Chapter 187. Feral Moon
The next morning, Michael was awakened by a surprisingly early Helen dressing up. Looking at her strangely, she giggled and jumped back in bed with him.
[We will try to increase our levels faster since everyone is very excited about their recent gains. The extra four Paragon Points from the two Archangels were the spark needed to turn on the frenzy in all of us. Because of those points, there is much more we can do now in terms of possible skill builds, but all of those plans require higher levels and more Paragon Points. There's also the experience needed to bring all our Glyphs to Level 15, which is relatively high... That's why we decided to aim for ten Nightmare Dungeons daily.](Helen)
Laughing, he grabbed the beauty, and they messed around in the bed for a bit. Compared to before, Helen seemed to have more fun clearing Dungeons now.
It was no longer just a 'task' she had to do for the greater good of the people but a goal she was working towards. Her build change might also impact her mood, as she no longer has to suppress herself and can now go wild.
Probably, seeing all the representatives coming together so often made her realize that she didn't have to do everything alone and that Kyovashad's safety didn't reside solely on hers and Aylin's shoulders.
"That's good. Just don't overdo it. Whether you or I, we can't save the Sanctuary alone. Don't go crazy and do something foolish. I am still waiting to sleep with you daily."
[*Scoff* I'm sure you'd find someone else the next day.](Helen)
"Possible..."
A punch and some giggles followed, after which the tigress asked about his plan for the day. He had already explained last night what she had been up to and even gave the 'report' to Celeste, hoping she would send some Wanderers to patrol the Down farmlands.
She seemed to agree and said she would send someone to investigate the situation early this morning. Coupled with the church sending their Knights Penitent to patrol the area, those farmers should be in good hands.
"I'll have to visit your dad first. I found these three new Legendary amulets, and I need to decide what to do with them. Then, I'll probably have to visit Veroka again."
[Aunty Veroka? Why? You can't upgrade your Healing Potions yet. You should also have enough Elixirs.](Helen)
"Hehe... This is why."
Laughing evilly, Michael brought up a page and shared it with her.
[ Region Progress: Scosglen
Total Renown: 535
Tier 1 Rewards are available to claim: Bonus experience, 1,440 gold coins, and 1 skill point.
Tier 2 Rewards are available to claim: Bonus experience, 1,440 gold coins, and +1 potion capacity. ]
Getting the stink eye, the Necromancer accepted the rewards and looked through them. Tier 1 and 2 experience rewards were worth 2,462 points each, boosting his total to 470,157/492,591.
He could definitely level up today and get closer to 50.
[Tsk! You have three skill points to add again... Did you decide what to do with them?](Helen)
"Mhm. Before that, though, I realized there was a problem with the region progression."
[A problem?](Helen)
"Yes. I cannot progress beyond Tier III without reaching Level 50 and upgrading the World Tier Difficulty to Nightmare. So, the main goal is reaching 50 and doing the Capstone Dungeon."
[Don't rush. All Capstone Dungeons are incredibly difficult and won't be different for you. On the contrary, it should be even more challenging. Anyway, back to the skill points, what will you use them on?](Helen)
"A point in Skeletal Warriors, Skeletal Mages, and Golem Mastery each. I've been considering other options, but they don't make much sense. So I'll stick with this until I finish my Second Class Awakening."
[That's fine. Your minions growing stronger is a good thing. Let's get moving. The girls should be waiting downstairs with food for us.](Helen)
After a hearty breakfast, Michael first visited Veroka, where he bought his sixth potion vial. After that, he stopped by Lizveth, The Purveyor of Curiosities, to grab another three Whispering Keys, bringing his inventory total to five and his Obol count to 448/515.
Finally, he stopped by Deyman to see what he could do about his amulets. There, he got the bad news.
[I cannot extract the Aspect from your Protecting Necklace. If I try to do so, I'll destroy both the amulet and its Legendary Aspect. Sorry, kid, but like I told you, one extract or imprint per item.](Deyman)
Chatting with his possible father-in-law for a while longer, Michael walked into the Jweler store with a heavy heart, preparing to leave behind a large sum of his earnings.
