Necromancer

Ding!Quest Accepted: Eliminate the Necromancer Alone

Grey staring at the system notification realized the weight of the task he had just accepted took a deep breath.

Sid who was watching him was amazed by the sudden dicision Grey has made.

"You want to defeat that necromancer alone, brother? If you want, I can help you a little. I'll be a shield to sacrifice my life for you." Sid said with a bit of hesitation in his voice but offered him some help.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Grey replied in a confident voice, he added with a greedy look in his eyes. "This is an opportunity for me to get stronger if I end up learning Aura so I'll be taking the risk. If I learned aura, the stronger I am, the stronger the loot I can obtain, the more money I earn."

Knight Oberon who had been watching them bicker for awhile now, nodded in approval. "Good! Your determination is the first step. A little greed is what push people too to be great in things. Rest now because we'll need your strength later."

Grey saw at a certain post in the wiki called "necromancer's growth and weakness by Arise", it was stated there that necromancers are strong opponents especially in battle of attrition as they can summon minions at the cost of their mana or stamina to fight for them but they have a fatal weakness—it was that they are defenseless as they cast their summons. That was true if the necromancer is an NPC, or monster because players with necromancer class can instantly summon.

Sunlight soon bathed the eyes of Grey as he came up of different scenarios, strategies on defeating the necromancer in his head.

Knight Oberon's team now was preparing for the expedition on finding the necromancer, their team consists of two knights, five soldiers, two mages, and a priest.

The knight gathered then in front of the village's central square, he looked at Grey and said. "Grey, we have to split up and look for the traces of the necromancer. I'll be taking Sid with me so that I can teach him a thing or two. Once you find something you have to report or use a signal before taking action."

"Yes sir!" Grey replied though he already had plans in his mind.

The group splits up, each heading in different directions. Grey was going in an icy mountain just next to the village, he walked then he saw in a near snowy covered terrain near faint footprints so he followed it. The air grew colder as he moved away from the others, the trees becoming thin as it was becming more of an open plain.

"Maybe the necromancer's still here." Grey thought as he saw in the quest earlier that the villagers had vanished with a fog.

After an hour of searching, he spotted something unusual in the distance—a faint shimmering light was in the air, as if a mirage was there to confuse travelers hovering near the base if the icy mountain.

"A magic barrier?" Grey thought making wild guesses.

Before he could enter the barrier, a messenger from Knight Oberon came riding a horse. He stopped in front of him, panting from the sudden situation.

"Knight Oberon has ordered everyone to regroup immediately! We found tracks leading to a cave on the western side of the mountain."

Grey hesitant to go said. "I found traces here too, I will investigate things here but inform Knight Oberon about it. If I found nothing here, I'll catch up to you guys."

"Understood!" the soldier said then returns to where the team was.

Grey summoned his daggers in his inventory, he held it tightly as he walked in cautiously. As he get nearer to the barrier, the air around buzzeld with energy. He hesitated for a moment but came to a decision to proceed, he reached out and touched it, the illusion rippled like a water disturbed by a rock thrown in a water, he stepped through as if the wall in the mountain was just an illusion.

On the other side, it was a cave—a frozen wasteland, darker, colder than the outside. Grey felt a chill run down from his fine as if having a goosebumps.

"This has to be it." Grey muttered to himself as he walked.

He stepped inside, the echo of his footsteps bouncing off the icy walls. The interior was dimly lit by glowing blue crystals embedded in the rock. Grey tightened his grip on his weapons, his eyes scanning for any sign of movement.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the cavern, deep and mocking him.

"So, you have found me and come to face me, little adventurer?" 

Grey froze, his heart pounding. A figure emerged from the shadows, cloaked in black robes. The Necromancer's face was obscure with a bit of glowing red eyes burned with malice.

"You dare to challenge me alone?" the Necromancer sneered.

Grey didn't respond. Instead, he gripped tightly on his daggers, dashing to attack the necromancer.

With Grey's speed. he disappeard in the necromancer's sight then reappeared behind him, slashing both daggers. The attack struck but got blocked by a barrier made with dark mana.

