A while and a couple of slimes later we arrived at the forest.
It didn't look like anything special. Low foliage covered most of the ground with trees of various thicknesses spread around. The sun still filtering through the leaves and leaving dancing spots of light as the breeze shuffles the leaves this way and that. But still. Something feels off. There are no birds in the trees. No squirrels. Even after turning over a downed log, I can't see any ants or grubs. Everything is silent but the shifting leaves and the clank of bones as my guards continue to trail me.
It's like a dead forest if I had to call it something. But at the same time, it's deceptively alive. The plants are bright and the scenery is just an average forest.
It's been a while. I think I can risk it.
"Summon low tier undead!"
Just as before a skeletal hand breaks through seconds later dragging itself from the ground.
Now I'm up to two and a half bodyguards! I refuse to believe that the one with a hole in its face is at full fighting power. Ergo the half.
And best of all, I don't even feel faint! Truly a win if I do say so myself. Maybe in a while ill summon another but for now, I don't feel like blacking out in this forest if that's too much to ask so ill just leave it alone.
Time to set off! Through the forest, we go! Where we will end up? I sure as hell don't know!
Haha. Anyways. The trek begins!
Fifteen minutes later.
All has been good so far. The guards look the same as usual. And thanks to the limited trees and small amount of undergrowth we have been making good time!
Hold on that a good point. Where am i going with this? Surely it's better not to just start camping at the nearest river I see? I should keep moving. Scratch that I need to! I have no food and this forest isn't giving me a chance to find any. I have to keep going and hope to find a village or city before I starve to death.
Cruel new world. It's already been some hours since I got here. I'm thirsty!
WOOSH! CRASH!
In a blur, a shape plows through the previously injured skeleton. Causing it to break into fragments of bone as it almost explodes outwards from the force.
The creature turns quickly to face another of my guards as they rush at it.
It's a boar! A creepy looking thing. It looks like a boar in all but a couple of ways. This one is darker in color. Almost reaching a black shade of brown. And its eyes glow red. Not exactly a good sign.
It looks like I might even run out of guards before it's subdued if it does one of those charges again. Right now it is facing off at relatively close range with the two remaining skeletons. Warding them off with tusks while the skeletons continue to close on the boar.
They might need some help with this one.
Drawing the dagger I start to walk to the fight. When I'm about ten feet away the boar turns to look at me and stamps a foot against the ground.
It would have been nicer if it just focused on the summons and not me but hey, I did this to myself.
It picked up a surprising amount of speed for such a short distance. Only just slow enough to throw me across the forest floor and out of the way of the all too eager pig.
Unintentionally my best move yet as in the process the boar can slow itself in time to avoid the tree that I had unwittingly placed behind myself.
With another loud CRACK! It hit the trunk sending leaves fluttering down from above. In the second it was dazed me and the two skeletons took out a chance. Pouncing on the Heap of muscle that lay at the base of the tree with our daggers.
As it came back to itself it tried to buck us only to find that we had basically dogpiled onto it. Holding its legs to the ground with the weight of our bodies. It kept struggling even as we stabbed over and over trying to get through the hide.
Tough it may be but with enough attacks it started to give way and soon we were doing real damage to the beast as it screamed its dissatisfaction for all to hear. After a while, it fell silent.
The book started glowing again. Just as it had almost every time we had beaten something but this time it had some new details I hadn't seen before.
Relevant changes:
Basic Skeletal Tactics LV7:
Skeletons under your control gain intelligence with regards to tactics
Novice Skeletal General LV10:
Issue more complex commands and have them executed better to your will
CLASS: Awakened Necromancer Apprentice
LEVEL: 3
I LEVELED UP!
Twice no less! If I had to guess the slimes brought me to the edge of level two and then this crazed boar kicked me over the line and over the next one while it was at it.
The remains of the skeletons and myself slouched around the body. Bar one who stood up. The only other remaining skeleton is trying to stand up also. But finding it difficult due to a broken leg. The bone broken by the tusks of the monster in its last attempts. It's not going anywhere.
I can't do anything with it. As of now, I don't have any healing skills for my summons and if the one who was stabbed by his comrade was anything to go by then these wounds to my soldiers don't heal themselves over time.
I might be able to get something out of it though. Do you get experience for killing your summons? I would guess not since that would just be broken and I would feel bad killing them after I summon them even if they are virtually soulless shells.
With a heavy heart, I take my now blood-covered dagger and bring it down on the disabled skeleton's head. After a couple of hits, the bones fall apart and the skeleton is no more. Just a bunch of bones.
I can't tell if I got any experience from it but I almost wouldn't like it if I did.
Damn, that book is glowing again. I better not have leveled from this.
NEW: CLASS SPELLS!
Recall:
Send your summons back from whence they came.
That would have been handy a second ago. But I guess that's how these things are unlocked in this world.
On another note. My undead army looks to be distinctly lacking at this point in time. Mostly because of its composition of one skeleton. Yeah. That might be it.
Time to test the limits of these new levels!
"Summon low tier undead!"
"Summon low tier undead!"
"Summon low tier undead!"
I get through three before it hits me again and my sight fades to black.
"I'M UP!
I seriously hope these exertion naps I keep getting aren't taking too much time but even as I think that I can already see the sun sinking on the horizon. It makes sense. Even without these naps of undetermined length, I have still spent several hours traveling today.
But once again the book calls. Its faint light is even more insistent in the growing darkness.
NEW: CLASS SPELLS!
Group Summon Skeleton:
Allows you to summon a group of skeletons with no limit in size in one spell. You may not summon more than you are capable of without this spell.
Cool! With this, I should be able to call as many skeletons as I can without knocking myself out! That will definitely come in handy.
No time to set up a shelter.
I walk around for a time and collect some of the underbrush around me while telling my skeletons to dig a hole. It doesn't take much time before things really start to go black as the night settles in, bringing with it a chill in the air.
My skeletons have been hard at work in this time though and have managed to dig a rectangular pit about the size of a person in the earth.
If one was to line it with wood as a sort of mold and add a lid. You might even mistake it for a coffin. with that not so happy though I scatter some leaves over the top of the dirt and then lay down in it covering myself with the rest like a leafy blanket.
I order my skeleton army, now with a whole four members, To lay on the ground around me and protect me before I turn and try to sleep. Which, it turns out is not so easy when you are hungry, thirsty, and afraid for your life. But eventually, sleep takes me and I drift off into the darkness.