The hive stared at the face of its creator and knew God. Each of its tools was given by its lord organs of death and one of unity. Its purpose was rapture, holy and satisfying. The swarm fluttered on the wing targeting the warm blood of infidels who sought to drink the ichor of gods. It flew, conjuring tiny fireballs, ripping wings, and stabbing through vital organs. The hive carried its kills back, and its creator swelled their numbers. Its mind expanded with every new organ until it numbered in the hundreds.
…
Vincent lvl14
Species: Humanity lvl10
Class: Necromancy lvl4
HP 232.104
MP 256.536
He might have found the greatest exploit for leveling humanity ever. Vincent didn't know how many people died of diseases transmitted by biting insects, but they were a lot. He needed the enhancement to turn one of his undead flies into necromancy. That was the next big step, but it wasn't in his book, and enhancement tomes were ridiculously expensive. 1 skull was worth nearly 120 silver pennies, and the good tomes were exclusively traded in skulls or hard resources like mines, farms, or a proper undead workforce.
ABL the ability attribute had helped him refine his use of negative energy faster than anticipated. The attribute solely made skills more efficient. He couldn't imagine what perks he would get from it at 50. On the bright side, his humanity was still increasing rapidly. Blood flies were plentiful in little stack town and would be more plentiful in the hamlets surrounding Stack City. Sending his army of flies through monster-infested lands seemed like a losing prospect.
Vincent scanned his undead hive.
Hive lvl9
Species: Undead Fly Swarm
Classes
Hive Mind lvl2
Mage lvl2
Warrior lvl3
Rouge lvl2
The mass of flies balled itself into an odd approximation of a human fluttering with its warriors' wings. Vincent wanted to blast the monster with lightning every time he saw it. It even tried to make its weird face made of flies look like his own. He didn't know if he should be flattered or insulted.
He saw a roach on the ground and blasted it with electricity. Roaches did have wings so they could join the swarm as extra muscle. After that thought, he raised the roach as a warrior and handed it to the hive mind.
Hivemind lvl3
As it turned out, a hivemind leveled with numbers and variety. The psychic connection he shared with the undead mass was disconcerting at times. It was one voice with hundreds of tiny minds. Vincent searched for any beggar enhancements but came up empty, so he added a rouge to his corpses. While he would have liked something more specialized, hopefully, they weren't dumb.
To that end, he added two intelligence enhancements for good measure. Vincent knew he should be well into the first tier, but the negative energy part of the necromancer's skill tree held him back. Humans were never as good at handling negative energy as the undead.
A knock at his door broke him out of his thoughts.
The door shot open, and a werehyena transformed cackled as she walked in. "What did the clitoris say to the vulva?"
Vincent blinked and looked down at the woman's crotch. Fortunately, she wore pants.
"It's all good in the hood." The cackling was louder than necessary.
"Do you have my money, or do I need to break your legs? I bet you can still work without those. Your undead can carry you around." The werehyena said.
"The payment isn't due for two more days," Vincent said.
"My boss likes my punctuality. So that will be 100 ounces of silver. But if you need the extra days, I can break a leg today and one tomorrow." Vincent sighed, opened a cabinet, and tossed her a sack of silver.
"Do you also make deliveries?" Vincent asked.
The woman tossed the bag up and down before snorting. "It's all here, and you're a necromancer. Have an undead do it."
Vincent didn't bother scanning her. Werehyena were notoriously brutal and quick to violence. They also loved turning powerful men and making them into pitiful submissives. Fortunately, there were laws against those practices. As a necromancer, he had some protections that a gravedigger didn't.
"Does it look like I have the set up for that? It isn't much, and I will pay you for your time." Vincent said.
While she was rude and a tax collector, turning her into an employee wasn't bad; it made her beholden to him. He was, in essence, swapping their roles. If Vincent was short, it might give him some leeway with Ms. leg breaker.
"What do you need and 20 silver?"
Vincent handed her a list and another bag of silver. It was amazing how much he could steal walking through a crowd. He was still looking for a proper fence.
"Do you know a good fence? Not the kind used to corral animals."
She gave him a conspiratorial look. "What kind of operation are you running? I smell a wolf in heat on you." The woman narrowed her eyes.
Vincent hadn't showered for a while, which would explain the scent. Also, 4 days of constant work had made him quite dirty. He would have thought his work stink would be overpowering, but the wolf scent didn't wash off.
"I have more talents than raising the dead." It was a struggle not to steal back the first sack of coins.
"False data, that spell isn't exactly illegal, and thieves aren't outlawed. If a man can't keep their hands on their coin, it's their fault." The woman smiled and sauntered over. "My name is Chipo Fungai; here is my business card." The card had her home address. When he looked up from the card, Chipo winked at him.
He took the card from her trimmed clawed digit. Clearly, Chipo spent most of her time in her hybrid form. Of course, it wasn't abnormal for some werebeasts to prefer that form.
