The Healthbars above the heads of the two Necro-Shaman were dropping quickly, but so was Garath’s Mana. They were both below a third of their maximum Health by the time they started hurling magic from their matching staffs at the fluffy Necrologist. The little orbs of destruction moved too quickly for Garath to dodge, even in his agile House Cat form.
After failing to avoid the first handful, he stopped trying to avoid them entirely, opting instead to kill these creatures before they could kill him. With the dungeon’s buff in place to reduce incoming damage by 20%, he took the blows as they came, all the while dishing out his own punishment in the form of fiery green orbs.
The duel between Garath and the Necro-Shaman finally came to an end as one of the gnolls dropped lifeless to the ground, followed by the other in short order. The Necrologist wasn’t in great shape with his Health under half and his Mana down to its final third, but he’d won. Garath’s demons were released from their prisons when the gnolls that placed them there died. Bill barreled toward his summoner, a sight that Garath may have found endearing in his natural form but found terrifying standing less than a foot tall. With a slightly panicked mental command, Garath sent the Cambionic Fel Hound wheeling about to assist the others battling the few still-breathing gnolls.
Garath swelled with pride as he watched a gnoll turn away from Auto and sprint toward Daisy and Sharon. It was immediately stopped in its tracks by thorny roots that launched out of the ground. Just after that, a Daisy Blast! detonated against the rooted gnoll’s face, landing the killing blow. Her Mana was near empty, but in a flash, nearly a third of her blue Manabar was refilled. The potions they’d all received at the onset of The Culling were great, but the Mana Batteries that Daisy was able to create restored a great deal more, and they did so instantly.
As he hurried over to help mop up the remaining enemies, Garath noticed two undead gnolls hacking at the living gnolls that had been their allies moments before, a welcome addition to the team courtesy of the passive Necrologist Skill, Death’s Medium. The gnolls now fighting for Garath only had a fraction of the Attributes that they’d had in life, but they would follow his orders and fight his enemies for the next three minutes. With the help of Garath’s growing army of undead and demonic creatures, the remaining dungeon mobs went down quickly. Sharon, Daisy, and Garath were all incredibly low on Mana after the rough fight and Auto was nearly completely covered in blood, both his own and that of his enemies. For long minutes, the Party silently rested.
After catching their breath and tapping the Mana Crystals hovering above the corpses of their slain enemies, the Party got to looting. In all, the second gnoll camp netted each of them 11.25 Mana Crystals, a handful of various gear to drop off at the armory later, and an impressive 46,350 Experience. The last of which brought Garath a very welcome notification that was minimized during combat.
Congratulations, Garath! For reaching Level 30, you are awarded 5 Attribute Points (3 per Level and + 2 per Level due to your status as a Leader of Man) and 2 Skill Points (1 per Level and +1 per Level due to your status as a Leader of Man) 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: 5
Unused Skill Points: 20
New Skills are now available.
Garath did an internal first pump. He finally hit the mark. A quick look at his Party let him know that Sharon had also reached Level 30 from the skirmish, and Daisy had made it to Level 29. Garath knew that they were in a bit of a hurry, and that Atlas was still waiting alone on the other side of the mysterious door by himself, but the Necrologist insisted that both himself and Sharon take a second to check out and purchase the Skills that became available at Level 30. From what Alice had told him, the Level 30 Skills were incredibly powerful across the board for every Class, a large part of her reasoning for the Level 30 requirement. He plugged all five unused Attribute Points into Wisdom, then opened his MENU panels and navigated to his Skill tree to take a look at what new options became available to him.
He was not left wanting.
Raise Skeletal Warrior
Summoned Creature - Undead
Cost: (.3x Base Mana)
1 second cast
No Cooldown
Effect: Raise the bones of the dead to fight on your behalf (maximum:3) until their final death. See the Summoned Creature partition of your MENU panels for further information.
***Requires a full set of bones.
Cost to Unlock: 5
Unused Skill Points: 20
Lord of the Hellflies
Active
Cost: 536 Mana (.55x Base Mana)
10 Meter Range
3 second cast
15 Minute Cooldown
Effect: Summon a swarm of Hellflies to destroy your enemies. Swarm lasts for 30 seconds and will cause 927 (Acid) damage (3x Wisdom Attribute) over its duration.
Cost to Unlock: 5
Unused Skill Points: 20
Boiling Blood
Active
Cost: 485 Mana (.5x Base Mana) 485 Health (.5x Base Health)
15 Meter Range
Instant Cast
1 Hour Cooldown
Effect: Increases the base damage of your Skills by 50% for one minute.
Cost to Unlock: 5
Unused Skill Points: 20
Garath almost choked. All three were amazing! He really hoped he’d have a chance to use Boiling Blood and follow it with Lord of the Hellflies soon, doubling the already insane base damage of 3x his Wisdom Attribute. With a few mental flexes, Garath purchased all three.
Do you wish to purchase the Skills:
Raise Skeletal Warrior; Lord of the Hellflies; Boiling Blood?
