Chapter 293. Whispering Vault
The road to the Dungeon wasn't peaceful, and Michael had to stop two times.
Once, it was because of the large number of demons barring his path and the fact that he couldn't just order his horse to charge through them—even if he very much wanted to—since he might end up having to pay a large sum of money to retrieve his horse afterward.
The second time, he met a literal block of ice over three meters tall, which he curiously dismounted to check.
The ice cracked once he got about a meter away, and a hand extended toward his neck.
Using Blood Mist to get out of harm's way, he rolled his eyes at the bullshittery happening in front of him.
[ Pitiless Gur (Elite) - Level 59
*Frozen: Summons five balls of frost. Upon explosion, they freeze and deal 600 fixed damage in a 5-meter radius. Enemies affected by the explosion are afflicted with the Frozen debuff.
*Cold Enchanted: All attacks deal an extra 350 Cold damage.
*Chilling Wind: Summons a wall of wind to block all ranged attacks. Enemies standing in or passing through the wall take 400 damage and are afflicted with the Chilled debuff.
*Crystal snowflakes: Summons eight snowflakes in random locations around itself, targeting an enemy. The snowflakes have a homing modifier, allowing them to chase the enemy and deal 750 damage each. Enemies affected by the snowflakes would be inflicted with a Chilled debuff, slowing them by 25% for nine seconds. ]
Inspecting the strange creature that didn't seem to be a demon, while also didn't seem to be a cannibal/Barbarian either, Michael deemed it necessary only to throw Decrepify and Corpse Tendrils from afar while his minions dealt with the matter.
Curious since he couldn't find out too much on his own, he tried prompting the system for an answer.
Surprisingly, he got one.
[ Super Unique Monsters are powerful Enemies that Wanderers may find roaming each region. These powered-up enemies provide a tough challenge and are often at a higher level than the Wanderer, but, on the other hand, they are great enemies to farm for Legendary items. Note that Super Unique Monsters have Class-specific drops. ]
Speechless at the weird 'Super Unique Monster' description, Michael turned to check on the situation of his minions.
This, Pitiless Gur, was going balls to the walls in smashing his Skeletons to pieces and he had just started working on his Golem next.
Using Raise Skeletons repeatedly to give him a more 'entertaining' fight, the Necromancer added one more layer of Decrepify for good luck, complaining inwardly about the lack of some popcorn.
Unfortunately, it seemed that his IQ wasn't entirely on the negative chart, and once he realized the weaklings he was smashing to bits and pieces kept reviving, he immediately went after their summoner.
Quarterback disagreed, though, using taunt to keep him in place while its master added five Corpse Explosions to wrap things up.
'Well... I agree that he's strong, but definitely not on Butcher's level. His modifiers are powerful and have good synergy. Adding the extra five levels above the Wanderer, I can see how even a decent party might have problems dealing with him due to his AOE Cold damage.'
The analysis ended when the monster died, leaving Michael blinking in confusion at the drops.
One Magic shortsword, one Rare Gur's Freezing Armor, 1 Abstruse Sigil, 1 Baleful Fragment, 13 Iron Chunks, 14 Rawhides, 6 Gem Fragments each, and about 2,300 gold coins.
"Where the fuck are the Legendary Class-specific drops!?"
Desperate, he ignored the Magic item and picked up the Rare armor instead, hoping it might be some overpowered thing.
[ GUR'S FREEZING ARMOR
Rare Chest Armor
595 Item Power
-----------
1,320 Armor
* +9.0% Cold Damage
* +27.0% Cold Damage Resistance
* +280 Thorns
Description: Favored by Pitiless Gur, this heavy armor remains painfully cold to the touch, even in the hottest climates
- Barret's Book of Implements
Empty Socket
*Restricted to Barbarian Class ]
Taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself down but unable to succeed, the Necromancer began ranting while yelling at the sky.
"Is this what you meant by Class-restricted!? How does it make any sense? Also, who the fuck is Barret!? Damn! What a waste of time!"
Greatly annoyed, he found the Dungeon and stepped inside, planning to vent on the monsters since the Sanctuary could straight-up ignore him.
Michael almost had a meltdown when he realized he was in yet another Horadric Vault-like place.
