Ascension

by J R Davis

  “Now, should I kill you with Drain or Dark Orb, or maybe I could just bludgeon you with my staff and do both?” She asked almost sweetly.

  “I vote neither if able,” I said flatly, though it isn’t like I’d have been able to resist anyway. It was at that moment when Grasping Hands dispersed and a hand reached down to pull me up. As I got to my feet I saw a genuine smile on Lia’s face and she said a single word to me, “Utility”. She then spent a few hours sparring with me and teaching me Drain and Arcane Shift. Apparently, if you have a decent enough ranking in a skill you can pass it on as a sort of mentor program. The only issue being is that the latter had a 5-minute cooldown so I couldn’t just shift around all the time. With new skills in tow and after many an ass-kicking, she had but a final lesson to pass on, cost and management of raising minions. There were limits as to how many minions we could summon, but she stressed that it is not the number, but more so how they are used that dictates our strength.

  “The typical limit for necromancers is 5 minions including your companion. The remaining 4 will have significantly reduced stats and intelligence but there is a fix for it, have Charon issue them commands or actively manage them” she explained while tilting her head in the direction of Chief. “See this guy by class type is strong, but since he isn’t my primary companion he is far weaker than his companion form would be. Also, we can only have said weaker versions out for a short period before they die which is dictated by your own level in summoning.”

  “So do I need to just get new minions every time the old perish or...” I trailed off while eyeing Chief. He looked like he could hand my ass to me easily enough and this was in a weakened state.

  “Funny you should mention that, I happen to have the perfect fix,” she said all giddy. With a snap of her fingers, Chief’s blazing eyes went dull, the hulking figure disintegrating until only a skeleton was left. She then proceeded to place him in her inventory just like someone would any monster drop or item. “The rule is we can reuse skeletons after a cooldown period of 3 in-game hours, provided they were not destroyed in combat,” she said with a wink. “I plan to use this bad boy many more times, at your level though I’d stick with animals for now.”

  “If that's the case, I happen to have some good candidates in mind,” I said with an evil grin. We made our way to a certain meadow from a few game days prior. I greeted the rabbits that had been so kind to me when I was first starting out, and by greeted I mean I rained down fire upon them. I laughed maniacally as I threw Zootwick’s fire potion on the small gathering of the rabbits. Small battle cries pierced the air as flaming fireballs made their way towards me. This time though, I was more than ready.

  Wanting to savor the moment, I let Charon sit tight with Lia as I took Dark Orb pot shots at the wee mammals as they angrily scurried about. The practice actually pushing Dark Orb mid way into lvl 3, further increasing its damage. The field rabbits never even made it close between the fire and the orb barrage. As their home went up in flames I took great solace in their flammability. Well, that and the fact that the little bastards had pushed me just barely into lvl 5. Naturally, I kept with the same idea and placed another 2 in agility and 3 in intelligence. My allotments concluded, it was time to decide what to do with my little furry pals.

  As the rabbits laid there I could see the red outline on their bodies signifying that I could use my Raise Undead on them. “lucky feet won’t save you little shits from this reckoning” I cackled as I placed the little bodies into my inventory for later. The entire time Lia watching me with clear approval in her eyes... should I be worried?

  Upon our return, the tournament was back underway and with a new friend apparently. Lia had joined us in watching the tournament and agreed to a drinking contest with Ogma. The two trying to out guzzle each other for the past hour or so now. The large druid was holding his own thus far, but I spied a nervous glance from him now and then from in between gulps of his mead.

  “How exactly are either of you going to be useful in a fight if you’re both drunk?” Okane asked pointedly. He had been watching the two go at it the entire time. Them being seemingly more interested in their own contest than in observing the fights. “You know, you could end up fighting any of the winners here,” he said with a quirked brow. Clearly not as amused with the pair as they were with themselves.

