by Sarah Lin
The Magecraft trait will improve how quickly the Undead Companion can increase its Intellect and Charisma statistics. Given time, it may also unlock access to new ability traits.
NOTE: An Undead Companion cannot have more than three Growth Factor traits applied. Using only a single Growth Factor is strongly recommended.]
[Growth Factor (Kiting)
Cost: 10 NP
The Undead Companion will gain an increased degree of independence, capable of taking actions on its own behalf. This cannot turn them against the user, but it is possible for their actions to accidentally cause harm. Their behavior will trend toward distracting enemy opponents.
The Kiting trait will improve how quickly the Undead Companion can increase its Quickness and Luck statistics. Given time, it may also unlock access to new ability traits.
NOTE: An Undead Companion cannot have more than three Growth Factor traits applied. Using only a single Growth Factor is strongly recommended.]
Not only did the trait's faster stat growth promise increased power in the future, he liked the idea of undead with increased autonomy. Having them be mostly mindless worked well enough when you had an army of spares or only needed them to defend a lair, but he was dealing with limited resources and complicated situations. The "Growth Factor" traits seemed like the best path to creating undead that were more than the crudest automatons.
He still had some questions, though. For one, what did "kiting" mean? Clearly it had something to do with distracting enemies, but he remained uncertain about its exact purpose. Likewise, he was a bit skeptical of allowing subordinate undead easy access to magecraft. The skill descriptions said that they couldn't turn against him, but how certain could he be of that?
It would have been convenient if his skill had been sufficient to control five skulls at once, but at the moment his limit was four. That meant he couldn't test all five simultaneously, though perhaps that was for the best. Multiple tests would give more solid results.
Since he had four viable skulls and wasn't certain when he would next be able to create more, he needed to choose his initial experiments carefully. He decided to start with taking the boxes' advice, choosing only the Aggression Growth Factor for the first skull and the Defense Growth Factor for the second. Though he couldn't buy back their bodies, he bought a few stat points for each that would complement their chosen styles.
Bloodwraith moved a short distance from camp, set the two skulls beside one another, and stared down at them. "Fight each other."
He wasn't sure if they'd be able to comprehend that command, but fortunately they seemed to understand. The two skulls immediately turned toward each other and began bouncing aggressively.
As he watched, Bloodwraith quickly realized that this would not be satisfactory. The "aggressive" skull did nothing but attack, over and over in a repetitive fashion. Similar to the artificial wolves back in the Forest of Beginnings, actually. In the same way, the "defensive" skull would bounce back, try a shallow attack, then repeat. Given that they were just skulls, it was hard to say that either one was winning, but he was not impressed.
While such limited autonomy might be useful to an Outsider with no experience commanding undead, for Bloodwraith it had little benefit. If he was going to spend his limited points on Growth Factors, he needed them to produce more nuanced behavior. After experimenting with varying commands, Bloodwraith confirmed his dissatisfaction.
If the box's suggestion was flawed, the obvious next choice was to go in the other direction. Bloodwraith stopped the fighting and pulled out a third skull, using nearly all of its available NP to give it the Aggression, Defense, and Support Growth Factors.
To his surprise, the new undead skull shifted in his hand, glowing eyes examining him. Perhaps it was just turning to face him... but when Bloodwraith turned his hand to the side, the skull instead peered around the campfire. It continued to shift in his hand, displaying more volition than any of the previous attempts. Fascinating.
"Fight each other again." Bloodwraith set down the third skull beside the other two and watched closely. With three different contradictory impulses, surely it would not be so simplistic. On top of that, it would receive boosted growth in six of the nine overall stats, which might prove incredibly powerful in the end.
When the fight started, the aggressive skull rushed to attack and the defensive skull predictably moved to defend. His new combined skull sat in between them, but it actually backed off, instead watching the fight. Bloodwraith smiled in satisfaction, glad to see the new strategy.
But not long afterward, the combined skull leapt on top of the aggressive skull and began bouncing. It was certainly a new tactic, but not a very good one: the aggressive skull rolled away and then began snapping forward.
Worse than that, the combined skull turned and attacked the defensive skull, ineffectually biting at the crown of its head. This opened the possibility for the aggressive one to attack again, actually getting a grip on the combined skull's jaw and tearing it off. Both of the other skulls began to attack it in their usual styles, soon cracking the bone as the necromancy gave out.
"Enough." Bloodwraith stopped the battle and picked up the combined skull. Though he resolved to try a few other combinations, he thought he understood now why the boxes would recommend only a single strategy. Split in three directions, his undead would not be able to play an effective role in combat.
It had displayed a bit more inventiveness than the others, however. Bloodwraith held out hope that a combination of just two different Growth Factors would produce the balance he wanted. He crushed the failed combined skull out of existence and pulled the last of his prepared undead skulls from his bag.
Though he considered testing something entirely different, like the Magecraft trait, in the end he went with combining the Aggression and Defense traits. Surely if any of them had any synergy, it would be those two. The result he created sat motionless in his hand, but he set it down beside the others.
