###
The trio of Damon, Justine, and Adrian ventured into the forest. Their purpose: to spy on the encroaching goblin patrols… and hunt should the opportunity arise.
[Goblin patrol: 1/2 remaining.]
“No signs of any patrols so far…” Sarah wiped the sweat off her brow. “We should be safe for now.”
Justine clicked her tongue. “Feels like I’m wasting a detect scroll.”
The party of five elected to scour the outside together. Adrian and Damon acted as the vanguard, with Agil and the rest performing their roles to their best abilities—A relatively simple strategy. They found no need to complicate things.
“So…” Justine relaxed and turned toward him, “The three of you, you know each other before… this?”
“Office mates.” Sarah brushed her hair, “-long story. What about you?”
Justine halted her steps. “’Bout the same. Arthur’s a bit special, I suppose. He’s a new kid before this unfolded,” She gestured at the forest, “-looks like a model, to be honest. Don’t even know why he’s trying so hard.”
Adrian smiled.
“You’ve become eerily quiet ever since we got here.” Justine nudged Adrian’s shoulder, “Something happen to you?”
Adrian shrugged. He’d always acted… peculiar. Damon could never figure out what went on in his mind. When was the last time he talked? Spoke?
“Ugh.” She groaned. “-whatever.”
“He doesn’t look like the leader type,” Damon added. Out of the four, Desmond seemed the most… appropriate for that role.
“Being strong is one hell of a plus point here,” Justine peered her head past a nearby tree, “-it’s much easier to lead by example. You know what I mean—‘Specially when he’s blessed.”
“Valkyrie… Right?” Damon whispered.
Justine nodded. “Goddess of spears, he said. Very pretty.” She leaned on the tree and relaxed. “Whether you like it or not, being a chosen has its own… gravitas,” Justine continued, “Here, being good alone isn’t enough. There are priveleges only raw numbers and attributes provide.” Her eyes fluttered, “None of us are that lucky.”
Luck. He’d survived through battles he had no business living through… He’d cashed in all the luck in his life.
Damon swept the bushes as they ventured further. Arthur and Judas were busy helping the others to attain more levels and guard the walls of Haven—a task Damon loath to partake in, yet its importance couldn’t be understated. More levels didn’t just provide more attributes; they also gave more skill points and access to more skills in certain level thresholds. None had reached the illustrious level 20, a benchmark for class evolution.
Five more levels. Arthur’s at seventeen…
His gait stopped when a curious structure peeked through the tangle of trees—a pyramid-like structure, gray and drab, built with shaped slabs of polished stone. It exuded a gravely atmosphere.
“What’s that?” Agil whispered. He drew his bow. “I’ve never seen such an… elaborate structure before. Sarah? What do you think?”
All five hunkered behind the bushes and trees.
“Is it a monster den? We’ve not seen one in a while.” Justine squinted her eyes. “I didn’t see this during our last trek in the forest either. What gives?”
The tremors. Damon recalled. “Do we check it out?”
The party searched for answers through each other’s gazes. Seconds passed before Damon sighed and nudged his head toward the pyramid. “We’ll… do a cursory search. How ‘about that? You all down with it?”
###
A guard, A lancer, or a mage.
Why am I acting as if I can only choose one?
In the end of the day, none of the constructs replaced the roles of their variants. Frail planned to get all three in the end. However, for the immediate moment…
This one.
[You spent 2,000 essences.]
[You spent 4,000 essences.]
[You now have 5,170 essences.]
[You can only construct one of each elite construct at a time.]This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
A cadaverous, lanky, armored skeleton stood a head taller than its common variant. Enameled steel with curvaceous golden adornments and trims colored its ivory silver armor pieces, blue light glinting off the stainless parts. An angular helmet with a slit carved into its midsection blew ghastly air from the darkness within. Two sharp pauldrons protruded on both sides, clasping a long, weathered cape with torn ends, the black stained with mud.
It wielded a lengthy spear, one almost doubling its height, with a piece of red cloth dangled below the sharp end. Spotless at a glance, deadly when studied properly; its rounded edge narrowed to a paper-thin honed point, imparting a grim warning to the enemies it faced.
A weapon built for a singular purpose. To skewer Frail’s enemies.
Frail opted for the lancer for one specific purpose; to help his constructs outside his domain, where the battles were more chaotic and less grouped up. It had the best mobility out of the three and that speed allowed it to adapt to the natural changes in ebb and flow during a skirmish. It wasn’t frail like his rogues, who must flee once their invisibility ran out--actually, it had great survivability in a melee fight. It hit harder than his warriors—not as hard as his domain lord, but still, hard enough. It had enough speed to escape a bad fight, a feature none of his other elites possessed.
It wasn’t as if the lancer would be useless within his domain either, on the contrary…
He spent no time opening his new lancer’s upgrade page.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
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<td style="vertical-align: top" width="100%">
Grave Lancer upgrades - Tier 2 - Current level: 10
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<td style="vertical-align: top">
Attribute increase: Increases 1 attribute by 3. Costs: 700 essences. Raises level by 1.
</td>
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<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Lance rush - 2 - Lance rush has two charges. Costs: 3500 essences. Raises level by 3.
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<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Gravely Evasion - Lowers cooldown to 3 seconds. +10 dexterity. Costs: 5500 essences. Raises level by 5.