  “Hey, hey, when in Rome for one, and two this lummox thought he could outdrink me, and I for one am going to prove him dead wrong... HAH.. dead.” Lia replied as she giggled at her own joke. Then proceeding to take another big swig of her own drink while hand gesturing to Ogma that he was going down. Ogma though did his best to keep up a good poker face as he took one large swig and then another while maintaining eye contact with Lia, for dominance I would imagine. The large druid had been drinking far longer than her but that excuse wouldn’t exactly stand should this man's man lose to the crazy mage.

  The contest itself being cut short as the announcer's voice carried through the air “Ogma Vs Zen!” The voice causing Ogma to choke on his drink for a moment before standing up. He made it about 7 steps towards the arena before he stopped for a moment.

  “This isn’t over,” he said pointedly while jabbing a finger at Lia. To her credit, she just winked at the large man and tauntingly waved him goodbye.

  The two competitors made their way to the stage as all eyes honed in on them. Bets were made and money exchanged hands as the onlookers took the opportunity to make some money on the side. It did seem like Ogma had an edge on the monk due to his large stature yet appearances can be deceiving. That, and Ogma may have been a little tipsy from the drinking. Zen, to his credit, looked like a true monk. He stood at about 5’9 with a clean shaven head and loose orange robes. He did not smile or wave to the crowds, but rather the monk bowed slightly to Ogma before the fight in respect to his opponent. The large druid, in turn, dipping his own head towards the monk. With that, both fighters took their positions and the match commenced.

  While Ogma had been drinking, he was no fool. Initially choosing to remain in human form to test the monk's capabilities. He knew little bare handed martial arts, but the man had been in a few brawls over the years which is good experience just the same. Zen inched himself forward until the two were within striking range. Using quick light jabs he tested Ogma’s defenses. Ogma, responded to the light punches by keeping his arms up high near the face. Choosing to bide his time and try to overpower the monk. Seeing his chance, Ogma took wide swings at Zen with the occasional frontal kick to mix things up. While he did have size and strength on the monk, his moves were too clearly telegraphed to be mistaken. Ogma went in for another right swing but this time it was a ploy, the monks arms going up only to have Ogmas kick placed squarely in the stomach, sending the monk sliding back a few feet.

  “Nice one!” The monk said with a wide grin, his stoic demeanor disappearing as he started to enjoy the fight. Gone was the cautious monk with scrying fists, now stood a man looking for a good fight. Zen took quick strides towards Ogma. The druid readying himself for the real brawl to come. It was then that Zen moved far quicker than before. Being a few feet away from the druid then suddenly in front of him. Utilizing Ogma’s surprise to unleash a flurry of blows. His old jabs seeming almost still in comparison. He then switched up into a leaping open palm strike on Ogmas chest. So quick was the attack that it bypassed Ogma’s guard and sent the large man staggering back with the imprint of Zens strike outlined in red. Ogma, however, had little chance to recover for it was then that Zen, with a flourish, flipped closer to Ogma and performed a spinning roundhouse on the large man's jaw that knocked him to the ground.

  The two strikes had taken a bit out of Ogma’s health and he may have been down, but he was not out. After his initial assault, Zen had lined up a jumping axe kick to stun the druid. The hit however never connected as Ogma took the chance to change forms into a hawk. The change in mass throwing off the monks attack. It was then they Ogma answered in full as he shifted from hawk t
o bear. While he was already intimidating to the monk prior, the bear was even more so now. Zen was now trapped in a giant ring with a behemoth of a bear, and the only way out was through.

  Ogma’s eyes blazed red as he unleashed a flurry of clawed swipes at the monk. While Zen was quick, a bears quick strike is hard to avoid. Even harder still is taking on such an opponent without an equalizer of one's own. Still, the monk fought with a manic grin, hitting Ogma again and again with quick strikes wherever he could. Zen could not match Ogma in raw furry though for he found himself being pushed back by the large bear. In his efforts to stand his ground still taking a claw to the shoulder and leg.

