Chapter 90

Chapter 90

I glanced at the tracking map where it showed the position of all the different dots the previous night. Those had been a distraction. Rhea had set a trap when she realized we had one of the maps. I wrapped the map around a rock and threw it out into the water.

I looked out from the small hill wed moved to. Maxwells map showed the marshes stretched out before us, clear to the ocean. Raven confirmed she could see the ocean in the far distance from higher up.

Marshes were notoriously hard to navigate, like giant mazes with countless dead ends, hidden dangers, and all sorts of unknowns. Nonetheless, that was our destination.

I had given Raven one of the relic illusion rings, and since I was wearing one as well, perhaps its power was enough that it might even disrupt the tracking spell.

I hoped Rhea would leave me alone, at least for a bit. This marsh followed the cliff line where the plateau tapered off as it approached the ocean. The only inhabited areas were along the section next to the ocean on the eastern side. The rest was too difficult and dangerous to be settled.

We rode our horses, since they gave us a height that allowed us to see the winding pathways spreading out before us. Tuffy also scouted the way for us, his big nose constantly sniffing for prey and threats.

We came across several different creatures, most of them ran at the sight of us. Though a few watched us suspiciously from the water, big eyes blinking slowly. The only creature that thought to challenge us during that first day of travel was a rather large crocodile. But Tuffy was more than he bargained for. After a brief clash and roll in the mud, Tuffy sloshed out of the shallow water dragging the crocodile in his jaws.

Different splotches of poison from where Tuffys teeth had bitten through the tough hide marred the dead croc. Tuffy had taken a fair share of bites of his own, but the poison delivered by the crocodile had little to no effect on him.

As we rode, I went over my stat sheet. Maxwell had been right, whatever those creatures were, theyd been a great source of experience. I had gained five levels, which meant twenty-five stat points. With the rings of intelligence, that gave me a total of forty points. I put all twenty-five points into my spirit score, which also gave me a massive boost to the storage space of the bag. I would never give that bag up.

Character Soul Level: 60

Name: Ezekiel Verniac

Race: Human Lich

Unspent Stat Points: 0

Spent Stat Point: 300

5 Stat Points per level

Health: 1161(1741)

Health Regeneration: 33.4(50.1)/sec

Death Energy: 1470(2205)

Death Energy Regeneration: 34.4(51.6)/sec

Mana: 911

Mana Regeneration: 29.1/sec

Carrying lbs.: 1409.9(2114.9)

Stats:

Intelligence: 105.5 [multiplier: 1.311] [40 from gear]

Spirit: 79.9 [multiplier: 1.23]

I hung on as the snake shook me back and forth, catching sight of Raven and Tuffy attacking as well. By the time it shook me free and sent me slamming into the ground, it was too late. I had emptied most of my mana pool into the snake, the exorbitant cost of maintaining lighting for that long drained me quickly, but it was worth it.

The snake tried to roll back into the water, but it barely made it a few shattering lurches before its head dropped and the light of life left its eyes. I leapt to my feet, circling death energy through my body to restore the damage dealt to both my armor and my body.

The creature lay motionless, Maxwell and Ravens horses had run back down the path we had followed. I saw Shadow, broken, barely alive and whimpering on the ground. I hadnt been with the horse long, but Id formed a kind of attachment. It was easy to do with horses, they are far smarter than people realize.

I moved to Shadows side, inspecting the puncture wounds from where the fangs had entered his chest and stomach. Necrosis or necrotic poison was spreading rapidly. The labored breaths of my steed were growing weak. His back legs didnt move at all, and I could see where his spine had been broken. Even with powerful healing magic, saving him wouldve been difficult.

I placed my hand on Shadows head and extended my will to him. The non-sentient creature could not think like we could, but they still could convey certain thoughts and wants. I proposed life to it, but not life like it knew, life like Tuffy. It didnt take long before a confirming feeling came back. Shadow did not want to die, and understood he had no choice but to become something else to still exist. I told Shadow to hang on for as long as he could.

