Among a myriad of new functions that had become available in the Settings partition of his MENU panels just after The Culling got underway, Garath found that being in a Raid allowed him to ‘mark’ his target with only a thought. Doing so would slightly illuminate the marked creature in the vision of other Raid members and outline its silhouette with a glowing red aura. It quickly became the group’s method of choice for dispatching the Skeletal Archers. To avoid letting the Skeletal Archers simply fire arrows at them unimpeded, Garath instructed the ranged fighters in The Band to mark their target with the red aura to signify that someone was on it. With this simple system, and the melee fight outside the doors continuing much the same as it had for the second wave, Garath’s Raid group powered through two and a half hours of the combined attack of the Archers and Ghouls without incident.
After taking a moment to wet his whistle, eagerly shoving his head beneath the faucet in the little boy’s room, Garath sat down on the not-quite-immaculate white countertop to go over the prompts that had been earned and minimized during the third wave. The first to receive his attention was the elaborately decorated, world-wide death count that, apparently, would be provided at the end of each wave, just for those keeping score.
Monster respawns will be halted for the next 30 minutes as the next wave is prepared. Rest and hone your skills, human. The Culling continues at 09:00(GST).
The Culling Totals
Global Death Count: 3,615,989,902
Community Death Count: 63,914
Garath didn’t know how he felt about what was starting to look more and more like the genocide of his species. He didn’t even know what he should feel at that point. What would normal people feel? After the first death count prompt had spelled out the demise of millions of humans across the planet the Necrologist felt crushed, claustrophobic. But, as he looked at himself in the mirror, water rolling off his chin below dangerously glowing eyes in a reflection he barely recognized, Garath realized something that made him think. He was having the time of his life. A fact that gave him pause. Had he always been so insensitive?
The rapidly increasing number of human deaths had little to no effect on him and he had to ask himself why. Why didn’t he care that, in all likelihood, everyone he used to know, everyone he had worked with or gone to school with, was dead. Why he hadn’t spared even a second thought for his mother and grandmother who lived together in small-town Idaho? Two single old birds living the simple life for the remainder of their time on Earth. What were the odds that either of them, the women that had raised him, were still alive? He knew he didn’t have the luxury of time to mourn at the moment, even if he did have the inclination. With that in mind, Garath dismissed the death count prompt and moved on to the next one.
Congratulations, Garath! For reaching level(s) 9, 10, and 11 you are awarded +9 Attribute Points (3 per level) and +3 Skill Points (1 per level) to distribute at your discretion. As a Necrologist, you receive +3 Wisdom, +3 Vitality, and +1 Regeneration per level. You have one week to distribute the points before they are assigned for you based on your chosen class.
Unused Attribute Points: 9
Unused Skill Points: 7
New Skills are now available.
Garath’s concern regarding his lack of concern regarding the growing death count washed away, and was immediately replaced with excitement when he saw that he had passed Level 10 and that new Skills were now available. In Garath’s experience, Levels that were a multiple of 5 were often accompanied by unlocking some of the best available Skills. He hurriedly dismissed the congratulatory prompt, turned away from the barely recognizable face in the mirror, and accessed his Skill Tree.
On each of the three trees, directly in the middle of the sprawling tangle-mess of interconnected Skill circles - the vast majority still greyed out with no information provided - one new Skill was glowing brightly. The Skills that had become available at Level 10, just as Garath had predicted, were different from the others he had unlocked to that point. The previously unlocked Skills each had a simple globe with the Skill name scribed across the middle - these new Skills were each laced with intricate markings and were displayed with a bolder font. He decided to start with the Death tree and make his way from there.
(Available from Level: 10)
Mastery - Pestilent
Passive
Effect: Increases the base damage of your damage over time effects by 20%.
Note: Once unlocked, each subsequent Skill Point invested in Mastery - Pestilent increases damage bonus by an additional 2%. At Mastery level 10 and above, each Skill Point will also increase the time of your damage over time spells by 1 second.
Skill Points to Unlock: 3
Unused Skill Points: 7
Garath did an internal 'woot!’ after reading the Skill’s description but continued on to the Blood Tree’s newest offering without purchasing it. He was pretty sure he would buy it, of course. Even without spending the ten additional Skill Points into the rank bonus, the passive ability was too powerful to pass up. Still, he figured that waiting until he had at least read each new option would classify as better-safe-than-sorry and read on.
(Available from Level: 10)
Mastery - Sanguimancy
Passive
Effect: Decreases the Health cost of Blood spells by 20%.
Note: Once unlocked, each subsequent Skill Point invested in Mastery - Sanguimancy decreases Health cost(s) by an additional 2%. At Mastery level 10 and above, each Skill Point will also decrease the cooldown of all Skills and Abilities by 3%.
