Any horror Any fall Any winner takes it all - 46 The Quest for the dead man

Dan was happy to leave Dor. He was receptive to his friends’ desire to improve their performance, but he was worried in town. For 15 dungeons he received 45 points of ‘Glory’ and 17 points added for killing rats. The rats were common, they didn’t grow to level 40. But the monsters in the dungeons matched the new player levels. The players spent three days performing all quests.

Dan wouldn’t stay in town and rushed to the hunters’ castle. But he didn’t go back to the castle itself. The sinner reached the village near the castle and went towards the old cemetery. He hoped that the new level would allow him to climb the steps of the three mysterious pyramids and explore new runes.

His expectations were met. In the cemetery, he did not take risks and took the form of a dead warrior 42 levels. The rats were common, they didn’t grow to level 40. But the monsters in the dungeons matched the new player levels. The players spent three days performing all quests.

Dan wouldn’t stay in town and rushed to the hunters’ castle. But he didn’t go back to the castle itself. The sinner reached the village near the castle and went towards the old cemetery. He hoped that the new level would allow him to climb the steps of the three mysterious pyramids and explore new runes.

His expectations were met. In the cemetery, he did not take risks and took the form of a dead warrior 40 levels. Dan came to the pyramid and learned that he could not cause the enemy to fight. His time had not yet come. The sinner wasn’t upset because he wasn’t stopped. He was able to climb the pyramid and start adding to his list of ancient runes. There were warriors of level 40 standing on the steps, they did not pay attention to the unusual draugr. Above were the real monsters of the army of the dead. The Juggernaut was a new level of development for the Draugr. Dan already knew the Draugrs had to reach level 50 to become Juggernauts. He didn’t know how this transformation happened. But he saw very well that the level 50 warrior was already equal in life to the dungeon boss. The 400.000 points of life inspired respect. And there were several hundred of these monsters on the guard of three pyramids. Sometimes Dan also saw Level 50 warriors coming down from the top of the pyramid, going down the steps below and going back to the top. Dan already solved the main puzzle of this cemetery. Inside the huge buildings laid three great ancient hunters. Their peace was guarded by faithful apprentices and associates. Dan was afraid to imagine what would happen to the kingdom if this army of the dead was awakened and angry. The worst part was that near the dead pyramids, it was impossible to destroy the dead. They were being reborn. After the destruction, the dead gave some of their experience to their stronger and more skillful colleague, and their bones were joined together again.

Dan spent three days carefully examining the surface of the three pyramids. On the third day of the unusual draugr’s work, he was called to account. The sinner tried not to draw attention to himself, did not take out of inventory his book of records. He stood still and carefully examined the images. His skills helped him to memorize important information perfectly. Dan paid no attention to his neighbors, who stood beside him like strange statues in armor and with weapons.

“You remember your name.”

Dan froze when he heard a quiet voice, more like the rustle of dry leaves under his feet. He already understood the strange ancient language of the dead and could speak it well.

The sinner raised his head and saw three guards. Lich and two Juggernauts stood higher. The dead were staring at the sinner. There was no expression of order in the question, but Dan did not deny his nature.

“I remember my name.”

“You walk the paths of the living. You’re going at the ways of the non-living. Are you ready to serve your brothers in arms?”

Dan didn’t have time to think about the meaning of the words. He saw the message.

*

[Attention! A new quest is available: ‘The Brotherhood of Arms’. Quest type: Rare.

Reward: 20 points of ‘Glory’. Do you accept the quest? Yes/No]

*

The award looked simple but nice. Dan had long suggested that someday he could get quests from the sentient beings of this world. Dead hunters were nice to him. The player had a sincere reverence for those who do some important work after death. He immediately agreed to accept the quest. If he refused, he would lose the opportunity to raise his level in the Arena every month. Of course, the player thought about this punishment.

“I am ready to serve the Brotherhood.”

Leach took a few steps down and Dan was happy to be around a dead magician. The player was uncomfortable standing up and looking up.

“Your brothers need food. You can bring some live food. You can bring non-living food. The choice is yours, warrior.”

Lich turned and went to the top of the pyramid. The Juggernauts have remained in place. Dan was reading the terms of the mission.

*

[Attention! Updating quest: ‘Brotherhood of Arms’.

Overview: Great warriors whose Power and Glory protect the surrounding lands need food to gain new strength and capabilities. You must deliver food to your brothers in arms. Quest Results: Living 0/7 or Not Living 0/12]

*

Dan immediately saw the simplest solution to his problem. He could spend 700 gold and buy 7 slaves. The locals were calm about slavery. Losers sold themselves into slavery. Dan wasn’t worried about the locals’ problems. Then, a funny thought came to his mind that he could serve himself as food for zombies. But it was a stupid thought he’d thrown away. He was interested in the question of the non-living.

“Where will I meet non-living food?”

“You’re a real warrior. You’ve chosen a worthy path. This map will help you.”

