Chapter 90
I glanced at the tracking map where it showed the position of all the different dots the previous night. Those had been a distraction. Rhea had set a trap when she realized we had one of the maps. I wrapped the map around a rock and threw it out into the water.
I looked out from the small hill wed moved to. Maxwells map showed the marshes stretched out before us, clear to the ocean. Raven confirmed she could see the ocean in the far distance from higher up.
Marshes were notoriously hard to navigate, like giant mazes with countless dead ends, hidden dangers, and all sorts of unknowns. Nonetheless, that was our destination.
I had given Raven one of the relic illusion rings, and since I was wearing one as well, perhaps its power was enough that it might even disrupt the tracking spell.
I hoped Rhea would leave me alone, at least for a bit. This marsh followed the cliff line where the plateau tapered off as it approached the ocean. The only inhabited areas were along the section next to the ocean on the eastern side. The rest was too difficult and dangerous to be settled.
We rode our horses, since they gave us a height that allowed us to see the winding pathways spreading out before us. Tuffy also scouted the way for us, his big nose constantly sniffing for prey and threats.
We came across several different creatures, most of them ran at the sight of us. Though a few watched us suspiciously from the water, big eyes blinking slowly. The only creature that thought to challenge us during that first day of travel was a rather large crocodile. But Tuffy was more than he bargained for. After a brief clash and roll in the mud, Tuffy sloshed out of the shallow water dragging the crocodile in his jaws.
Different splotches of poison from where Tuffys teeth had bitten through the tough hide marred the dead croc. Tuffy had taken a fair share of bites of his own, but the poison delivered by the crocodile had little to no effect on him.
As we rode, I went over my stat sheet. Maxwell had been right, whatever those creatures were, theyd been a great source of experience. I had gained five levels, which meant twenty-five stat points. With the rings of intelligence, that gave me a total of forty points. I put all twenty-five points into my spirit score, which also gave me a massive boost to the storage space of the bag. I would never give that bag up.
Character Soul Level: 60
Name: Ezekiel Verniac
Race: Human Lich
Unspent Stat Points: 0
Spent Stat Point: 300
5 Stat Points per level
Health: 1161(1741)
Health Regeneration: 33.4(50.1)/sec
Death Energy: 1470(2205)
Death Energy Regeneration: 34.4(51.6)/sec
Mana: 911
Mana Regeneration: 29.1/sec
Carrying lbs.: 1409.9(2114.9)
Stats:
Intelligence: 105.5 [multiplier: 1.311] [40 from gear]
Spirit: 79.9 [multiplier: 1.23]
Vitality: 98 [multiplier: 1.15]
Resilience: 52 [multiplier: 1.15]
Death Core: 133
Agility: 66 [multiplier: 1.1]
Dexterity: 42 [multiplier: 1.21]
Experience: 1135.2 of 46475.8
***
By the end of the second day, we were more certain that we were no longer being chased. The marsh was flat, though it was covered in tall grasses, and bushes of varying types, large swaths of bulrush, still ponds covered with lily pads, and a few groves of trees that grew out of the murky soil. Raven had scaled the tallest tree in those groves and scanned the marsh behind us.
Still nothing, she said as she hopped back down onto River. But I will say there is something different about the area in front of us. I cant quite put my finger on it, but its like its a different color. Almost red.
The marshes right out in front of us? I asked. Like the water and everything?
Kind of, Raven shrugged. Its more like a tint of the color, Im sure well see soon.
While you were up there, did you see a path we could follow? Maxwell asked. We had run into several dead ends and had to backtrack several times, making our progress through the marsh slow and inconsistent. Halfway through a loop the night before, we had to back track nearly three hours to find a way around a larger section of water. I suppose we could have tried swimming it, but with some of the creatures that could be seen moving in the water I decided it wasnt worth the risk.
I did, Raven said. Follow me, I will do my best to remember it.
Raven skirted a spur of land that led away from the grove of trees. Like all paths in this marsh, it was a twisting trail, with constant branches, some of which looked like they led off in long trails, but we trusted Raven. Tuffy continued to scout ahead, his powerful nose rooting out hidden creatures. None of which wanted to tangle with the Morsursa. He gave off an aura that terrified the weaker ones. Only occasionally did something study him from the water. But whenever we saw that, I was quick to strike out with a bolt of death magic to send it scurrying away.