Yes or No
Total Cost: 15 Skill Points
Unused Skill Points: 20
Garath chose ‘Yes’ to confirm. With corpses aplenty littering the ground, Garath put his new Skill, Raise Skeletal Warrior, to good use. He chose a dead gnoll and then funneled Mana into the one-second cast. In a grotesque display, the bones of the gnoll ripped themselves free of the flesh and sent blood spraying everywhere. Once free of the body, most of the bones came together to form a human shape, while a few were transmuted into a bone sword and shield. For a moment, the bones hovered in mid-air. Then, its reanimation complete, the skeleton snapped to attention, taking hold of its sword and shield with a jerk.
Several seconds later, three animated skeletons, each armed with a bone sword and shield, stood at attention, facing the little white Necrologist. Garath was confused. The skeletons were not shaped at all like gnolls. They were clearly human skeletons. He shrugged. The Skill description didn’t mention what species his Skeletal Warriors would be.
With his demonic posse now bolstered by the undead, Garath felt like he could take on anything. He couldn’t wait until they found the next group of enemies so he could unleash a horde of Hellflies on their asses too.
His Manabar was slowly refilling as Auto and Sharon both bent to pull the silver necklaces from the bodies of the two Necro-Shaman. They looked at each other, nodded, and yanked on the chains.
The second Necro-Shaman Key has been accepted.
One of you must use it to pass through the door in the next 30 seconds.
For each Key that reaches its expiration here, one member of your Party will be chosen at random to stay in Chuchusullay permanently.
When all five Keys have either been used to open a door or allowed to expire, some, if not all, are allowed to retire.
The third Necro-Shaman Key has been accepted.
One of you must use it to pass through the door in the next 30 seconds.
For each Key that reaches its expiration here, one member of your Party will be chosen at random to stay in Chuchusullay permanently.
When all five Keys have either been used to open a door or allowed to exp
ire, some, if not all, are allowed to retire.
Garath dismissed the prompts and his gaze shifted to the matching set of free-standing doorways that had again appeared from nowhere. After a quick ‘see you soon’ all the way around, the Party split up, two walking through their respective doorways and into the blackness beyond, and two left standing on the dirt path winding through the gnoll encampment. The gnoll-head icon next to Garath’s Healthbar caught his attention as a small number 3 appeared in its top-right corner. Curious, Garath willed more information to appear and read the details.
2 of 5 Keys have unlocked a door, a boost you receive will help you through more.
3 of 5 Keys have unlocked a door, a boost you receive will help you through more.
The Forgotten’s Blessing (3): +60% to all damage dealt, -60% to all damage received. The Forgotten’s Blessing will remain active for the remainder of your time in Chuchusullay.
The white cat looked up at the young Archmage. *Alright, kiddo. Me and you now. You ready for this?*
“Almost,” Daisy told him. “Is it okay if I make another Mana Battery? I had to use mine.”
Garath nodded his tiny cranium. While Daisy channeled her Mana into creating a replacement Mana Battery, Garath explained how the two of them would use his little army as a barrier between themselves and any enemies they encountered along the way. Unfortunately, the few Undead Gnolls that had risen to fight from the hidden Skill, Death’s Medium, fell back to the ground in that time, never to rise again. He gave her instructions to shift into her fastest form and run back the way they came if things got too hairy, and wait for him to contact her over the Party communication channel. After a token effort of claiming she could take care of herself, Daisy agreed. A few minutes later, the two of them continued through the gnoll encampment heading south on the dirt path with Garath’s summoned creatures leading the way.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Peril’s Pitfall
The path took them east, following the island’s southern coast. After a few minutes the path took a hard left, leading them north toward the center of the little island. The flickering of approaching torches tipped Garath and Daisy off to another patrol unit. With the Dungeon team’s two most dangerous damage-dealers each receiving +60% to all the damage they dealt, the pair of gnolls never stood a chance.
Begin combat log:
[you have been awarded 7,630 Experience Points for slaying Level 28 Gnoll]
[you have been awarded 7,630 Experience Points for slaying Level 28 Gnoll]
End combat log.
You have received 1.2 Mana Crystals.
Mana Crystals will be stored in your Items panel until spent, traded, or until your death.
You have received 1.2 Mana Crystals.
Mana Crystals will be stored in your Items panel until spent, traded, or until your death.
Garath found it interesting that he received roughly the same amount of Experience and Mana Crystals from the kills as he’d been getting when all five members of the Party had been involved. He hoped that Sharon, Atlas, and Auto were at least getting their share while they waited for Garath and Daisy to meet them—wherever they were. Soon the dirt sloped downward, leading them into a large clearing.
Oddly, Garath didn’t spot any movement at the base of the slope. The torches along the sides of the path fanned out where the trail met the clearing, forming a circle. Garath’s hopes for an end to this dungeon swelled when he noticed that there was no path leading away from the torch-encircled area. There were no gnolls, tents, campfires, or towers, only two identical, man-sized orbs standing side-by-side in its center. Garath and Daisy cautiously entered the ominously calm clearing.
