It was almost certain the Chinese were waiting for them on the other side. They were outnumbered 100:1, yet none of them showed any fear. Well, most didn’t. Austin watched as a high-level ascender and military officer stood up in front and gave a speech, trying to raise morale.
Austin tuned out the speech, one he had heard many times before, and instead used the communication necklace to call his son. After a few seconds, Jason answered. “Dad? What’s up?”
Austin’s voice was solemn. “I’m about to charge through the portal in the capital of the Rayd Kingdom.”
“Oh.” For a moment there was silence.
“I just wanted to say, I love you.” Austin clenched his hands as he held back the tears in his eyes.
“I love you too Dad.” Jason paused for a second. “And Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Give ‘em hell.”
Austin smiled, a cold glint passing through his eyes. “I will.”
Austin felt his strength increase as the soldiers with support skills cast their buffs over the army. That was a signal. He pulled out a piece of food from his inventory and stuffed it down his throat. His stats increased further. Austin watched as the soldiers in front pulled out massive shields and charged forward, entering the portal. An entire army was waiting for them on the other side.
“Go, go, go!” A commanding officer shouted from the side.
The soldiers charged through the portal one after the other, and soon, it was Austin’s turn.
Chapter 40
“These zombies really stink.” Roy plugged his nose while attacking the undead monster in front of him. The zombie cared not for Roy’s attack. It charged forward, ignoring the long gash across its neck. Roy jumped to the side, just barely dodging the zombie’s lunge. Realizing that the zombie didn’t fear his attacks, Roy adapted his fighting style. He would poke and slash while keeping his distance. Slowly but surely, the zombie’s health was whittled down to zero.
At his side, Olivia finished killing a group of zombies. Unlike Roy, she had no restriction on her skills, so she was able to kill them much faster than Roy. Roy learned that Olivia specialized in lightning-quick attacks and had a wide range of single target crowd control skills. She was incredibly powerful when fighting one-on-one.
Roy glanced into the distance. There, Jason was fighting against a group of undead. Skeletons, zombies, and ghouls were among their numbers. Olivia followed Roy’s line of sight and frowned. “Is he normally like this? I haven’t known him for long, so I don’t know.”
“No.” Roy’s eyebrows pressed together. “He seems anxious. When I asked earlier, he didn’t explain.”
Olivia shrugged. “He’ll get over it. No point in forcing the issue.”
Roy glanced at Olivia, disagreeing inwardly. If someone needed help, it was best to lend a hand, not leave them alone. After spending a little over a week with Olivia, Roy had learned that she was somewhat callous.
The shouting from a nearby ascender group drew Roy’s attention. With his superhuman hearing, he was able to make out what they were saying even though they were a hundred feet away. “We just received news that a monster horde is gathering together in the boneyard.”
“A monster horde, here? Should we go?”
“Monster hordes are dangerous. We should avoid it.”
“I say we go. Monster hordes give increased loot and XP. We might be able to gain a few levels in a single day.”
The members turned towards their leader, a brown-haired woman. She nodded slightly. “We’re going.”
The group of ascenders started running east, to what Roy assumed was the direction of the boneyard. He turned to Olivia. “Did you hear that?”
Olivia narrowed her eyes. “I’ve never fought against a monster horde before.”
“Is it really that dangerous?” Roy asked curiously. He knew that monster hordes appeared when monsters gathered together. In addition to having lots of elites, there were even field bosses. Based on what the group of ascenders said, it appeared that monster hordes gave bonus XP and loot. Roy had long noticed that it took much longer to level up than it was at the start. He was currently level 43, and every level took days now.
“Should be.” Olivia gave a slight nod.
“We’re going.” Jason’s voice came from behind, startling them.
Roy spun around. “To the monster horde?”
Jason nodded and turned, heading east. Olivia followed after him without a word. Roy sighed. “It should be fine, right?”
The twenty-sixth floor through the twenty-ninth floor were a haven for undead monsters. Zombies, skeletons, ghouls, abominations, ghosts, possessed objects, necromancers. All sorts of undead could be found on these floors. These floors were simultaneously popular and unpopular. It took a special type of person to enjoy fighting rotting monsters. Most important was that these floors dropped many spells for mages. Curses and summoning spells were the most attractive.
Unlike the previous floors, these floors were dark and dreary. The moon perpetually hung in the sky, dyeing the land blood red. An almost inaudible howling came from the wind, spooking newcomers.
Not long after, Jason, Olivia, and Roy entered the boneyard. It was a wasteland littered with broken and debilitated bones. With every step Roy took, there would be a crunch. As they ran deeper into the boneyard, he noticed other ascender groups. Some were running out of the boneyard, their bodies sporting multiple wounds, while others ran deeper inside. When Roy saw one ascender covered in bite marks, he shivered.