"A foolish attempt!" The necromancer said with malice, raising a hand—waves of dark magic erupted form his palm, forcing Grey to leap back.

The ground grumbled as skeletons started to emerge from the ground, they seem to wield weapons of different kinds while some empty handed. 

Grey realized that he was outnumbered, he cursed under his breath as skeletons converge around him, cornering him.

"Let's see how long you can last!" the Necromancer taunted.

Grey moved swiftly, weaving between the skeletons as he struck them down one by one. Each kill earned him a small boost to his stats, but the Necromancer continued to summon more.

"Enough!" Grey shouted, throwing one of his daggers toward the Necromancer. The blade struck the barrier again, but this time cracks began to form.

The Necromancer scowled, clearly irritated. "You're more troublesome than I thought. No matter. You'll die here all the same."

He raised his staff, dark energy swirling around its tip. Grey knew he couldn't afford to let the spell be completed. 

Grey attempted to use his speed again, he disappeared and appeared behind the necromancer striking him with his dagger.

Ding! You have learned a new skill "Shadow Step." 

Conditions met: Using an unbelievable speed, players have to disappear in an enemy's sight then reappear behind them. 2/2

It seems in Earthisia, you can gain skills without a class if you perfrom certain conditions at a perfect time learning a new skill. 

The battle raged on, the clash of steel and magic echoing through the icy cavern. Grey's breath came in gasps in interval as if exhaustion started to crept in him, his stamina dwindling as he pushed himself to the limit. The Necromancer, though injured, continued to fight with relentless fury. His skeletal minions marched forward to Grey, but with a swift swing of his daggers, Grey shattered them into piles of brittle bones.

Suddenly, Grey remembered about the villagers laughing inside the INN.

"Why... why are you doing this?" Grey demanded, his voice hoarse from exertion. "What happened to the villagers? Where are they?"

The necromancer laughed matching his malicious grinning, his face became twisted. "Villagers? Ah, so you noticed." His tone dripped with mockery as he raised a skeletal claw to summon another wave of undead. "You're asking about my little puppets, aren't you?" 

"Puppets?" Grey asked with a puzzled look, but a hint of suspicion sips in.

"Yes, puppets. Those villagers you met… they weren't alive. Not truly." The Necromancer sneered, sidestepping Grey's charge and casting a wave of icy spikes. "They were my victims long ago. Their bodies, their memories, their voices—all preserved and animated to serve my will. Clever, wasn't it? The perfect lure for unsuspecting travelers like you."

Grey parried the spikes with a desperate swing of his daggers, anger bubbling to the surface. "You used them? Made them imitate the living just to trap people?"

"Precisely." The Necromancer grinned with satisfaction as he circled Grey, his staff glowing with dark mana. "It's simple. Humans are drawn to bonds, to connections. A child calling for help, a friendly villager offering hospitality, a wise old chief with a problem to solve—they all play their part." He chuckled. "Those with close ties to the living are the easiest to imitate. A few illusions here, some necromantic magic there, and you fools walk right into my grasp."

Grey clenched his fists, his grip tightening on the hilts of his daggers as he bit his lips. "So, all those quests to eliminate monsters… they were just for your rituals?"

"Indeed," the Necromancer replied with a proud tone in his voice. "You see, the monsters are but ingredients. Their essence, combined with human life force, fuels my work. Travelers like you—you're the real prizes. And you, little boy… you were special. I noticed a dark aura in you, as if you've been cursed."

Grey froze for a moment, his mind racing. "Special? What do you mean?"

The Necromancer's grin widened. "Your aura. Your potential. When I first saw you, I knew you'd be the perfect catalyst. Someone like you could summon a middle-rank demon, a being of incredible power."

"You're insane! You sacrificed people, killed them, just for a measly demon! Using them like a sacrificial lamb to slaughter just to gain power and a servant to call." Grey angrily said.

"Am I?" The Necromancer tilted his head, his expression cold. "Do you think the world runs on kindness and light? Power is the only truth. But you, you had to ruin everything. You didn't return in time, and those nosy fools from the Indra Estate began poking around. I had no choice but to flee, to leave my carefully constructed trap behind and hide here in this icy mountain. But now, you've brought yourself to me. It's almost poetic, don't you think?" 

