I should be celebrating, today we did what everyone thought impossible even the twin stars. I can't bring myself to even drink a cup of Kasa to soothe my broken aching heart. Today we defeat The Golden horned prime annihilator, golden veins the bone god. I had faced it since I was a boy never once have we won where it has been. Old Bright eyes the life stealer is dead if lifeless can even die, I'm too old to go and find out?
It took at least a kingdom worth of lives to do it. Sometimes I believe the twin stars are worse than the blight. The Blight is dispassionate and random snuffing out life wherever its agents rise. The twins ask for our blood talking the brightest and most potentialed of us all. I hope future generations will remember what we did here.
We killed him, here this day we rid the of Dust.
-Translator note Dust- Unknown Undead phenotype {possible reference to a Drott Stomme}
§A translation from the personal diary of Lord Zap, 11, 11, 999th year of the Blight Age§
I am smooth skulled pristine sliver charcoal in colour. Each bone is lined with magic pathways where my spirit flows bright gold. These golden lines run up my body onto my face and cheeks past my eye sockets forming six little horns around my head like a crown setting that sit amongst an arrangement of Soul Stone magic pathways that resemble a circlet. My eyes are barely there looking mostly like clear spirit formed glass. I kept the klippa legs the design matching exactly how I remember.
'Pepa take note so that you can update my stats probably with something other than undefined.' Leaving the Grand Obelisk is easier than I thought. The path away from the river that brought me here is a shortcut. It leads directly to the entrance, I pull the lever the door is on an automated system that closed it after I jump. My destination is the Dead Mountain to the south of the Undead Maze. The area around the Undead Maze is alive with ever-fresh valley grass, cold dew and mountain flowers, this idyllic scene belying its nefarious purpose. It's early morning in late autumn the tinge of amber in some of the trees gives me an idea of the season.
'Good that means no Louse in the air at least that's one thing I don't have to worry about. Now if I remember correctly it's that way.' The dead Mountain was one of those areas of no interest to players unless they are lore obsessed. A good way to control the undead is to purposefully allow them to corral in areas like mountains and bogs essentially places where humans don't live. Graveyards are used in cities with Massive Rods that control all the undead energy generated by Rot. The Dead Mountain is one such area but it was created by a necromancer. That is why there is a portal to Moridbund there.
Path South is deceptively steep lucky for me as an undead just like Lifeless has infinite stamina.
[Stamina added - ∞]
'Really Pepa what's the point even I can't use it for anything I don't really have any stamina?'
[Stamina Plus Ultra Added- ∞]
'Thank you, Pepa!' The path twists before me like a horned viper. I leap instantly scaling up the steep path rather than walking on the road. If someone saw know they would if I'm a new type of skeleton they have never seen before. My thin hoof-like soles easily find the cracks in the rocks and thanks to a little Desecreation assisted change my fingers are now hooks. I'm moving at a brisk pace scaling each new embankment faster than the last. 'PARKOUR!'
Traversing the final embankment is epic it is two eight hundred meters to the top from the road. I look back at the basin. I can see the Undead Maze, the small village of Arealia, the basin is filled with fields I can see. If I were still a paladin I would be going north heading towards Central Chruch City. I'm so happy I don't need an anchor my body allows me to climb the final embankment as if I knew it's Beta. I grab onto a barely Jug the crack in the rock giving me the leverage I need to swing over to the pocket I nearly missed but a small kick on the rock gave me that extra boost to hook in my fingers.
If a normal person saw me they would be shocked even Altaïr would not be able to move as I did just now. I mountain is finally in view sitting nicely amongst a thousand other hills and smaller mountains. The area is known as Pine hills, the necromancer planted them to mask the smell of rotting flesh, Bog Pine are the only kinds of plants that can survive both the rot and hard mountain terrain. Other smaller mountain flowers tend to be around them for protection. The smell is as one would expect fresh but there is a hint, that flicker of sweet rot in the air.
I come across any other obstacle after showing that embankment how amazing I am. 'I should think about making Skeletons that climb, fast zombies are thing already but Scaling Skeletons would be cool as all fuck plus it would terrify the people behind their tall city walls.' I stare at the monster in front of me. A fiercely territorial menace that is common in the hills. It has more horns than face but at the end of the pig is a pig no matter how fierce or heavily armoured. The Tusker is a level twenty so I have to be careful.
I move across not passing into its territory Tusker have an innate connection to the land they claim even if he wasn't in front of me he would know when I have crossed into his turf. So I walk towards one of the Tall Bog Pine Congested areas. 'Careful doesn't mean scared, the tusker might be stronger, faster, and uglier, but I'm Dust baby.'
Two minutes later
I have been running towards the dead mountain at fools pace. Be it a tree, shrub or bush are leaps across used to sharp turns or as a trap to slow down the Tusker. 'I miscalculated okay! How was I supposed to know it is possessed. Don't be quiet at me like that next I will make sure to look properly.' This Tusker is hot on my heels, using its ability gained from being possessed by a ghost to phase through trees.
Lucky for me the hooks in my hands let me use the trees to make sudden and unpredictable turns. That is how I have survived one impact alone would ruin me. Not to mention the level difference and skills gap. I just fixed this body I'm not letting some fat too ugly to eat pig destroy what I have built. The Tusker is a simple-minded creature but not to be messed with even with tricks I wouldn't be able to kill it. My first idea of leading it off the side of the mountain area failed because it doesn't leave its territory. So I'm zig-zagging my way through it's finally reaching safety on the other side.
The Dead Mountian area is filled with Skeletons, zombies and other Undead they are waiting for the sun to set. One of the ways low-level undead gain levels is venturing into the living world. 'I will be a lot more proactive than them.'
[...]
'Whats that suppose to mean?' I stand in with all the undead though they constantly move away from like Im dangerous. The wait is going to be quiet lengthy as it is a few hours away. I should find something to occupy my time. The Dead Mountain is more of a meeting area most low level undead spend at least two weeks in the world of the living. I walk around looking for nay skelton that might be of higher rank. I can't help think about what Pepa meant is there something i missed, the only thing i did was run away from the boar.
[!!!]
'No that thing is a level twenty how the hell do you expect me to kill it in combat. Its impossible really there is no game machinc...It's not a game I still have to remind myself its not a game. If it was I wouldn't have been able to parkour my way here. I have to test it, the undead also probably don't have it.' In the game new players are forced to register with one of the training schools depending on their class. As a paladin I received the Viligance blessing where i would gain double the experience until level ten but I would not be able to use any skills outside of combat.
'I'm an idoit surly by Easereal Light...'
[You have received 10 damage] The glow hits my spirit directly I guess if I call on him it can pass through my protection good to know. I randomly dance about yelling at myself for my own stupidity I had literally been doing magic outside combat since I arrived here. How did it not occur to me that I'm not bound by the rules of the living.
'Fine, I will try but at least give us some incentive, a small reward it is after all a level twenty and Im only a level one.' Pepa doesn't respond to my suggestion even as I make my way back to the section of Pine forest where i will find the beast.