"Again." The word might be ambiguous, but the undead read his meaning loud and clear. All three skulls began to clatter toward each other as usual.
At first it seemed like his newest experiment was as brash as the aggressive skull, but at the last second it pulled back. The other two skulls bumped into each other and began to fight, but the third didn't stay back. Instead, it launched itself into the air with its jaw and slammed down against the aggressive skull from above.
Though it cracked partially, the aggressive skull survived, pursuing his newest experiment. It immediately retreated, but not mindlessly: it drew the aggressive skull toward the defensive one. When the two of them clashed, the newest experiment quickly took advantage of their simplistic strategies. Soon both of the others lay broken.
"Excellent. That is enough." When Bloodwraith gave the command, the broken skulls immediately stopped their attempts to return together. Yet when he reached down, to his surprise the newest skull pushed itself into the air again and came down on the aggressive skull, smashing it into more pieces and breaking the necromancy that bound it together.
After that, it cooperatively moved toward his hand. Fascinating - these were closer to the instincts he wanted in an undead minion, but he wondered what else would be available. If the combination of two traits worked best, what combination might be ideal?
Aggression and Defense might serve well for simple undead hordes, but it would be some time before he could control those. For now, he and his companions might be better served by something less obvious, perhaps using one of the Growth Factors that increased speed.
Of course, there was no replacement for experimentation. Simple mathematics revealed that there would be 20 different combinations of traits - far too many to test thoroughly. He would need to be highly strategic in his methods, though he reminded himself that he was free to start over with a new undead if necessary. Unlike with himself or his companions, he could simply destroy these and start over again.
"Skull fighting? You
have some weird hobbies, Bloodwraith." Meara sat nearby, obviously having watched for some time. He simply shrugged.
"It's an effective method of testing different creations against one another. I think you know that."
"Yeah, I'm just joking because it looks like you're gambling on skull fighting." Meara jerked her chin toward the victorious skull. "What are you going to do with that one?"
"Keep it for now and pit it against the others. This combination is a potent one, I think, so it should prove a good test if nothing else."
"Sounds good to me. Let me know when we reach the undead horde stage." Meara slid onto her back, pulling up her hood and closing her eyes. She either tried to sleep or retreated into herself. Either way, he should probably do the same, but not yet.
Bloodwraith picked up the surviving skull and held it for a moment instead of placing it back into his inventory. Would this be the model upon which he based all his other undead? It stared back at him with more than mindless obedience, so he found himself interested what it could become with further investment of Necromancy Points. As he looked over its box, he found his eyes wandering toward the placeholder name field and a new box appeared.
[Rename this Undead Companion?]
The prompt surprised him slightly, but he soon dismissed it. These were mere experiments, nothing more. Bloodwraith shoved the skull into his bag and went to sleep.
Chapter 8
As they traveled, their path grew dustier with every day. They met another caravan of traders and Meara struck a good deal that replaced some of their fur linings with cloaks that would ward off the heat and sand. Bloodwraith was still uncomfortable in his solid black armor, irritated by the insistence of mortal bodies on sweating and stinking.
On two occasions they spotted a shardwing glittering across the sky. Neither of them proved aggressive without a lure to draw them. Bloodwraith seriously considering acquiring one so they could lure down and kill more of them, but he decided that might be an unnecessary risk.
His ongoing experiments had led to one major breakthrough: he didn't think the Magecraft trait was worthwhile. It might grow into something better, but in the short term almost all the hybrids he created using it turned out disappointing. Even assuming considerable growth, he doubted they would ever be capable of magic like a lich.
One skull had survived through his experiments, however: a mix of Magecraft and Support that proved quick and cunning. Bloodwraith liked it reasonably well. He did not like the fact that Danniah had taken to calling it Slither. She'd also named his first successful combination Stompy.
He'd thought it was beneath the dignity of necromancy, but he knew that Meara would just point out that he was the one pitting skulls against each other.
But despite the obvious opportunity for mockery, he felt that he was making progress. The box gods clearly intended to treat necromancy like a game, giving him "Undead Companions" with randomized statistics and haphazard personality traits. Experiment by experiment, he was grinding the randomness away. In the end, he would be left with a weapon of real power.
Setting aside Magecraft narrowed the field considerably: with only four traits, there were only 12 different combinations. It was plausible that he could test all of them before they reached Manascas, possibly some more than once. Though he doubted another Aggression/Defense hybrid would prove as strong as Stompy.
...dammit, now he was doing it too.
Bloodwraith was so fixated on his plans for his new undead that he barely heard Danniah calling for him. Only when he heard an edge of panic in her voice did he look up and realize that monsters were emerging from the dunes all around them.
"They ambushed us!" Danniah quickly retreated beside him, shield up. Meara closed her eyes and seemed to flicker like a mirage on the sands.
"Desert predators." Bloodwraith unhooked his sword. "We can handle them if we stay calm and don't let them use pack tactics."
As he and Danniah moved back to back, Bloodwraith tried to get a better look at the attackers. They had dappled brown fur that blurred together with the sandy soil around them, clearly effective camouflage. But they had toothy jaws, pointed ears, and they ran on all fours.