  It was then that Zen had an idea. While his normal hits could barely penetrate the bear's thick hide, what about repeated blows to the same spot? Taking that thought and running with it, Zen went on the offensive. Rather than fighting the bear in a frontal head-on assault, he stuck to side-stepping and trying to keep to the bear's side. Ogma, to his credit, did his best to face his opponent yet found himself hard-pressed to stand on two legs and turn quickly enough to not be flanked by the monk. Zen worked fiercely, issuing repeated blows to the nerve cluster under Ogma’s arm. The thick fur and muscle on the bear resisting the single shots yet seemed to give way in acknowledgment of Zen’s efforts.

  He issued one final strengthened blow to the nerve cluster causing a roar of pain from the big bear. Ogma tried lifting that arm once more yet the pain was too great. Now he only had one arm, one weapon to brandish against the nimble fighter. Still, Ogma fought on with his one remaining paw, managing to get yet another strike on the monk’s left forearm. The fight raged on as the two exchanged blows. Ogma using his one remaining arm to do what damage he could and Zen solely focused on rendering the one remaining arm useless. The monk thinking that just maybe if both arms were down, he could take down this gigantic bear.

  “This ain’t no Xiaolin Showdown man, show that fucker whos boss!” Morrigan yelled as she pumped her fist into the air.

  “Give him the ol' dick twist, grab his dick annnnnnd twist it!!” Lia roared, gesturing with her arm in a yanking and twisting motion. Having clearly drunk too much. Well, that or she was crazy. Hell, why not both, she can be crazy and drunk.

  Ogma did his best to ignore the two women. He was far more preoccupied with the monk trying to render him effectively armless and he was no black knight. Despite his efforts though, Zen did succeed. With another decisive jab, Ogma roared in pain as his arm dropped to his side. Zen, realizing his plan had worked, proceeded to aim for the bear's exposed chest. Hit after hit rained down on Ogma yet the bear had few options. He couldn’t even use his bird form since his arms would be too weak to fly.

  It was then that Ogma has his greatest or perhaps most stupid idea yet. Zen unleashed a flying punch to the bears face causing Ogma to lurch back. After such, Zen went in close for a finishing blow. The monk was eager to end the drawn-out fight. That was just what Ogma was waiting for though as he then quickly brought his head down in a flash. Ogma headbutted the unsuspecting monk with all the force of a 1000 lb bear, dropping him to the ground so hard that his head bounced off of the arena floor.

  The attack had completely caught Zen off guard. His mind now riddled with fog from the blow, trying to work through the blinding pain. Still, Zen was no weakling, no untrained fighter seeking quick money or fame, he was a warrior. The monk, with every ounce of his will, struggled as he got on his knees. He then inched himself forward, thinking only of getting to his feet and ending the fight. Sadly, that was not what the fates had in store as Ogma’s ensuing roar shook the air. Then, there was only an instant of pain before darkness. Ogma had used his AOE ground smash with his head, delivering devastating damage to the already prone target.

  Having been announced the winner, Ogma looked back to Zen’s unconscious form. Shifting back to human, he gave the monk a curt nod as if to say “good fight” and made his way back to his friends to await the next round. There, Okane sat ready with a few healing potions for the injured druid. Ogma drank them both quickly as he got many a pat on the back along with a few cheers from Lia. The reprieve was short however, for once more the announcer made his way to the stage and declared in a booming voice “Robin VS Briggs!”.

  A tall elf with blonde hair rose and made his way forward, the very same elf they had seen before at the wolfs blood guilds inn. This time though he wore a thick plate mail covering everything but his face. With a medium sized round shield strapped to his arm and a long sword at his waist, his presence was more than formidable. Briggs stepped up onto the stage and stood there with arms crossed awaiting his opponent.

  “So you gonna go fight that dude or keep staring?” Morrigan asked skeptically. She had seen the necromance seemingly lost in thought for a long moment now but the tournament would not wait.

  “He’s just a paladin anyway, it's not like they are the bane of necromancers or anything” Lia added with a wink as she elbowed me in the side.

  I rose to my feet and slowly made my way towards the armored juggernaut with Charon following close behind. As we stood across from one another, Briggs looked to Charon and then back to me. A confident smile made its way onto his face. It was then that I took in a deep breath and with my exhale a single word unintentionally escaped my lips, “shitfuck”.

