Chapter 296. Path of the Blind
It's been over twenty minutes, but the Boss was still staying somewhere hidden behind the small army of summoned Skeletons.
To make matters worse, the over forty remaining Elites had a fucked up combination of Summoning and fire-based modifiers, cleaning Michael's minions with relative ease while putting pressure on their owner.
Fortunately, the large number of Corpses created by the fierce Reapers dying and reviving only to attack in a berserk manner similar to Barbarians, as well as the Golem that would shed a Corpse each time his Life Points dropped to a certain degree, helped control the battlefield and deal tremendous damage to the enemy forces.
Realizing there were more mirrors near the chamber's walls, Michael continued fighting while trying to reposition them.
[I give them purpose in death! Cease your useless struggle!](Overseer Kafan)
Rolling his eyes, he repositioned the last mirror to create a pentagon of light around the walls of the chamber, then watched as the last Elite fell to the combined damage of his minions and miasma.
Surprisingly, once that happened, the pentagon surrounding the room was broken, and all mirrors turned to aim the light rays at the Boss.
[My slaves!? No!](Overseer Kafan)
The darkness enshrouding the Boss vanished, revealing the Overseer. Quarterback reacted first under his master's command and used taunt to distract Kafan.
Then, the Reapers moved in while Michael and the Cold Mages assisted with spells and skills from afar.
Watching the Life Points of the monster decrease, the Necromancer wanted to take some time to analyze this Overseer since he was garbed in equipment he had seen only on Barbarian warriors so far.
That was until the Boss decided to use a leap-type skill and jump away from the encirclement of the minions and target their summoner instead.
Scared by the 'missle' inbound for his location, Michael directly used Blood Mist to avoid getting split in half by the large axe hacking his way.
Unfortunately, Kafan was much swifter than he initially thought, and as soon as his body recovered its physical form, another swing headed for his midsection.
Unable to do anything but block due to the speed of the attack, the Necromancer was sent reeling a couple of steps back, surprised by the lack of power behind the attack.
"Oh, fuck!"
Until he saw the reason why.
With his weapon raised high, after appearing to accumulate strength for a couple of moments, he hacked at the ground in the Wanderer's general direction.
Once the axe met the ground, it dislodged and sent it flying toward him and his minions like a water wave.
Since he could not avoid it, Michael used his bat cloud transformation and boldly phased through it, ending up face-to-face with Overseer Kafan and his oversized axe.
Unfortunately for him, his minions were wiped by the skill, and he now had to solo the Boss.
Obviously, though, Michael wasn't foolish enough to do that.
Instead, he just kited around while he waited for his Golem to respawn, after which used it as cannon fodder while he cast Raise Skeletons multiple times to revive his trusty bone army.
Under this human/minon wave tactic, Overseer Kafan was finally defeated, and the Quest was updated.
[ Side Quest update - More than meets the Eye
Objective: Perform the gesture spell on the relic. ]
That's right! As soon as the Boss fell, what remained behind was only a cursed pot, and the body was sucked into it, generating zero loot!
Wondering if the middle finger would work as a gesture spell, the Necromancer approached the item identified by the system as Malevolent Curio and used the gesture spell to send it away.
At the same time, Rakhaan must've realized the battle was over, and his huge demonic frame was entering the Boss Room.
Then, slowly, with each step, his size decreased after moving one of the mirrors out of place, returning to his portly human image.
"Was that an Overseer? He looked more like a warrior to me."
[Overseer Kafan. One of the worst. He sent droves to an early grave. Myself included. But I got lucky~](Rakhaan)
[I saved you from that charnel pit. Not luck.](Rakhaan)
Rolling his eyes at the 'duo' pretty much showing the Necromancer what an actual mental disorder looks like, he decisively ignored them and waited for the argument to be over.
[And thank the spirits you did, friend. As for you, you helped not just us but every soul of the Steppes that was trapped here by those relics. Coin is a poor payment for eternal rest, but I hope you'll accept it anyway?](Rakhaan)
Nodding to show his agreement, the Sanctuary took it as its cue and signaled the Quest to be wrapped up.