The landscape of dark trees and dense fog vanished. Garath spun around and found the path that led them there was gone, replaced by more torches that completed the circle. He turned back to face the orbs, and was surprised to see that they each now had a red Healthbar affixed just above them. Next to the Healthbars, two timers on a synchronous countdown.
00:59
00:58
00:57
Garath triggered Inspect on the orb to the left.
Necro-Shaman Cocoon
Transitional Humanoid
Health: 25,000/25,000
Level: N/A
Station: Evolution Chamber
Mana: 0/0
Description: Once activated, the Necro-Shaman within this maturation chamber will awaken, a process that takes one minute. If allowed to exit its cocoon naturally, the Necro-Shaman will evolve to the final stage of its existence, a Gnoll Dread Priest. Destroy the cocoon in the time allotted or prepare to meet your demise.
Garath looked hurriedly at Daisy. The little Elementalist nodded in agreement, apparently having just read the same thing Garath had. *You take the one on the right. Light it up, Daisy. I do not want to find out what the hell a Gnoll Dread Priest is.*
Daisy was already pooling her Mana into an Ice Storm. “Don’t have to tell me twice.” When the two-second cast was complete, Daisy released her spell and a cloud appeared from thin air, showering both cocoons with pointed ice shards.
Garath sent his three Skeletal Warriors to attack the cocoon on the right, then issued mental commands for Handsome, Bill, and the Dreadreaver to target the cocoon on the left. He sprinted behind his summoned creatures to get within Blight’s 3-meter range. By the time the dark purple energy shot out from his body, the timers both read :43.
Between himself, his posse, and an eleven-year-old girl, they’d have to deal nearly 50,000 damage over the next 43 seconds or they’d all learn exactly what a Gnoll Dread Priest was capable of. Determined to avoid that if at all possible, Garath knew it was time to use his newest Skills.
He activated Boiling Blood and felt an instant rush, like adrenaline, if adrenaline did a line of cocaine. He pooled Mana into unleashing the Hellflies. A hellish red portal, one foot in diameter, appeared in front of him. It looked like a doorway to the farthest corner of Hell, complete with licking flames. The basketball-sized winged creatures that poured out of the hole certainly supported that theory.
Each one of the twenty-odd ‘flies’ that spilled out of the summoning circle was as vicious-looking as a hungry rottweiler. With a thought, Garath directed the swarm of Hellflies to attack the cocoons at will, and they immediately began divebombing their targets, spitting a green liquid from their mouths. With each pass, Garath heard the sizzling of acidic saliva burning the barriers protecting the two Necro-Shaman within.
Garath sent Felfire Bolts at both of the cocoons in alternating order to keep the damage-over-time effect active on both of them as much as possible. A glance at his combat log as another orb of neon-green energy slammed into a cocoon bolstered his confidence.
The ridiculous numbers scrolled by almost too fast to keep up with. In a single second, Garath and Daisy had pumped out a staggering 4,463 damage against the cocoons. Sure, they both had a 60% modifier to their damage, but it was still pretty damned impressive if you asked Garath. He stole an upward glance to check on the status of the cocoon’s Healthbars and time remaining. The cocoon on the left showed 6,113/25,000 Health remaining while the cocoon on the right was a pinch healthier at 6,541/25,000. The timers displayed thirteen seconds remaining.
Garath’s Mana was running low after sending Felfire Bolts at the cocoons nonstop for over 30 seconds straight. The insane damage boost from the Hellflies vanished at the end of the spell’s thirty-second duration, and the insects flew back down the hole they’d come from. Another Felfire Bolt shot from the little white Necrologist and he pooled Mana into the next immediately, still switching targets with each subsequent cast. Finally, with five seconds to spare, the cocoon on the left ran out of Health.
The timer disappeared from the defeated cocoon and wide cracks began to spread across its smooth surface. Garath didn’t wait to see what would happen next. With 204 of his last available 560 Mana, he sent another Felfire Bolt to connect with the remaining cocoon. His demons switched targets
with him. For three stressful seconds, they put everything they had into finishing off the second cocoon. With a single second left, the cocoon’s Health dropped to zero and the timer vanished. Relieved, dizzy, and lightheaded, Garath took a deep breath as cracks began to spread across the second cocoon as well.
*Nice job, Daisy.*
She was breathing heavily with her hands on her knees a few feet away. Even Handsome landed, then plopped onto his butt looking exhausted.
Rancid ooze dripped out of the cracks of both cocoons, chunky and yellow like fat removed by liposuction. The ooze melted more and more of the cocoon’s outer shell as it poured out. After a few long minutes, the cocoons were no more. No Mana Crystals, gear, or even a trace that a Necro-Shaman had ever been inside were left behind. Just ooze.
Deep inside the putrid glop, Garath saw a flash of silver, but he wasn’t about to wade into the fetid substance. That’s what he had demons for.
Garath cringed as Bill stuck his whole face into the vile ooze. Wagging his stumpy tail, the gunk-covered Felhound dropped a key at Garath’s feet. *Good boy! Now go get the other one.*
The Tree of Ascension: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Peril's Prodigy Book 2) Page 29
