Finding an empty side room with a mostly intact wooden door before I left the Scout's area wasn’t difficult. Entering inside, I cast Light Orb in each corner, lighting up the room enough to make it feel like it was in the middle of the day.
I was trying to limit my use of Light Orb because it obviously gave away that someone was in the area, even if they still couldn't see me if I was using Invisibility. There was enough unnatural light in these tunnels that it wasn’t really necessary anyway. I knew if I forced myself, I would eventually grow accustomed and it wouldn’t bother me anymore.
After a few minutes break and a couple of healing spells, I was able to breathe much easier. Casting Heal on myself helped to keep exhaustion at bay, supplying me with a great advantage in fighting off what might be considered mental status effects. It was not something I would have been able to handle if I had been overly tired. I would have ended up going back to the base and waiting for the others.
There was one thing that would make things even better. I grabbed a foot long strip of jerky from my inventory and tore a generous sized bite off and went to town. I could almost imagine sitting in the back seat of the car on a road trip when I was young, eating jerky and playing road sign games. The only thing that would make things even better was having half a dozen chip flavors and every sugary drink you can imagine at my beck and call. Ewww, and dip. Can't forget ranch dressing, spinach dip, onion dip, french onion dip, bean dip, buffalo chicken dip, roasted garlic, artichoke, guacamole, picante sauce, guacamole tummy buster, liquid cheese, salsa, and butter...
I only allowed myself a few more minutes rest, not to forget the time sensitivity of my mission. Maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but in that time an idea had developed. Getting to my feet, I continued on. The first solo scout I ran across I cast Light Orb into its eye socket to see how it would react.
It didn't hesitate but jabbed its dagger into its own eye finding nothing to pierce. The force it used was enough that the tip of its dagger exploded from the back of its skull leaving a quarter-sized hole and relieving it of 30 HP.
My mouth dropped open, as disbelief hit me like trying cheese steak for the first time. The snort that escaped from my gut shook me and had me doubling over to the point I could hardly control it. Never before had I needed to laugh so much.
Though it was a tactic that would never work on a more intelligent creature, I spammed Light Orb into the eye sockets of a group of three skeletons close by. A club, sword, and bow slammed into their bony faces nearly simultaneously. It was the sword that did the most damage, as the scout took the same approach as the knife wielder, stabbing itself in the eyeless socket.
As they moved from the place they had been standing when I first cast the spell, the Light Orb stayed in the same place and their heads moved right through it. The distraction it caused didn't end when the light had left the inside of their heads. An arrow pierced one of the orbs and a knife slashed through another.
I happily cast Decay on each of them, then Pain, and took my time finishing them off with Heal.
***
Standing a few inches taller than me, much thicker boned than all the skeletons before them, Skeleton Warriors filled a room of blue-gray brick. It was wider than it was long, with arched doorways to its many side rooms and a much larger arched doorway exiting to the next room.
It wasn't just the size of these skeletons that was different. Not only were the warriors armed, but the swords and shields they wielded were unlike anything I had seen. They were made of bone.
I wandered off to the side and found a safe room to view the monsters. Almost immediately my Creature Observation skill went to work. As I examined a level 102 Warrior's sword, a pop-up appeared.
You have begun to understand Skeleton Warrior's Sword.
It didn't surprise me when I saw what it said, but it would have been nice if there was more information.
The Warriors held their swords in a relaxed position resting against their shoulders like a practiced swordsman that respected its weight. Another pop-up.
You better understand Skeleton Warrior's Sword.
I was all teeth as I grinned. This was easy. Or at least, so I thought.
Ten minutes passed as I tried to study the Skeleton Warrior and his sword. Nothing. I used Creature Observation and the monster's stats popped up, but my understanding didn't improve. Then I turned my attention to the Warrior's shield and soon got my first pop-up for the Skeleton Warrior's Shield. Another ten minutes and nothing.
The time wasn't a total waste. I learned their basic movements, or lack of movement, at least in comparison to the skeletons I had seen before. These mobs patrolled with a precise pace as a trained soldier might, but still seemed oblivious to the other Warriors in the area. So much so, that more than once two warriors bumped into each other.
Understanding the mob itself didn't help me understand their swords or shields. I knew what I had to do.
The lowest level Warrior had 2000 HP, meaning even with the leveling up of Pain and Heal, it would take multiple casts. Assuming the 30 feet radius for aggro would apply to Warriors as well as Scouts I attacked my first Skeleton Warrior.
I aimed Decay at the monster's shield, easily hitting the round bone structure about the size of half a car door.
You better understand Skeleton Warrior's Shield.
The Warrior's head jerked in my direction. It bore into me with its empty eye sockets before it started to jog right for me.
Saving Pain until I had figured out how to best face this new enemy, I next cast Alpha Bolt.
Swallowing back the dryness in my throat, I launched a magic bowling ball through the air at high speed.
