Ehm, where did we leave off? Oh yes... THE KIGAL-NOTE WAS STOLEN!!
What gives!? Wasn’t it supposed to return to the owner if it was taken?
Pushing those questions aside, I kept on running after the black-clothed sonnovabitch.
It’s luckily not that fast, but they’re gonna give us the slip if we don’t do sothing...
"Garami! Over here!" - Mira
I looked over and saw Mira having decapitated a Skeleton Horse with Airgetlám... good thinking! Convert! And Create!
I wanted a Skeleton Horse first, but since there’s a problem with it being all bone, I opted for a Zombie Horse instead already equipped with a saddle and bridle. Good thing I expected to find sothing ridable on this island and bought these from Armveil.
After removing one of the less-important accessories, I equipped the Sll Weaknning Ring so I could endure the stench of the Zombie Horse.
"We don’t have the [Riding] skill, nor any experience with horseback riding ay all, so we will wait back at the Safe Area." - Alf
Works for . I’m not gonna let this guy get away from the sin of stealing from !
I raced through the streets while grasping the reins of the Zombie Horse. The black-clothed figure started to speed up as it saw getting closer and closer.
Is it trying to lure sowhere? Let’s make it more difficult for it.
I shot Dark Bullets, [Gloom Bullets], Light Bullets, and [Glow Bullets] as harassnt at mister Black-Cloth, while also changing to the more powerful Dark Spear and Light Spear when I got the opportunity. None of them hit.
Grr, is long-range not my forte after all?
The Zombie Horse jumped above the many hinders in the path, thanks to the [Acrobatic]-, [Footwork]-, and [Riding] skills I gave it through the tripled Material cost, for a total of 600 Materials! ...Tch. So it was a trap!
I made the Zombie Horse jump up, just in ti to escape the lance of the Skeleton Rider that stord out from the side-street to the right... hey! It’s Lancer! Not Rider!
They’re even pitting D-ranks into this? And not just one. Several more Lancers, all riding a Skeleton Horse started to appear. No magicians? Were they expecting us all to arrive on foot?
The Lancers have gathered nicely into a formation, so why not take advantage of it? The Burst-type spells will make an explosion that affects even my Horse, so let’s stick to Nether Magic’s Turn Undead Field.
A larger magic array appeared in the area right in front of us. Right after we passed it, I activated the array, frying the Lancers and their rides.
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Your level has increased. Reached Lv.31
You have earned 0.3 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.3 Skill Points were earned.
Good timing!
SYSTEM SSAGE:
The Party: [CRUSH THE SKULLS!] has been disbanded due to disconnection with the Party Leader.
Seriously good timing! That’s the last EXP I could offer the other guys!
And Parties had a distance limitation? That didn’t happen when Alf went fishing... is it because of the Dungeon? Must be. It’s "disconnection", so the "signal" must be disrupted by sothing here. The energy of the Dungeon?
Gah! I don’t have the ti for that! Gotta focus on black-cloth!
As I focused my attention forward, I caught the glimpse of several Skeletons holding bows. Archers even? You have to...
I countered the Archers through a few Light Bullets of my own. As I passed them, the remains of the Archers got converted through [Necromatic Rite]... that’s you, right? [Parallel Mind]-?
The one and only!
If you got ti to convert corpses, focus rather on blasting bones to smitheries!
Won’t that lead to us having too low MP for when we need it?
I know that Rite doesn’t only need scraps to work, but that doesn’t an... just making so Skeleton Fairies and focusing on whatever cos from behind.
Roger! Scraps of scraps, coming up!
I hate that part of who wants to gain as much as possible...
The Skeleton Fairies jumped into my hood so they wouldn’t be left behind by the fast-moving Zombie Horse. Since the back’s taken care of by the Fairies and [Parallel Mind]-, let’s focus solely on the front... but with a tad to the sides! Jump, Zombie Horse, jump!
*KA-BOOOM!*
An explosion struck the ground where we had just been. The Horse got knocked into the air by the force of the blast, but it managed to land without any problems. This horse’s too talented!
"EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE." - Robots(?)
From the shadows of the corners erged several ball-like robots... don’t they look familiar to the ones I encountered in the Water-Knot?
On the 3rd Floor? Yup. Definitely.
