The solace of a warm blanket. The beeps of the heart monitor, the drip from the IV, the constant discomfort plaguing his right hand.
Inconveniences Frail tolerated.
That was his life as he knew it. A child—eventually, half a man—stuck in the cage of his frailty. He recalled how the light from his parents’ eyes dimmed as years went by—when summers turned to winters, winters to falls.
They stopped visiting eventually. Frail became a nuisance; a burden to their finances, a weight to their hearts. What did he feel then?
He couldn’t remember. That life felt… distant.
Frail. No parent was cruel enough to label their child that way. It was a title he gave himself—a punishment for his inadequacies. For all the pain he’d inflicted upon them.
But life had changed. Everything changed. That hollow husk he called a living person no longer existed. That child—that man—became a skeleton, then a cavernous mining shaft, housing his heart; the crystal.
Back on Earth, Frail had no future, no matter how much medication he took, no matter how long his body rotted on that bed. Here, Frail was freed of that restriction. He must remove the skin of his humanity to do so, but…
In his eyes, anything was better than that prison.
[Four Dungeons have been cleared.]
[#1 Major Event commences.]
[The Goblin’s invasion]
[Grog’nar, the goblin chieftain will send his generals to conquer the land in 72 hours.]
[A goblin patrol will be sent to all active beacons every morning, incrementing in difficulty until the invasion begins.]
Another night took reign of the sky when the messages appeared.
[Entity quest issued.]
[Dominion: Reach Tier 3 Entity core to proceed.]
Tier 3… and an invasion? Frail peered the brightening world outside. The forest lay silent, unmoving. Must he deal with the invasion alone? The goblins he fought so far never posed a real threat, but an invasion would undoubtedly put his soldiers through the grinder.
“So it begins.”
Harkon?
The walking corpse trotted past his battery of skeletons, his deformed mouth smiling when he approached Frail’s domain pedestal. The strange man seemed exhausted, apparent from the lack of enthusiasm and playfulness.
Harkon looked as if he’d just hurried back from somewhere.
“I assumed you’ve read it?” He took a deep breath. “No need to answer, it’s obvious enough.” He glimpsed around his domain room, “You’ve grown. I see you’ve taken advantage of Myrkul’s gift. Good.” He gave Frail’s constructs another good look. “I’ve scoured most of the zone,” he continued, “-seen and listened to interesting things. Came across a bunch of drifters elsewhere that may serve our God well. Been trying to cajole them to our side. You may them—they’re not exactly… human.”
Not human?
“The system’s reach extends far beyond your universe. It likes to mix creatures from different worlds into one, see which one deserves its blessings the best.” He smirked. “It usually ends poorly for the weaker ones… Your kind included.”
My kind. Entities.
“You’re special, but you’re not the only one.” He said, maintaining his smile. “There are others, lying in their hidden domains, devouring everything they see.” He shook his head, “Entities are rare—the chances of one surviving the initial ordeal are slim to begin with. Do you remember how you started? The struggle?”
Frail recalled the struggle he waddled through during his first awakening. He nearly died to a silly grub, a defeat impossible with his current army.
“Your type lives alone without the support of another. That’s a boon the drifters have over you.” He added.
There it is again. Drifters.
“Drifters are… well—you—if you aren’t an entity. They’re similar to your constructs. Each comes with his/her status, attributes, skills, levels… all that jazz. You know the deal.”
The camp he spotted last night… that must’ve been them.
Harkon yawned. “My gut says you’ll come in contact with them soon. Those are good—They’re not a part of Her service.” Harkon squinted his eyes, his complexion darkening, “The invasion is keeping everyone busy. Once it is over with… you will face her. But that’s a problem for later.”
Harkon tapped the staunch shield belonging to his Domain lord. “Regardless, my worries are unfounded.” He turned toward the exit, “There is more to this… zone you live in than it appears on the surface. I’d take on the patrols if I were you. You’re strong enough to handle them.” He smiled. “Reap their corpses. You need everything you can take.”
He waved his hand. “Be seeing you again, Entity. Do not disappoint our Lord.”
Only the creaks of his army resounded once he left.
Drifters… Why did Frail end up being an Entity instead of them?
