“Why don’t you kill that guy,” I said, causing them both to lumber toward their friend, axes raised. “I have the undying need to add a third abomination to my collection.”
System Message: Boss: Ascendant Reaper has been spotted at west gate. Waves will not continue until the Ascendant Reaper is defeated.
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As I sprinted toward the west gate with all three abominations in tow, I hastily swapped my skills around. I’d been half worried it wouldn’t work because we were being besieged, but evidently, I wasn’t considered in combat at the moment, which made me thankful to the game gods in the sky, let me tell you.
By the time I reached the far gate, my Active Skill Setup looked like this:
Sidestep – level 2
Blade Rush – level 3
Skull Shatter – level 1
Star Scream – level 1
Stun Shock – level 1
Chaotic River – level 1
Raise Golem – level 1
Raise Undead – level 1
Bone Shield – level 1
Reflecting Fog – level 1
I sort of wished I had a few more skill slots because I hated giving up Mana Drain and Body to Soul, but there was nothing for it. I’d wanted to drop both Raise Golem and Reflecting Fog, but the combination had proved so useful, I didn’t want to chance it. Bosses had a way of doing big damage and reflecting that damage back might be the difference between a win and a loss.
Still, I knew the whole thing was a longshot, especially at the west gate where I knew Dark Heart had long since used her explosives. For all I knew, we were going to be fighting a boss and two more abominations.
As the sounds of battle filled my ears, I was just thankful that the walls were still standing. Even still, the smell of charred flesh and blood hung heavy in the air. Worse, there were no archers on the wall. How had that happened?
“I’m not sure what we’re going to find out there,” I called as I sprinted up the ramp that led to the top of the wall, “But kill the fuck out of it, okay, guys?”
“We will do as you command,” the abomination I’d dubbed Larry said as he and his two brothers followed me up the ramp. I reached the top with his heavy footfalls ringing in my ears, and as I did, my heart sank to my toes.
Not only were there two abominations on the field, but there were at least twenty Skeleton Knights too. Dark Heart stood front and center with what remained of the defensive forces. Goblins and humans alike stood beside her like they were Spartans straight out of 300, and as the abominations and cavalry charged, they pushed them off with their shield wall.
Unfortunately, that charge had cost them. Dark Heart’s health hadn’t dropped that much, but several of her men had fallen and been crushed underfoot. While others had moved to close the gaps in the line, I could tell attrition was no doubt eating at them.
Damn. I needed to get down there and help, and fast because while the line was doing a good job of blocking, and could probably hold out for a few more minutes even without my aid, I could see the Ascendant Reaper in the distance.
The boss sat astride his pale horse, one bony hand clutching a massive scythe as his tattered black cowl whipped around him. An army of undead scurried around his feet, and I knew that if he joined the abominations in the charge, the line would break.
“Larry and Moe,” I said, addressing my abominations while leaping down the wall. “Attack the right one! George take Curly and see if you guys can slow the left one down.”
This time, I took the brunt of the fall on my legs instead of my face when I landed on the battlefield, so the fall damage was absorbed by my bone shield. While I knew, I probably shouldn’t have risked it, there was no other way down without going through the gate.
“On it, boss!” George called as he hopped off the wall, body already glowing with pent up frost magic. As he let the blast fly at the abomination, Dark Heart whirled around, probably to see what the fuck was going on.
“Where did you get those?” Dark Heart cried, a combination of relief and awe plastered across her face. Her hair was matted to her scalp with sweat and blood and grime clung to her features. It looked like they’d had a hard battle thus far, and I knew it was only going to get worse.
There was no telling what that boss would do to us. No, we had to take down these abominations before the reaper got here.
“Oh, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Now get back and have your men focus on the cavalry and the left abomination. I’ve got the right one,” I said as I raised my hand and cast Reflecting Fog. As the crimson cloud of death descended upon the battlefield.
“Okay,” Dark Heart said, turning on her heel and directing her men to focus on the other monsters. As a hole opened up in their defense for my abominations to charge through, I gestured toward the two rock piles.
