Smears of viscous, foaming blood trailed from the fourth room into the pedestal’s chamber.
Loss a few. Not… good.
His recent losses spurred Frail’s spirit to empower himself, and with the growing threat, he found the need to take more risks to further his goals.
He ogled at the pile of delicious carcasses.
[Drain essence]
[You gained 150 essences.] x 48
[You gained 300 essences.] x 6
[You gained 500 essences.] x 5
[You now have 12,170 essences.]
Wow. He thought he’d tasted euphoria before. Frail’s non-existent stomach would never be full, but… what he ate was a good substitute.
So this is what ten thousand essences tasted like.
And he hadn’t begun the corpse extraction.
[Corpse extraction complete. You gained 4000 essences.]
[You now have 16,170 essences.]
[Extraction summary]
[48 goblin recruit. Total essence: 2400]
[5x goblin shaman. Total essence: 1000]
[6x goblin nightblade. Total essence: 600.]
If Frail lacked the essences for his domain lord fabricator before, now he had that and a bountiful change.
The recent defense was a lecture to Frail’s needs. The warrior and archer constructs withstood the majority of the goblin’s attacks. Numbers alone wouldn’t cut it; he needed both numbers and strength. With the recent surprise in the goblin’s lineup… it’d be prudent to anticipate another type of combatant within their army.
And that meant his domain lord. It was inept outside his domain… but inside, it was a different story. Perhaps more upgrades could remove such a restriction… but Frail couldn’t plan for an option he didn’t know was possible.
What perplexed him were the priorities of what came after; upgrading his constructs, replenishing his numbers, or upping his construct slots—all too important but costly. Reaching tier 2 required his entity upgrade alongside his constructs reaching level 10.
I’m overthinking it.
In the end, his domain lord routed most of the goblins. He saw a point to prioritize its strength. Frail wouldn’t spend everything into his domain lord; he planned to spend at least a chunk of his current essences on it.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Domain lord fabricator - Undead
-Grants access to domain lord upgrades.
-Grants access to domain lord research menu: You can unlock additional domain lord schema here.
-At tier two, you are granted another option for domain lords.
Recommended.
Costs 5000 essences.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
[You purchased the Domain lord Fabricator upgrade!]
[You now have 11,170 essences.]
[You do not have the space for another domain lord.]
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Domain lord upgrade - Skeleton commander - level 1 - Tier 1 | Next tier: Level 10.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Attribute increase: Increases 1 attribute by 4. Costs: 800 essences. Raises level by 1.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Commander’s aura - 2 - Bonus attributes +3>8 strength, dexterity, and resilience. Bonus now also applies to itself. Costs: 1200 essences. Raises level by 2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Deadly charge - 2 - Temporarily increases strength by 30% for 5 seconds after skill activation. Costs 1200 essences. Raises level by 2.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
New ability - Lord’s wrath - Raises all attributes by 20% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Costs 3000 essences. Raises level by 3.
Also grants permanent +5 strength, 3 dexterity, and +5 resilience.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Domain Skill upgrade - Warrior’s standard - 2 - Damage bonus is increased to 30%. Spawns 3 additional (D)skeleton archers. They are leashed to the floor the domain lord is assigned. Costs: 1500 essences. Raises level by 3.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded weapons(1) - Strengthens the domain lord’s weapons. Next level provides + 8 strength, +7 dexterity. Costs: 1500 essences. Does not raise construct level.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded armors(1) - Strengthens the domain lord’s armor. Next level provides + 8 resilience, and +8 resistance. Costs: 1500 essences. Does not raise construct level.
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Interesting...
The domain skill upgrade spawned additional archers. Its active skill—Lord’s wrath—was a straight upgrade over the warrior’s counterpart, though Frail found the utility of its auras equally beneficial. He found [deadly charge] useful, but the other upgrades improved aspects beyond more damage.
He had enough to wrestle Lord’s wrath and the two aura upgrades… Keep Deadly charge for later. Let’s see my other options.