###
Dawn’s fingers breached the tangle of trees and bathed the forest with their amber radiance, casting a somber warmth on the rooted soil. Trills of distant birds and the constant growls of distant goblins sang, welcoming the arrival of another day.
Such warmth did not dispel the darkness thick in Frail’s domain.
Patrols… Frail wished they’d cross paths. Maybe I can entice them here?
To make that dream a reality… Frail dispatched a rogue outside.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
It’s bright.
He missed it due to the darkness, but the forest looked radiant during the day. It contrasted the overt frigid atmosphere he’d accustomed to seeing.
Frail also sent a stray archer alongside the rogue. The archer would draw attention by firing an arrow if said party appeared to be… manageable. Otherwise, they’d hide.
At first, only nature subsisted as the dawn progressed to morning. The dark beasts never bared their fangs under the sunlight—hiding at their homes, presumably.
“-Map says there.”
Frail heard chatters breaking the ambiance seeping from afar. Goblins, he thought at first, but Frail froze when the expected incoherent babble turned out to be… coherent.
English? It must be them…
“I don’t see any goblins patrols yet.”
“Means we’re not far enough.”
A mixture of masculine and feminine voices whispered. Judging from the creaking roots and rustling bushes, Frail expected at least a party of three.
He shoved any notion of communication into the bin. With his skeleton-like appearance and his lack of speaking capabilities, the best response he’d get would be a hostile action before his constructs uttered a cackle. Killing them would net him essence, but antagonizing them without learning their strengths would be a dire mistake.
The voices rang closer and closer still. At this rate, they’d stride past his location.
Stay.
Both skeletons hunkered down. The archer retreated closer to his domain.
“We’re not here to kill.” A husked feminine voice rang, “If they find us… we’ll retreat as planned. Fight only at the beacon with the others.”
Their speeches whispered past him. Frail saw no signs of humans sneaking past… only the ghost of their voices.
His rogue followed the trail of human voices from behind.
Frail recognized some of the land’s features as his rogue slithered below the dome of trees. Then he found fresh tracks matching the imprint of a human’s boot. Then, the backs of walking humans.
His mind froze for a second. The wave of nostalgia, the chord of familiarity struck him hard. Those feelings vanished in the next instant.
Focus. Frail thought as he studied the party of ten behind a tree. Harsh shadows granted it passage and pathways to circle them.
Graaaa!!
“Halt!” The woman alerted the rest. “That sounds… close.”
Everyone halted to an abrupt stop when echoes of goblins roared. Frail spotted it, too—hints of green skins lurching between the browns of barks and the greens of bushes.
“What the fuck…” One of the humans gasped. “That’s… a lot of them.”
To call that a patrol was an understatement. The goblins numbered north of thirty; no, even more, their skins obscured their true numbers. Their march thumped the forest floor, their idle chatter disrupted the verdant ambiance.
Frail noted the human’s… stiff expressions. It seemed their numbers discouraged them from pushing further. They named names of people he’d never met.
“Guess we found them?” One spoke—a tall female archer with tied, sick hair that reached her back. Her gait and the attentive gazes directed at her declared her status as the leader of this party. “We can’t engage them… not now.“
What is that?
Frail spotted it first. A moving glass in the shape of a lanky goblin. He saw its hands glinting as it unsheathed its dagger.
“WATCH OUT! Dillan!” The woman screamed.
But it was all too late.
Blood sprayed from the hapless victim as its dagger carved a hole into his chest. Another pair of daggers ended his life. The man couldn’t even scream—he died before he managed a shriek.
Then the goblins hallooed. They roared. They howled. Alarm calls shook the forest. Goblin outcries shattered the serenity of nature.
Their rampage began blitzing over the humans’ location.
“RETREAT!” An arrow silenced the glass-tinted goblin standing before the deceased man. It came from the woman. The others paid the deceased a sullen look, then retreated in unison. “Shit… invisible ones now? Where do they come from?”
One of the humans held his hands together. “[Wind Stride]”
Flurries of emerald-tinted gales blew their feet, doubling their speed. Frail watched their shrinking backs as the party dissolved into the thick of the grove, blowing winds trailing their path. The goblins maintain pursuit, but alas…
They came upon the sight of Frail’s domain first.
###
Take your positions.
Skeletons geared for another battle. Frail had no methods of detecting the glass-veiled goblins… other than looking.