“Raise Golem.” Magic leapt from my fingers, and as it did, the two piles twisted to life, and before they’d even fully formed, I sent them to help Dark Heart.
System Message: You have raised a stone golem. Health: 250 Mana: 0. You have raised a stone golem. Health: 250 Mana: 0.
The golems charged the undead cavalry as Larry, Moe, and Curly met their former ally with a bruising charge that gibbed the creature in an eye blink.
“Wow, you nearly had that one,” I said, swallowing hard as the other abomination fell before the might of all those focused on it. I’d been expecting it to be a hard battle, but evidently, Dark Heart had been right about to stop them on her own. Color me impressed.
“What’d you think we’d been doing? Braiding each other’s hair?” Dark Heart said, sucking in a huge gulp of air as my abominations turned on the cavalry with a fury best not described with words. Let’s just say pieces of undead horses and knights flew everywhere.
“Not sure, to be honest. I had no idea how you were gonna hold this gate,” I said, raising both of the abominations we’d just killed, but was a bit dismayed to find the one Dark Heart had blown away with the explosives no longer around. It would have been nice to have six of the monsters at my beck and call, but I guess five would have to do.
I was a little bit surprised that the one hadn’t been there because ever since I’d specced to necromancer, the game had left corpses in place for a long time. Unfortunately, I guess I must not have been close enough for that to work when she’d killed it.
“I wouldn’t worry about me,” Dark Heart said, glancing back toward the town. “I’m worried about why Crash isn’t here. I heard the explosions, but if he’s not here yet, that means he’s still there.”
Panic leapt through me as I realized she was right. Crash should have been here to help because the boss had spawned. That he wasn’t was worrisome because it meant he was still dealing with his own monsters, and while part of me wanted to go check and make sure he wasn’t being overrun, I couldn’t risk it with the boss nearly here. The Ascendant Reaper was only a few seconds from engaging us.
“He’ll just have to dig deep and figure it out,” I snarled, turning my eyes toward the reaper as it stopped before us and eyed us with the glowing sapphire coals it called eyes. “‘Cause I don’t think that dude is gonna wait for us to go check.”
“Yeah,” Dark Heart said as the reaper raised its scythe overhead. Its warped, skeletal visage twisted into a sneer.
“I will give you one chance to lay down your arms and flee, adventurers,” the Ascendant Reaper spoke in a voice that hit me like a kick in my nuts. My knees shook and that horrible throbbing, incapacitating pain rippled over me. My throat seized up and the urge to vomit filled me as it pointed its gleaming scythe at us. “Your pitiful army is nothing before the might of the Skeleton King.”
“Or, and hear me out,” I said, doing my best to push down the pain and remind myself it wasn’t real. “You go back from whence you came, and we don’t kill you.”
Laughter boomed from its bony maw as it threw its head back and wiped at its glowing eyes with the back of one hand. “Very well, necromanc
er. If it is death you seek, I will gladly deliver it to you.” He swung his scythe through the air. “Attack.”
The cavalry beside him rushed toward us, and as it did, I cast Reflecting Fog across the battlefield. Then I sent my five abominations and two golems to meet the charge. They met in a clash of titanic proportions as I stepped back beside Dark Heart where she’d reformed her line with her men.
“This should be fun,” I said as the abominations tore apart the skeletal horsemen. “I call dibs on the scythe.”
“Fine,” Dark Heart said, and the weariness in her voice struck me as odd. “Let’s just get through this. I’m worried about Crash.”
“Do you want to go check on him?” I asked, and as I said the words, the Ascendant Reaper’s horse snorted sapphire flame into the air, and he charged into battle.
“After!” Dark Heart cried as the reaper swung his scythe through the air, obliterating my two golems with a single swing. I was sure it’d hurt him, but what concerned me more than him not dying was how he managed to rush right by the abominations through the hole he’d made in our defenses and out of Reflecting Fog’s range.
The smell of decay and rot filled the air as green light enveloped his scythe. Then the ground beneath our feet turned black as the hair on Satan’s ass and the smell of week old roadkill filled my nose. My lunch took the express elevator up as my health began to drop and my HUD started flashing with green light.