Roy glanced at Jason, his expression worried. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
Jason didn’t respond, though Olivia gave him a look of disdain. Her meaning was clear. If you’re too afraid, then just leave. Roy gritted his teeth, unsure of what to do. Jason was clearly behaving differently. He was reckless. Over the past few months, Roy had learned that Jason was an excessively cautious person. For him to behave like this, something must have happened.
An arrow suddenly shot past Roy’s head, snapping him away from his thoughts. He looked up, shocked at what he found. In front of him were thousands of undead. Maybe even tens of thousands. At the edge of the undead army were hundreds of ascenders, fighting with everything they had.
To Roy’s dismay, Jason sped up. He pulled out his shield and smashed into the horde of undead, targeting a group of skeletons. Individually they weighed less than fifty pounds, so they were sent flying into the air when they made contact. Jason didn’t stop. He used his superior strength to bulldoze his way deeper into the horde. Olivia was at his back, her daggers flashing. Unwilling to be left behind, Roy clenched his teeth and followed after them.
Jason’s charge was stopped when he slammed into an abomination, a giant hulking creature with over five hundred pounds of flesh. As if enraged, Jason growled as his sword bisected the abomination in half. The top half of the abomination fell to the ground with a thud.
Five ghouls, small hunchbacked creatures with black wriggling flesh, jumped towards Jason from different directions. Just as they were about to bite into him, a transparent green prism flickered into being with Jason as the center. Bulwark. The ghouls’ attacks were absorbed by the spell.
Jason flashed a grim smile as he suddenly spun in place. A thick beam of grey energy shot out of his sword, damaging every monster within fifteen feet. Cleave, stage two. The upgrade cost a hundred battle energy, along with an additional five feet of range. Another two waves of energy blasted outwards, killing nearly a hundred undead.
Roy gasped in shock as he witnessed this. He, Olivia, and Jason now stood in an empty circle, right in the middle of the monster horde. Olivia laughed. She charged towards the nearest zombie, attacking five times in less than a second. The zombie’s head was sliced into pieces. In the next moment, the undead next to her dispersed into light. She moved so fast that Roy’s eyes could barely keep up with her. She’s so strong. Has she been holding back this whole time?
The ground trembled.
Roy looked over and found Jason clashing with an abomination. It wielded a massive cleaver, which Jason blocked with his shield every time. The abomination roared, swinging wildly. As they fought, the once clear circle was again filled with undead. Roy chastised himself for doing nothing and entered the fray.
Once he built up enough damage, Jason unleashed Shield Blast, hitting all of the undead in front of him. Jason pushed himself harder as his mind focused on only one thing: strength. I need to get stronger! He had wasted too much time training Roy. Maybe if he had gone all out in improving his strength, he might have been able to convince his father. All he could think about was the massacre of Brazil. Would his father just be another nameless corpse?
Jason tried to activate Cleave, yet nothing happened. Face grim, he realized his battle energy was nearly zero. Not only that, he found that his stamina was almost empty. Jason’s mind cleared up. What am I doing?
“Look out!” Roy shouted.
Jason’s eyes widened in surprise when he found himself flying through the air. The green shield around him cracked before dissipating into nothing. He felt Tank’s anxiety and fear. Jason reached up and pulled Tank into his embrace before curling into a ball. He hit the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
He forced down the pain coming from his side and jumped to his feet. Roy appeared at his side in his heritage equipment, holding off the nearby undead. In a moment of clarity, Jason glanced around the battlefield. “Where’s Olivia?”
“I don’t know!” Roy shouted while kicking away a skeleton. “She disappeared a long time ago!”
A long time ago? How long have we been fighting? Jason had been thinking about his father. He hadn’t paid attention to the battle and instead let his instincts take over. Jason clutched his side, only to find that his body had almost been cleaved in half. He chuckled bitterly. I’m such a fool.
The ground shook. A giant monstrosity stumbled over, a mace in its hands. No wonder I’m in such a bad shape. I was hit by an undead giant. Jason’s face was grim as he read the information of the field boss. Roy stepped in between the giant and Jason, his intent clear.
Jason called out, his voice tinged with regret. “Roy, just leave me. Save yourself.”
Roy raised his sword. “No!”
The giant let out a growl as it slowly made its way over. In response, the other undead pulled back, giving Jason and Roy a wide berth. Sighing heavily, Jason pulled out a health potion and downed it. It restored two hundred health. Barely anything. Unfortunately, potions had a two-minute cooldown.
Jason stumbled over to Roy, overcome with disappointment. He had failed. Failed humanity. Over what? The thought of his father dying in Brazil? He failed humanity over that? Failed Roy’s final wish? How foolish.
Roy turned to Jason, a grin on his face. “Don’t tell me you’ve given up?”
Jason paused. Roy’s eyes were full of life, like that day on the final floor. When all others had given up, Roy was the only one still looking forward. What drives him? Jason didn’t understand.
Jason patted Roy’s shoulder. “Are you confident in getting us out of here?”
“Not a bit.” Roy’s answer stunned Jason into silence. “But… I believe you can.”
