Chapter 302. The grind pauses
Raising an eyebrow at the thought of a being old enough to inhabit this place before the people of the Steppes built their homes, Michael quickly contacted Teckrin and asked for some insight.
Unfortunately, there were too many references to older gods the woman knew, and without more specific details, she couldn't zero in on a specific one.
Fortunately, the Necromancer didn't have to wait long for more details to pop up.
After killing three more Unique Elites - probably the guards before the Boss Room - the Quest Event finally updated.
[ World Stronghold Event update - Temple of Rot
Objective: Locate Molqarth's Lair. ]
He pestered Teckrin again, but the woman threatened never to answer him again if he kept bothering her with stupid questions.
Apparently, she wasn't aware of any gods with that name.
It became obvious why she didn't know any 'gods' with that name after Michael entered the Boss Room.
[ Molqarth, The Hungerer (Boss) - Level 57 ]
It was a disgusting creature, a mix between a cannibal and... whatever else that was.
Furthermore, as the Boss approached him, the Necromancer could've sworn he saw something under its skin move.
The Boss was incredibly disgusting. Michael was pretty sure it had some strange poison modifier, but after a closer inspection when his Golem got hit, the substance infecting Quarterback had more of a rotting effect than a poisoning one.
Other than that, there was nothing special about Molqarth.
Less than ten minutes later, he successfully kited the Boss through the miasma of Corpse Explosion, enough for its Life Points to reach zero.
Fortunately, he didn't drop his guard. Once Molqarth died, his corpse was torn asunder from the inside, and a weird Abomination jumped at Michael from it.
Using his boots' bat cloud skill, he avoided the first pounce, but the bastard used one of the pillars in the room as leverage and pounced onto the Necromancer once more.
With his second charge of Evade on cooldown, Michael used Blood Mist to avoid getting tackled to the ground and then commanded his Golem to use taunt and get this bastard's attention.
[ Spawn of Molqarth (Boss) - Level 56 ]
Except for his level being lower, this second Boss was trickier to deal with than Molqarth himself.
First, its agility was stupidly high. It constantly used the pillars and walls to outmaneuver the Skeletons and then ambushed them from behind.
Then, its rotting poison was at least twice as potent as that of its predecessor, and both the stone structures and Michael's minions melted under its attacks.
After some serious grinding, the Spawn fell, and the Necromancer prepared to get the fuck out of the Boss Room.
The stench was worsening, with the stone structure suffering from the potent rot.
He picked up two Rare item boxes and a Legendary amulet, forsaking the Magic helm, and quickly bolted out of there.
On his way out, he compared the necklace with the one he currently had equipped.
[ Undying Necklace
Legendary Amulet
558 + 20 Item Power ( Upgraded x4 )
Legacy Item
-----------------
* +20.2% 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) ]
[ Chain of Reanimation
Legendary Amulet
600 Item Power
-----------------
* +15.0% Resistance to All Elements
------------------
* +102 Maximum Life
* +12.0% Shadow Resistance
* +1 Rank to Terror
Legendary Aspect: Your Minion gain increased damage while alive, up to 51% after 10 seconds (Necromancer Only). ]
Sighing, he threw the newly acquired amulet into his inventory, wondering if he would ever swap his current one out.
No matter which one, the four Affixes were incredibly great. Furthermore, the Legendary Aspect ensured he would survive as long as he had enough Essence to cast skills.
And most of his skills didn't require Essence!
"Considering that I can cast 10x Corpse Explosion in less than two seconds, I can heal almost 25% of my Life Points without any issues. I am not 100% sure how it works, as I usually drink Healing Potions if I am wounded, but it's a great Aspect to have. *Sigh* Let's forget about it. Maybe I'll get a good Unique amulet in the future to swap this one out..."
Leaving the Boss Room behind, he checked the updated Quest Event details.
[ World Stronghold Event update - Temple of Rot
Objective: Rekindle the Wanderer Shrine to reconquer the Temple of Rot. ]
He found the shrine hidden behind the temple and had to crawl underneath a wall to reach it.
Nevertheless, once he approached the shrine and infused his Essence into it, a flame-imbued shockwave extended outwards at a breakneck pace.
Strange things burned in the air, akin to spores from what Michael could see after activating his energy vision.
Thinking they were probably the disgusting things that made this place smell so bad, he returned to the gate where he had left the survivors.
On his way there, he noticed the pile of corpses burn at an incredibly fast pace, and the stench of the temple was slowly receding.
Fortunately, the villagers were safe and sufficiently rested.
After some consideration, he decided to take them all to Jirandai and hand them to the guards.
His good deeds didn't go unrewarded, as he found a Silent Chest on the way, rewarding him with three more Rare item boxes and a Legendary dagger.
Since his current sickle was much better, he decided to salvage this new addition and exchange it for materials.
It took four hours to get to Jirandai, and Michael traveled on foot alongside the survivors.
He could summon his mount, but it didn't feel right, as he would be the only one riding while the others struggled to keep up.
Furthermore, he could remain easier on guard while on foot and dispatch the monsters ambushing them on the way.
'Let's see... another 100 Renown points, bringing my total to 2,650. I'll get another 300 or so after collecting the Altars of Lilith and wrap it up with some more Quests.'
The guards were surprised to see him bring people back but quickly understood after he explained the situation to them.
All survivors were brought to the local Inn, fed, bathed, and sent to sleep. Everything else could wait until morning.
Looking at the time, it was already 4:23 a.m., prompting the Necromancer to wonder what he should do next.
