Chapter 72. Getting busy
Michael first opened his interface to check his experience bar and clicked his tongue when he realized he had gained over 1100 experience from these last three Elites and their minions.
He was currently Level 15 with 2783/3,120.
"Now, let's see the goodies first. It's still a blue item box. It seems that it isn't that easy to gain Rare items."
Swallowing his greediness, the Necromancer opened the item box and inspected it curiously.
[ Strider's Crown
Item Type: Magic Helm
135 Item Power
--------------------
169 Armor
* +7 to Intelligence ]
Michael decided to keep the one he currently had equipped because the difference wasn't too big overall when compared to his pointy crown with a skull on it.
It's not like it had to do with his fucked up sense of style, but it was undoubtedly one of the reasons.
Ignoring everything else, Michael curiously read the piece of paper, wanting to know what other secrets this Dungeon held.
[My name is Pomuk Zlicek. I write this as I bleed out my last among the corrupted tombs of those who might have been my brothers. I have hunted these wretched creatures for as long as I've been able to wield a knife against them.](Pomuk Zlicek)
Thinking that it might've been one of the people who fought alongside Sir Cromwell but were left behind to cover the rear while the others fled, Michael imagined all sorts of scenarios in his head while continuing to read further.
[They feed on blood and grow strong in numbers. I have chased them into this nest and been caught in a trap by their leader. This leader of theirs can raise the dead, and I fear for all who wander unknowingly in these crypts. If you have the skill, hunt them down. Do not let my death be for naught.](Pomuk Zlicek)
Remembering the strange urn he saw previously and now hearing how this Pomuk chased them into their nest, Michael realized that either Pomuk or the Boss sealed those doors leading to its chamber.
With most of the Dungeon already explored, he only had to finish the Boss now, and it would finally be complete.
"Well, I did say I'll go for a full exploration, so let's take this path instead of going all the way around. Maybe I can find more goodies."
Which he did, not even five minutes later, in the form of a chest. When it was opened, besides the blue item box, two Healing Orbs dropped as well, helping him replenish his vials to full again.
As for the item box...
[ Determined Targe
Magic Shield
133 Item Power
--------------------
* 40% Blocked Damage Reduction
* 20% Block Chance
* +80% Main Hand Weapon Damage
* +2 Thorns
--------------------
* +8 Willpower ]
Looking at his buckler, which needed repairs and had its durability drop under 50%, Michael was happy to have a replacement.
Upon reaching the previously mentioned urn, he activated it by simply touching the thing. As he did so, the purple balls of Animus flowed freely into it, turning the object purple and startling whatever mechanism it worked on awake.
The sealed doors immediately opened, and Michael thought he would finally face the Boss next. To his surprise, though, the MAP showed something different.
"The fuck is going on!? How big is this damned Dungeon!?"
It was indicated on the MAP that there were still places to explore and monsters to kill.
Unable to vent by yelling at the Sanctuary, Michael took out his anger on the cocoons and monsters that were foolish enough to cross his path.
That's when the Sanctuary also updated the Dungeon Event.
[ Dungeon Quest update - Hallowed Ossuary
Objective: Return the Bloodstone to the Pedestal
Description: The room leading to the Boss is sealed through a powerful mechanism. Find the Bloodstone and return it to its rightful place to open the way to the final chamber. ]
Nothing noteworthy happened next as Michael steamrolled through everything, baring his path.
Except for the generic minions composed of the usual Ghoul, Corpsefiend, and Shambling Corpse, only a generic Vampire Elite popped up, signifying the end of the Quest.
[ Dreadful Blood Magus (Elite) - Level 19
*Terrifying: Summon three incantation circles on the ground randomly. Enemies caught in their radius would inflicted with a Terrified status for five seconds. ]
Seeing the Elites' names return to normal, Michael realized that the Quest had previously granted names to the Elites he had killed.
"Or better put, the previous Elites were actual human corpses that were transformed. This crappy bat is simply an invading demon, therefore lacking a name. Demonic hierarchy sure it's tough..."
Looking at the dead Vampire, Michael looted its item box and gold coins.