Is that baron-guy here as well?
We won’t know until we find out. Here are the Identification-results by the way.
Oh, you work fast, .
The-he-he~.
Na: naless
Race: Machinerz mdl: BB.Ex-008 | Gender: none
Level: 1
Karma Value: 0
Skills: 7
HP: 220/220 MP: 0/0 SP: 440/440
STR: 190 VIT: 200 MAG: 0
RES: 80 SPD: 450 DEX: 150
INT: 35 LUC: 80
Skill List:
Attack Skills:
[Rush Lv.15] [Explosion Attack Lv.20]
Active Skills:
[Boulder Roll Lv.30]
Passive Skills:
[Explosion Reinforcent Lv.30]
Leadership Skills:
[Cooperation Lv.30]
Monster Skills:
[Self-Destruction Lv.10] [Aether Engine Lv.30]
Suicide bombers? Or living bombs?
Let’s go with the latter. The forr would be too sad of a fate for them.
Good point. Focus on blasting them with Fire-attribute spells. They lack that anti-magic plating thing so of the other bots had. Maybe they’ll prematurely explode?
Oki-doki~.
Leaving the bots in the back to [Parallel Mind]-, I returned to blasting black-cloth outta the sky. He tried to hide sotis while I was busy with the constant reinforcent, but no way I’m gonna miss that aether signature. You’ve ssed with the wrong owner of [Empyrean Eyes], black-cloth. I’ll stalk you to the end of the world!!
---
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Your level has increased. Reached Lv.38
You have earned 0.3 Skill Points
Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.3 Skill Points were earned.
You weren’t kidding when you said: "to the end of the world". As expected of .
Alright, stop kicking the downed demon. I didn’t think it would take my words that literally.
The chase’s been going on for... half a day now? And been through equally much of the city?
The constant streams of living bombs died out at a point, only for them to be replaced with a large number of Skeletons, Zombies, and Geists. They ended up as rust on my Turn Undead Field. Heh~.
But we’re not catching up to that guy.
I know, I KNOW! Don’t stress ! I’ve been going on with just Stamina Potions and level-ups to keep from collapsing here!
Good thing we had [Sleep Nullification].
Don’t remind about that.
I stopped the lance of a Red Skeleton Rider to my right with the Carnwennan’s long sword-mode and made a head-shot on the Skeleton Goblin Rider on my left with the Thaumaturgy Revolver all while complaining about the situation.
The Goblin Rider fell of its lupin ride which made the latter stop in its track. They both got swallowed by the flas of the Flare Pillar spell from the Skeleton Fairy Fire Mage. Skeletons may have enough speed to catch up to the doped Zombie Horse, but their defense’s too brittle. Their HP reached 0 fast enough to think it was an insta-kill.
The horse of the Red Rider was hit behind its knees by the Wind Whip spells from the Skeleton Fairy Wind Mage, making them collapse and get swallowed by another Pillar, along with a Turn Undead Field. Like the Goblin Rider and Wolf from before, their HP gauge was reduced to 0 in no ti.
Both of them, the final remaining undeads of this sector, had finally joined their comrades in my Material collection.
The Material count must have reached the necessary number, as [Parallel Mind]-I made another Skeleton Wolf run along with the already-created one. They’re the perfect escorts~. Just one was enough to take care of all the trash that tries to block my path, and now I’ve got twice the efficiency.
Shouldn’t we try that again now that our gauges are full?
True. Since we’re at Lv.38 now, who knows when we’ll reach 39?
I made horsey jump up to the roof again by enhancing it with a Nether spell. Black-cloth saw us coming at him and started to throw magic spells of the Darkness- and Light attributes.
We simply tanked the Darkness attributes at first since both I and horsey don’t take any damage from them... almost. More proficiency for [Darkness Resistance] and [HP Auto-Recovery]~. It’s only possible thanks to Dungeon Raider improving my recovery abilities that I can brute-force my way through them though. And that [Parallel Mind]-I have evolved [MP Auto-Recovery] into [MP Greater Recover], allowing her to cast recovery spells on both and horsey.
As for the Light-attribute spells... not that easy. Both and the horse’s weak to them, so we’ve been dodging them or I’ve used Carnwennan to reflect them. It makes feel like those warriors in a galaxy far, far away when I send the Light Bullets back to black-cloth. So cool!