Luckily for him, one of the people saved was the brother of the local item shop owner, who gladly took the few Rare items he had gathered off his hands. Michael had his doubts about whether he did so because they were in dire need of items or because he was happy his brother was saved.
Nevertheless, his coffers increased by another 120,877 gold coins, finally breaking the barrier of 4 million.
Tired mentally, he thanked the man and used the Waypoint to return to Kyovashad.
Since it was... well, early, he headed straight to the Inn.
Raskya usually didn't close the entrance door as nobody dared steal from a place where Wanderers slept, ate, and drank, and every person renting a room had their own key.
Stepping inside and closing the door behind him, Michael took off his equipment and stored it in his inventory, after which he changed into a pair of shorts, used a Cleaning Marble on himself, and went straight to sleep.
He woke up around five hours later and saw it was already 10 a.m. He wasn't alone in the room, as Mina stood by the bedside while Helen was poking his cheeks with her finger.
"Good morning."
[Hey. Why didn't you come to us?](Helen)
"I returned around 4 a.m. and didn't want to disturb you from your sleep."
A growl from his stomach stopped the yawn escaping his mouth, and the Necromancer looked at the two girls pitifully.
Laughing, the duo said Raskya had already prepared breakfast downstairs, prompting a much more energetic look to appear on his face.
After changing into a set of casual clothes and kissing the two beauties for good luck, the trio indulged in a very well-cooked breakfast and some tea.
"How did you know I was here?"
[I told them, brat!](Raskya)
"Good morning."
[Mhm. I saw your room unlocked and figured you'd returned sometime during the night. So, after breakfast was ready, I had one of the children outside let the girls know.](Raskya)
"Thank you, as always."
[Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you stay alive.](Raskya)
Watching the boss lady leave while chuckling, the trio continued eating and discussing their adventures.
Helen spent the past two days wrecking all the Dungeons in Fractured Peaks and four more in Hawezar.
According to her, Natalia was a bit 'understaffed,' and she decided to go there first before 'collecting' Scosglen progression.
Much to Michael's despair, both girls had already completed all five tiers in Regional Progress for Fractured Peaks.
Apparently, all they had to do was re-clear the Dungeons and collect Altars, as the MAP exploration would also be done at the same time.
As for Quests, Waypoints, and Stronghold Events, the Sanctuary had already marked them as completed based on 'previous interactions.'
"*Sigh* It makes sense, but it still pisses me off since I am stuck at the third tier. Anyway, have you already assigned the new skill and paragon points?"
[Not yet.](Helen)
[Same here. I think it would be better to do so after I successfully cleared the progress for all five regions. Ten extra skill points and nine more Paragon points. Most Wanderers are going crazy trying to develop builds that better suit their needs.](Mina)
[There's also the Tempering and Masterworking. The new item drops changed considerably, to the point where our previous sets are seriously inferior even while lacking one Affix when we loot them. Zivek has become the most popular man in Kyovashad, though he's not very happy with this 'promotion.'](Helen)
"Speaking of items, did any good ones drop while you were Dungeon diving?"
[Some. But there's a problem...](Mina)
[*Sigh* Yes, indeed.](Helen)
"Huh? What problem?"
[The cost of Tempering and Masterworking. Both the materials and the gold coins needed to upgrade your equipment are... *Sigh* not cheap. Furthermore, because most upgrades for both equipment and potions require Angelbreath, the damned plant became ridiculously expensive. 10,000 gold coins per piece! Can you believe that!?](Helen)
Sweating nervously after hearing the price and checking his inventory, with only 86 specimens saved so far, the trio immediately thought of using Evelyn to grow some in their garden.
In fact, after some back and forth, it was decided to repurpose all of the empty space behind the Pink Palace as a medicinal garden, where all sorts of ingredients needed for potions would be grown in large numbers.
Since enough time had already been wasted, Michael grabbed the two ladies' hands and quickly left for their date.
They all had plans to return around 4 p.m. or so and help the Necromancer do some Tempering on his items, so it was best to make use of the morning and early afternoon to visit the places they wanted to.
Stepping through the Waypoint, they arrived at the Under the Fat Goose Inn, where customers were slowly pouring in.
The business seemed to do well, and once inside, the former assassin-turned-innkeeper greeted the Necromancer heartily.
According to him, while the number of monsters in the surroundings has been increasing, the amount of Wanderers going out to clean them was also steadily going up.
There have even been three fights in his establishment between groups because of monster scarcity.
Torben laughed and sent them off after a while, after asking them to patronize his place more often in the future.
Both Helen and Mina had strange looks on their faces after they left, surprising the Necromancer.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
[No... not really. It's just... that Innkeeper...](Mina)
[He's strong. Stronger than me. And he reeks of blood...](Helen)
"Ugh... that, huh? Well... it's not my place to tell his story, but all I can say is that whatever happened in the past is in the past. Now, he's doing his best to earn a living through his Inn. As if he's dangerous or not, well, he certainly is. However, as long as nobody messes with his Inn, everything should be fine. I think..."
After getting a non-committal 'Is that so?' from the girls, he continued the story of the Quests he had done in the area without getting into too many personal details involving Torben, Nairne, or her dead friend Tavish.
Then, the trio traveled to Tirmair.
There, they inspected the area around the small town, and Michael even took the time to talk with the locals and make sure nature was healing after what Lilith had done to the place.
"*Sigh* Fortunately, everything seems to be improving. Even the air feels less stale than before."
[I can sense traces of demonic miasma in the air. What happened here?](Mina)
[Is this where you fought the Druid?](Helen)
"Well... not exactly, but I was planning to bring you there. Come. We have a good boy to visit."