Strength: 16
Dexterity: 29
Vitality: 35
Magical Power: 44
Magical Capacity: 135
Control: 268
Points Available: 0
134 total Undead minions—which seemed like a ridiculously overpowered number. Rowan chuckled once and accepted it. He needed all the help he could find with only two allies on his side. If the AI controller decided this was balanced, then so be it. It’d make his dark empire come true all the more sooner. Splendid, truly.
Though he needed that Mana Shield right now. He'd die to a single arrow judging from his low armor and health points.
Rowan jogged to catch up to the girls’ teleporting figures, Ambiguous in flashes of purple and Gabrielle in puffs of smoke. He’d need the Necromancer’s variant on that skill as soon as possible. Such mobility was unheard of in other online role-playing games. There had to be a downside to that movement skill. He made a note to ask as he passed the skeleton of a child in a long dress on a lawn.
Could Ione’s Dark Conversion work on skeleton minions? They were technically from a single corpse…
Why not try? Rowan picked up the remains, cradling the bones in his arms. The thing threatened to fall apart every few steps. And the fact that he was carrying the skeleton of a child whom Gabrielle had killed didn't bother him more than a twinge in his belly. Some things about his psyche were just permanently changed. For better or worse. Rowan rather liked this new compromise between his old and psychotic self. It was… Refreshing.
Rowan approached a grass clearing beginning to fill with child corpses. He placed the skeleton by another girl. Then it hit him.
What if the children and adults refused to cooperate straight off? They knew Gabrielle had killed them. He’d been blinded by the thought of a dark empire. He couldn’t keep them as minions else they slowly decay and he needed the minion slots in the near-future.
Gabrielle and Ambiguous hadn’t brought up this point. They’d either assumed he had a plan or hadn’t thought of this themselves. Where would he hold 134 people? Gabrielle’s cave system? There was roughly enough space judging from what she’d described. If they needed to eat then they’d need food—which he didn’t have.
Rowan stood, his mind in a storm while the girls finished with the last couple of corpses. It had taken less than thirty minutes and he only had a few ideas.
“Well,” Ambiguous said, “What are you waiting for?”
Rowan sighed. “I can’t keep them as minions or they’ll decay and I need the slots for stronger minions.”
“Oh boy,” she laughed, her body animating in mirth. “And you’re going to have to give them new life now, which you hadn’t thought through back there.”
“Yes.” He scowled, no solutions clear.
"And here I thought Mr. Necromancer had a plan." She crossed her arms as Gabrielle blinked to her side with the last adult corpse.
Gabrielle said, “Something wrong?”
Rowan nodded and Ambiguous said, “He didn’t think of what happens after we give them sentience.” She laughed again.
“Ah…” Gabrielle scratched her chin. “Just use your mass stasis you got the other day!” She pointed at Ambiguous.
“Mass Stasis?” Rowan blurted. That sounded exactly what he needed. Chaos-Mystic was looking better by the minute. Perhaps even better than Witch-Doctor though not as great as Occult-Engineer or Necromancer. Definitely not Necromancer.
Ambiguous deflated. She drawled, "I'll only do this because I owe Gabby some favors and she's our only support. Mass Stasis lasts 72 hours maximum and reserves seventy-five percent of my Mana. It's much weaker against players or higher level NPCs and I'd be locked out of most my high-mana skills except a few weak. I can still Mass-Teleport though because that one is a high-cooldown low mana skill."
“Goody! Use that for now.”
Perfect. Rowan’s luck streak wouldn’t end.
But he’d still need to figure out something for after 72 hours. He couldn’t just do now and worry later. More problems could always arise and a ticking time-bomb usually worsened situations by several-fold. Difficult. Very difficult.
“Rowan?” Gabrielle said, blinking in front of him. “Are you gonna raise them?”
He offered her a little smile and she returned it. “Give me a bit. I’m thinking if I can convince them to side with us someway. The skill says their personalities will change, leaning to evil. So maybe it won’t be too difficult.”
“Fine, you have one and a half hours before they get here.” Ambiguous said, hand on her hip. She was getting impatient, understandably. The enemy neared by the second.
Sitting down on the park bench, Rowan looked up at the stars and breathed deep, maximizing blood-flow to his brain. Ambiguous didn't seem to care and wasn't keen on helping and Gabrielle was just as clueless apart from that one tip about Ambiguous' skill. Mass Stasis. Her skill…
He looked at her, “Can you list some of your skills for me? Ones that you think might be useful?”
She glowered at him but obliged after Gabrielle poked her in the ribs five times. “Come on… My dark continent awaits!”
Ambiguous’ skill details popped up in Rowan’s interface one by one and a plan began to sprout. Risky, full of unpredictable variables, and failure was high. He’d also need to convince the girls. But if it worked his ability as a tactician and leader would show—important for ruling an empire.
He shook his head and considered all other plans. Gabrielle sat next to him and also began to think, mirroring him. She offered a skill dialogue and idea here and there, some good, others creative and bizarre. Her presence helped somewhat.
Ambiguous huffed and flashed onto the branch of a tree, gazing up at the crescent moon.