Before Jason could respond, Roy placed his hand against Jason’s chest. Suddenly, a bright yellow light surrounded Roy. Jason’s eyes widened in surprise. Holy magic?! Roy had holy spells this early? How? Realization came over him. Roy was a natural-born.
Jason’s health recovered to max in a split second. Only one spell could do this. Lay on Hands. A spell that fully recovered the life of a target in exchange for a hefty fee of mana. The spell had a one-hour cooldown as well. Roy didn’t stop. He plunged his sword in the ground, causing the ground to thrum with yellow light. Consecration. A spell that dealt damage to monsters and healed allies at the same time, as long as you stood upon the holy ground. The duration was dependent on the spell’s grade and level.
Jason’s thoughts spun. Skills that favored the sword, and holy magic. If Jason assumed that the skills for the sword were from Roy’s mother, and the holy magic was from Roy’s father, then that could only leave two people. Was Roy’s last name Kraus?
As Roy’s mana plummeted, he felt drained. He staggered, nearly falling to the ground. A firm hand helped him stand. Roy glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Jason handed over Tank. “Just watch.”
His health fully recovered, and his stamina and battle energy slightly restored, Jason strode forward to meet the field boss.
Chapter 41
The undead giant was the field boss version of a skeleton. Unlike weak skeletons, the undead giant was stronger. Much stronger. Just a single hit from its mace had left a gaping hole in Jason’s side.
The undead giant stumbled forward, its foot stepping upon the holy ground. The magic powering the spell caused the undead giant to flinch backwards. Holy magic was the weakness of an undead, so it felt an instinctual fear towards the spell.
Jason strode forward calmly as he brandished his sword. He cracked his neck and grinned at the undead giant. “You caught me by surprise last time. It won’t happen again.”
As Jason neared, the undead giant roared and raised its mace to the sky before slamming down at Jason’s position. With a calm smile, Jason used Burst as he kicked off the ground. Burst sped up an action by 50%. When he used it to kick off the ground, he disappeared, only to appear at the undead giant’s ankle. Swinging his sword, Jason activated Sever.
There was a loud screech as the sword sliced through bone, causing the undead giant to roar in agony. Unfortunately, the sword ran out of energy a third of the way through. Jason clicked his tongue in irritation. A field boss’ body was much tougher than a common monster. He would need to upgrade his sword to increase his damage, or level up the Sever skill if he wanted to sever a field boss’ limb.
Wind brushed against Jason’s hair, warning him of the impending attack from above. He jumped backwards, narrowly dodging the undead giant’s hand. The ground shook underneath his feet, but with Jason’s mastery over his body, it wasn’t a problem. He expertly closed in on the undead giant’s right ankle and activated Sever, back to back. His battle energy was nearly depleted, but the result was worth it.
The undead giant roared as it fell to the ground, sending dirt and dust into the air. Jason took this chance and weaved in between the undead giant’s rib cage, sending out attack after attack. His sword only left shallow white marks against the hard bone, but even so, the undead giant’s health fell.
Feeling waves of pain coming from inside its body, the undead giant reached through its ribs with its hand, grasping wildly. Jason ducked underneath the hand, not forgetting to attack as he did. A game of tag began, much to the undead giant’s horror. It could only watch as its health fell, and soon it dispersed into light, revealing Jason within.
A few ability books dropped, which Jason promptly picked up before running over to Roy.
During the past minute, Roy’s headache subsided somewhat. He smiled brightly as he handed Tank over to Jason. “I knew you could do it.”
“All thanks to you.” Jason placed Tank on his head before giving Roy a pat on his shoulder.
Roy glanced around. Now that the undead giant’s influence over the weaker undead was gone, they were closing in on them. Thousands of them. Roy’s mana and stamina were spent, and to make matters worse, consecration’s duration ran out. He chuckled bitterly. “Well, we put up a good fight, huh?”
“What do you mean?” Jason gave him a sly grin. “Isn’t getting out quite easy?”
Roy looked up at Jason in confusion, unable to understand what he meant. Weren’t they in the middle of the undead army? How was it easy to get out?
Jason pointed to the sky.
As realization dawned upon Roy, Jason jumped into the air and summoned his glider. He immediately activated Air Burst, sending him further up into the sky. Roy slapped his head. “Ho
w come I didn’t think of that?”
Just as the undead closed in on Roy, he jumped up and copied Jason. Together, they flew over the undead horde. Roy gulped as he saw the seemingly endless army. He even spotted a few field bosses. Is this the power of a monster horde? I can’t believe we charged in headfirst.
Slowly but surely, they were getting closer to the ground. Thankfully, by the time they were just about to collide into the undead, Air Burst came off cooldown. In this manner, they made it to the edge of the undead horde. Jason unsummoned his glider and landed on the ground with a soft thud.
Together, Roy and Jason ran from the undead army. Only when their stamina was depleted did they turn around to take a look. Roy sighed heavily. “How is it possible to wipe out such a big army?”
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