…and that was what he did. He bought Lord’s wrath, Commander’s aura 2, and Warrior’s standard.
[You spent 5700 essences.]
[You now have 5470 essences.]
A jolt of strength surged into his domain lord. It shivered from the sensation. Then, its body expanded in size, and he felt the cold wave of strength from its stature. His constructs experienced a similar growth spurt—an effect of its upgraded commander’s aura.
As long as they roamed his domain, they’d benefit from his investments. The bonus attributes did not appear in the status windows… but their effects could be spotted through their physical appearance.
Three globs of white ooze materialized behind it and formed into skeleton archers. Frail seriously considered replacing some of the dead constructs with rogues after witnessing their efficacy against the pesky mages.
Hold on.
First, he checked the status of his domain lord.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Skeleton Commander (Shielded) (Sword)| Domain lord
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Construct Level: 8
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Type: Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 35
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dexterity: 9Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resilience: 25
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 12
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits / Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skeletal Body
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Commander’s aura(2)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Deadly charge
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Lord’s wrath
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Domain Skill : Warrior’s standard (D) (2)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Level 8…
Next… which constructs would best serve him with upgrades? Both archers and warriors were centerpieces of his strategy. His skeleton warriors acted as cushions. Archers provided constant damage. Rogues would then deal with those outside of his construct’s reach. Perhaps the Dark Rush upgrade was the right one? It helped rogues close the distance and rendered them invisible for a few seconds.
Ultimately, he purchased the dark rush upgrade and replenished his constructs—two warriors, two rogues, and an archer. The three additional archers from his domain lord’s standard freed more space for other, better units to roam in the shroud of darkness.
[You now have 2970 essences.]
Satisfied, he finished shopping by upgrading the armor of the warriors, then purchased upgraded weapons for his archers. Rogues dealt sufficient damage for their roles; to sneak in and distract—or even better, kill—the goblins’ unarmored mages, then clean up the wounded and faltering ones. He’d never use them to fight anything in the open unless he must.
He then spent the final 500 essences to raise his warrior’s resilience by two.
[You now have 470 essences.]
His legion of twenty-something stood before the pedestal. Frail noted the better armors covering his warrior’s torsos—their once fully-rusted chest plates glinting with hints of polish—and the longer, thicker bows dangling behind the archer’s backs. The rogues appeared gaunt and sleek, their lanky figures blending with the cloak of darkness. Frail checked their improved stats to study their growth.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct - Skeleton Archer(Longbow) | Combatant | Tier - 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Construct Level: 4
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Type: Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 12(+3)
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dexterity: 12(+5)
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resilience: 6
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 3
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits / Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skeletal Body
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Acid arrow
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Speed draw
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded Weapons - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct - Skeleton Warrior (Shielded) | Combatant | Tier - 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Construct Level: 5
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Type: Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 13
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dexterity: 3
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resilience: 13(+5)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 6(+4)
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits / Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skeletal Body
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Bone’s bulwark
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Wrath
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded Armors - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Construct - Skeleton Rogue(Dagger) | Combatant | Tier - 1
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Construct Level: 4
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Integrity: 100%
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Type: Undead
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 5
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dexterity: 16
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resilience: 6
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 6
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: -
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits / Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Skeletal Body
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Undead Veil
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Concealed strikes
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Dark rush
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Frail dismissed all the screens. He glimpsed toward outside. Peace. For now.
### Damon ###
Damon could not miss Justine’s vacant eyes when she returned.
“Shit…” Sarah whispered beside him. “Someone died.”
Four left. Three returned. He needed not to guess what happened.
Justine ignored their curious gazes and went straight to Arthur’s tent. Damon and his friends followed her steps.
“Dillan’s gone.” Justine slammed her bow on the table. “We found… a different type of goblin. It goes invisible before it strikes. Then the patrol spotted us. There’s like… I don’t know, thirty, fifty of them?”
Arthur sighed. “I see…”
That’s a ridiculous amount for a patrol. Damon leaned in.