There were three different routes he could take, and each one separated into multiple others.
Not to mention the side chambers.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Whispering Vault
Objective: Destroy the Sacred Seal (0/2). ]
Tiredly rubbing his eyebrows, he decided to ignore anything else and just focus on killing.
It was much better for his decreasing sanity points.
Fortunately, besides the undead monsters and demons roaming the halls, there were also pleasant surprises, such as a Great Radiant Chest, which dropped two Rare items and a Legendary ring.
Comparing it to his old Rapid Band, which he had kept for much longer than he should, a decision was swiftly reached.
[ Rapid Band
Legendary Ring
520 Item Power
Legacy Item
-----------------
* +4.5% Resistance to All Elements
* +4.5% Lightning Resistance
------------------
* +10.0% Shadow Damage
* +5.5% Damage over Time
* +13.0% Damage to Injured Enemies
* +13.0% Maximum Minion Life
Legendary Aspect: Basic Skills gain +25% Attack Speed.
+125 Armor (Chipped Skull slotted) ]
[ Blood-Soaked Ring
Legendary Ring
572 Item Power
-----------------
* +4.9% Resistance to All Elements
* +4.9% Poison Resistance
------------------
* +45 Intelligence
* +17 Life per Second
* +35.0% Overpower Damage
Legendary Aspect: Blood Mist leaves a trail of Desecrated Ground that lasts for 4 seconds and deals 567 Shadow damage per second. Gains 20% Movement Speed while Blood Mist is active (Necromancer Only).
+Empty Socket ]
Swapping the rings - mainly because the Desecrated Ground sounded kind of awesome - Michael checked his stats page and realized his Intelligence had reached 556.
Not only that, but his Attack Power had also increased by almost 1,000 points since the last time he checked - probably a combination of his increased attributes and the extra focus item.
Sighing while realizing just how much gold he'd have to shower Idania and Kratia for creating more slots for his items, the Necromancer continued massacring monsters and picking up every single gold piece they dropped.
Surprisingly, after he followed the west-leading route, he found himself staring at a portal identified by the system as 'Teleporter,' which should probably move him across the Dungeon.
This construct manifested from the ether as soon as he finished killing an Elite, and a collectible dropped, distracting him from his guilty pleasure.
"We'll check the Teleporter later. Hehe! How intriguing..."
[ Vizjerei Journal Page
Our research suggests that a powerful entity is bound to the artifact. Whether is by choice or against its will, is yet to be seen. The other mages report hearing its whispers in the halls - attempts to poison our hearts with fear and suspicion.
As a precaution, we have placed wards around our sleeping chambers, and we have agreed to examine the artifact only in a group. No one is to act alone.
Research continues tomorrow. It should not take long to bend the entity to our will. ]
"Kek! I bet five gold coins that it didn't 'bend to their will.'"
Storing the journal page away, hoping Neyrelle could fill in the blanks for what happened prior to and after the events mentioned in what he had just found, he began inspecting Teleporterrter.
Much to his surprise, the blue portal was identical to the one he used when teleporting using Waypoints or from the Dungeon to a Waypoint.
Since he was 90% sure it was safe, he directly stepped through it - after he tried sending Pathfinder through it and failed to do so - only to find himself standing in front of a huge sealed door.
"Probably the Boss Room. So this is where the north path on the MAP led to. All that's left is the east path, and probably that's where the second seal is."
Fifteen minutes later, he was proven right after a second Teleporter had appeared.
Stepping through it, he found himself standing back in front of the 'Boss Room.'
[ Dungeon Quest update - Whispering Vault
Objective: Travel to the Vault. ]
As the MAP has shown, he was nowhere near an actual Boss Room, but he certainly had more demons and undead to deal with while reaching it.
Finally, ten minutes later, he found the actual place and entered it.
[ Tomb Lord (Boss) - Level 54 ]
Facing the tall undead mage, Michael confronted it with all he had, killing it in under five minutes.
Unfortunately, his inventory was full, and he couldn't pick up more items, forcing him to make a quick trip back to Kyovashad.
Since the items wouldn't go anywhere, he left them on the floor next to the slowly dissolving body of the Boss while he headed to Orzen and Zivek's shops.
