New Game Minus: The Complete LitRPG Fantasy Trilogy

by Sarah Lin

  Since Danniah's shield was beginning to wear out, despite their repair efforts, they worked on it first. The result wasn't half bad:

  [Carapace Shield

  Armor: 20

  Magic Resistance: 5

  Vitality +2

  Durability: 100/100

  Rarity: Custom (Very Uncommon-level quality)]

  Yet it wasn't the clear upgrade he had hoped for. Bloodwraith glanced over at the shield Danniah was currently holding while she practiced her mace strikes:

  [Guardian's Shield

  Armor: 21

  Magic Resistance: 2

  Max Stamina +10

  Vitality +1

  Durability: 57/63

  Rarity: Very Uncommon]

  The differences between the two appeared to be trade-offs. Still, it didn't hurt to have a backup, so he gave Danniah the shield anyway. She decided to keep using her old one for now, though she admitted that it might not last forever.

  They were far more successful at creating armor for Danniah, however. Her current set was of quality steel, but otherwise not enchanted except for her helm and boots. There was no way they could beat the quality of her two unique items, but they managed to convert half a dozen carapaces into a breastplate, greaves, gauntlets, and every other component of her heavy armor.

  When Danniah pulled all of it on, she marveled at the newly increased enchantments to her Might and Vitality. She wanted to get the new equipment properly attached to the metal sphere that controlled her armor as well as grind more Vitality, but Gharavi was busy with their crafting work. Instead Danniah went with Izzy, who was a bit hesitant to stab at her at first, but took to it with surprising speed.

  Most likely Danniah was going to be the one to receive the greatest boost, however, because there were obstacles in the way of all the rest. Bloodwraith and Gharavi already wore mostly enchanted equipment, while Izzy was limited in how much she could effectively use - in fact, Bloodwraith already needed to buy more slots for her, the first time she got more NP.

  But he wasn't willing to give up so quickly, especially because they'd mostly used the carapaces and lizard skins for their crafting so far. Focusing on the wolf pelts, they eventually managed to craft an item he was quite satisfied with:

  [Fellwolf Cloak

  Armor: 5

  Magic Resistance: 5

  Vitality +1, Quickness +1

  Durability: 50/50

  Rarity: Custom (Very Uncommon-level quality)]

  Since it could go over his Armor of the Tyrant, it was an unquestionable upgrade. Danniah felt that it would get in the way of her fighting and Gharavi wanted to wait until they could craft a cloak that improved her spellcasting abilities, but they decided to create a smaller one for Izzy as well. Despite the reduced size, it had the same statistics, plus Izzy enjoyed running around and letting it trail behind her.

  With that done, Bloodwraith felt that they had likely accomplished about as much as they could. It was a non-trivial improvement, significantly increasing the effective strength of their group. Yet as he began to pull his armor on again and glanced at his sword, he found himself just a little dissatisfied.

  "Do you think we could reforge equipment?" On a whim he turned back to Gharavi and Meara, holding up his sword. "Or at least re-enchant it? I don't think I'm going to be able to find another set as good as this, but both my armor and my sword could be improved."

  "It might be possible, but... not now." Gharavi took the sword from him, examining it. "I would have said it was completely impossible, before what we accomplished today. But having seen what we did... I think that we might be able to, given the right components."

  "Then we'll have to hope that the inhabitants of the next floor give us appropriate components when we murder them."

  Danniah turned aside from her training to groan. "Bloodwraith, are you really going to march straight back into the dungeon?"

  "Time is of the essence! We've spent long enough preparing!"

  "Yes, but because of that we're all a bit tired. We can get some sleep first, right?"

  Knowing that he would be outnumbered, Bloodwraith accepted that they could rest first. Though he didn't like wasting more time, he also didn't want to take serious risks with whatever awaited them on the next floor. So he set about taking his armor back off so he could rest properly.

  As he lay back on the wolf pelts that night, he found himself thinking not at all of equipment or arbitrary points. Instead, he went back over the strange message from the box gods...

