A flash of light from his left caught Garath’s attention and some heinous, poorly designed form of instinct took over. At that moment, Garath was finally able to understand the thousands of cat videos on the internet covering the species’ panic response. All four of his legs sprang like a coiled snake and catapulted him straight up before fully extending and freezing, locked in place. When he had seen the internet videos, Garath had always wonder just what the hell these cats thought they were doing when confronted with a rogue cucumber - now he understood that they were unable to control the maneuver at all.
Milliseconds after his furry white paws left the scaled neck, a bolt of lightning from the Wyvern approaching from his left crashed into the spot he was standing. The raw, forking energy sizzled into the flesh of the reptile below as Garath continued upward.
As the Necrologist flew through the air, yet another Wyvern swooped down from the sky and snagged the little white cat with its obsidian claws. One of the impossibly sharp talons punctured his right hind leg, opening a gushing wound that painted the lower half of his white fuzzy body crimson. The Wyvern flapped its powerful wings and gained altitude quickly, carrying Garath helplessly in its incredibly tight grip. Garath glanced down at the small gold font displaying the scrolling Combat Log in the bottom of his vision.
Begin Combat Log:
[18:39:07.83] Wyvern's Claw hits You for 189 damage (Physical). Damage multiplied by 150% for form size: Tiny.
[18:39:07.83] Wyvern's Claw afflicts You with Bleed, you will lose 17 health per second until healed.
[18:39:08.83] You have lost 17 HP from Bleed.
End Combat Log.
‘Shit. Shit. Shit!’ he thought in panic. It was the only word that came into Garath’s mind and it repeated on an increasingly panicked loop as he tried not to do the simple math to deduce how long he would survive the bleed debuff without healing.
Unfortunately, Garath had always been good at mental math. He knew he had just about half a minute to get himself out of this little pickle and would just have to do his damndest to figure something out. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to cast a Death Bolt without the use of his limbs but couldn’t think of a better time to find out.
Black energy built in front of his feline cranium as his Mana pooled into the spell form. After the required Mana and cast time had elapsed, he released the Death Bolt at point blank range into the Wyvern's underside. It’s grip released as it flew off screaming into the darkening purple sky, and the Necrologist fell.
From over thirty feet in the air, he easily oriented himself and twisted until his feet were below him. He stretched all four legs as far down as he could, the injured leg burning as the muscles protracted. Due to the instinct gained while in his cat form, Garath’s legs acted as shock absorbers to reduce the impact of the landing. The injury already limiting one leg flared in a blinding pain as his toes touched down. His peripherals dimmed and his vision was limited into a blurry vignette. He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness as a Wyvern landed with a crash only a few feet in front of him. His HP had already dropped to under 150 from the Bleed effect and was steadily dropping at a rate of 17 per second, he knew he didn't have long but he was weak and unable to focus from the blood loss and incredible pain. As the Wyvern in front of him reared back and opened its fanged mouth, a white disk appeared below the bleeding Necrologist. The electric energy shot forward as Garath’s tiny form fell, a deadly race that gravity had no chance of winning. The lightning struck Garath in the chest just before he slipped into the dimensional rift.
The fall through time and space felt fluid and he emerged from the second disk only a second later, landing in a bloody puddle of scorched white fur and convulsing muscles in the hallway between the ranged fighters and healers. His HP was at 16/710, and then everything went black.
Chapter 20
Apocalypse 2/3
The intermittent clangs and thumps of battle around him were dull and muffled as the Necrologist returned to consciousness. When he was finally able to peel open his eyes, everything was unusually clear for the dark of night - especially considering the lack of electric lighting. He looked up at the enormous form cradling him and realized that he was still in his House Cat form and was lying in Sharon's lap.
"Meow," he meowed. ‘Oh for fuck sake,’ he thought.
He jumped down, landing softly before shimmering back into his natural form. "What happened?"
"Your idea of a good time, I suppose. You did your best to get killed," Sharon accused with a bite in her tone and a cough drop in her mouth. "But that Athios gal pulled you out at the last second and we," she continued, gesturing at the group of healers standing around her in a tight group in the main hall, "cast some healing spells on you."
"How long was I out?" he asked, as he looked down to inspect himself. He had expected to see some sign of his recent escapade in the form of blood stains or ripped clothing but found none. Apart from the horizontal slash across his chest from the experiment with Warrion, he didn’t have a mark on him.