[ Executing Shortsword
Magic Sword
154 Item Power
-----------------
74 Damage Per Second
* [54 - 82] Damage per Hit
* 1.10 Attacks per Second (Fast Weapon)
* +2.5% Critical Strike Damage
-----------------
* Lucky Hit: Up to a +1.8% Chance to Execute injured Non-Elites ]
The item was pretty decent, and the Necromancer thought back to Boza and her recruits. He wondered if these items would help them.
He would gain both a favor and a pretty penny through doing that. He should check first with Helen to ensure he doesn't step on any toes.
After another hour or so of running all over the place and killing another nameless Elite, Michael gained another item box and was now in front of another shrine of Inarius.
[ Brutal Makeshift Wand
Magic Wand
141 Item Power
-----------------
69 Damage Per Second
* [46 - 70] Damage per Hit
* 1.20 Attacks per Second (Very Fast Weapon)
* +2.0% Lucky Hit Chance
-----------------
* +2.0% Core Skill Damage ]
With the item being less valuable than the Rare wand he had currently equipped, Michael turned his attention back to the shrine.
"It's another Blast Wave shrine! I can steamroll some mobs again. Hmm? What's this? The obelisk looks a bit strange..."
Upon approaching and using his Essence to activate the shrine, a strange demonic pentagram appeared on the ground around it, desecrating Inarius's holy blessing.
The Sanctuary also reacted immediately.
[ Dungeon Event joined - Cursed Shrine
Objective: Slay as many enemy waves as you can before time runs out (Minimum two waves)
*Mastery: Defeat 5 waves (0/5) ]
Retreating to a safe distance, Michael watched curiously and saw how small portals opened on the ground near the shrine, where monsters began climbing out of.
Seeing the familiar Skeletons, Skeleton Archers, and Skeleton Captains that appeared in the first two waves, Michael quickly dispatched them without interfering with his minions' work.
On the third wave, a Revenant with Increased Health modifier appeared, but it didn't do much and eventually died to his minions as well.
In the fourth and fifth waves, two Elites joined: a Revenant and a Bloated Corpsefiend.
The Revenant could freeze two spots in a two-meter radius around him but at random, while the Bloated Corpsefiend had the shocker modifier that threw red balls of lightning around, similar to the bear he fought on his way to find Lorath.
"That went easier than expected. I barely had to do anything... Hmm!? Is that a chest!?"
Remembering the chest he missed last time and seeing the system reward him with another, Michael smiled contently.
After all, Everyone Loves Large Chests.
"Let's see... 220 gold coins and 530 experience points. I leveled up again, but this is still nice to get. Experience-wise, I gained about 200 per Elite, killed four of them after unsealing the door, and another 300 experience or so for the minions I massacred. So that's about 1100 from monsters and another 530 from the Event."
Michael was already Level 16 with 1,373/3,510. The bad part was that he was down to only one elixir left.
Thinking of the Boss and how he might need the extra Armor to keep himself alive, he continued through the Dungeon without the boost, and the experience gained was pretty obvious.
Grinning from ear to ear, Michael had Pathfinder open the chest gained from the Event, and only two items dropped.
"The fuck is this? 4 Biteberry!? I mean... I... huh... I don't know how I should feel about it. At least, the other is a Rare item. Damn! That golden glow is gorgeous!"
Michael decided to stop for a quick break and open the other two saved item boxes as well.
[ Cruel Scythe
Magic Two-Handed Scythe
155 Item Power
-----------------
151 Damage Per Second
* [134 - 202] Damage per Hit
* 0.90 Attacks per Second (Slow Weapon)
* +3 Life on Kill
-----------------
* +6% Vulnerable Damage ]
[ Undead Horde's Strider's Leggings
Magic Pants
158 Item Power
--------------------
158 Armor
* +8.0% Maximum Minion Life ]
Both of these items were amazing in their own right. First, he could finally replace the two-handed scythe he got such a long time ago, and this new one was even more ridiculous.