The two demon-like ladies first charged him 153,250 gold coins to buy a Scatter Prism and add it to the Undying Necklace, generously rounding up the sum to 150,000 after a small discount. A very small discount!
Then, gritting his teeth, he upgraded the Undying Necklace to its maximum level. The four upgrades cost him 30 Iron Chunks, 17 Silver Ores, 18 Veiled Crystals, 2 Abstruse Sigils, and 29,900 gold coins. Then, he spent another 12,500 gold coins and 100 Skull Fragments to craft a Skull Gem, which he socketed into his new amulet.
Overall, he was pleased with the changes despite losing his safety bubble.
After stepping foot in the Jweler store, he almost lost 200,000 gold coins, which made him want to shed tears. He could only look at the new amulet for comfort.
[ Undying Necklace (+4)
Legendary Amulet
558 Item Power (+20 from upgrading)
-----------------
* +13.4% Resistance to All Elements
------------------
* +7.8% Damage
* +14.7% Ultimate Skill Damage
* +13.3% Total Armor
* +1 Rank to All Corpse Skills
Legendary Aspect: When you cast a skill, you heal for 2.6% of your Life Points. Double this bonus while below 50% Life Points.
+170 Armor (Skull slotted) ]
With the increased values, his stat page changed considerably. To start with, the Legendary Aspect on his chest armor, which added 780 Armor and reduced his Evade's Cooldown by 100%, went into effect after the first fight and remained there permanently after.
Now, with the 13.3% increase, the upgrade was tremendous.
[ Class: High Necromancer
Attack Power: 984
Armor: 4,974
Life: 2,223
--------------
Strength: 265
Intelligence: 324
Willpower: 363
Dexterity: 319 ]
Not only was his Attack Power closing in on 1,000 - even if he still had no idea what that number specifically represented - but his Armor was almost at 5,000 points. He could now happily fight in Dungeons and Events without being worried for his life or counting on the safety bubble.
'Furthermore, the Legendary Aspect on my pants increases my total Armor by up to 48% while fighting and taking damage. That means I can go as high as 7,000+, and I'm not even at Level 50 yet! Even Helen's total Armor is only 13,000!'
The final stop at Zivek's added 6 Iron Chunks, 2 Silver Ores, and 3 Abstruse Sigils to his hoard of materials. Then, he opened his Salvage Cache and got 4 Veiled Crystals and 2 Iron Chunks - after getting a rare item and also salvaging it.
Seeing the Chipped Ruby, Crude Skull, Crude Amethyst, and Crude Ruby occupying space in his Equipment inventory, the Necromancer sighed and paid Orzen 100,000 gold coins to open a Stash.
As the name implied, it was a 50-slot static inventory he could access only in Orzen's store. There, he dumped the four gems and returned to the Cerrigar. He would first sort out the Feral Moon Side Quest.
At the Quest Marker in the Harrowfields, he found the man, Edan, who appeared to suffer from terrifyingly advanced Tourette, as well as being very high up the spectrum.
'A scratching habit, a chest punching habit, a gesturing into the distance habit... do I really want this Side Quest!?'
Looking around at the small farm and the growing pumpkins, Michael finally caved in and approached the man. Before he could speak, Edan started the conversation... If it could be called that.
[I hear the wolves, always circling... clawing... gnawing at me to join them.](Eden)
'Let's add schizo to the list...'
[I'm still me. For now... But I need help to stay that way. A group of those Cathedral Knights came through a while back, off to fight the evil in Sarat's Lair.](Eden)
'Dungeon clearing Knights? That's new...'
[One of them had an amulet. The wolves were silent around it. They never came back, but perhaps you could find that amulet for me?](Eden)
This implies that the Knights died in Sarat's Lair, which wouldn't be impossible, but Michael doesn't remember seeing any of their corpses during his last run through that Dungeon.
'So either this happened after I cleared it, or the amulet and those Knights were in the deeper parts I didn't clear. This is also good. It means that I don't necessarily have to clear the Dungeon. I can search the place for the item, grab it, and get the hell out without fighting the Boss.'