I forced myself to watch as it barreled into the creature's shield, the structure holding firm, but the force so intense that the shield caught the Warrior and dragged it off its feet a couple of meters and back onto its rear.
You better understand Skeleton Warrior's Shield.
Even with the shield blocking the attack, the Warrior lost over 300 HP.
Before it was able to get to its feet I had already engulfed it in Heal twice, driving its HP into the red.
When it did reach its feet, its controlled demeanor had fled in face of the first emotion I had seen on any of the summoned monsters I had faced. Rage.
There were no facial features to give away such emotion. Its shield sagged to the side and its sword hung loosely in its hand as it puffed out its chest and jutted its jaw forward. It leaned forward and moved to lunge forward, but a third Heal spell seeped into its frame and drove the life from its restless bones.
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
I allowed my mana to regen before I attacked the next one. Decay to its shield, followed by Heal, which I was able to aim directly at its shield. It barely harmed the mob, but it accomplished what I was waiting for.
You have learned Skeleton Warrior's Shield!
I ignored it as the monster headed my way. Two Heals later, followed by an Alpha Bolt to the head and it was over.
What I had just learned about Creature Observation would certainly come in handy. The passive version of the skill allowed me to learn Blue Magic just by watching. If I activated it, then it worked like an observation skill.
After knowing that I needed to target the Warrior's Sword to see it in action, I acquired that after defeating the next warrior.
Casting Skeleton Warrior's Shield for the first time, a bone as thick as a knife handle formed in my empty hand, the bone growing before my eyes, expanding into a large oval about the size of a kite shield and weighing maybe five pounds. The face of the shield was made up of rows of rib-like bone, one on top of the other in neat rows. At the edge all around was a seamless mass of bone with a rough, almost ragged edge. It cost 50 Mana Per Minute to use. With my mana pool, I didn't think twice of leaving it active.
I unsheathed my knife from my belt. The Skeleton Warrior's Sword cost the same amount of mana, but wh
en cast, the bone engulfed the dagger I was using, its bone blade extending beyond the steel tip another six inches. The blade took the shape of the dagger, making a great piercing weapon, and surprised me further by producing a skin parting edge I found as I tested its sharpness.
Healing myself, the parted skin of my finger knit itself back together.
Seeing I had just leveled, I said, “Leaderboard,” out of habit. When nothing happened I started looking around as if something was broken. When I remembered this wasn't a game I facepalmed. Well, it was worth a shot.
It was time to get serious. Each of these creatures was at a higher level than me. They also ranged from levels 100-115.
Chapter 10 – Lydia
Light Orb appeared between two Skeleton Warriors. There was little hesitation before they were both slashing through the immaterial light.
I sighed.
At first, I had feared these creatures, but despite their superiority to lower level skeletons, they were still little more than a pile of bones pretending to be alive.
Directing Light Orb to move away from an incoming attack, one of the skeletons whiffed, missing entirely.
Casting a Decay spell didn't even grab its attention. Pain was noticed even less if that was possible.
Instead of immediately finishing them off with my fairly high-level Healing spell, I redirected Light Orb to begin moving, encircling the Skeleton Warriors as they chased after it.
If I was honest, I was living in a horror movie. It felt like a hidden DJ would start to play suspenseful music as if something was going to jump out and get me if I wasn't paying attention. What was a man to do? Change the music.
I began singing under my breath, “Let the bodies hit the floor. Let the bodies hit the floor,” as the Skeleton Warriors bumped into each other and did a terrible job of coordinating their attacks.
The rear skeleton shifted his head from side to side to try to get a better view around its frontline friend.
Swing after swing of the front skeleton's sword cut through the ball of light, as it chased it in its orbit, then swung again.
After a few seconds of frustration, the rear skeleton gave up trying to find its way around the other skeleton and raised its sword to intercept the Light Orb. As its sword flashed forward, the other creature's skull ran interference, a lopsided skull cap was parted from its head.
The severely wounded skeleton turned around to meet its attacker. Instead of attacking, it looked right through the other skeleton, looking for an enemy that didn't seem to exist.
Taking its place in the rear, it waited a few seconds as the other skeleton danced and slashed at the orb. Seeing no way around, it ignored the other skeleton and lopped off its arm.
They were low enough on HP that I hit them both with a Heal spell, not willing to lose their experience for the sake of entertainment.
More and more I had found myself needing a change from the repetition.
Get back to work, Elorion.
Remembering the imp's conversation, I rolled my shoulders, cast a healing spell on myself and determined to refocus on spell and personal leveling.
To make up for it I spammed the room with six or seven Light Orbs and drenched the Skeleton Warriors with Healing spells. At level 68, my Healing spell was two hitting even the 2k HP Warriors. It was by far my fastest leveling spell, other than Decay that was at level 94.
Leveling up my personal level had become much harder once I reached level 100. I calculated I needed at least three times the experience I had needed before. That's why I had been here for the last six hours straight and only reached level 109. Still, my mana per minute was growing more and more with every point of Wisdom.