Chapter 19
Light Screens
Gregorovitch Raynare (Priest) has offered you a resurrection. Do you accept? (Speak Yes or No)
Jonathan Lee stared at the alert and hung his head in shame. He had let down his party and his guild and the king of Draconia. He’d let them all down and failed to repay them for their kindness, for their understanding, for the power leveling he’d received back in mid alpha. The entire party had been wiped because he’d panicked and made a stupid, rash decision like a first-time soccer captain. In hindsight, rushing the party into the temple like that was batshit crazy. A horrible, foolhardy move a party leader should never make.
He’d been too desperate to stop LeMort from turning Rowan to the dark. And in the end, it had happened anyway. A Death-Knight or Necromancer was on the loose in Aeon Chronicles. The A rank Death-Knight boss that’d been taken down in early beta was enough of a nightmare. Now they had a player version to deal with—supported by LeMort and Ambiguous Pain. Jonathan clenched every muscle in his body, the distant touch of Rowan’s transformation till whisking against his skin.
Gregorovitch Raynare: Yo, are you gonna accept? We’re about to move out.
And Light’s Justice hadn’t even been mad at him. Only momentary annoyance and then Lance’s usual understanding speech.
Jonathan sighed and said, “Yes.”
Greenwood Capital faded into view around him. The moon shone bright overhead, wide cobbled streets and tall wooden buildings shrouded in a faint, pale glow. He stood on a hill at the western spawn point fountain, the poorer area by the farms and surrounding dense forest. The landscape rolled in waves into the east, the architecture gradually morphing into granite, a grand castle at the center watching over the city. A floating, giant crystal atop its set of spires emitted a hemisphere of Arcane Shield, reaching just beyond the city walls and protecting a good chunk of the farmland.
It was a medieval human paradise home to over half a million NPCs that had grown from a couple hundred thousand since the release of alpha. Over twenty-one in-game years had passed, Jonathan clocking in just under one and a half. He felt oddly youthful thanks to the VR pod’s tech—like he hadn’t aged a single day since starting.
Gregorovitch Raynare was his real name. This was his first online game and he hadn't read the memo of most players choosing typical MMO-like names. He was a thirty-something-year-old doctor from Europe and one of the guild's best and original supports. Thanks to the recent advances in medical robotics, many non-specialized doctors had been working a lot less. Rain spent most of his free time in this world, supporting as a healer wherever he could. The game seemed to bring him happiness.
Jonathan breathed in the fresh, grassy air. “Yeah, it’s just…” He shook his head. He had to move on and learn from past mistakes—as Lance always said.
Rain's hand grasped his shoulder, Jonathan barely feeling the contact through his plate armor. "Look. It's not your fault. We didn't think LeMort would call for both Insane and Ambiguous. She must have called in a bunch of favors to get them to come together."
They hadn’t attacked together but the point was clear: sending Jonathan ahead was a group decision made by the guild leaders. Though he’d still performed poorly. He swallowed his words of guilt and nodded as Rain walked back to the assembling guild. They still had work to do, securing the temple and scouring the area for LeMort and co. Though they’d likely be far from the scene thanks to Ambiguous’ Mass Teleport skill—superior to Arcane Mage’s Group Portal.
The guild and allies loitered by the fountain and stalls, a few stragglers porting in. A larger portal opened and ten players strode through. Lance walked through with a casual gait. He had canceled the bandit king raid and pulled back the defense line. And so was—
So he had heard. Dorian Dubois of the Fire Mage’s guild, also known as Dorian Ambersworn in-game. Max’s brother. The only Fire Mage who had evolved into a Fire Lord so far, meeting the requirements at level 210 and obtaining the necessary items to offer at the Fire Oculus. Deep bags hung below his eyes, a mix of sadness and anger and confidence on his face. Jonathan could only guess what he felt at the moment. He’d let Dorian down too, who had once saved the day during a boss invasion.
Jonathan sucked on his cheek and trudged to the group. Lance and the leaders were in heated discussion with Dorian and other guild officers. Multiple quiet low voices drifted to his ears.
“Ice-Dark,” an officer said, worry in her voice. Jonathan had long given up on remembering everyone’s names and just relied on Examine if necessary. She continued, “Do you know what this means? We can barely take on LeMort with an entire party and she always gets away with our loot.”
“We still have time,” Lance said, his tone smooth and confident, “Even with her power leveling him it’ll take weeks to reach a mid-high level.” His full-helm was pulled up, a risk but this was Greenwood Capital. Protection and shield wards lined every street.
Dorian spoke, “Days is weeks in this game and not everyone plays every day.”
“True,” a different officer said, “I think we’re in trouble. Especially when the S bosses are gaining strength.”
"Look everyone." Lance sighed. "We're not giving up. Synaptic confirmed the AI controller continuously balances the game. If his Ice-Dark class is too powerful then either we'll be buffed or he will be nerfed."
Dorian chuckled. “For all we know, its definition of balance could be anything. LeMort’s Witch-Doctor is the most broken thing in the game. She does as much damage as I do. For a support.”
A third officer spoke. His voice was calm and calculating. “We have hundreds of thousands of players and millions of NPCs on our side. Considering this, we are overpowered, objectively speaking.”