Basically wolves. He knew they were jackals, but the difference seemed academic. Bloodwraith sighed.
The first charged at him from behind, but he caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye. Just before it arrived, Bloodwraith spun around, his greatsword slamming into the creature's skull. Wolf or jackal, that definitely killed it equally dead. If-
Another jackal tore past his extended arm, jaws clamping down on his elbow. Even though his armor mostly protected him, he felt the intense pressure of its teeth and his arm wrenched painfully. Bloodwraith punched the jackal in the head to knock it away, realizing too late that he had not taken them seriously enough.
Behind him, the jackals had mobbed Danniah. Though she fended off one with her shield, it clamped down on the edge, trying to pull it away so the others could attack her. The first to dart around the side was met with her mace and fell back, but two more were coming from other sides, biting at her legs.
Before Bloodwraith could act to help her, Danniah desperately surged mana into her shield. The impact was less effective with her arm partially pinned, but she still managed to send the jackals mobbing her tumbling in all directions.
Before they could recover, Bloodwraith struck down one of them. They pulled back, but he was too fast, cutting down a second. Too late, he realized that more of them were hiding nearby.
Jackals slammed into him from all sides, some striking his legs and others biting at his arm. They failed to penetrate his armor, but completely disabled one arm. Soon he went down, jackals tearing at him from all sides. If he hadn't worn such heavy armor, he was certain they would have torn him apart.
As it was, he had time to gather himself and shout, releasing a shockwave in all directions. This sent the jackals tumbling away again, and fortunately Danniah was ready. She had been rushing to help him but switched to laying into the fallen jackals with her mace.
Though Bloodwraith pulled himself to his feet, ready to finish the fight, by the time he was upright, the jackals had melted away. He and Danniah moved closer together, ready for a second attack, but the only glimpse he caught of them was their tails as they retreated back into the desert. No doubt looking for easier prey, though it bothered him that he'd had this much trouble.
"Are you okay, Bloodwraith?" Danniah looked a little battered herself, but moved up beside him with a concerned look. He shook his head brusquely.
"I'm fine."
"They were a lot stronger than I expected! Is Manascas really much more dangerous than Cresthaven?"
"Different regions have different concentrations of mana, which leads to the local creatures absorbing more of it. That's also why stronger adventurers tend to congregate in specific areas." He managed to keep his voice calm, but inwardly he cursed himself for not controlling his hubris. One mistake was tolerable, but to have underestimated them twice was sheer idiocy.
Was it possible that this body was affecting him as well, dragging down his intelligence? After only a moment, Bloodwraith dismissed that hypothesis. That was nothing but a salve for his ego: overconfidence had always been one of his weaknesses. Better to be corrected now than in a more dire situation.
[Victory! You received 1756 EXP and seven Jackal Pelts.]
It was some consolation that they were worth so much EXP, however. Though the number would go down as he gained levels, for a time he might actually be able to make meaningful progress just fighting jackals. That was a welcome relief from the wolves that had become nothing but an annoyance.
Meara had returned to them, staring down at the jackal corpses thoughtfully. "If Manascas is that much more difficult, are we going to have trouble when we reach the city? Will the average Level be significantly higher than ours? Or yours, anyway."
"I think we should be able to manage." Bloodwraith saw that
Danniah looked a bit nervous, so he spoke with more confidence than he felt. "We're not going to Manascas to invade, after all. We can keep our heads down and develop our strength quietly."
"Oh..." Danniah began cleaning her mace, nervousness shifting to disappointment. "The people in the caravan talked about how there were great tournaments for adventurers there. I was hoping to take part. I didn't think I'd win, but it sounded like fun, you know?"
"What's this?"
"Didn't you hear about the Red Sands Arena? The traders talked about it a lot..."
That prompted a smirk from Meara. "You're assuming that Bloodwraith was listening, and I think that's a pretty bad assumption."
"Haha, I guess you're right..."
Rolling his eyes, Bloodwraith bent down to one of the jackals. "Ignoring that, we're going to need resources once we reach the city. Let's take their pelts quickly so we can keep moving. From now on, we'll need to find more defensive positions every night."
They cooperated and helped gather the pelts, though Danniah soon let out another sigh. "I wish we didn't have to do this every time... is there any chance your undead could ever do this part? I mean, obviously not the skulls, but the real ones once you're finished."
Bloodwraith's eyes widened. He stopped working and instead accessed his inventory, running his eyes over the undead stored there. She was right, and he'd been foolish for not seeing it. Danniah blinked at his feverish movements but just waited, assuming that he would explain in time.
Once Bloodwraith finished skinning the first jackal, he stored the pelt and took out the skulls. He gestured to Danniah. "You may not want to watch this part. I'm going to have them clean up."
Though skeletons didn't need to eat and the very idea was absurd, the boxes had been very clear: Necromancy Points came from the bodies of the dead. He had automatically assumed that meant dead sacrifices in necromantic rituals, but the box gods had never been particular about such things in the past. When he set the skulls down beside the corpse, they moved on it eagerly.