Rogues… hide. His rogues hid in the corners of the fourth room. His warriors and archers took their usual positions.
Frail glimpsed the incoming goblin patrol.
So many… Frail lost count of the bobbing heads peering through the entrance. The elder goblins marched alongside the normal ones, and he observed hints of moving glass roving alongside them. To contend them with frayed formations would be a fatal mistake.
Rogues… dispatch the mages. Warriors hold the line. Let the archers do most of the work.
He could not risk allowing the invisible goblins passage to the pedestal.
First room… Second room… third room…
Cackles of goblins sang before he heard the patter of their footsteps echoing inside the fourth room. Short figures entered the sights of his archers.
Now.
The first volley dotted the dark roofs of his domain, then fell on their frenzied torsos and heads. Shrieks of demise bellowed.
None of the other goblins cared. Instead, they marched at full speed toward the wall of shields and the lone humongous figure at its center.
Use wrath and speed draw.
Green bubbles shielded the goblins. Balls of fire seared and burned the darkness away. Frail counted at least five soaring beneath the dark ceiling. They crashed and burned his warrior’s shields, painting black marks on their surfaces. Their embers cindered the coarse soil beneath.
His skeletons didn’t budge, didn’t scream, didn’t cry.
They stood their ground.
Another hail of arrows shattered the shields as the goblins neared his barricade. At this moment, the majority of the goblins had entered the fourth room.
Where are they…
There.
Transparent goblins entered Frail’s sight. They posed to strike a warrior’s rear—the rightmost one. Was it his improved vision that revealed them? He couldn’t tell.
Another goblin flanked the warrior on the opposite corner. Its dagger snaked through the gaps of its armor but found ribs and empty flesh. The warriors retaliated with a quick shield bash. Two swipes carved the greens off their skin. The next strike bashed their heads.
Good. As long as the archers were safe, Frail deemed it good enough.
Rogues… Time to move.
The five or so mages channeled another round of fireballs. Unbeknownst to them, two rogues slithered behind their backs, planting two swift stabs into their hearts. The mages had never been proficient in melee—their lack of armor and protection made them easy pickings for his rogues.
Five mages shrank to three. The rest of the mages launched their spell and traced the paths of his rogues, but they had retreated into the darkness.
The clangor of wood against steel echoed. Then fireballs crashed against blackened irons. One slipped through the gaps in Frail’s defenses. It exploded on the floor between two warriors and flung them aside.
Shit. Two unseen goblins made their move and slid through the hole in Frail’s defenses. Three archers shot one down. The other goblin sliced the skull off one of his archers before acid arrows crushed its windpipe—Frail’s first loss of the day.
He had no time to grieve. Goblins had made their way into Frail’s front line. The rogues discouraged further use of the fireballs. They knew the danger of having their backs turned against them. Now…
Make your move, domain lord.
It raised its blade and planted its shield on its front. The warriors ahead of it parted, clearing its path. A blitz of green energy carved a line into the hard soil—three goblins pulverized in a flash. Then, it swung its blade. Two more perished.
That display of strength carved fear into their hearts. A seed of terror, a sprout of dominance.
Everybody knew who held the reins of the fight here.
The skirmish continued for another grueling minute. The victor was clear, but Frail suffered more losses than he expected. Rogues dealt with the mages—their fireballs crippled by their constant grievous harassment. The acid arrows killed whoever it touched, and the warriors overpowered the goblins one-on-one.
His domain lord stood alone at the apex of power. Sure, it took damage from the occasional daring invisible goblins and fireballs, but their strikes were never fatal. Its retaliation, however, proved too much for their feeble bodies to withstand.
Dead goblins lay with their arms and bodies cleaved apart. Mages crumpled, clutching their abdomen from the stabs they received. On his side, he saw multiple shattered bones sprinkling his domain floor.
He lost three warriors—one belonging to his domain lord—and three archers. 1500 essences… vanished. Just like that. Per the skill description, the (D)Skeleton warrior should return tomorrow.
However, he gained more than enough to make up for it.
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CONSTRUCT MENU - Used Slots | 10
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4x Skeleton warriors - lvl 4
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4x Skeleton archer - lvl 4
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2x Skeleton Rogues - lvl 1
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4x (D)Skeleton warriors - Domain locked
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