My mana pool was low. I pulled out a potion and drank it. I sat next to Shadow and began to meditate, trying to speed up my mana recovery.

What are you doing? Raven asked.

Im going to save Shadow the only way I know how, but I need to focus, I responded sharply, more sharply than I meant to. But time was not on my side, and I needed power. Would you remove his saddle and tack for me? I tried to soften my words. I didnt hear her response, but I assumed Raven would do as I asked.

One of the ways you can increase regenerations rates is through meditation. You dont always get ideal conditions, but it can help.

I split my attention just enough to keep an eye on the small amount of life force draining out of Shadow as I focused on restoring my mana pool. The potion sped the process up rapidly while the others retrieved our horses and inspected the snake. I was pretty sure I heard a munching sound and thought that Tuffy might be eating the snake, but it didnt matter.

As the life of Shadow was almost spent, I began my spell. In the mud around him, I sketched a quick circle with the butt of Mercy. Unlike with Tuffy, my goal was not to create a death-based creature. While Tuffy was impressive, and I was thrilled that I could do that, there were other methods available that were better.

The spell I was using was one that was completely infeasible to use in combat. The circle I drew was to help funnel and contain the magic, something thats always useful to do if you can. The few runes I sketched along its edge would help direct the magic into the form I needed.

Right before Shadow died, the spell took hold, and his remaining life force was snuffed out. And since the spell was already activated, the horse wasnt exactly in a state of normal death. The difference can be tricky to describe.

I poured magic into the circle and my spell. Shadows body was lifted off the ground and stood on its feet as the death magic coursed through it. I reached my hand out toward the snake and pulled on the death core. It came flying to my hand and I tossed it into the circle where it flew into Shadow. The death magic consumed the flesh and organs of Shadow as the death core took up residence inside the cavity of Shadows chest.

The flesh was not wasted though, it was refined into something else. The white bones revealed under the flesh darkened and thickened until they were pitch-black.

As the spell reached completion, I channeled eldritch magic into Shadow. The usage of eldritch magic is difficult because of its corrupting effect, but when used correctly, the power it can grant is truly magnificent. Its also something Lichs excel at using. Up until this point I hadnt been using eldritch magic because I was relatively weak. I had only gained access to it right before I became a Lich, when I still saw the world as a game, and back then, Id been over level 200. I was still hesitant about using it in combat, but with the focus table skills enhancing my abilities I was more confident.

Wisps of purple magic that matched the fire that burned in my eyes could be seen between the joints where the bones connected, replacing what once had been connective tissues. Initially the purple magic was bright, but it darkened until it became almost completely black. In the eye sockets of Shadow, orbs of purple energy burst to life. There was a flash of magic, creating a mane and tail flickering with purple eldritch magic that burned like fire.

Shadow had been completely transformed, and my connection to my new minion made it easy to pull up information on it.

Undead Eldritch Nightmare

Level: 59

Nightmares are powerful equine. There can be as many variants to nightmares as there are types of magic in the world. They get powers based off the magic that they embody.

This nightmare is a rare breed. Undead nightmares are already exceedingly rare to see since the conditions for creating them naturally rarely happen. However, this nightmare has been further amplified by the presence of eldritch magic. This is impossible to occur naturally and means this nightmare was created by a creature with control over eldritch magic.

Like all nightmares, the power of this mount will grow and change as it grows in level and power.

Okay, thats fucking cool, Maxwell said.

I wholly agreed. Shadow was incredibly impressive. Small bursts of dark purple flames came off his hooves whenever he stomped. The flames didnt burn but withered and twisted everything they touched. Shadow nickered and tossed his head. The nicker sounded different, no doubt from the lack of organs to make the sound, instead it had been made by magic.

I looked at the body of the snake and considered creating a zombie out of it. But I decided not to. If we were about to enter a blood marsh, I was certain I would have plenty of candidates to create minions with. And now I could take the lead with Tuffy. The three of us would be all but immune to the poisons contained by creatures in this area, Shadow and I even more so than the Morsursa.