I began to see what Raven was talking about with the color. The path didnt lead straight into the heart of the marsh, those were hard to find, but it was working its way deeper. The water didnt become red, but the light reflecting off it ever so subtly shifted into that spectrum. The mud became more red than brown, and even the plants began to take on a slightly reddish hue.
The monster struck without warning, targeting me from the shadows. A snakes head, larger than Shadows chest, with fangs that looked as long as my arm erupted out of the water. I was able to react quick enough to launch myself out of the way, but Shadow was not so lucky.
The massive triangular snake head latched onto my horse. Shadow screamed in pain and terror as he was yanked off his feet. Coils of the snake began to roll out of the water as it pulled Shadow down.
I didnt have time to get a scan of the creature, I could sense its power though, and it was stronger than I was. Mercy had been knocked from my hand and as the snake coiled around Shadow, I summoned Mercy back, reshaping it into a straight blade with a hard angled tip. Snakeskin was tough, I needed something that could penetrate.
I attacked the coils where it was most vulnerable. I funneled death magic into Mercy as I plunged the blade into my enemy. There was a brief pause as the tough hide resisted being cut before the blade plunged in. The snake recoiled, its body rapidly shifting. I heard a snap like the sound of a breaking branch and another scream from Shadow.
The massive snake released its bite and raised his head to look at me, hissing in defiance. It struck with blinding speed. I tried to dodge, but the next thing I knew I found myself locked in its jaws. Its deadly fangs penetrated my armor with little issue, I struggled desperately but lacked the angle to stab it with Mercy.
For a moment of panic all I thought was I was about to die, then something occurred to me. Its fangs had either missed or been unable to damage my death core and phylactery. Venom from the fangs dripped into my body, but it did absolutely nothing. I chuckled. My biggest threat from this creature wasnt its bite, but its ability to crush me under its mighty muscles.
The snake seemed to think his victory was secured. Little did it know I was taking basically no damage, other than the small amount of tearing at some of the tendrils of my dark flesh that were beginning to cover my body from the initial strike. I couldnt see Raven or Tuffy, but they were no doubt charging in.
One of my arms was trapped inside of the creatures mouth, which was unfortunate for the snake. I pointed my hand down its throat and fired both of the spell storage rings on that hand, releasing twin bolts of death lightning. I could feel the whispers of a contest of will, since I was casting a spell inside of the domain of another creatures soul. But since it wasnt in the flesh itself, it was no real contest. The death lightning ripped at the snakes internals.
In the creatures mouth, I was getting a better sense of it. Most monsters that surpassed the power of just being an ordinary creature were enhanced by some kind of magic. Its power was one I recognized far too quickly. Blood magic coursed through this monster.
Fortunately for me, death magic was an incredible counter, the vitality based magic did not do so well when death magic was introduced. Even as my lightning bolts ravaged the inside of the snake, I was already building a third bolt of lightning, and this one I channeled and kept going.
It tried to spit me out, but I didnt let it, grabbing onto one of the fangs with my other hand, letting Mercy fall free. I poured magic down the creatures throat.
I hung on as the snake shook me back and forth, catching sight of Raven and Tuffy attacking as well. By the time it shook me free and sent me slamming into the ground, it was too late. I had emptied most of my mana pool into the snake, the exorbitant cost of maintaining lighting for that long drained me quickly, but it was worth it.
The snake tried to roll back into the water, but it barely made it a few shattering lurches before its head dropped and the light of life left its eyes. I leapt to my feet, circling death energy through my body to restore the damage dealt to both my armor and my body.
The creature lay motionless, Maxwell and Ravens horses had run back down the path we had followed. I saw Shadow, broken, barely alive and whimpering on the ground. I hadnt been with the horse long, but Id formed a kind of attachment. It was easy to do with horses, they are far smarter than people realize.
I moved to Shadows side, inspecting the puncture wounds from where the fangs had entered his chest and stomach. Necrosis or necrotic poison was spreading rapidly. The labored breaths of my steed were growing weak. His back legs didnt move at all, and I could see where his spine had been broken. Even with powerful healing magic, saving him wouldve been difficult.