[ Side Quest complete - More than meets the Eye
Reward 1: 87,120 experience points
Reward 2: 3,850 gold coins
Reward 3: Rakhaan's Favor. ]
Seeing the third reward be an actual skull, Michael opened his inventory and checked it out, hoping it would be an awesome Legendary helm.
[ Rakhaan's Favor
Rare Focus
592 Item Power
-----------------
513 Damage per Second
* [342 - 514] Damage per Hit
* 1.20 Attacks per Second
* +4.5% Cooldown Reduction
------------------
* +14 Life on Hit
* 2.1% Resource Cost Reduction
Description: A focus to channel demonic essence into powerful enhancing energies gifted to you by Rakhaan, a strange demon who wishes to co-exist. ]
Almost cursing at the disappointment, Michael decided to interrogate the two bastards, hoping to distract himself from how much of a bust this whole shenanigan was.
"What do you both get out of this... arrangement?"
[I feed on pain. The relics sustain me. They let me walk Sanctuary without needing to kill. I like it here. Humans enjoy many small pleasures. Fresh bread. Soft sheets. Mulled wine. Don't know how long, but for now, I'll stay.](Rakhaan)
[He helps me. I'm alive, and I'm free. Not many can say the same.](Rakhaan)
Watching the 'possessed' Curio Collector point at a wall and force a decently large chest out of it, after which he stepped into a blue portal and vanished, the Necromancer shrugged and focused on more important things than a 'vegetarian' demon.
Seeing a single Rare item and about 2,200 gold coins drop from the 'chest,' Michael kicked it so hard it bounced off the walls twice.
Snorting, he angrily left the Temporary Dungeon and opened his MAP.
[ Dungeon: Path of the Blind (Level 50+)
Description: The bloodstained initiation grounds for Triune aspirants. ]
With his annoyance reaching high levels, he decided to use his quick travel and teleport to Farobru, from where he could make a beeline to this Dungeon.
There was nothing better than taking out his anger on a bunch of fanatic cultists.
What caught his eye was that he somehow managed to complete 34 out of 39 of the Quests required for his progression in the Dry Steppes region.
Not only that, but his experience was also at 1,626,124/1,964,430, meaning that once he wrapped up the remaining Dungeons in the Steppes, he should finally break through Level 55.
Exiting the Waypoint, he summoned his mount and directly ran to his destination.
After moving through several caves and a passage infested with Plague Worms, he found the entrance and stepped in.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Path of the Blind
Objective: Travel to the Temple of Sight. ]
Much to his surprise, Michael ended up fighting more Demonic Wasps and Wild Boars and had met only a single Mother's Disciple that was an Elite so far.
That did change about five minutes later, when he was confronted by two Elites - Triune members - at the same time.
It wasn't too much of a hassle to deal with them, even if one had the Explosive modifier, making short work of his poor Reapers.
The Dungeon's environment was also strange. The Drawing Fold was a combination of plains and cliffs, sometimes showing rivers at the very bottom, probably lower than twenty meters below.
Jumping from one cliff to another, he discovered the Temple of Sight, where his Quest changed.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Path of the Blind
Objective: Return the Bloodstones to the Pedestal (0/3). ]
And so, the treasure hunt restarted.
Not only that but the temple itself was filled with Triune cultists and tons of summoning traps on the ground.
Each time Pathfinder would step on one of these traps, five to six Flesh Threshers - which were pretty much Hellions - appeared and attacked.
So, he stepped on the gas and prepared to steamroll through this temple.
Fortunately, he stopped after killing a Triune mob, which also dropped a small parchment.
Seeing the blue glow encompassing it, Michael's eyes gleamed with happiness and quickly picked it up.
[ Triune Missive
So comes your rite of passage, loyal supplicant. Journey to the hallowed place in the heart of fire. With unwavering hands, return the three relics to their rightful place. Then will come the glorious arbiter to judge your soul.
The worthy will have their eyes pried open to glimpse realms unseen. The unworthy will have their eyes burned out to live in the darkness. ]
Scratching his head, the Necromancer read the missive one more time, after which he glanced at his Dungeon Quest.
They seemed oddly similar.