"Especially in terms of damage. I barely deal around 40-something damage with my skills, yet I could reach triple digits with a single swing of this damned thing. For real, this time! The numbers are not overlapping like I've seen with the Ghoul Boss back then. As for the pants, that's a no-brainer!"
He changed the pants to the new acquisition, gaining 19 Armor and losing 8 Intelligence points but gaining a straight-up 8% Maximum Life Increase for his minions.
"Less Intelligence means less skill damage, but I honestly can't out-damage my Mages yet - especially since there are three of them. The only bad part is that they are squishy. Every increase in their total Life and other stats is welcomed. And now, la piece de resistance!"
[ Element Talent
Rare Focus
187 Item Power
-----------------
97 Damage Per Second
* [65 - 97] Damage per Hit
* 1.20 Attacks per Second (Very Fast Weapon)
* +2.5% Cooldown Reduction
-----------------
* +5 to All Stats
* +4.5% Healing received
* +1.0 Critical Strike Chance ]
Michael slowly breathed out to calm down his excited heart. In a Dungeon, one must keep his composure at all times!
"That's the spellcaster set right there! The wand is for the main hand, and the focus item is for the off-hand. Not to mention that with these two, my damage will soar exponentially. In exchange, I will have to cast out my shield. A worthwhile trade overall..."
Laughing inwardly at how he exchanged so many pieces in a short timeframe, but in the end, his stats only increased by a single point each, Michael couldn't help but shake his head in dismay.
Both his Armor and damage ramped up incredibly, though.
"Then, there's the Skill Tree. There are two new active skills, but I have no skill slots for them yet. At least, not until I reach Level 25."
He glanced over the skills, and a light appeared in his eyes as he read through the description.
As a plan formed in his mind, he assigned a point to Grim Harvest. The passive skill he needed to stop using Bone Splinters.
[ Grim Harvest
-----------------
Consuming a corpse generates 2 Essence. ]
With this skill coupled with Corpse Explosion, he could generate all the Essence he needed in a Dungeon like this one, where minions kept throwing their lives at him.
If he was in a situation where he faced only Elites or Bosses, he still had the Hewed Flesh skill, as well as the perk for his Reapers to generate Corpses.
As for the target of his passion...
[ Corpse Tendrils
Corpse | Corruption
-----------------
Cooldown: 11 seconds
Lucky Hit: 20%
Description: Veins burst out of a corpse, pulling in enemies, stunning them for 3 seconds, and dealing [20%] damage to them. It does not consume the Corpse. ]
Imagining the combo where he killed a single Ghoul in the middle of a pack, and after using this skill, all others would be dragged atop it only to be greeted by a Corpse Explosion; Michael almost wanted to refund his Bone Prison skill to try it.
But even if he did, he would still lack a Skill Point.
"So all I can do for now is wait and keep grinding. I'm almost halfway through the next level anyway."
Shaking himself out of his fantasies, he decided to put an end to his exploration and find the damned Bloodstone.
Checking on the MAP, the system took pity on him and showed the location of the Bloodstone and the Pedestal where it must be placed.
Eager to end this Dungeon dive and return to cuddle with his pretty tigress, Michael marched fiercely through the corridors and rooms, cleaning the trash with relative ease.
"With the Rare focus item, even my Bone Splinters deal almost ten damage now per hit. That means my total damage should be between 100 and 150 in theory. Yet, the damage I deal with Corpse Explosion is still only around 30 to 40. *Sigh* More questions for Helen, I guess."
Not even five minutes after massacring everything in his path, the Necromancer stopped after being put face to face with another shameless existence.
[ Lord Berlium (Elite) - Level 20
*Multishot: All ranged attacks are mirrored by two more attacks dealing 50% of the initial damage.
*Teleporter: Teleport randomly in a 10-meter radius range to avoid taking damage.
*Vampiric: Each successful hit on an enemy heals you for 25% of the damage dealt.
*Terrifying: Summons three spell circles on the ground. Targets affected by it would fall into 'Terrified' status. Targets inflicted with Terrifying would become 'Vulnerable' for three seconds. ]
"...screw your mom, system! Wasn't the Quest done!? What the hell is another 'lord' doing here!?"