  Chapter 17

  Once they were all rested, equipped, and mentally prepared, Bloodwraith led them up the stairs. He'd already tested the stone door several times to confirm exactly how quickly it rose and fell. Given that they faced entirely new threats on the second level, he wanted to leave open the possibility of a tactical retreat. Their moments of greatest danger would be facing powerful opponents before they had a strategy for them.

  There was no notification when he entered - the box now existed only in his memory. Bloodwraith tried not to let it distract him and just kept them moving forward. The second floor didn't open into a central room, but instead branched off with a passage perpendicular to theirs. Looking ahead, he could see another corridor crossing theirs further ahead.

  If the whole floor was built like a maze, that would make it very easy for them to get surrounded. He ordered a halt and nodded to Meara, who moved forward with her torch to explore one of the side corridors. The others retreated to a narrow point they could defend.

  Before too long, Meara floated toward them at a fast rate. "I've got three skeletons behind me," she said. "Heavily armed and not slow. I didn't have a chance to peel them off."

  She had barely finished speaking when the skeletons lurched after her. These were no amateur undead, but powerfully built skeletons with reinforced bone and good equipment. They didn't wear heavy armor, but their bones alone would prove difficult. And that was assuming that none of them had other tricks yet to reveal.

  "Pull back and get ready!" As Bloodwraith gave the order, he also commanded his skeletons to march forward toward the attackers.

  It wasn't even a fight. The skeletons on the Floor of Bone utterly demolished his own skeletons without so much as chipping one of their bones. He swallowed and readied his sword for the fight.

  "Alright, we need to push back two so that we can targ-"

  "Or I could use this?" Gharavi pulled the Wand of Undead Dominion from her side. As Bloodwraith stared in surprise, she aimed it toward the approaching skeletons.

  He braced himself just in case it didn't work, ready for only one or two to be frozen. But instead, it worked perfectly. All three skeletons stopped in place, arms falling limply to their sides. They were completely controlled and Gharavi didn't even look tired. Of course, her increased Intellect and study of necromancy had to help with that.

  "Uh, did you get them?" Danniah moved forward cautiously, eyeing them.

  "Seems like it." Gharavi twitched the wand and made the skeletons wave their arms and slap each other. As Danniah laughed, Bloodwraith realized that maybe this wouldn't be so difficult after all.

  Of course, he still ordered them to pull back before thousands more skeletons could pour out of secret holes or some terrible new monster could show up. The skeletons obediently followed behind them, displaying no threat. Even when Izzy moved up beside one and bit off its arm bone, it didn't react in the slightest.

  Meara smirked at him as they headed back. "You're a little disappointed, aren't you?"

  "Don't be absurd, wench. This will make our work far easier."

  "Mmhmm. Whatever you say."

  "Bah, there is no time for jesting." Bloodwraith unhooked his sword again and took aim for the nearest skeleton. "Let's test their capabilities under controlled conditions."

  As he discovered, the skeletons were indeed as tough as they looked. Based on what Gharavi said, they seemed to have heavy magic resistance and a certain degree of tactical a
bility as well. But they were completely neutralized by the wand, so their group just cut them apart until they were finally dead. Izzy was sitting cross-legged and chewing on one of them before the battle was even fully over.

  [Victory! You received 24,855 EXP and three Fellskeleton Bodies.]

  He couldn't help but chuckle at that. The box gods only cared about the destruction of foes, not the actual experience of the fight. Winning in such a cheap manner might not be useful for many of his allies, but he and Izzy would receive a massive boost. Besides, the ability to finish the second floor faster than they otherwise would have would be a huge benefit.

  "So..." Danniah stared at the scattered bones and armor with an odd expression. "Do we go back out there?"

  "I see no reason not to," Bloodwraith said. "Let us be on our guards for other manners of threat."