"About an hour," said Warrion as he walked past the ranged fighters, his daggers shimmering into nothing as he unequipped them. The gangly Assassin looked awful, his eyes sunken and his steps unsteady.
"Is everyone holding up?" Garath wanted to know.
"More or less..." stated Warrion, sounding as though he weren’t entirely certain. "The Wyverns don't respawn, thank God. Less and less of them have been attacking. I think we might have scared them off."
"Don't fuck with The Band," said Garath, smiling weakly.
"We gangsta," the Assassin agreed, nodding seriously. He slumped into a seated position with his back to the wall next to the Necrologist and closed his weary eyes.
Garath felt as bad as Warrion looked. He fumbled through his pockets and found his last Adderall, popped it into his mouth, and dry swallowed it. Though the intense stimulant kept him from feeling tired, per se, his mind and body were on the brink of exhaustion. Luckily, the prompts that awaited his return to consciousness lifted his spirits, if only a little.
Congratulations, Garath! For reaching level(s) 19, 20, and 21, you are awarded +9 Attribute Points (3 per level) and +3 Skill Points (1 per level) to distribute at your discretion. As a Necrologist, you receive +3 Wisdom, +3 Vitality, and +1 Regeneration per level. You have one week to distribute the points before they are assigned for you based on your chosen class.
Unused Attribute Points: 9
Unused Skill Points: 10
New Skills are now available.
He noted the time on his MENU panels, 19:14, before accessing his Profile panel. It had been a while since Garath had taken the time to look over his stats in detail, what with the impending doom of humanity and all that. Next to the holographic representation of himself, his Attributes were listed numerically in a convenient table format.
Garath
Race: Human
Class: Necrologist
Level: 21
Age: 29
Health: 785/800
(base: 690; APs: +110)
Stamina: 100/100
Mana: 810/810
(base: 690; APs: +90 items: +30)
Experience to next Level: 185/68,000
Attributes
Vitality: 80 - Each point of Vitality provides +10 to maximum Health.
Wisdom: 78 - Each point of Wisdom provides +10 to maximum Mana.
Regeneration: 39 - As a Necrologist, each point of Regeneration increases Mana recovery rate by +1.11 per second; Health recovery rate by +.25 per second; and recovery from injury by +2%.
Strength: 5 - In addition to making one stronger, each point of Strength increases physical attack damage by 1% and reduces damage received from physical attacks by .25%.
Dexterity: 10 - In addition to making one more agile, each point of Dexterity improves the critical strike chance of physical attacks by +.3%; the critical strike damage of physical attacks by +3%; and improves chance to dodge by +.5%.
&nb
sp; Unused Attribute Points: 0
With one eye on the fight outside - or rather, the growing lack thereof; just as Warrion had said, less and less Wyverns seemed brave enough to attack The Band after seeing dozens or perhaps even hundreds of their fellow flying reptiles downed by the group - Garath considered his options. After seeing exactly how much damage an unattended Bleed debuff could do to first hand, Garath decided that a bigger Health pool and higher rate of Regeneration would be his best bet at living through any more attacks while taking 150% increased damage in the tiny form. With that in mind, he allocated six Attribute Points into Vitality, two APs into Regeneration, and the last one into Wisdom. He then confirmed his decision and let the improved Attributes wash over him in a rejuvenating tide.
Unused Attribute Points: 0
Next, Garath closed the Profile panel impeding the right third of his vision and replaced it with the expanding list of spells and abilities displayed on his Skill Tree. The Necrologist nearly choked when he saw that three new Skills, all glowing a bright gold to stand out in their individual trees. He started with the left-most tree, Death.
(Available from Level: 20)
Creeping Death
Active
Cost: 55 Mana (.08x base Mana)
30 Meter Range
1 Second Cast
Effect: Bestows your target with the debuff Quickening Entropy, dealing 79 (Death) damage (1x Wisdom) over 30 seconds. Quickening Entropy is a stackable debuff (maximum ten) and the time remaining is refreshed with each application.
*Note: Each subsequent application of Quickening Entropy increases the Mana cost of Creeping Death by 30% if used on the same target.
Cost to Unlock: 5
Unused Skill Points: 10
Garath almost cried at the pure beauty of the Skill and purchased it without a second thought, caution be damned. He knew he may regret spending the points before reading the other options… but it was a stackable DoT that shared a name with one of his favorite Metallica songs. On top of that, it was one of very few Necrologist Skills that didn't have the additional cost of tainting one's soul. How could he possibly not buy it?