“Did he just use Death and Decay?” Dark Heart cried as she dove to the left, rolling across the blackened earth as the monster’s scythe slashed through where she’d been standing.
Unfortunately, the men who had been beside her were less lucky. They fell like chaff before his scythe, and as their bodies collapsed into bloody hunks of meat, the creature made a fist. Instantly, their bodies reformed and stood, eyes vacant and empty.
“Kill them all,” the reaper snarled as I scrambled to get out of the way of his area of effect attack. It was a little lame when you considered the fact it broke our line in a second. Worse, what would happen if he cast it on our fortifications? Would they take damage too?
“Take out the zombies, George!” I cried, glancing at the bunny who nodded. I probably didn’t need to say anything because his bunny eyes were narrowed in fury and frost energy was already streaming off him in tendrils. Apparently, he’d been about to attack the boss directly.
“Provoke!” Dark Heart screamed, smashing her sword against her shield. As the word left her lips, the Ascendant Reaper stopped what it was doing and spun to face her.
“You wish to face me, girl?” the Ascendant Reaper said as his demonic mount took a step toward her, leaving ashen hoof prints in its wake. “You are not prepared!”
“Fuck off!” she snapped, pointing her sword at the boss. “Star Scream!”
Energy rippled off her sword, slamming into the boss and punching a hole through its cloak, revealing the bone beneath. Only, the boss didn’t even slow as it stalked toward her, scythe already beginning to glow with crimson hellfire. I wasn’t sure what attack it was going to do, but I couldn’t let it happen.
I quickly swapped my black mithril dagger for my scythe and initiated my Blade Rush skill. Energy wrapped around me as I charged across the battlefield and sank my scythe into the reaper’s exposed back. An explosion of sparks hit the air, and as it started to turn, I chained another skill. “Stun Shock.”
As my scythe hit the turning reaper, golden lightning arced from the heavens and slammed down into the boss. A scream tore from his lips as chains wrapped around his body. He struggled to throw them off, and I instantly realized he wasn’t actually going to be stunned near as long as the Zombie King had been. Damn.
“Power Strike!” Dark Heart snarled, bringing her sword around and cleaving into the boss. Her blow knocked the boss backward a few steps as the chains binding it snapped into ethereal shards.
Fortunately, the boss started to turn back toward her, and as it did, I readied Skull Shatter so I could stun it again. Only, as I tried to use the skill, a message flashed across my HUD.
System Message: Your skill has failed.
“Dammit!” I snapped as the boss completed its turn and pointed its flaming scythe at Dark Heart.
As crimson Hellfire leapt from the reaper’s scythe, Dark Heart planted her shield in front of her and braced herself.
“Shield Wall,” she muttered, causing a glowing wall of purple energy to spread out around her as the flames struck her full on. It splashed across the shield, causing fissures to spread across its edges, but she was fine.
Only there was just one problem with that. I’d seen Shield Wall used lots of times in TG, and while it could block nearly anything, it had one fatal flaw. It dropped agro, which let me just say, was pretty fucking horrible for a tank. Worse, it made it so you couldn’t pick up agro for thirty seconds because you couldn’t attack.
Throaty laugher rippled from the reaper as it spun to face me, eyes full of amusement. As it opened its mouth to taunt me or cast a spell or something, I blasted it with a Fireball.
The magic-fueled spell slammed into its face, snapping its head backward and making it stagger around as fire leapt across its cowl for a second. Thankfully, that second was all I needed for my abominations to close the gap between us.
Their axes smashed into the reaper before it could shake off the blow and attack me, which was good because I didn’t think I could tank the damage like Dark Heart had.
The reaper screamed in pain and fury as it whirled around, smashing Larry into twain with a series of quick attacks that blurred before my eyes, reminding me of when I’d used Crissaegrim in Castlevania.
“See you in Hell,” the reaper snarled, turning its eyes on the four remaining abominations as they wailed on him to little effect. Then he raised his scythe overhead. Blue lightning crackled overhead as I reached out to cast Reflecting Fog.
