Mira, also?](Kor'Tha)

Raising an eyebrow at the VERY enthusiastic tone, Michael looked questioningly at Gonk.

The latter shrugged and grinned.

[A strong and beautiful woman. Who wouldn't like her? If I didn't have Connie, I would be interested myself.](Gonk)

"Huh!? Connie!? You're together?"

[Could you three, please focus... *Sigh* How did I become the voice of reason?](Amurin)

Michael planned to figure out the gossip later. For now, they had some monsters to kill.