by Sarah Lin
"Skullcrusher? No, that was the big ugly one..." They watched in shock as the skeleton slowly rose to its feet, unholy light flickering in its eyes. "Bloodwraith! That was it!"
Swallowing, the fighter lifted his sword. "Back to hell with you, Bloodwraith!"
The skeleton punched him the face, sending him sprawling. It then staggered, raising one bony hand to its face. "Bloodwraith? Who the hell is that?"
- End of Book I -
Raising Allies
New Game Minus #2
Version 1.4b
© 2019 Sarah Lin
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Table of Contents
Recap of Book 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
End Content
Previously...
This is a quick recap of what occurred in the first book, Changing Faces:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMMT9TX/t
In an act of desperation, Bloodwraith trades bodies with the adventurer who had defeated him. Yet instead of gaining the power he expected, he finds himself reincarnated in a new body and set on an incomprehensible quest. Worse, he is constantly beset by boxes describing his world in unfamiliar terms.
Gradually Bloodwraith comes to realize that beings from another world are using his reality as a game and that he is being treated as one of them. Struggling with a body unsuited to magic, Bloodwraith tries to play along and act like an adventurer. This takes him to the city of Cresthaven, where he meets a number of other adventurers, including Danniah, a half-dwarven warrior who befriends him.
One other person left the tutorial with Bloodwraith: Meara, an Non-Player Character designed to be a simple peasant girl who provides potions and quests. She struggles to adjust to the normal world, as something about her nature seems to be fundamentally broken. In time she learns that she can still exploit the illogical powers she used in the tutorial area, including creating items and granting quests.
Unfortunately, all is not well in Cresthaven. A man called Daek the Knife is the boss of the city's Thieves Guild, meant to be a challenge for Bloodwraith to fight many levels later. But Daek has uncovered a strange ruin that speaks of traveling between worlds via blood magic, and the knowledge is slowly driving him insane. Bloodwraith manages to escape his trap alive only after a grueling series of battles.
Bloodwraith forms an alliance with Meara and Danniah, working to gain the strength to survive and discover more about their situation. They begin to collect the pieces of a set of equipment known as the Armor of the Tyrant. During this time, Bloodwraith and Danniah form a fledgling romance.
Though Bloodwraith was not meant to fight Daek for a long time, the guild leader goes fully insane and begins slaughtering citizens in an effort to open a gate between worlds. Bloodwraith is only able to defeat him by making use of a nearby drake, manipulating local nobles and guards, and using Meara's unique traits. They barely emerge victorious and Bloodwraith is declared a hero.
That's irrelevant to him. Though he has come to care for Meara and Danniah, Bloodwraith doesn't want to be a hero or an adventurer. He wants to regain his magic and fight back against the alien beings controlling his reality.
And one of them is closer than he thinks. Unbeknownst to Bloodwraith, the adventurer who defeated him is still alive in his original body. Restored by unwitting adventurers, what the real Raigar will do remains to be seen...
Chapter 1
[Victory! You received 17,587 EXP and one Glorious Wolf Pelt.]
Bloodwraith muttered under his breath as the box faded from his vision. In theory he should have been pleased by the power the message represented, but all the joy had drained from them lately.
Because the boxes were lying to him.
He knew that made him sound even more insane than he normally would have, talking about magical boxes filling his vision, but he didn't care. His instincts told him that the magical system embedded inside him was now actively deceiving him.
As Bloodwraith stripped the wolf of its pelt, he glowered at it the entire time. Though the boxes claimed that this pelt was "Glorious," the pelt struck him no different from all the other wolf pelts he'd collected over his short and entirely unwanted career as an adventurer. He'd been a lich for decades without dealing with a single one of them, but they were apparently the currency of adventurers.
There had been a time when he was known as Bloodwraith the Corrupter, Bane of Worlds and Father to the Undead. Or Corrupter of Worlds, a title he'd liked even better. Now he was just "Raigar the Valorous" even though "Raigar the Animal Serial Killer" or "Raigar the Tedious Merchant" would have been more accurate.
Stuffing the pelt into his Extra-dimensional Bag, Bloodwraith got back to his feet. With the wolves out of the way, perhaps he could get to some real business. But that meant finding Danniah, who had been separated from him when the wolves ambushed them.
Bloodwraith hefted his over-sized sword to his shoulder as he headed deeper into the forest. Though he still didn't like carrying giant pieces of metal instead of just using spells, he'd grown used to the strengths of his new body. Besides, if all went well, he might be able to change that soon.
Ahead of him, he spotted several wolves surrounding Danniah. The half-dwarven woman had her back to a large tree and was using her shield to fend off the wolves. Heavily armored as she was, they weren't doing too much damage to her. One of them charged forward and she bashed it with her shield, then finished it off with her mace when it fell to the ground.
As he watched, the boxes presented him with a variety of information, but he mentally forced them to stick to the important facts.
[Forest Wolf
Recommended Level: 8]
The alien gods who created the boxes might have a limited grasp of his reality, but Bloodwraith thought their numbers were generally accurate. Until recently. Because these wolves were not a threat that required the amount of strength that "Level 8" implied. He was Level 10 and Danniah was Level 9 - neither of them had any trouble with the wolves.