With the expansive halls leading in three different directions, Michael followed the one heading straight and was able to locate the three altars.
Then, moving in a clockwise direction, he started with the western halls and systematically massacred all the Triune cultists and the demons they summoned.
When the three relics were returned to the altars, a goddamn Boss fell from the ceiling, almost squashing the Necromancer to meatpaste.
[ Scourge of the Land (Boss) - Level 54 ]
Since it was a melee monster, Michael used his minions to taunt and lock it in place, after which he slowly ground it from afar through Corpse Explosion.
When it finally died, only two Rare items dropped, and obviously, the one claiming them wasn't happy.
However, the issue wasn't the loot as much as something else.
"My damage decreased considerably. Even now, I can barely stack up to 5,000 with four to five Corpse Explosions stacked, as well as the Decrepify and Corpse Tendrils effects adding a Vulnerable status debuff. My minions... *Sigh* Their damage is even worse. Fortunately, I don't have to wait for too much longer. In a couple of days, I'll have Natalia help me upgrade my minions and finish my Class Awakening Quest."
[ Class Awakening Quest has been issued - Master Necromancer
Objective 1: Complete 10 Side Quests
Objective 2: Reach Level 55
Objective 3: Upgrade your minions
Description: The Sanctuary strongly suggests you walk the Path of Rathma, The Firstborn, Master of Death. To do so, your Class must remain pure, and you must become more entuned with the Essence of Death. ]
He had long completed the first objective, while the second one was almost finished as well.
Natalia also helped him procure the rare and expensive materials, but the money for them came from her own pockets.
While reimbursing her shouldn't be an issue, he wondered just how much the total cost should be.
Sighing while feeling that his dream of purchasing a house was getting further and further away, he made his way out of the Dungeon and returned to Farobru.
From there, he took the Waypoint to Ked Bardu and opened his MAP to mark his next target.
[ Dungeon: Forgotten Depths (Level 50+)
Description: A shadow lies below these hallowed stones. ]
It didn't take long for him to realize that it was the Orbei Monastery location, and he quickly recalled the details Beatrice had shared about it recently during dinner.
'She said that a part of the underground cellars collapsed, and a Dungeon appeared. Apparently, there are mostly undead roaming the halls. But before that...'
Looking at his almost full inventory, he wanted to sell the Rare items occupying space but stopped after seeing the three caches he earned from his Quests.
One of them was a Murmuring Cache, which usually granted 50 Obols. As his Murmuring Obols stash was already at 498/515, he couldn't take a loss that big.
'Buying more Silent Keys makes no sense, so the better use should be...'
Finding Elbek's location on the MAP, he made his way through the streets to Ked Bardu's Purveyor of Curiosities.
Gritting his teeth, he paid 200 Obols for five chances at the gacha for the 'Tunic' selection.
His goal was to HOPEFULLY draw a decent Chest Armor.
The first two were a bust, with number one being a normal Rare item, while the second had two sockets. Fortunately, number three was a Legendary.
[ Exceptional Armor of the Crowded Sage
Legendary Chest Armor
600 Item Power
-----------------
1,050 Armor (+103 when compared to the currently equipped item)
* +50 Intelligence
* +21 Life per Second
* +2 Essence per Second
Legendary Aspect: You have an 8% increased Doge Chance. Successful Dodge restores 5% of your Maximum Life. ]
While it wasn't bad, replacing his current one would mean losing a decent chunk of Armor, as well as losing damage - which he was seriously lacking.
[ Juggernaut's Archon Armor
Legendary Chest Armor
541 Item Power
Legacy Item
-----------------
947 Armor
* +12.0% Ultimate Skill Damage
* +9.0% Shadow Damage
* +21 Willpower
*19.5% Shadow Resistance
Legendary Aspect: You gain 780 Armor, but your Evade has a 100% increased Cooldown.
+2.5% Maximum Life (Chipped Ruby slotted) ]
While he didn't use his Ultimate that often - mostly because it consumed Corpses - the 9% Shadow Damage increase, as well as the Legendary Aspect on it, were a much more desirable choice.
That was until he saw his fifth item.