One of the Juggernauts pulled a thin plate. Dan took the item. There was an image on the surface of the metal. Dan looked into his status and saw that his game card had changed. There was a new location and several inscriptions made the player worry. Not living food served as vampires and harpies. Dan realized that the task wouldn’t be easy to complete. The vampires were strong opponents. The harpies were intelligent monsters that served to vampires. The harpies looked like winged women. Aggressive, predatory flying monsters who hunted both animals and humans. Harpies often served vampires and protected the habitats of bloodsuckers.

Dan didn’t waste any time, he went outside the cemetery and called Pussy. The cat went hunting right away. In Nazgor, all hunters decided not to share their experience with their pets. Now the cat had the time and desire to catch up and overtake its master.

The player did not know how to complete the mission. He could kill monsters.

The main result and achievement of the campaign through the dungeons of Dor was the completion of the development of the skill ‘Cognition of Evil’. No new transformations of his abnormal class sinner received on level 40. But by completing the ‘Cognition of Evil’ development, the former Inquisitor was able to increase damage to monsters.

The ‘Hammer of Witches’. If the monster is near you, he will experience severe pain and loss of life force. Damage Calculation Formula: The amount of your Spirit per second* per skill level.

The ability to deal with 1850 damage every second was a great support in combat. Activating a skill was not worth the mana. Dan may not have used the ‘Hammer’ all the time. In the cemetery, he didn’t piss off his neighbors. Skill didn’t make him the most powerful fighter. Players have already discovered that each transformation gives one skill that increases damage by 50%. All clan fighters were superior to the sinner in the attack.

But quite unexpectedly for the clan, Dan unlocked the ‘Nemesis’ skill!

‘Nemesis’. The one who has nothing to lose is terrified and you know it more than anyone else. This skill gives you temporary invulnerability. [Time of action of skill in seconds: Number of your spirit* skill level. Cooldown: 24 hours].

Dan couldn’t raise his skill level with skill points. But even without any development, he got Invincible for 3 minutes! An unpleasant discovery was the need to spend mana on keeping the skill running. Every second of invincibility cost 24 mana. But a huge reserve of spirit helped instantly restore mana loss. Dan didn’t understand the sense of Inquisitor-class game mechanics. But Kate explained that moment to him. For 4 transformations, she received new skills, and support for their work required several hundred points of Spirit and Intellect.

Jack was invulnerable for 3 seconds. Paladin was happy and not jealous of the sinner’s advantage. Alexander made a simple joke about it:

“You do a little damage, but you can safely do it for 3 minutes. That’s enough time to finish off any monster.”

“It’s hard for me to imagine a game with the possibility of being invincible for 30 minutes. It’s not fair and it breaks any rules of the game,” said Dan.

“We’ll see in two weeks,” smiled the warrior. “What if the game changes the action of the skill and requires mana to support the skill?”

“That’s not going to be a problem with the amount of spirit I have.”

“The demand will be great. At least 24 points of mana for 1 second of the skill action. I compare it to your ‘Hammer’. Calculate the possible duration of the skill action and calm down.”

Dan counted, but he didn’t calm down. He’s completely confused about the calculations! He activated ‘Nemesis’ once a day, like his ‘Chains of Sin’.

He didn’t have the skill to fully control his opponent! The burglar already could put his opponent to sleep for a few seconds. He was stunned. Dan could have destroyed the monster. But he couldn’t figure out how to catch the monster and bring it to the cemetery. He couldn’t put a dead body in his inventory. But the monster’s body hadn’t been out of the game for hours. Dan looked at the map and calculated the distance. The player was tasked with carrying the corpse of a vampire or harpy a few miles. He had to act very carefully. He was thinking that maybe he should call in other players for help. But the sinner thought well and gave up the idea. He didn’t want to draw the clan’s attention to the cemetery. Dan could do it alone. He had the skill of ‘Autodafe’ and hoped he wouldn’t meet a Level 50 monster. And with a weaker opponent, he could handle it.

Dan ate and went on his way. There were over a hundred miles to the nearest monster’s den. The sinner looked at his supply of fatigue-recovery potions and decided to save useful potions. He walked through the woods, tried to move quickly, but he could hardly do it. When he met the open spaces, he quickly ran through the meadows. He wasn’t afraid of animals. The animals of level 20 didn’t attack him anymore, but when he met they were ready to respond to the attack. Pussy played with wolves and boars.

When Dan approached the harpy lair, he didn’t know what to do. The evening came, it was dark and the player did not want to wander through the woods at night. Even less he wanted to run through the woods at night. He had not found any shelter for a quiet rest. Dan decided to take his chances and hoped to guard his cat. He picked up some branches and got himself a bed on the ground. Then he lay down and covered himself with a cloak.

The night went quietly. Dan woke up and ate. Then, he sent Pussy to sleep. It was time for his hunting. The sinner gently sneaked towards the harpy den. Dangerous flying creatures could sit on tree branches and guard their territory.