The Rare items brought him a net profit of 284,416 gold coins, bringing his total to 3,021,179.
The Rapid Band and the new pair of Legendary pants in his inventory were also converted into materials, adding an extra 2 Iron Chunks, 2 Rawhides, 2 Veiled Crystals, 1 Abstruse Sigil, and 1 Coiled Ward.
Back into the Boss Room, he picked up two more Rare items, a Rare Tempering Manual and a Legendary pair of boots.
Holding his breath while praying to RNJesus, he opened the interface to check the gains.
[ Archon Greaves of Metamorphosis
Legendary Boots
572 Item Power
-----------------
286 Armor (+32 compared with the currently equipped item)
* +1 Maximum Evade Charge
-----------------
* +47 Intelligence
* +118 Maximum Life
* +450 Armor
Legendary Aspect: When you Evade, you turn into a cloud of bats, becoming Unstoppable for 2.5 seconds. Enemies along your path take 2,138 Physical damage and are inflicted with a Vampiric Curse. Evade's Cooldown is increased by 8.5 seconds. ]
Temporarily stumped, Michael checked his memory and realized this pair of boots and the one he had previously sold were pretty much the same thing, with minor changes to the Armor Affix and a 0.5-second cooldown reduction for Evade.
Shrugging, he unequipped the damaged boots he was currently wearing and put on the new ones, planning to check the cool bat-cloud transformation with Helen and the girls when he returned home.
[ Class: High Necromancer
Attack Power: 2287
Armor: 4,909
Life: 3,121
--------------
Strength: 322
Intelligence: 603
Willpower: 420
Dexterity: 377 ]
'Nice. In hindsight, it's a much better idea than to randomly try it in a fight, which could end up with getting myself killed. Though, I am really curious about how it works...'
While he did have Blood Mist, which did an almost similar thing, the thought of transforming into many bats and avoiding an attack while damaging the enemy was... irresistible.
There was something about it that appealed to the male fantasy.
With the Dungeon cleared and it being the only one left in the area, Michael reached 17/21 for the Steppes' progress.
Exiting the Vizjerai halls and mounting his horse, he made a beeline for Fate's Retreat.
Daylight hours were diminishing slowly, and he still had two Quests to handle, as well as four more Dungeons... hopefully.
Once the strange camp entered his field of view, he realized just how much of a sore thumb it was in comparison with its surroundings.
Still, with that being said, the fact that it stood undamaged after Heaven knows how many years attested to the powerful runes protecting it.
The man he met before, Rakhaan, was standing in the shade of his 'stall' while inspecting the weird relic he sent back.
Furthermore, the damned thing increased in size at least four to five times since when he found it.
He identified it using the system, hoping to get more answers.
[ Curio of Salak
A vessel hums with the cursed energy contained within, collected from all the ills inflicted on the population by the cruel Overseer Salak. ]
[An interesting artifact, don't you think so, Wanderer?](Rakhaan)
"Looks like it was sent back successfully."
[It was, and in such fine condition! But where is my hunter? Tell me I haven't lost her too.](Rakhaan)
"She..."
[No matter. Do you know what you've retrieved? Nasty little thing. Full of corruption. Once owned by an Overseer of the Steppes.](Rakhaan)
"..."
[There's another. You'll find it for me.](Rakhaan)
Hearing the man's tone of voice change twice since the conversation started and how the bass in his voice increased with the last sentence, the Necromancer was almost prepared to start defending himself.
That's when the Curio Collector coughed awkwardly and continued.
[Ahem... If you have a taste for the coin, that is.](Rakhaan)
[ Side Quest complete - Curious Curios
Reward 1: 34,848 experience points
Reward 2: 2,750 gold coins
Reward 3: Gem Cache. ]
Another blue exclamation mark appeared above Rakhaan's head, indicating the possibility of another Quest.
While Michael had his doubts—especially after hearing a possible demonic voice—the Sanctuary indicated the possibility of cooperation. Actually, instead of calling it a possibility, it was more of a guarantee.
[ Side Quest: Hunting the Relic Hunter (Level 50+)
Description: Rahkaan seeks another strange relic for his curio collection. ]
The Necromancer's doubts further intensified after seeing the system 'misspell' the Curio Collector's name.