The bonus for reaching level 100 was a worthless one for me.
Power Nap
When you sleep, you recover your HP and exhaustion twice as fast. Passive.
***
I remained invisible as I returned to base to sell loot and fill my belly with something hot and juicy.
My reason for remaining invisible was to keep from having the other humans see me. This wasn't because of any antisocial inclination of mine, but just the opposite. I knew if I allowed myself to stop and chat it would take very little to convince me to join them.
The first group I saw was the strength guy's group. It had shrunk a little since last time I had seen them stroll into the cafeteria boasting about their first hunt. Before there had been at least ten of them, and now it was seven.
I stopped momentarily to see how they had progressed while staying on the other side of the room so that none of them could unintentionally attack or bump into me. They had confiscated one of the corners of the room near the entrance where they were just starting to take on the Skeleton Scouts. Their level was really too low to do more than take a couple at a time. I knew firsthand how dangerous these scouts could be. They would have leveled quicker if they wouldn't have moved up this quickly.
Their leader had grown even more in size since the last time I had seen him. Checking his level, I saw he was level 67 and his name was Skyler. I hadn't quite doubled his level yet, but it was nice to see staying up all night had been worthwhile. If you considered the jump in experience needed to progress after level 100, then it was safe to say I had actually accomplished more than the number seemed to indicate.
Besides just getting larger, which I assumed was from increasing his strength, he still wore the skull cap but had also gained a red fur vest with black feathers flaring out over his shoulders. Odd, but it looked thick enough to probably make for decent armor at this level. His weapon was basically a granite rock in the shape of a shoe fastened to the end of a three-foot shaft. In other words, a stone sledgehammer.
Two of his followers looked to be following his character build, likely pumping strength and even wielding the same weapon, but minus the helm and armor. I just hoped they were taking advantage of their own talents. As tempting as it was to make a hybrid character, if I hadn't gone with what would work best for my own talents, then I would be nowhere near as far along as I was now.
There was another melee guy with them dual-wielding knives. He was doing his thing, which would probably be better in the long run anyways.
The other three were casters.
A black guy with cornrows wore a baggy shirt tucked in, to his too-baggy pants and his pant legs tucked into a pair of brown leather boots. It made him look like a monk of sorts. Since he wielded no weapon I thought that might be what he was going for until he held up both hands and called, “Pulling!”
A crystal blue mass floated from his hands like a large snowflake. It wasn't a fast spell, but when it hit the nearest sword-wielding Skeletal Scout from behind there was an obvious movement debuff even though there was no obvious frost or freezing effect.
It was only when it turned that the other casters attacked. Fire no larger than a golf ball sizzled into the skeleton's chest cavity, quickly followed by a rock?
I almost forgot to stay silent, choking back a laugh when I saw the rock magically pop out of nowhere in the female caster's palm and shoot forward instead of being thrown. She could have just as easily bent over, grabbed a rock, and thrown it.
With a sigh, I had to remember it would probably become a much more impressive spell as it leveled.
As soon as the skeleton was in range, the sledge brothers went to work sending a nonstop barrage of stone crashing down on the skeleton.
The skeleton didn't bother fending them off with his sword, instead it held up its other arm and blocked the blows while trying to thrust. Even with their impressive strength, it took about a dozen blows to its arm before it collapsed. That was the difference between levels. The skeleton was 76.
After the arm collapsed, a few strikes to the skull and rib cage sent it crumbling to the ground.
I stayed long enough to see them take on an archer. These were at least level 80, so I feared I would have to step in.
It started the same way. The ice monk sent a s
nowflake at the archer, striking it in the pelvis. The fire and earth mages’ attacks weren't as delayed this time, hitting moments later.
Instead of waiting, Skyler and the sledge boys ran at it.
Even after getting hit, the archer's bow was bent. Seeing the three guys running at it, the archer aimed at the more imminent threat and released.
Skyler didn't even try to dodge, instead, he let the arrow hit him high on the chest. It stuck there. It didn't look like it sunk too deep, but I saw him squint away the pain. It didn't slow him.
When they reached the archer who was about to release another arrow, Skyler grabbed the bow with one hand and jabbed his giant hammer into the archer's face.
With the bow in one hand and the sledge in the other, he wound his arms up over his head and drove them down, one after the other.
The other sledges joined him and they beat the crazy tough skeleton into submission.
Even though there weren't professions like in some RPGs, he seemed to have the perfect personality for a real tank.
I left them, finding my old group fighting zombies.
It was immediately obvious without even using Creature Observation that they had already caught up to Skyler's group. Instead of moving on to Scouts before they were ready, Aeris and the others were systematically mass killing the rotten meat-bags. The experience they were taking in, even if it was less per kill than the other group, was at least twice as much if you considered how many more kills they were getting in the long run.
Underworld - Level Up or Die: A LitRPG Series Page 8