Cool or not, it’s impossible to reach that guy when he gets that barrage going. And it continues until the building collapses and I have to evacuate to the ground.
This ti, I’m prepared for the assault. Instead of parrying the blasts, I used the Darkness Burst spell to countereffect the incoming spells. Horsey, charge!
Using its inborn [Charge] skill, the Zombie Horse rushed through the storm of magical bullets while I extended the effect of the Darkness Burst for as long as possible. It’s hard work that tears on ntally, and I’m already pretty worn out thanks to the extended period of fighting. My MP’s slowly, but surely, being reduced despite all the cost reductions and auto-recoveries. This is getting bad...
Black-cloth, who didn’t know any better, got visibly disturbed by our charge and threw more spells while panicking. Sorry to say this...
But we’re the distraction!
A large wall of fire and wind erged from the gap between the buildings, right in the middle of black-cloth’s line of flight!
The trick is simple: I had the two Skeleton Fairies take a ride with the two Skeleton Wolves, who are even faster than the Zombie Horse thanks to being Skeletons. When they were in position, [Parallel Mind]-I had them use the Firewall and Windwall spells, creating this fabulous piece of work I’m seeing right now.
Black-cloth, completely occupied with and horsey until just now, couldn’t react in ti and flew straight into the wall of fiery winds. The Fairies must have run out of MP, as they turned off the spell just as I did right now. Urgh, around 15% left... too close! Where’s my MP Potion?
While chugging down the potion, both to recover MP and a little satiety, I had horsey jump over to the collapsed black cloth. I quickly retrieved the Kigal-Note that had fallen out of their hands and returned it to shadow-form. Welco back.
The cloth that had covered the thief until has been burned by the flas, so I could see their face...
? The face that was hidden until now was a carbon copy of my face. Horns, tear-like markings, and even the marks representing [Grudge Evil Eye] are there.
While I looked at the doppelganger, their face suddenly started to fall apart into dust, leaving behind a skeleton... not. It’s a wooden puppet. Ashen-grey wood, but still a puppet.
Did soone mask this thing with my... data or whatever? That would explain why they could take the Kigal-Note...
Maybe...
Are you exhausted?
Think so... this "" is just the result of a skill... probably gonna need so ti to recover...
Then do so. I’ll take care of the rest.
’K... the doll’s aether was detected sowhere else on the map... I marked the place where the "puppet master" should be...
Oh, thanks... and she’s asleep.
First, the map. The culprit was last seen... not too far from the castle. But, I’m closer to the Safe Area than that place, so let’s regroup with the others before going there. Wait, I almost circled through the whole island in one go? ...I-I need a break, [Sleep Nullification] or not.
Speaking of skills, how do things look right now?
Na: Garami
Race: Rasetsu Ogre Lord | Gender: Female
Level: 38
Karma Value: -200
Main Class: Assassin Lv.17
Sub Class Spectermancer Lv.44
Skills: 135
Titles: 37
Blessings: 3
Skill Points: 36.2
HP: 120/297 MP: 156/532 SP: 72/309
STR: 392 VIT: 264 MAG: 308
RES: 319 SPD: 547 DEX: 583
INT: 120 LUC: 150
A-ha-ha-ha... I’ve got three stats that’s surpassed the 500-line. Aweso!