Michael remembered the saying that 'everyone had two wolves inside them' and couldn't help but look at the man who apparently had more than two.
"Whose calls do you hear?"
[I can't see them, but I hear their howls. Those who follow them vanish into the wilds.](Edan)
"That's... discomforting. Why don't you ask others for help?"
[That Druid lad, Artair, wants to help. But I can't trust Druids. No! They left us! Need someone else.](Edan)
Pitying the poor Artair, Michael accepted the Side Quest and made his way to Sarat's Lair Dungeon.
[ Side Quest issued - Feral Moon
Objective: Take the Light-Blessed Amulet from Sarat's Lair. ]
Grimacing at the implied meaning that the Knights died in the Dungeon, Michael advanced on foot since it wasn't far away. On the way there, he had his minions clear all the spider monsters that popped up a bit too often.
Once inside the Dungeon, the Quest to destroy the Silken Spires appeared again, but he didn't bother with it and started exploring instead. Unfortunately, the Sanctuary disagreed with his plans, making the Necromancer realize that the tunnels had changed completely since his last visit.
Now, there were no more tens of forks, which led to even more paths he could take, but it was one single road. Without a better alternative, he started killing to clear the path forward.
One of the more unfortunate realizations he had upon reaching Level 48 through killing some Elites was that the 'Champion' monsters he heard the Gonk talking about started appearing in his Dungeons also, even if he wasn't on Nightmare Tier difficulty yet.
'Is it because the monsters I face are Level 50+?'
After completing a Cursed Chest Event and opening a Resplendent Chest, all his Gem Fragments increased by 50 pieces each, and he gained some nice items, including a Legendary dagger.
There was also a 'Soggy Letter' he found after trying to recover the corpse of a slain villager, only to see him turn into dust.
It was the response to the previous call to help with the 'family favor' the farmer called in on. The contents were pretty simple, only agreeing and setting up a date.
Only ten minutes later, he found two Knight Penitent corpses, one of which was probably an Inquisitor. The man was glowing slightly, even dead, courtesy of the Sanctuary pointing out that he had the item.
Storing the two bodies and grabbing the Light-Blessed Amulet from the Inquisitor's neck, Michael immediately ran out of Sarat's Lair. He wouldn't get tangled up with spiders if he could avoid it. Plus, he had already cleared this Dungeon before.
Finding Edan, who was still spasming, he handed over the amulet.
"I found this one. I hope it's the right item."
[Let me see that! Ah, I can feel it already. The calls are fading...](Edan)
The Necromancer watched in shock as the spasms slowly stopped, as if the man was pretending from the start.
He curiously looked on as Edan stretched and grabbed his basket, preparing to harvest some pumpkins.
[Thank you, kind stranger. I don't know how much longer I could have resisted without this.](Edan)
"...don't worry. I'm happy I could be of assistance."
Preparing to leave behind the still crazy person, Michael pondered on his next course of action.
Opening up his MAP to set his marker for Cerrigar, where he would hand the two corpses of the fallen Knights to Iveta, the Sanctuary quietly awarded him for the completed Side Quest.
[ Side Quest complete - Feral Moon
Reward 1: 22,478 experience points
Reward 2: 2,450 gold coins
Reward 3: Elixir Cache. ]
Smiling, he was about to open the Elixir Cache when he saw another Side Quest pop up on the MAP, close to where he got the Quest about Faolan yesterday.
[ Side Quest: First Among Wolves (Level 48+)
Description: Uncover the dark secret of the Downs. ]
Speechless and definitely surprised, Michael temporarily ignored the search for Lilith or the Runic Tablets and mounted his horse, traveling toward the Quest Marker.
'So I was right! There was indeed something fishy! It makes sense, after all. How could normal farmers survive that well without the protection of Wanderers while surrounded by Blood Clan goatmen and spiders on all sides? I'll investigate and send Celeste and Iveta my findings. Let's hope it's a juicy story. In that case, Tia, Mei, and Evelyn will also be interested in it since they can add it to their newspaper.'