“It’s my fault.” Justine sneered. “I wasn’t care-“
“It’s nobody’s fault.” Arthur insisted. “We don’t know before… Now we do. That is all.”
“I say we go and deal with the patrol ourselves,” Justine’s lips trembled.
Her words resonated with those present. Yet… the risk would be tremendous, if not perilous.
A momentary silence hung in the air.
[Urgent event detected!]
[Stop the goblin shamans’ ritual.]
[Time remaining… 4 hours.]
[Upon failure, the invasion will be sped up by 48 hours.]
[Upon success, [Haven] will receive a rare treasure chest.]
Everyone’s eyes gaped.
What?
The fireball-throwing goblins weren’t called shamans. He explicitly recalled the word mage.
That means-
“What is that?” One guy near the walls spoke and pointed up.
A beam of scarlet fell from the sky in the distance across the mountain.
Target. Damon grimaced. And we must hurry.
“Suppose it’s about time we leave,” Arthur muttered under his breath. “Call the others. We’ll bring only our best. Those who aren’t ready must stay and level up.”
“And the invisible goblins?”
Desmond released a bunch of scrolls.
[Detect scroll]
“I checked the beacon… it sells these now.” Desmond shrugged. “A few minutes after you left. I guess the system provides new things when we need them.”
“After he died?” Justine groaned. “That’s just… mean.”
“The patrol?” Damon lurched forward. “Will we fight both?”
Nobody answered. They never had a choice to begin with.
###
Frail noticed the red beam falling from the sky when one of his rogues dared nudge its head outside. Only the blind and the dead would miss it.
Am I not both?
His rogues ventured deeper into the forest, taking extra caution to sneak between the shadows befalling the surface.
Step, step. Crunch.
Footsteps rang. Hurried footsteps. Hasty whispers follow. Frail could not make the words out.
Humans again? They must be back for the beam.
He ordered the rogue to approach. Its sleek figure darted about with graceful, almost dead-silent steps. Its speed had increased from before—a side benefit from the additional dexterity.
Then, he spotted him.
A man with golden hair glistening under the sun. Able-looking fellows huddled close to him.
That’s the lady I saw. Frail noted the sunken eyes of the woman he’d spied on before.
“Where’s the patrol?” A man with a slashed eyebrow said.
“I don’t know… perhaps they returned for the ritual?” The familiar woman replied. “The beam’s getting closer…”
Frail detected strength through the unwavering gaze in their eyes. It was clear the ones around the blond stood head and shoulders above the others. One limped with his staff, an old man the same age as his father, a somewhat innocuous adult with plain features, a bald man carrying a short bow, another tanned woman with curled hair and a masculine face… and a man with brown, medium-length hair, a tower shield, and a long, silver blade.
“Keep your eyes open.”
The cluster of humans waded through the forest, discarding any pretense of stealth. Whatever this ritual implied, it must be important; and their worried faces confirmed his suspicions further.
Now… Should I help or let nature run its course?
He had no intention of siding with the goblins, nor did they possess the necessary sentience to form such a relationship in the first place. His nature as an undead made it a chore to communicate with living things. His undeath would no doubt appall those rich with life—and humans, even more so.
Undeads had always been the classic enemies in games and fantasies, after all.
Frail learned their names through their unending conversations. Arthur—the blond—was regarded as their leader by many. Judas—the one with slit eyebrows—spoke with nothing but his gruff and his throat. Justine, the archer, kept to herself most of the time. The old man, Desmond, didn’t seem to be too concerned with their urgency. The plain guy, Adrian, spoke with all smiles and no worries.
Then, the three close friends behind them: A man named Damon. The girl behind him, Sarah, spoke with unashamed brashness, and Agil, the most timid of the bunch.
Their conversations ended when the base of the beam came into view. A constant pulse of heat scorched the lands beyond the ford, blackening the once-verdant sward and turning the trees into charcoal.
Whether Frail sided with the humans or not… he found the progression of events alarming.