Skill List:
Ability Skills:
[Health Increase Lv.4] NEW1 [HP Auto-Recovery Lv.38] UP3 [Mana Increase Lv.22] UP4
[Minimized Mana Consumption Lv.12] UP10 [MP Greater-Recovery Lv.4] EVOLVED2 [Stamina Increase (Small) Lv.Max]
[Minimized Stamina Consumption Lv.11] UP5 [Strength Increase Lv.6] [Vitality Increase Lv.7] UP1
[Magic Increase (Small) Lv.Max] UP4 [Resistance Increase (Small) Lv.Max] [Speed Increase Lv.9] UP2
[Dexterity Increase Lv.10] UP2
Attack Skills:
[Assassination Arts Lv.10] UP1 [Ehangwen-Style Self-Defense Lv.3] UP2 [Mana Burst (Darkness) Lv.19] UP2
[Glow Bullet Lv.35] UP12 [Gloom Bullet Lv.31] UP10 [Bite Lv.41] UP1
Magic Skills:
[Light Magic Lv.35] UP20 [Darkness Magic Lv.29] UP12 [Poison Magic Lv.4]
[Magic Ability Lv.48] UP19
[Healing Magic Lv.32] UP10
[Nether Magic Lv.27] UP22
[Summon Kin Lv.1] [Create Undead Lv.41] UP9 [Necromantic Rite Lv.38] UP16
Crafting Skills:
[Weaving Lv.38] UP4 [Mixing Lv.4] [Create Trap Lv.7] UP1
Active Skills:
[Liquid Control Lv.2] [Aura of Darkness Lv.39] UP8 [Chaotic Concurrence Lv.18] UP4
[Shadow Dive Lv.9] UP1 [Heresy Modification Lv.30] UP4 [Evil Lord’s Aura Lv.11] UP1
[Blink Lv.25] UP3 [Energy Warfare Lv.29] UP1 [Sky Jump Lv.16] UP1
[Poison Coating Lv.9] [Shooting Lv.32] UP11
[Sadistic Constitution Lv.Max]
[Stealth Lv.48] UP5 [Silence Lv.Max] UP5 [Odorless Lv.43] UP5
[Recognition Obstruction Lv.16] UP4 [Camouflage Lv.45] UP5 [Lightwalk Lv.Max]
[Thread Control Lv.Max] [Cutting Thread Lv.37] UP2 [Piercing Thread Lv.36] UP2
[Impact Thread Lv.36] UP2 [Spatial Storage Lv.11] UP1
Passive Skills:
[Swordsmanship Lv.32] UP5 [Marksmanship Lv.41] UP14 [Whipsmanship Lv.42] UP1
[Thread Mastery Lv.13] UP2 [Armor Lv.19] UP3 [Martial Arts Lv.11] UP3
[Magic Power Operation Lv.Max] UP13 [Aiming Lv.Max] [Probability Correction Lv.22] UP11
[Acrobatics Lv.30] UP11 [Overeating Lv.32] UP1 [Climbing Lv.32] UP1
[Pilfer Lv.21] UP3 [Surprise Attack Lv.23] UP9 [Critical Dance Lv.7] UP5
[Battle Survivalist Lv.4] [Light Reinforcent Lv.36] UP15 [Darkness Reinforcent Lv.49] UP7
[Necromancy Reinforcent Lv.4] NEW [Debuff Reinforcent Lv.21] UP2
[Gathering Lv.Max]
[Slumber Lv.10] UP1 [Riding Lv.Max] UP10 [Footwork Lv.Max]
[Lockpicking Lv.14] UP1 [Fishing Lv.14] [Dismantling Lv.10]
[Vital Point Knowledge Lv.32] UP2 [Thought Super-Acceleration Lv.3] UP2 [Linguistics Lv.31]
[Parallel Mind Lv.2] UP1 [Auto-Mapping Lv.27] UP3 [Language Adaption]
Resistance Skills:
[Water Resistance Lv.30] [Darkness Resistance Lv.38] UP6 [Death Resistance Lv.3] UP2
[Poison Resistance Lv.47] [Poison Immunity Lv.10] [Undead Resistance Lv.3] NEW
[Curse Resistance Lv.3] [Heretic Resistance Lv.32] UP2 [Heretic Immunity Lv.11] UP1
[Paralyze Resistance Lv.41] UP1 [Sleep Nullification] [Confusion Resistance Lv.42] UP1
[Fear Resistance Lv.Max] [Faint Resistance Lv.6] UP2 [Pain Resistance Lv.Max]
[Pain Mitigation Lv.20] UP2 [Sunlight Resistance Lv.25]
Perception Skills:
[Night Vision Lv.Max] [Intuition Lv.26] UP6 [Presence Perception Lv.45] UP6
[Trap Detection Lv.5] [Poison Detection Lv.4] [Probing Lv.7] UP2
[Identification Blocking Lv.19] UP1 [Fake Identity Lv.9] [Discover Lv.39] UP3
[Mind’s Eye Lv.23] UP3 [Empyrean Eyes Lv.5] UP2
Leadership Skills:
[Leadership Lv.41] UP3 [Tactics Lv.32] UP3 [Party Lv.29] UP5
[Ta Lv.12]
[Control Undead Lv.Max]
[Royal Authority Lv.5] UP1
[Evil Royalty Lv.2] UP1
Elents:
[Lesser Light Elent Lv.Max] UP30 [Darkness Elent Lv.49] UP8 [Lesser Poison Elent Lv.4] UP1
Monster Skills:
[Dragon Power Lv.11] UP1 [Poison Bite Lv.Max] [Paralyze Bite Lv.41] UP1
[Sleep Bite Lv.44] UP1 [Confusion Bite Lv.39] UP1 [Spider Lord’s Thread Lv.25] UP3
[Shapeshift (Humanoid) Lv.17] UP1 [Golden Ratio Lv.12] [Grudge Evil Eye Lv.18] UP7
Extra Skills:
[Zahhak - Dragon of Darkness Lv.1]
T-these last few days, especially these last hours, have been too hectic! Hmm? [Lesser Light Elent]! You did it! I can finally... there are more titles? I ignored all the system ssages while chasing after the doppelganger, so let’s have a look at them before evolving any more skills.