Unused Skill Points: 5
Garath smiled to himself as the chorus of Metallica's 1984 hit song rocked on in his head and he moved on to the first new option glowing on the Blood Skill tree. It was another Level 20 Skill that branched off from Sanguine Ward.
(Available from Level: 20)
Black Blood
Active
Cost: 138 Mana (.2x base Mana) + 138 Health (.2x base Health)
Range: Self
Instant Cast
10 Minute Cooldown
Effect: Manipulate your own blood to act as a deadly weapon (1 use) OR as a powerful shield for up to 30 seconds.
Cost to Unlock: 5
Unused Skill Points: 5
Garath frowned. The Blood Skill tree had already given him a spell shield with Sanguine Ward, did he really need a second? The previous Skill descriptions had all listed at least some kind of numerical value correlating to the effect. What exactly did it signify that the description for Black Blood was left so open? To Garath it meant he would have to try it to find out, not something he would be strongly opposed to in a game but, with his real life on the line (in the middle of a very violent apocalypse no less), that uncertainty gave him pause. For all he knew Black Blood could be the single most powerful Skill available to Necrologists (or the most useless) but, without more information, he felt too uncomfortable to spend precious Skill points on it.
Still, something about the vague description on the glowing Skill circle whispered to him. He chewed on his lip pensively. If the shield effect saved his life though, even once, it would be worth everyone one of the five SPs he’d have to spend to get it. Another thought came to mind too, with Sanguine Ward he was only shielded from physical damage - a lesson he had learned rather painfully in the previous waves. Black Blood didn’t specify whether the ‘powerful shield’ effect would protect him from any particular type of incoming damage. Unsure how he felt about the promising, but all-too-vague Skill description, Garath moved on to the next option on the Blood Skill tree.
(Available from Level: 20)
Repurpose Life Force
Active
Cost: 345 Mana (.5x base Mana)
20 Meter Range
2 Second Cast
30 Minute Cooldown
*Additional Cost: Tainted Soul*
Effect: Devour a summoned creature to instantly restore 50% of your maximum Health.
*Tainted Soul: the form containing your soul is soiled.
Cost to Unlock: 5
Unused Skill Points: 5
Garath fought back a laugh after reading the Skill's name, what a casual and succinct epithet. With his relatively high Health pool, murdering a creature that he summoned from Hell with Repurpose Life Force would restore 430 HP to the Necrologist - a definite game changer. Although it was tempting to purchase the massive self heal, he only had enough Skill Points for either Repurpose Life Force or Black Blood. He kicked himself for having purchased Creeping Death without thinking. He knew that would happen. The single target DoT spell was great and he definitely would have purchased it at some point in any case, but how useful would it be in keeping his dumbass alive for the last wave? The answer to that question was simple: a lot less useful than either of the two options he now had to choose between.
‘God damn I need a probably button…’ he thought for at least the seventeenth time in the past twenty-four hours.
Garath was still struggling to form a solid opinion concerning Black Blood. It didn't specify, well, just about anything except the cost and cooldown. Considering the amount of elemental damage the Dragonlings and Wyverns were capable of pumping out though, Garath had to assume that physical damage wouldn't be his biggest or only worry in the final wave. In fact, each wave seemed to have less physical damage and more elemental damage than the last. As of that moment, his only spell shield (Sanguine Ward) only protected him from physical damage. It was becoming apparent that he needed to have some form of protection against non-physical attacks. Crossing his fingers that purchasing the spell with the too-vague Skill description wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass, Garath purchased the Skill Black Blood.
Unused Skill Points: 0
As soon as he confirmed his decision, a prompt appeared and he read it with a crooked grin.
Congratulations, Garath! By unlocking all prerequisite Skills you have unlocked the hidden Skill Death's Medium.
Prerequisite Skills:
Blight; Haunt; Mastery: Pestilent; Black Blood
It almost felt to Garath like the system was rewarding him for making the right choice! He eagerly dismissed the prompt and located the new Skill circle. It wasn't on any one of the three trees but instead appeared on the far left side of what had been an empty space below them. He willed more information to appear and appear more information did.
(Available if/when all prerequisite Skills are unlocked)
Death's Medium
Passive
Effect: If an enemy dies while afflicted by one or more of your damage over time effects, there is a 10% chance to activate Reanimate Dead. The dead will rise again to fight on your behalf for up to 3 minutes.
The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 1) Page 15