Her tan fur and black spots looked exotic with her mane of red hair and mostly human face. Chipo was clearly experienced enough to customize her blend of hyena and human.
After Chipo left, he blasted another four roaches with lightning before adding them to the swarm. The roaches weren't a problem yet, but they were quickly becoming one. Using his swarm to kill them was an option, but he would prefer another avenue of attack.
Animals die in little stack all the time. Vincent found a dead cat beside a sewer grate and was about to snatch it up for an easy raising until roaches swarmed the body and dragged it into the sewer. Vincent blinked at the sight. He decided it would be best to visit a shop and purchase something he could never afford.
Being flush with silver had changed his circumstances. So far, no one dared accuse a necromancer of theft. He made sure to look imposing to pass his appearance.
In the enchantment shop, he saw a range of knickknacks, mostly appliances for cooking, heating, and blending appliances for alchemy. Vincent had no experience with alchemy, so they couldn't use many of the appliances. Many necromancers took on alchemy as their second class. Recipes of potions existed that performed enhancements on corpses. Normally that wouldn't matter, except those enhancements didn't interfere with necromantic enhancements. In essence, they doubled the number of enhancements a body could take. It was something to think about when he reached the super tier of necromancy.
Vincent shook his head; he couldn't get ahead of himself.
"Good evening, welcome to Merlot's general enchantments." The desk clerk said.
Vincent found a pair of good fire ox leather boots enchanted for durability and quick drying. 15 ounces of silver or silver pennies, and he didn't have the charisma attribute for haggling. He could practically feel the charisma radiating from the clerk like a winter coat. He pulled off his ruined pair and compared it to the boots until he found a match.
"One of our cobblers could be called from the back to assist with your fitting." He wanted to allow the man to mark up the charge but resisted and pocketed some shoestrings while turning around. The man only smiled either he hadn't noticed a part of the display vanishing, or charisma was all he had. Scanning him would be considered too rude even for a necromancer to get away with. "Do you know when things will get back to normal?" The man asked.
He looked at the man's nametag. "Jerry, I can't say. I'm new here, and I heard it was started because Sobek necromancers are paid more for their services."
"Then no one is keeping the sewers under control. Lately, there has been more vermin than usual, and the protest has just begun. The last one lasted three months." Jerry said.
Vincent piled the silver coins on the desk. "I could add wax to repel vermin and feces for another 2 silvers. We currently have a warranty going on for 3 silvers; if they are damaged by accident, our cobblers on staff will repair them free for the first six months." Vincent grumbled and handed over 5 more coins. It was found money anyway.
He signed the warranty, slid on his new waxed boots, and left.
Not long after he left, he felt a knife at his side. "This is a warning from the Thieves Union; no more pilfering without our say won't end well for you." The knife stabbed and slid down.
Coins clattered to the ground, and dead-eyed urchins lurched for the fallen coins. He checked his side and felt no wound. Nevertheless, he was playing a dangerous game. Even though theft was unionized, ironically, their fine was harsher than the necromancers. Vincent held a strange silver etched dagger in his hand, stolen from under the thief's nose. His hands were often nothing but trouble.
Vincent took the warning from the thief's union personally. They threatened his livelihood. The second he had the power and their location, he would uproot them leaf and stem. After theft was taken out as an avenue of income, his prospects suddenly looked desperate. He checked his pocket and still had the amulet. Resnick's amulet could be bought for several skulls. It might sell for one if he could find a buyer.
Human lvl11
The sudden level-up brought a smile to his face. It was passive income but not the kind he needed at the moment. More power was always good, but he needed to survive. Joining a pack wasn't an option; maybe he should whore himself out to Chipo; she seemed interested. On the other hand, it might buy him some protection. Most of his plans were long-term; he needed quick and easy money.
He turned on the street and found a tavern. Despite what the thief did to his robe, there were still plenty of coins on him. Vincent made sure to fill his pockets. He slapped a grasping hand away from one of his pockets as a thief tried to take what was his. In return, he took the thief's coin pouch. A high-tier thief skill only came from stealing from powerful beings like werewolves and vampires. His sister helped him train his hands very well.
Emily's body should be fine under the cold storage spell. He only needed to go back once a year to refresh it. Vincent entered the tavern and saw what the new republic had for adventurers. The drunken people tossed back beer that might as well be piss.
He approached their job board.
Only adventurers' union personnel may take requests. A tavern wench said. Vincent turned his attention to a girl of 13 missing half her teeth. Vincent reviewed one of the Adventurers union contracts and found that the only fees were in requests completed. The 10% tax on every request would hurt, but he was running low on options. He fully planned to send the undead after his problems.
Vincent signed up and took every sewer quest on the board. There were over 50 of them, and some were 5 to 20 silvers each after taxes.