As the crimson death cloud settled over the area, the Heavens above screamed and bloody rain clouds filled the sky. Fat drops of blood began to pour from the sky, causing my hair and clothes to stick to my skin moments before iridescent lightning tore from the horizon and struck my abominations.
Their bodies exploded into wisps of blackened smoke as demonic skeletal wings burst from the reaper’s back, and it rose from the horse. Lightning crackled in the air around it, and I instantly realized what had happened. By killing all the abominations it’d taken all that damage via Reflecting Fog and moved onto another stage of the boss fight.
Worse, Dark Heart was still trapped behind her shield wall, she wouldn’t be able to help for another fifteen seconds.
“Few have seen my final form, adventurer,” the Ascendant Reaper cried, turning its glowing eyes upon me. A shudder racked my body as I staggered backward clutching my scythe in a white-knuckled grip.
“Good. I was worried you were about to say this isn’t even my final form,” I snapped, trying to feel braver than I actually was. I mean, I knew this was a game, knew he was just a virtual reality monster, but at the same time, he could fucking kill me. Even if that wasn’t the case, he was scary.
“Goodbye, adventurer.” Energy arced off his skeletal features as he opened a mouth full of fangs.
“Die! Motherfucker!” George cried, blasting the reaper in the side of the head with a burst of frost magic.
“George, don’t!” I cried as the reaper’s eyes flitted toward my pet. I’d just seen him take out four abominations like it was nothing, and George had a lot less health than they did. If he got hit, he was as good as dead.
“I’m not afraid of this jackass!” George replied, unleashing more frost magic. The ground beneath his feet frosted over as it struck the reaper again. This time the boss grinned, allowing the attack to strike him.
As George’s attack slammed into the reaper’s chest and hoarfrost rippled out across his cloak, the boss pointed his flaming scythe at my rabbit.
“You should be afraid, rodent!” the reaper snapped, unlea
shing a blast of Hellfire straight at my bunny.
42
“Not today, scumbag!” Dark Heart called, stepping in front of the attack and causing the Hellfire to ripple harmlessly across her shield. Once again it caused fissures to open up across its surface, but that was fine because the reaper’s attack couldn’t break through it, and she’d shielded George from the attack and saved his bunny life.
“Oh, it’s fucking on, motherfucker!” George cried, blasting the reaper like a frosty machinegun. “I. Can’t. Believe. You. Thought. My. Girl. Would. Allow. That. Puleese.”
A smirk crossed my lips as the reaper staggered back under the onslaught of cold that smashed him out of the air and sent him skidding across the ground. Still, I could already tell that wouldn’t be enough to put him down.
“Who you calling your girl?” Dark Heart said, glancing at the bunny as the last of his mana ran out, and he stood there huffing and puffing in the frigid air.
“Babe, you know you love me,” George replied, wiping his nose with one paw. “Don’t act like it ain’t true.”
“Um… guys?” I said, pointing to the reaper as it started to rise. Part of me was furious. How the fuck could it still be alive? It had taken double damage from destroying my golems, a ton more from my abominations, and who knew how much from all our attacks, and it was still alive. These bosses were just way too overpowered to be beaten at all reasonably.
“I’m still timing out,” Dark Heart said helplessly, frustration filling her voice as she gripped her sword and shield tighter. “Can you hold him for ten seconds?”
“You don’t know me very well, do you?” I said, winking at her. “I can do twenty without breaking a sweat.” I took in a deep breath and exhaled it as I spent most of my remaining mana. “Chaotic River.”
Like before, the void opened up, and the horrific blackened skeletons tore themselves free of it and charged across the battlefield, leaping onto the reaper as it climbed to its feet. Their bodies clung to it, tearing at it with their sharpened claws as the boss snarled and raised his scythe into the air, readying that horrible lightning attack. If that hit, it’d take out my skeletons long before Dark Heart could recover.
Soulstone: The Skeleton King: A LitRPG Novel (World of Ruul Book 2) Page 27