</td>
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<td style="vertical-align: top">
Ability upgrade - Gravely Thrust - Damage bonus increased to 4x. Resets the cooldown of Gravely evasion after skill activation. +10 strength. Costs: 3500 essences. Raises level by 5. Unlocks access a new skill—Rapid thrust. The new skill must be purchased.
</td>
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<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded equipments - Strengthens the construct’s weapons. Next level; provides + 10 strength, + 10 dexterity. Costs: 3500 essences. Does not raise level. Cannot be upgraded more than once.
</td>
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<td style="vertical-align: top">
Upgraded armors - Strengthens the construct’s armor. Next level; provides + 10 resilience, +10 resistance. Costs: 3500 essences. Does not raise construct level. Cannot be upgraded more than once.
</td>
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</tbody>
</table>
Good stuff... but, pricey.
Whispers…
He thought nobody would interrupt his domain after he dispatched the patrol…
…until five human figures shadowed his entrance.
His skeletons rose in alarm.
Wait. Those are...
Justine… Damon… Sarah… Agil… and Adrian… Why are they here? Oh, of course… He was reminded again about the recent changes in his domain’s… visibility.
“Nothing’s here…” One of them spoke. “I hate the looks of this place. Feels like death.”
“Be careful…” Another spoke. Frail recognized his voice. Agil. “This reminds me of that dungeon.”
Dungeon… With the visibility and decor, he could see himself as one.
He had a choice. To announce his presence and establish contact, or to hide and attack when they reached the room housing all his constructs. The second option seemed overkill, as he didn’t wish to antagonize the humans, but victory would net him more essence.
Frail struggled to separate his human thoughts and his entity tendencies.
“[Mage Light],” Sarah chanted. A bright orb coalesced and floated above her head. “Place is giving me the creeps. Doesn’t this place look… dead to you?”
The rest nodded. Frail saw the gradual realization in their faces.
“This must be where the skeletons come from.” One concluded. And this voice… Frail had never heard before.
“You finally spoke.” Justine tapped his shoulder. “I agree with him… but… what do we do? They don’t seem to be very welcoming of us. I, for one, don’t like it if some strangers enter my homes without permission.”
“Isn’t he one of us?” Sarah added. “I mean—he’s human, right?”
“That’s just a speculation,” Agil replied. “We don’t know.”
Frail’s location had been compromised. He saw little reason to keep his presence a secret now. Frail sent one of his warriors to their location and ordered the rest to stand their ground.
They don’t seem to hold any hostile intent. Let’s… try and talk.
Rattles of bones echoed from his dispatch’s movements. The humans readied their weapons.
“Don’t panic.” Damon breathed under his mouth, “We don’t want them as our enemy, remember that. Don’t attack at any cost.”
The warrior’s silhouette peered through the blackness.
The two sides met.
“It… is him—or, them?” Justine spoke. “Uh… hi?”
Frail watched them lower their weapons.
“Sorry… I… didn’t know this is where you live.” She continued, “Do you want us to leave?”
His skeleton warrior nodded. Frail didn’t mind their presence, but he saw no reason to have them hanging around inside his domain.
Strangers. That was what they were.
“Right…” Damon breathed a relieved sigh. “Alright. We’ll-“
Justine stepped forward. It was faint, but they seemed flippant about a particular decision.
“I… No, we-” Justine spoke, “-We need help.”
Help? Ah… The invasion.
“You know about the invasion. It’s coming soon. Very soon.” She continued, “…with all the necrotic magic and their numbers and shit… we may not survive their assault.”
Frail recalled Harkon’s speech. Help them, he said. Frail wished to avoid partaking in their problems when he saw no point in doing so… but Frail couldn’t exactly hide from the patrols either.
In the end of the day, Frail could not escape the invasion. Not when his domain stuck out like a sore thumb.
Footsteps. Heavy footsteps crunched the arid soil from outside. More of them?
The party watched his skeleton’s head peeking through their figures. “What’s wrong?” Justine asked, her eyes squinting.
His limited vision caught glimpses of their silhouettes. Pallid, translucent lanky humanoids… small, beady maroon eyes… non-existent noses… long, pointy ears… They were in a deep discussion with one another. He heard six distinct, nervous voices, all of them spoke in a language indecipherable. Not goblins… Not humans… then…
Who are they?
The unknown party tapped the rigid walls of his domain. Their squinty, red eyes peered into the darkness. Some licked their lips. Some kept a vigilant watch. One stood behind them all, his brusque body ladened with pieces of matte, stained dark cuirass. Thorns and protrusions covered the giant blade on his back. They donned what the humans wore.
But they’re not humans.
Their arrival seemed… convenient. This happened a day before the invasion, right after the patrol had been dealt with. Appearance-wise, they shared no similar characteristics to the goblins. Harkon foretold about incoming guests, but how could he know that these were the guests he talked about?
“W… where are you looking at? What’s wrong?” Justine turned around.
“Guys…” Agil pulled Justine’s shoulder. “We’re not alone.”
Clangors of iron feet rang throughout the chambers.
“Goblins?” Damon raised his shield.
His skeleton shook its head.
“Then…”
A lone skeleton wouldn’t pose much resistance against his new invaders… so he drew back.
Justine and her group noted the skeleton’s retreat and followed suit.