  Except it turned out to be just undead. They ran into normal skeletons and heavily armored skeletons, fast wights and elemental wights, bone mages and ghouls. All of them were vulnerable to the Wand of Undead Dominion, which turned the floor into a joke. Though Bloodwraith was glad for the free experience, it just made him hate Raigar again. No one deserved to simply be handed power like this.

  He kept pushing them hard simply in the hopes of getting a marathon bonus for the massive number of undead they were dispatching. Even though they hadn't had any serious difficulty, if they moved fast enough the system apparently counted it as one long fight.

  The limiting factor in the end would prove to be Gharavi's concentration. They could keep restoring her mana with potions from Meara, but the exhaustion would still take its toll. She clearly understood that and did her best to conserve herself so they could go as long as they could. He appreciated the fact that she would do so and wondered if he should say something to that effect.

  As they walked down another corridor, using Meara and his skeletons to check for ambushes, Izzy poked her head around Gharavi's side and peered up at her.

  "Umm, Gharavi? Would... would the wand work on me?"

  "I don't think there's any way it would." Gharavi reached down with a smile and patted Izzy on the head. "You're not like all these undead."

  "But are you sure? Will you try?"

  Gharavi frowned and then raised the wand. Bloodwraith felt a surge of something he couldn't quite describe - it didn't seem like a wise experiment, because there were no excellent outcomes. But before he could voice any objections, Gharavi pointed the wand at Izzy, then winced.

  "No... that definitely won't work. Even if you weren't so strong, your father has too strong a grip on you."

  "Thank you, Da!" Izzy slid over beside him and latched onto his arm affectionately. That limited their combat effectiveness... but he had to admit there hadn't been much need for it recently. Plus, she seemed so happy...

  Their journey so far had left them weighed down by a great many items. The equipment used by the undead was mostly not useful, but Gharavi thought some of it might make for worthwhile crafting components. More valuable were the adventurer corpses they'd found at various times. Not wanting to lose the marathon bonus, Bloodwraith had just snatched up everything, but now he looked through his inventory to examine the valuable pieces, particularly the rings.

  [Barbarian's Ring

  Might +2, Rage Skills +25%

  Rarity: Very Uncommon]

  [Ring of Great Vitality

  Vitality +5

  Durability: 21/25

  Rarity: Rare]

  [Improved Ring of Might

  Might +3

  Durability: 12/25

  Rarity: Very Uncommon]

  The Barbarian's Ring wasn't the most powerful they had come across, but it was the first he'd seen with an ability that assisted his class so directly. Though the boxes refused to give him exact formulas, he suspected that the +25% bonus would be more important than a few more points of Might.

  He immediately gave the Ring of Great Vitality to Danniah, since she would use it well. But when Bloodwraith considered the Improved Ring of Might, he realized something that surprised him: he was already wearing eight rings. Though he tried to slip on the ninth in case the box system allowed him to overcome the theoretical limits, the enchantments began to clash with one another and they all began failing.

  For so long, he had been taking whatever enchanted rings he could get instead of optimizing. It was a small thing to have to choose between his equipment, but he felt a slight sense of satisfaction. He didn't let it distract him for long and he instead analyzed all of his equipment. His choice soon became obvious.

  They were interrupted by an attack on Meara as two skeletons lurched from out of the shadows. Their blows did no good, of course, and Gharavi soon rendered them harmless. While the others smashed apart the skeletons, Bloodwraith instead went to catch up to Meara. She looked at him curiously as he took off one gauntlet to get at his rings.

  "Back when we met, you gave me this Ring of Herbalism." He extended it in her direction. "I'd like to give it back to you now."

  "Bloodwraith... you know that isn't going to do me any good. My Herbalism skill is listed as -1, for gods' sake." She spoke lightly, but he could see something deeper in her eyes, so he kept the ring extended.

  "You gave this to me bitterly after I had nearly made a terrible decision. You can keep it, destroy it, or throw it away if you want. But I don't want it anymore."