  Chapter Eight

  Dark & Light

  The very second the match started, Briggs was on the offensive with a well-aimed shield bash directed at my face. Fortunately, Charon moved to intercept the blow which forced him back a few inches. As the skeleton held Briggs in place, I took the initiative to activate Grasping Hands on the paladin. While the hands broke through and grabbed the large man, he did not budge. Briggs looked at the arms pulling at his greaves and smirked. It was then that he activated Protection and a holy aura surrounded him. The hands withering and crumbled to dust as he reached out his free hand towards Charon.

  Charon to his credit jumped back and lunged his spear forward towards Briggs' hand as I used the opportunity to fire a few Dark Orbs at the man. They made contact with the aura on his chest which seemed to weaken them significantly. Checking the battle log, I saw they did a whopping 13 damage, great. Charon's spear though was not holy or undead and it pierced the man's hand dealing 38 damage. It was not a lot of damage considering we were up against a tank, but if we could play the distance game long enough we may stand a chance. The issue being, we were literally in a large circle and kiting would likely only work for so long.

  Briggs did not take the blow to his hand well though. His confident grin turning to a grimace as his picked up pace moving towards the skeleton. I was honestly a bit offended being ignored like that, but it's not like I was just going to wait my turn. I mentally told Charon to move so that I could get to his back. The skeleton complied with shield ready as Briggs drew his sword. The paladin unleashed a flurry of blows to Charon’s shield yet the skeleton held true, not budging from the onslaught. As he did so, I silently made my way to the man's back, casting other Grasping Hands on the man as well as launching volley after volley of Dark Orbs. Sadly, the effect was minimal as each individual skill barely went over 20 damage and that was if I were lucky. At the same time, Charon had been attempting to break the man's guard with a shield bash of his own yet found himself hard-pressed to gain on the paladin. It was clear that Briggs was the more skilled warrior. He just continued to shrug off my attacks as he fought Charon, it was time to mix things up.

  I was no skilled fighter, never took martial arts, was never big into sports either. Still, television did teach me one thing, honor means little on the battlefield. For the first time since the fight started, a devilish grin made its way onto my face. Briggs was about to learn first hand why you don’t turn your back on a wrestling fan. As the two clashed I sprinted at Briggs, gaining as much speed as I possibly could before mentally yelling to Charon to duck out of the way. My feet slammed into the paladin as I dropped kicked him with all the force a 170 lb magic user c
ould muster. It sent him sprawling, sliding across the ground with an audible grunt.

  Taking the initiative, Charon straddled the paladin. Pinning him to the ground as I moved towards his head. Most of my skills were dark aligned so they had little effect on the man. Still, I had one spell that his defenses wouldn’t fair as well against. Sitting on his back as Charon restrained him I activated Drain and placed both hands on the man’s face. Briggs let out a pained yell as I pulled his health from him. 47 hp, 110 hp, 172, I drained more and more from the paladin as we pinned him to the ground. It seemed to be going well for a while. We ended up draining nearly 500 before Briggs retaliated.

  With his hands behind his back and held fast by Charon, we had thought there was little he could do until I heard him mutter something. In an almost inaudible tone, Lay On Hands. He then broke one arm free of Charon’s hold then grabbing his arm and completing the spell. Healing magic coursed through Charon’s undead body, dealing massive damage and sending his mental wail echoing throughout my mind. Charon collapsed as the paladin broke free.

  “I’ve had about enough of this game” Briggs growled as he got on top of Charon. Casting Lay On Hands and then pinning Charon and beating him with the pommel of his sword. I frantically jumped on him and again began to drain his hp. He only growled and channeled that rage to furthering the destruction of my companion. With teeth bared he struck again and again, healed him again and again until Charon was no more. His corporeal form dissipated into black smoke. It was just the two of us now and Briggs was not exactly in a great mood. The man stood up to his full height and turned towards me glaring as he uttered but a single word, “next”.