Grey's anger boiled over, and he charged at the Necromancer with renewed determination. Their weapons clashed, sparks flying in the dimly lit cavern. Despite his fatigue, Grey's resolve burned brightly.

"Why not?" the Necromancer retorted, deflecting Grey's blow and sending a wave of dark mana in his way. "The strong takes from the weak. That is the most basic law of the world. You should be grateful I saw potential in you!"

Grey dodged the attack, his feet skidding on the icy ground. "You're wrong. Strength isn't about taking—it's about protecting!" 

Flashes of images came to Grey. He remembered his little sister when their parents just died from an accident, their company taken from them, his inheritance is only the house they are living. He has to provide to his little sister since then protecting her.

The Necromancer snarled, his composure faltering. "Enough of your self-righteous drivel!" He raised his staff, chanting an incantation. The cavern trembled as a massive skeletal beast emerged from the shadows, its eyes glowing with a malevolent light.

Grey gritted his teeth, steeling himself for the fight. His body screamed for rest, but he couldn't afford to falter. The memories of the villagers—their laughter, their warmth, their false lives—spurred him on.

The skeletal beast lunged at him, its claws swiping dangerously close. Grey rolled to the side, slashing at its exposed ribs.

The Necromancer laughed maniacally. "You're wasting your energy, boy! You can't win!"

But Grey refused to give up. He dodged another attack, his movements becoming more fluid as he focused. Each swing of his sword grew sharper, more precise. The faint Aura around his blade began to intensify, cutting through the beast's defenses.

The battle raged on, the cavern filled with the sounds of combat. Grey's strikes began to take their toll on the skeletal beast, its movements growing sluggish as its bones cracked and shattered. Finally, with a powerful slash, Grey cleaved the beast in two, its remains collapsing into a heap.

The Necromancer staggered back, his expression one of disbelief. "Impossible… how can you—"

Grey didn't give him a chance to finish. Summoning the last of his strength, he charged at the Necromancer, his blade aimed straight for his heart.

The Necromancer raised his staff to block, but it was too late. Grey's daggers pierced through, the dark energy around the staff dissipating in an instant. The Necromancer gasped, his body crumpling to the ground.

Grey stood over him, his chest heaving. "This ends here. You've already lost."

The Necromancer chuckled darkly, blood dripping from his lips. "Lost? No, boy. I've already won."

Before Grey could react, the Necromancer plunged his hand into his chest, a grotesque glow emanating from his body. A guttural incantation filled the cavern, the very air thick with malevolence. Grey's instincts screamed at him to retreat, but his feet felt rooted to the icy ground.

"What are you doing?!" Grey shouted, panic rising in his voice.

The Necromancer's laughter turned to a pained howl as his body began to disintegrate, dark tendrils of energy spiraling into the air. "You were always meant to be the sacrifice, Grey," he spat, his voice distorted and otherworldly. "But if I must die, I'll take you with me!"

A deafening roar echoed through the cavern, shaking the walls. The dark energy coalesced into a swirling vortex, and from it emerged a towering figure. Its skin was the color of molten ash, its horns curled like a ram's, and its eyes burned with infernal light. The demon exuded an aura of raw power, its presence oppressive and suffocating.

Grey staggered backward, his mind racing. He didn't need to see the glowing sigils marking its level to know he was outmatched. "Level 300…" he whispered, his hands trembling.

The demon's gaze locked onto him, its mouth twisting into a sinister grin. "A morsel left for me?" it rumbled, its voice deep and reverberating. "How generous."

Grey raised his sword, forcing himself into a defensive stance. His heart pounded in his chest as he dodged the demon's first strike—a massive claw that shattered the icy ground where he had stood moments before. He countered with a desperate swing, his blade barely scratching the creature's hardened skin.

"You're nothing but an insect!" the demon roared, swiping at him again. Grey was thrown across the cavern, crashing into the wall with bone-jarring force. Pain shot through his body as he struggled to stand.

"Is this… the end?" he thought, despair creeping into his mind. The demon advanced slowly, savoring its impending kill.