  She reached out slowly to take it, her fingers brushing against his. Both of them were so different now and so many things had changed, yet he could tell that parts of them remained in the Forest of Beginnings. Meara turned away, hiding her face with her hair, and took the ring from him. "You... you'd better not say anything cheesy about giving the ring to whomever I choose."

  "I would never say that to you." It ended up sounding too sincere and Meara shifted uncomfortably, so Bloodwraith gave a rough growl. "Because it's a paltry gift that would insult the person who received it."

  "There's the grouchy lich I know." Meara grinned at him and turned away lightly, but he noted that she slipped the ring into her cloak.

  Their wanderings took them to a room that appeared more natural than the rest of the dungeon, with moss on the walls and a deep pool in the center. It felt like it might have healing properties, so Bloodwraith immediately ordered them to retreat. Since it was a place of rest and there were no enemies, doing anything there could very well trigger the end of the marathon, which they couldn't risk.

  From there, they needed to backtrack into the grid-like maze that was the heart of the second floor. They made more noise this time, trying to draw undead to them, but they had cleared out many of them the first time. Just barely enough appeared to keep the string going, forcing them to move at a less careful rate.

  This time they went back to check on dead ends, but almost all of them were useless. Aside from an adventurer's corpse, they found nothing. The only thing they accomplished while wandering through the heart of the maze was that they discovered a metal plate in a particularly dense part of the maze. It was a different shape than those on the first floor, so Bloodwraith assumed it was their first key for the second.

  While exhaustively clearing out the rest of the floor, they did stumble across a pair of other useful items:

  [Frozen Breastplate

  Armor: 26

  Vitality +3, Ice Defense +50%

  Durability: 81/100

  Rarity: Rare]

  [Improved Ring of Quickness

  Quickness +3

  Durability: 18/25

  Rarity: Very Uncommon]

  The breastplate was not only superior to those they could craft from carapace, it was very well suited to Danniah. Unfortunately, it was closer to his size than hers, but he suspected that Meara would be able to help with that. Since they were still technically in combat he decided not to give it to Danniah just yet and instead considered the ring.

  He was tempted to replace one of his Rings of Quickness because it would be a straightforward upgrade, bu
t instead he found himself removing his old Ring of Willpower. When, in all of his travels, had he ever lacked for willpower? It was even possible that his old self's willpower could function in place of his new body's statistics. Deciding that speed was more important, Bloodwraith instead gave the Ring of Willpower to Gharavi, since it might help with spellcasting.

  While wandering the tunnels, they happened across another strange room that was filled with treasure chests. After confirming that there were no hidden enemies, Bloodwraith ordered them out again. They didn't need new equipment immediately and he didn't want to risk ending the marathon.

  Yet it was quickly becoming obvious that there might not be much more point to continuing it. With the Wand of Undead Dominion smoothing their path, they had quickly explored most of the floor. When one of the final unexplored passages took them to another door with three indentations for keys, he had a feeling that they were nearly done.

  "Are we going to take a break once we clear everything?" Danniah asked. Though she'd only received a few minor injuries during surprise attacks, just marching so far in all that armor had taken a toll on her.

  "Yes, we should rest before we take on the final challenge." Bloodwraith glanced at the key in his inventory and frowned. "For that matter, we still haven't found two of the keys. Let's wipe out the remaining enemies, then we can find somewhere to rest."

  "Actually... I was wondering if we could keep some of the last undead."

  Everyone turned to look at Danniah, but Izzy was the one to speak up first. "As pets? I want a skeleton pet too!"

  "Uh, no. I actually wanted to... let them hit me." As they walked, Danniah kept shifting her helmet as if it wasn't sitting comfortably on her head. "Killing the undead this way might help you, Bloodwraith, but I won't get any stronger. But I was thinking if we had undead under complete control, they could provide another way to test myself."

  "By having them beat you bloody?" Gharavi cast her a strange glance and shook her head. "I don't like the idea of giving that order, but I suppose if it's an effective strategy, we should consider it."