Outrage broke out at that comment, Dorian and Lance arguing in disbelief at such heresy.
Jonathan stepped into the group, his status as a guild officer granting him a place in these discussions. Lower ranking members were also welcome of course—though they were less than enthusiastic. Those that desired a leadership position had been promoted long ago. Few recruits desired to lead. All the work it took to lead a large guild put them off greatly. “Hey everyone,” he said and cut off the brewing shouting match, “Sorry about what—”
Dorian cut him off, “Look, man, it’s fine. We all underestimated the situation.” Though the look he gave Jonathan said otherwise. His Draconian eyes swirled with fire, hiding his inner rage at the situation. At Jonathan. And most of all, at Rowan. It had been near-unanimous within the upper-echelons of the guild that this was Rowan Black after Dorian had told his story. But a good portion of the officers was skeptical, rightly so.
“Alright, it looks like no more are coming.” Lance pulled down his full-helm and held his rune-blade high. A burst of golden-white light lit up the square. “Attention everyone!” Over fifty mid to high-level players cut their chatter and looked at Lance, a very small percentage of the guild and others. A few high-level Draconian NPCs stood among them—nobles out for adventure. Jonathan’s wiped party lingered among them, Day included. She looked quite calm despite dying to Ambiguous.
Lance continued, “Those who have flying mounts ride slightly ahead and scout for ambushes! Stick to the main path and keep up defensive and detection skills! No outside communications apart from the raid channel from this point on! Questions? Understood?!”
A chorus of affirmations sounded, no questions. The majority looked bored, expecting a big nothing-burger mission apart from securing the dark temple and setting up a new outpost. The guild always maintained a stock of Spawnstones and building materials at the ready. There were several with the Construction profession among the group, fortunately. NPC builders, suppliers, and workmen would have to come later after an outpost-keep foundation was set up. Laborious work but needed to keep dark players away from the temple.
Jonathan fetched replacements for the little gear he lost from his pouch and mounted his Light Shard, activating tier 7 Stealth. Only Dorian, Lance, and a couple of officers rode flying mounts, the rest on an assortment of Mana-Steeds. Supports and Paladins cast wards and auras, Mages activating Mana Shield.
The raiding party was off in a thunderous trot while Jonathan flew overhead alongside Lance. Dorian broke off to the left on his Mana-Phoenix granted by his Fire Lord class. Rain flew slightly ahead, channeling a high-level detection ward covering a few miles in radius. Jonathan threw him a Life Link just in case and Lance nodded in approval. Lance rarely relied on Life Link, preferring Light Screen to simply cover an area from ranged attacks and charging dark characters.
But the problem with Light Screen was its weakness against chaos damage and curses and its high mana reservation. LeMort had a large arsenal of curses which flew straight through the shield. You see, the AI controller thought it was balanced that the screen only blocked instant-damage attacks. Total crap—if you asked Jonathan for an opinion.
Lance chanted in the primordial language, his unique rarity shield glowing in a fiery light. A final word later, a widescreen protected the entire party from frontal and side attacks, directed by his shield. The screen could be resized at will and absorbed up to a total of ten times Lance's health points at tier 8, resistances and armor included. This skill was the reason why so many tanks picked Paladin over the other two classes. Though the cooldown was high—over ten minutes—upon deactivation or depletion.
Forests, hills, and shallow rivers passed in a peaceful montage after the party rode past the farms and paddocks and windmills, no surprises so far. A herd of deer sprinted away in a field. A random red dragon laid on a close rock formation, watching the group with narrowed eyes and smoky nostrils. Not a sight you’d see every day. Jonathan Examined.
Red Dragon: Level 326
Health: 126,100
Mana: 12,500
Stamina: 30,200
And it was just laying there… Insane.
Jonathan shook his head as the raid chat exploded.
Lance Rider: Don’t attack! They’re neutral as long as you are!
Breaking Day: Maybe it’s looking for s
omething?
Lance Rider: Maybe
Dorian Ambersworn: I heard LeMort kidnapped a baby red a while back. Maybe they’re looking for it.
Dorian’s comment further ignited the chat. Many speculated LeMort had cut up the whelp into potion ingredients. A twinge of sympathy set in Jonathan’s stomach for the dragon and its lost kin. LeMort and her gang needed to be stopped. Chasing her through the world was frustrating but even he and guild admitted the PvP experience was fun despite the terror LeMort had wrought upon the innocent.
New Quest: Baby Red Whelp
Rumors have circulated of Gabby LeMort kidnapping a red dragon whelp. The red dragons appear to be searching for it.
Difficulty: ?
Length: ?
Success Conditions: ?
Failure Conditions: ?
Rewards: ?
Jonathan brushed away the quest for later. The reward was probably an alliance or friendly relations with the red dragons if he rescued the whelp. Though it was unlikely to be alive, the fact that the game granted a quest indicated it was. In some form or another. LeMort possessed frightening voodoo themed skills. He’d taken a tether chain to a voodoo doll once and died before he knew what was happening.
Aeon Chronicles Online_Book 1_Devil's Deal Page 23