Dan saw the first harpy he sat on the ground right away. He’d already met these monsters and decided to clarify the enemy’s level.

*

Harpy

Type: normal

Level: 35

Life: 26400

Damage 1000-1900

Overview: This monster is created by the forces of evil from the body of a fallen woman. Harpy is very fast in combat, usually weakens her victim by attacking from a distance. After weakening her victim, Harpy kills the victim with her long, curved claws.

*

The harpy looked pretty good. All the fallen women in life were pretty enough. When they got big wings, it didn’t reduce the beauty of their appearance. It was the wings that posed a particular threat. The feathers of these wings could fall off and quickly strike the enemy like small throwing knives.

Dan did not think long and applied the skill of ‘Autodafe’ to his opponent. Harpy wouldn’t raise a scream. She jumped up in the air and flew towards the sinner. Dan was waiting for her with his sword in his hand. When the Harpy flew closer, he winked at the pretty girl with short black hair and activated the ‘Hammer of Witches’. The harpy swooped. Bleeding wounds began to appear on her body, causing her severe pain. Dan wasn’t wasting any time and jumped towards the enemy. He immediately applied his strongest combat skills.

[You caused 7.300 damage]

Harpy stuck her claws into the player’s armor and began to strike quickly.

[You took 340 damage]

[You took 410 damage]

[You took 370 damage]

[You took 320 damage]

Dan struck a powerful new blow to the body of the harpy and threw the enemy away to finish off this harmful and vicious flying bitch with a new jump and new attack.

Two strokes of the sword proved to be enough to win. Dan wouldn’t read the battle results report. He jumped up to the harpy body and picked it up. To put it on his shoulder. He had 93 strength, and he hoped the harpy wouldn’t be too heavy a burden. Dan ran away from this dangerous place. After a few seconds of running, the player realized that fatigue was growing too fast. He took a step and drank a potion. There was no alarm, no chase he heard. The sinner moved quickly towards the cemetery. The task proved uninteresting and began to irritate the sinner. He liked the results of the battle. The ‘Hammer’ once again showed itself excellently in the confrontation with an ordinary monster.

It took him nine hours to get back. He went to that pyramid where he got the quest and dumped the body of the harpy at the base. Dead warriors rustled around approvingly and several Draugrs even slammed their colleague on the shoulder. Juggernaut descended from the top of the pyramid. The monster said nothing, he grabbed the harpy by the hair and went upstairs. The corpse of the harpy dragged the warrior-like a terrible unusual doll.

Dan checked the results and was happy to hear. The harpy was living food! Dan turned around and went to get new prey. No vampires! They’re definitely not living food. Just harpies, just delicacies on dead friends’ table. Harpy meat tastes like regular. Dan didn’t want to recall any unpleasant moments in the game, but he couldn’t give up some of his class features.

He spent almost a week on this nasty quest. The sinner was afraid that the harpy would be concerned about their acquaintances’ disappearance. He trampled a noticeable path towards the cemetery. The harpy might have tracked him down and ambushed him. He was even hoping. That a small squad of flying monsters would fly towards him, and then he could fight and shorten his journey time. But the harpies were selfish and self-loving! They didn’t meet the wishes of a lazy player. Dan had to run back and forth six times. He realized that for level 42 he had very little strength, very low capacity. He even thought of a ‘Feather’ spell that could help him through one trip. But Jane was all disappointed to hear about the news that it would take her time to develop the ‘Teacher’ skill. And her abilities will be limited, she won’t be able to learn the class skills and combat skills of other classes. Entry-level spells and improved skills were available for learning and transferring to another player.

The week of fast fighting and boring and uncomfortable movement in the forest with Pussy is over, and the sinner has received his reward.

*

[Attention! Updating quest: ‘Brotherhood of Arms’.

Congratulations! You have successfully completed your task.

Quest results: Living 7/7 or Not Living 0/12. You get +20 points of ‘Glory’.

Attention! A new quest is available. Quest type: Rare. Reward: 50 Points of ‘Glory’. Do you accept the quest? Yes/No]

*

Draugr sighed and was glad that his face was not visible under the mask. The award did not impress him, he had already spent 7 points of ‘Glory’ on turning into Draugr. But the future of the rare quest looked more tempting. The sinner was looking forward to a new phase of cooperation with the army of the dead.

*

[Attention! Updating quest: ‘Brotherhood of Arms’.

Overview: Great warriors whose Power and Glory protect the surrounding lands need food to gain new strength and capabilities. You must deliver food to your brothers in arms. Results of the quest: Living 0/15 or Not Living 0/24]

*

You gotta be kidding me. I am a player, I am a sinner. I’m not a pizza delivery boy! There’s no time limit. I need to get back to the castle and find out about Jane’s progress right now. I need a weight relief spell. I’ll get Anna with me. No, no, I can’t call a sorceress. Nick will go with her. Nick will be followed by John. I’ll cooperate with the dead alone. This is a completely insane game!