Title List:
Achievent Titles:
[Titan Killer] [Vermin Bane] [Darkness Technique User]
[rciless] [Pinch Breaker] [Mystic Arts User]
[Army of One] [Cruel Commander] [Hero Killer]
[Rescuer] [Mysterious Killer] [Dungeon Raider]
[Daredevil] [Light Technique User] [Foul Eater]
[Master of Threads] [Fearbringer] [Poison Technique User]
Hunting Titles:
[Dread Spirit Genocider] [Monster Slaughterer] ADVANCED [Beast Slayer]
[Arachnid Slayer] [Rodent Slayer] [Humanoid Slayer]
[Undead Slaughterer] NEW [Skeleton Slaughterer] NEW [Zombie Slayer] NEW
[Ghost Slayer] NEW [Inorganic Slayer] NEW
Status Titles:
[Champion of Alvatria] [Migrant] [Reincarnator]
[Lord of Evil] [True Chaos] [Slayer of the Ultimate]
[E-Rank Adventurer] [Death’s Horseman] NEW
Several tons of Skeletons chased just today, so no wonder that title advanced into Slaughterer. Inorganic Slayer must be from... the bomb-bots? And what about this one?
Title Na: Death’s Horseman
Acquisition condition:
Perform tasks worth of Death’s recognition while riding, or being in the ownership of, a horse of supernatural nature.
Effects:
Unlocks specific Skill Evolution for Riding-type skills.
Description:
As a reward for assisting Death in retaining the ones who ignore the law of life and death, you are granted the ability to beco a (potential) inheritor of the four guardians of Death, each assisted by a phantom horse of their own choice.
...What’s this all about? Death? As in the Ultimate God? No, if that was the case, why didn’t I obtain the Champion Skill of Death? Then, Death is a subordinate of the Ultimate God? And we can be a spiritual inheritor to their... riding styles? And from the description, it’s those "Four Horsen"?
Hmm... Let’s force Mira to get [Riding] and [Ta] after this and confirm it. But we need to find more of those who "ignore the law of life and death". Are they talking about undeads, or is there sothing else going on here?
In the Skill Shop, [Riding] didn’t get several choices to choose from, probably because I lack riding-related classes, but there’s an extra category. When I accessed it, I found four different skills I could evolve [Riding] into. And they all need 10 Points, despite being only tier-2... one of them’s grayed out?
Wait, let gather all the information about them... what do you an I can’t Identify the skill options!? And the Kigal-Note’s... of no help at all. Figures.
This is mostly guesswork, but the skills and their potential requirents, based on if they’re related to those Four Horsen, should be...
[White Rider].
The horseman with a crown and a bow. Represents conquest?
Related to Leadership Skills? Royal Monster-related?
Gives charisma-like effects?
[Red Rider].
Horseman ard with a sword. Represents war.
Related to Hunting titles?
Turns the mount into a warhorse? Battle-related enhancents to the mount?
[Black Rider]. (Can’t take it)
Horseman that takes the shape of a food vendor. Represents famine.
Related to Crafting Skills? Artisan classes? rchant classes?