Skill Points to Unlock: 3
Unused Skill Points: 7
‘Another interesting option,’ Garath thought to himself with one hand absently scratching at his curly mop of black hair below the well-fitted brim of his silly hat. These Masteries could potentially become incredibly powerful, especially after reaching rank 10 and gaining the secondary effect. Again though, he didn’t purchase the Skill. Better-safe-than-sorry and all that. Instead, he decided to move on and read the last Level 10 Skill before making any decisions.
(Available from Level: 10)
Mastery - Puppeteer
Passive
Effect: Increases the base Attributes of all summoned creatures by 15%.
Note: Once unlocked, each subsequent Skill Point invested in Mastery - Necromancy increases the Attribute bonus by an additional 3%. At Mastery level 10 and above, each Skill Point will also slightly increase the mental connection with summoned creatures, allowing more complicated commands.
Skill Points to Unlock: 3
Unused Skill Points: 7
Just as he had been with the descriptions of the first two Masteries, Garath was impressed. He was also starting to see that eventually he would have to pick one of the three trees to specialize in, and Demonology presented a tantalizing option. Summoning creatures to fight in the front and absorb damage while he cast spells from a distance would allow him to gauge the full scope of each battle and help coordinate his Party or Raid. He was still partial to the damage over time and avoidance technique that he had been employing throughout The Culling, but going the route of a full on summoner would definitely have its advantages.
It seemed to Garath that the Necrologist Skill Tree was designed to force a choice at Level 10. He had 7 unused Skill Points and the Masteries would each cost 3 to unlock. He could potentially purchase two of them and have one SP left over - but only because he had already made it to Level 11 by the time he had read the descriptions. With a nod to himself, Garath purchased Mastery: Pestilent and Mastery: Puppeteer, confirmed his choice, and then moved on to distribute his Attribute Points - leaving a single Skill Point to be spent at another time. With a directed thought, Garath replaced the Skill Tree partition of his MENU panels with the Profile partition - bringing up a holographic image of himself with his stats listed to its right.
After a cursory inspection of his Attributes, with the main purpose of checking for any surprises or discrepancies as
Garath already knew that he had received +9 Wisdom, +9 Vitality, and +3 Regeneration from the 3 Levels he had gone up since last checking his Profile, the Necrologist considered his options. He was pleased with his relatively high Vit and Wis stats, but felt that his Attributes were already becoming a bit one dimensional.
In light of the fact that he did the majority of his fighting in the nimble form of a House Cat, Garath decided to put five points into Dexterity for increased mobility. After that, he split the last four points evenly between Vitality and Regeneration. He confirmed his choices and took a deep breath as the feeling of his newly improved Attributes washed over him like a rejuvenating ocean breeze on a hot summer day.
When he finally made his way out of the washroom, Garath noticed a few new faces in the main hall and was promptly approached by Athios for introductions, Raid invitations, and battle instructions. One middle aged guy and another two families with small children had made their way to the stronghold during the break. Based on the combined report they had provided Athios, which was then given to Garath, the city outside The Band’s blood forged safe zone was not faring well at all, which more or less matched up with what Garath had seen with his own two eyes from the vantage point of the roof a few hours before - complete carnage.
After explaining the defensive strategy and directing the newest Raid members to their respective positions, Garath walked back out the double doors to ready himself for the next wave.
Chapter 16
Don’t make faces
“I’ve got fifty bucks on more undead,” Warrion was saying. The lanky Assassin was leaning against The Band’s church turned school building turned apocalyptic safe house.
“Safe bet,” Athios agreed, a cigarette hanging loosely in one hand. “Not that you could really do anything with your winnings though.”
“Good point,” said Fergus. The muscular man set his mace down, leaning the handle against the wall next to Warrion. He puffed up his chest and put his hands on his hips. “In that case, I’ll take your bet and raise it another $50.”
Garath laughed. He was tickled that, even during this apocalyptic fuckstorm, these people surrounding him were making jokes and laughing. They all knew it wasn't a game or a nightmare but, like himself, they used humor to mask overwhelming anxiety or fear.
“The real question though, is whether it’s just Ghouls and those Archers again or if they hit us with something new,” Todoroken offered as he approached what was quickly becoming somewhat of a clique in the fighting force.
“That’s an easy one,” Garath said, smiling confidently at the doctor and closet gamer. “The Archers will come back as Tamers with skeleton dogs.”
Todoroken’s serious expression cracked and he broke into a laugh. Upon seeing the doctor’s smile, Garath finally realized just how out of place a serious expression had looked on him. Having only just met the guy, of course Garath hadn’t known anything was off about the doctor’s expression but, as soon as he started laughing, it was evident that Todoroken was not a particularly serious individual.
“How do you figure?” the doctor asked, sliding his glasses up his nose.
“Just a shot in the dark.” Garath shrugged. “That or…” he stopped mid-sentence as the orbs began to spark and vibrate.