I placed my hand on Shadows head and extended my will to him. The non-sentient creature could not think like we could, but they still could convey certain thoughts and wants. I proposed life to it, but not life like it knew, life like Tuffy. It didnt take long before a confirming feeling came back. Shadow did not want to die, and understood he had no choice but to become something else to still exist. I told Shadow to hang on for as long as he could.
My mana pool was low. I pulled out a potion and drank it. I sat next to Shadow and began to meditate, trying to speed up my mana recovery.
What are you doing? Raven asked.
Im going to save Shadow the only way I know how, but I need to focus, I responded sharply, more sharply than I meant to. But time was not on my side, and I needed power. Would you remove his saddle and tack for me? I tried to soften my words. I didnt hear her response, but I assumed Raven would do as I asked.
One of the ways you can increase regenerations rates is through meditation. You dont always get ideal conditions, but it can help.
I split my attention just enough to keep an eye on the small amount of life force draining out of Shadow as I focused on restoring my mana pool. The potion sped the process up rapidly while the others retrieved our horses and inspected the snake. I was pretty sure I heard a munching sound and thought that Tuffy might be eating the snake, but it didnt matter.
As the life of Shadow was almost spent, I began my spell. In the mud around him, I sketched a quick circle with the butt of Mercy. Unlike with Tuffy, my goal was not to create a death-based creature. While Tuffy was impressive, and I was thrilled that I could do that, there were other methods available that were better.
The spell I was using was one that was completely infeasible to use in combat. The circle I drew was to help funnel and contain the magic, something thats always useful to do if you can. The few runes I sketched along its edge would help direct the magic into the form I needed.
Right before Shadow died, the spell took hold, and his remaining life force was snuffed out. And since the spell was already activated, the horse wasnt exactly in a state of normal death. The difference can be tricky to describe.
I poured magic into the circle and my spell. Shadows body was lifted off the ground and stood on its feet as the death magic coursed through it. I reached my hand out toward the snake and pulled on the death core. It came flying to my hand and I tossed it into the circle where it flew into Shadow. The death magic consumed the flesh and organs of Shadow as the death core took up residence inside the cavity of Shadows chest.
The flesh was not wasted though, it was refined into something else. The white bones revealed under the flesh darkened and thickened until they were pitch-black.
As the spell reached completion, I channeled eldritch magic into Shadow. The usage of eldritch magic is difficult because of its corrupting effect, but when used correctly, the power it can grant is truly magnificent. Its also something Lichs excel at using. Up until this point I hadnt been using eldritch magic because I was relatively weak. I had only gained access to it right before I became a Lich, when I still saw the world as a game, and back then, Id been over level 200. I was still hesitant about using it in combat, but with the focus table skills enhancing my abilities I was more confident.
Wisps of purple magic that matched the fire that burned in my eyes could be seen between the joints where the bones connected, replacing what once had been connective tissues. Initially the purple magic was bright, but it darkened until it became almost completely black. In the eye sockets of Shadow, orbs of purple energy burst to life. There was a flash of magic, creating a mane and tail flickering with purple eldritch magic that burned like fire.
Shadow had been completely transformed, and my connection to my new minion made it easy to pull up information on it.
Undead Eldritch Nightmare
Level: 59
Nightmares are powerful equine. There can be as many variants to nightmares as there are types of magic in the world. They get powers based off the magic that they embody.
This nightmare is a rare breed. Undead nightmares are already exceedingly rare to see since the conditions for creating them naturally rarely happen. However, this nightmare has been further amplified by the presence of eldritch magic. This is impossible to occur naturally and means this nightmare was created by a creature with control over eldritch magic.
Like all nightmares, the power of this mount will grow and change as it grows in level and power.
Okay, thats fucking cool, Maxwell said.
I wholly agreed. Shadow was incredibly impressive. Small bursts of dark purple flames came off his hooves whenever he stomped. The flames didnt burn but withered and twisted everything they touched. Shadow nickered and tossed his head. The nicker sounded different, no doubt from the lack of organs to make the sound, instead it had been made by magic.
I looked at the body of the snake and considered creating a zombie out of it. But I decided not to. If we were about to enter a blood marsh, I was certain I would have plenty of candidates to create minions with. And now I could take the lead with Tuffy. The three of us would be all but immune to the poisons contained by creatures in this area, Shadow and I even more so than the Morsursa.
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