Distracted by Danniah, the wolves had little chance against him. Bloodwraith swung his greatsword in a large, cleaving arc and cut two of the wolves in half. The remaining wolves yelped and turned, suddenly caught between two threats.
Danniah beamed when she saw him, eyes sparkling within her helm. She moved forward, slamming her mace into the side of one of the wolves, then waved the bloody weapon in his direction. "Hello, Bloodwraith! I'm glad you're okay!"
"Of course I am unharmed. These paltry foes are no match for us." When one of the wolves came running at him, snarling, Bloodwraith met it with his sword, ending the beast's life instantly.
Working together, the two of them finished off the rest of the pack with little difficulty. And as soon as it was done, another box appeared:
[Victory! You received 56,992 EXP and seven Glorious Wolf Pelts.]
Utter nonsense. A handful of tendays ago, he had received less of these "EXP" for a complex gambit that involved killing multiple fighters, a full-grown drake, and one of the most dangerous men in the city of C
resthaven. The idea that a few wolves should be worth as much was an insult, but the boxes were regularly forcing such things on him now.
As he wiped blood off his sword, Bloodwraith glanced at Danniah. "Where did Meara go?"
"She wandered off during the fight." His ally looked into the forest, concern growing on her face. "Do you think she's okay? I mean, she's not in any danger now, but she seems... sometimes it's like she's not completely here."
"She's dealing with some personal troubles." That was putting it mildly. He preferred not to think about the way that Meara - his oldest ally in this new life - had nearly faded out of reality entirely. "Most likely she's closer to our objective. Let's go find her."
They headed into the forest, Danniah trotting to keep up with his longer stride. She smiled at him whenever they made eye contact, but at least she didn't try to hold his arm. Bloodwraith checked his emotions a moment later; Danniah was a stalwart and reasonable ally who wouldn't do anything so foolish during combat. Despite himself, he'd grown accustomed to her cheerful presence.
Soon they found their way to a clearing surrounding an ancient structure choked with vines. More importantly, Meara stood in front of it... along with a massive wolf. As they entered, it tried to swipe at her with its claws again, passing directly through her as if she didn't exist. The wolf whined in uncertainty, then turned toward them and growled.
[Ultimate Omega Wolf
Recommended Level: 21
WARNING! This opponent is too powerful for you to defeat!]
"Mendacious boxes," Bloodwraith muttered. He unhooked his greatsword from his back and swung it down in front of him, ready for battle.
The wolf was certainly larger and stronger than the others, but it was no "Ultimate Omega Wolf." It seemed to glow with power in his vision, yet he felt certain that this was an illusion from the box gods. There was no mana behind it... at least, that was his best guess. In his current body, his grasp of magic was frustratingly tenuous.
When it rushed at them, Bloodwraith stepped back to let Danniah do what she did best. She took the wolf's charge head on, digging in her heels and only being pushed back a step as it collided with her. Once its momentum stopped, Bloodwraith swung down into the beast's neck.
It twisted at the last second. His blade only scored a glancing blow and suddenly the wolf was bearing down on him.
His back hit the ground painfully, but he ignored it, focused on the wolf's enormous jaws snapping down at his head. As he dodged the bites, Bloodwraith cursed himself for his hubris. Though the monster might not be as powerful as the boxes claimed, he wasn't so strong that he could just treat such creatures lightly.
Taking one hand off the hilt of his sword, Bloodwraith released a burst of force directly into the wolf's head. The skill might be called "Fist of Rage" - which was an insufferably stupid name - but it was effective. Though it only pushed such a large wolf back for a moment, that was enough for him to raise his sword into position.
The next time it bit toward him, Bloodwraith lifted his blade in the way and forced the edge into the wolf's mouth. It bit down hard and tried to wrest the sword from his hands, but he resisted, struggling with the monster. Growling, it began to claw at him as well, but it was making a mistake being so focused on him.
Danniah slammed into it from the side, her shield smashing into the beast's flank with mana-enhanced force. Her new skill certainly packed a punch, sending the wolf staggering to the side. While it was off balance, Bloodwraith leapt to his feet and swung again, putting all the force he could into his sword.
Though his blow didn't kill the wolf, he crippled one of its legs. Bloodwraith fought more cautiously and worked together with Danniah to finish it off. It was no dramatic battle, but he felt a slight sense of satisfaction at having finished it properly, even if he had started poorly.
[Victory! You received 421,644 EXP and an Ultimate Omega Wolf Pelt.
Earned 211 Glory Points for defeating a boss 10+ levels above your current level!]
"Do not mock me, insufferable boxes!" This time his irritation bubbled over and he actually spoke it aloud. Danniah raised her eyebrows at him in a mixture of amusement and concern.
"Getting mad at the boxes again? I thought you were used to them by now."
"No, they've changed." Bloodwraith sighed and knelt down to skin the wolf. "But it's nothing important, just an annoyance."