Easier movent for transporting goods with a horse?
[Pale Rider].
Horseman represents death.
Related to necromancy? Death-attribute in general?
Skills related to the grim reaper? Or his mount at least?
Hmm... crossing out [Black Rider] that I can’t take anyway, all these skills seems to be useful in one way or another. [White Rider] could have effects similar to the Royalty-skills, while [Red Rider] could turn horsey into a might of its own. If I can convert the dragons stored in the Kigal-Note, is it the birth of Dragon Knight Garami then?
Still, I’m gonna take [Pale Rider]. I’m no horseback fighter anyway, and the skill does seem to have great adaptability with Spectermancer. Also, can’t Death be considered the ultimate assassin in so way? There are probably pros and cons for all the skills, but let’s go with the best first impression.
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Evolved skill: [Riding Lv.Max] into skill: [Pale Rider Lv.1].
10 Skill Points consud.
Blueprints for "Pale Horse" are unlocked for [Necromantic Rite].
Skill: Pale Rider
Skill Type: Passive Skill
Skill Tier: 2
Attribute: Death, Darkness
Effect:
Improves riding abilities.
Reduces the presence of the rider and the mount, along with shutting out any sound and sll created by them.
Increases the strength of undead-type mounts.
Phew. I wasn’t wrong. Except that it’s better than I first thought! Don’t get why the Darkness attribute’s there too? Because it’s stealthy?
I imminently dismissed horsey and the wolves-fairies duos and wanted to look at the new undead. Wow. It’s ranked D . And it needs... 1,000 Materials!? And that’s the original sum!
So, it’s the question of either quality or quantity... hmm? Wait, can’t I also... and this one as well... oh? A race-limited variant? Or demon-related? I’ll take it anyway.
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Modified skill: [Control Undead Lv.Max] into skill: [Undead Servant Lv.1].
6 Skill Points and skill: [Ta Lv.12] consud.
Evolved skill: [Lesser Light Elent Lv.Max] into skill: [Light Elent Lv.1].
6 Skill Points consud.
Evolved skill: [Magic Power Operation Lv.Max] into skill: [Demon’s Magic Control Lv.1].
10 Skill Points consud.
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Legacy Quest: [Black Light] can now be completed.
Do you want to retrieve the Quest Rewards? Doing so will result in so titles being rged.
...Checking, checking... yes.
SYSTEM SSAGE:
Titles: [Light Technique User] and [Darkness Technique User]
have been rged into the title: [Black-Light Technique User].
...Ku-ku-ku... MWA-HA-HA-HA!!
Finally! FINALLY! One of the largest hinders in my way to Kur Kigal has been passed! Now I just need to find the rarest hinder, then I’m set!
Before that, let’s test out [Undead Servant]. To start, let’s make a Lesser Skeleton.
No visible changes...
"Can you understand ?" - Garami
*Nod*
Oh! That’s an improvent from the old undeads! They could only accept orders, not answer even simple questions like that.
"What would happen if I dismissed you, then summoned a different undead? Would it be you who’s summoned?" - Garami
*Nod*
"Then, what if I summoned another undead when the skill leveled up?" - Garami
*Nod, nod*
"...It’s always you who’s summoned?" - Garami
*Nod*
...It’s cloud-based. Skills these days are high-tech!
"I’ll summon you like a Pale Horse then. No problems with that?" - Garami
*Shake*
After dismissing the Lesser Skeleton, I resummoned it as a Pale Horse with double the costs to give it [Auto-Mapping] and [Acrobatic]. It already had [Riding] and [Footwork] as starting skills.
The Pale Horse looks like a pale-white horse with a flaming, blue mane. The fire’s not hot to touch, and there’s no sll from it like the Zombie Horse. I Identified it more closely and found out it’s a ghost-type undead, of the type: Corporeal Ghost.
Most importantly, it’s strong! In a muscle fight, it would lose to the Corpse Dragon, but add the skills, speed, and smarts, then this guy could probably win on his own.
I jumped up on it and set off for the Safe Area... what’s this feeling? It’s like I’m sitting on a cloud. A great difference from the hard and bulky Zombie Horse. Ghost-types are aweso! Wait, ain’t this the first ghost-type I’ve ever made?
.....Gotta favorite this one big ti.
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