“Or?” Athios asked urgently. She flicked her burned out cigarette to the ground.
“I guess we’re about to find out,” Garath said. With a quick series of mental commands to navigate his MENU panels, Garath altered his voice to reach the entire Raid. “One minute to wave four, get to positions.”
In the seconds that followed, several members of The Band left the Church of Immaculate Conception to join Garath on the asphalt outside the building, took up their previous formation, and collectively held their breath as the orbs swelled and started to take shape once again. As they had with the first three waves, the Raid members moved aside to allow space for the monster balls suspended over their heads to drop to ground level and the melee fighters formed up around them them.The orbs reached their fourth climax of the day and an eardrum shaking 'boom!' heralded the start of the fourth wave.
When the first creatures spawned from the monster balls, still motionless as their bodies solidified, Garath easily recognized the now-familiar form of more Fetid Ghouls with their uniform scimitars and bucklers. He was also able to make out the curved bow of several Skeletal Archers in the surrounding area. The Necrologist continued to scan form after form as quickly as his eyes could move from one to the next but he wasn’t able to identify anything they hadn’t already encountered. The new addition for the fourth wave, if there was one at all, did not make itself immediately apparent.
As the undead finished taking shape and whatever level of consciousness that gave them the will to move entered their bodies, the closest one to Garath - just between himself and the healers standing at the ready in the doorway - wasn’t holding a weapon of any kind. It also lacked the hunks of rotting muscle and bits of greasy hair the Ghoul’s had hanging to their bones. Garath quickly triggered Inspect.
Skeletal Magi
Undead
Health: 50/50
Level: 10
Station: Mage
Mana: 180/180
Description: Skeletal Magi sling spells of various elemental Magics.
Average Respawn Time: 10 minutes
Level Range: 9-11
*Note: Skeletal Magi came about as a consequence of ill advised experimentation explored by students of the Arcane Order. In their attempt to summon an army of magically enhanced undead, the Arcane Order brought Tanus to un-life. The first of his kind, and the most powerful, Tanus continued the research initiated by the Arcane Order to bring about the Skeletal Magi.
Garath dismissed the informational table and projected his voice to the Raid at the exact moment the endless army of undead jolted into action. “The all white ones without weapons are Magic users,” he told them.
The bone-white Skeletal Magi’s head swiveled unnaturally, balancing atop its vertebra like some plastic children's toy, as it chose a target. The process took only milliseconds, but it seemed to Garath that the ‘mindless’ creature was gauging threat and he couldn’t help wondering what factored into the decision. Its gaze ultimately landed on Fergus and fiery orange balls formed around each of its hands as it readied its spell and took aim.
Garath funneled the required Mana into the casting of a Death Bolt aimed at the Skeletal Magi just in front of him. He released the spell and a ball of pitch black energy shot from between his outstretched left hand and the staff in his right. The orb smashed into his target, connecting hard and parting the monster with over a third of the Health displayed in the red bar hovering over its head.
“Treat them just like the Archers,” he said, again projecting his words to the entire Raid group.
And that is exactly what they did, at first. Within a few minutes it became clear that the Magi posed a larger threat even than the Archers. Not only did the newest addition to the undead army inflict greater damage with their spells than their bow wielding allies, they were also able to cast an area of effect ice magic spell that slowed the movement speed and casting time of The Band’s fighting force. Garath promptly amended his instructions to make the Magi a priority target over the Archers for The Band's ranged fighters.
As the fourth wave of The Culling pressed on, The Band of the Hawk became very aware that the undead horde with its improved arsenal of ranged fighters was not their only attacker. The new clock system displayed on Garath’s MENU panels may have read 10:43GST, but the mid-afternoon sun was high in the sky and was bearing down hard with no concern for what time this ‘system’ claimed it to be. Garath noticed his Stamina draining faster as the afternoon grew hotter and The Band had to increase the frequency of their rest breaks - leaving less defenders outside the doors at any given time.
Garath, for his part, didn’t take a single rest break. He spent most of the fourth wave in his House Cat form to take a
dvantage of the -20% Mana costs while in the feline shape. He was getting used to, and even growing quite fond of, the lean and athletic form. Dodging the Ghoul’s scimitars and the projectiles from both Archers and Magi felt almost too easy as he scampered through the pitched battle on the blacktop. He cast Blight each time the cooldown period elapsed, infecting hundreds of undead throughout the two-and-a-half hour onslaught with its deadly poison, racking up Tainted Soul debuffs in his House Cat form like bugs on a windshield. He still didn’t quite understand what that meant but, in his white feline form, he couldn’t care less. The only thing on his mind was growing stronger and the bliss of Experience points flowing into his body from every kill. The fluffy murder machine was almost disappointed when the perfunctary prompt arrived.
The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 1) Page 11