"Bloodwraith..." Danniah came up behind him and leaned against his shoulder. "You can tell us things, you know? We really won't mind."
Realizing she was right, he tried to put his thoughts into words as he spoke. "After we killed Daek the Knife, I received several warnings from the box gods. Since then, the boxes have changed. I can't trust the numbers the boxes show me any more, at least when it comes to enemies."
"But you could trust them before? I mean, I can't see them at all, but Meara always said they were just arbitrary numbers from the box gods."
"They were arbitrary, but not meaningless. Whatever an 'EXP' is, one of them meant something. But now the system has inflated the numbers. That wolf we killed... the boxes claimed that it was even stronger than Daek. That's not right, is it?"
Danniah blinked in surprise. "It was bigger than normal, but I didn't think it was anything too special."
"Good, that's what I thought. Also, did it glow with mana?"
"Nope. You okay, Bloodwraith?"
"Better than okay." Bloodwraith nodded in satisfaction as he considered the issue. Though he hadn't doubted himself, cross-checking with Danniah went a long way toward confirming his theory. "I think the boxes are convinced that I fought Daek because I wanted a challenge, not because I had no choice. So they changed to pretend that any difficult fight is a huge challenge."
"That's pretty weird. Why would they do that?"
"Who knows what these incomprehensible creatures think? It's just frustrating that the messages seem designed to massage my ego now, instead of presenting accurate information. I just want the old bo-" Bloodwraith cut off as he realized what he was going to say. Yet it was true: he wanted the old boxes back. Frustrating as they could be at times, they were useful and the system they represented granted him real power.
That didn't mean they weren't annoying, though, particularly in limiting his ability to work with magic. With any luck, their work that day would take a significant step toward resolving that problem. After that, perhaps he could find a way to fix the boxes as well.
The silence reminded Bloodwraith that Meara hadn't joined their conversation, which he would have expected. When he looked up, he saw that she was still standing at the side of the clearing with a blank expression on her face.
Danniah stepped closer and waved her hand in front of Meara's face. "Meara? Hello?"
"Hello, welcome to my shop! What can I do for you?" Her tone was cheerful and empty, utterly unlike her usual self.
Sighing, Danniah turned back to him. "She's doing this again. Can you help?"
"Hello, welcome to my shop! What can I do for you?"
Bloodwraith walked over to them and Meara turned to him, presenting the same greeting and blank expression. Just as if she was the shopkeeper tool that the box gods had designed her to be. He wasn't sure exactly why she seemed to fade into this mode like an automaton, but realized that he could just ask. Danniah had a fair point about communication.
"Meara." Bloodwraith put his hands on her shoulders as he spoke. Though he intended to shake her if that didn't work, he saw the life return to her eyes. Instead of a blank cheerfulness, he saw the sharp intelligence of the Meara he knew flicker to life.
"Bloodwraith. Sorry... I was gone for a while."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I was just looking for what we wanted." Meara turned sharply and gestured toward the vine-covered ruin. "The objective is in there, and for once there's no crypt. But we're going to have to dig a bit."
Sighing, Bloodwraith accepted that he'd have to endure some menial labor. He used his sw
ord to hack away the vines that were in the way and headed into the ruin. As Meara had discerned, it had mostly collapsed. She directed them to a specific point, Bloodwraith pulled two shovels from his bag, and they set to work.
When he had fought against adventurers in his former life, he'd always had the impression that they were insane thrill-seekers. Now that he had direct experience, he knew that they were insane thrill-seekers with a very strange conception of thrills. Being an adventurer seemed to involve a lot of managing inventory like a shopkeeper, tracking petty coins like a merchant, and even toiling like a manual laborer.
This was beneath him. He should have had an army of undead to do such tedious tasks for him instead of dirtying his own hands. Though he could adjust to the idea of fighting with brute force, it was a waste to apply his own strength to the simple task of moving earth and rock from one location to another.
At least Danniah was contributing. She actually seemed perfectly happy to be digging alongside him, but then Danniah was better at enjoying simple pleasures than he was.
Meara sat nearby, not helping, but he didn't resent that fact since the same status that granted her unusual abilities also made her useless for this sort of thing. She watched them, her lips twitching in amusement.
"Behold! Bloodwraith, Shovel of Doom!"
Danniah giggled. "He Who Shovels All Things!"
Bloodwraith shook a fist at Meara. "Better a Shovel of Doom than no shovel at all, you indolent wastrel!"
"Ooh, I have a better one! Bloodwraith, Bearer of the Only True Shovel!"
Growling, Bloodwraith tossed the next shovel of dirt directly at Danniah. She instinctively turned aside and shielded herself with one armored hand, laughing as the dirt scattered off her. "Hey! Meara started it, throw things at her!"
"It wouldn't work on her." Bloodwraith went back to digging and let it slide, but Danniah stopped, leaning against her shovel and looking between them.
"Actually, I was thinking... it's getting to be a pain to cart the rocks and dirt away. Couldn't we stick them into your handy bag?"
Bloodwraith shook his head. "It has finite space and rocks would fill it up quickly."
