It would need to be something that could take some damage without crumbling. Ideally, it would also be something that could break enemy lines and draw attention away from the Twilight Throne's fledgling army and his more fragile thieves and casters. Jason was positioned at the rear of Alexion’s army, so he would be able to flank them during the siege.
A basic form appeared in his mind's eye as excitement started to well inside of him. He experimented with the editor, and a form slowly took shape in the air in front of him.
It was a hulking skeleton, standing nearly eight feet tall. He needed the creature to be strong and durable, so Jason used multiple bones to form each extremity. The dark mana acted like glue and could bind several bones together. It wasn't as stable or durable as using a single, solid bone, but Jason’s Bone Crafting skill wasn’t high enough to merge the bones together.
The skeleton was simply massive. Its arms and legs were nearly a foot in diameter. Its spine was lined with large bone spikes, and Jason had created a tail that terminated in a spiked ball. He had to use a skull for the ball and the effect was a bit terrifying. It had taken a couple tries to get the tail right – his goal being for it to be versatile, as well as intimidating. After some experimentation, he discovered that the using vertebrate from the spine gave it greater flexibility. Since the creature had begun to look like some kind of hulking lizardman skeleton, he adorned its reinforced skull with two vicious horns. Many of the bones were singed, causing the skeleton to appear almost entirely black.
For the creature's weapons, he welded together multiple shoulder blades into a towering sheet of bone. The shield was five feet tall and appeared to be created of bone scales. He connected the bone shield directly to the left arm, foregoing the need to build a hand. Jason then used bones from the forearm to create foot long spikes and attached them to the outside of the shield at regular intervals.
The creature's right arm from the elbow down was formed into a massive bone sword. Jason would have preferred to create a mace or axe, since these weapons required less accuracy and relied more on brute force, but he wouldn’t be able to make those weapons until his Bone Crafting skill increased. Fortunately, he was able to add an edge to the column of bone that formed the blade.
Once the bones were in place, Jason started imbuing the new skeleton with dark mana. Instead of focusing on reinforcing the joints, he imbued mana directly into the bones. After a couple of tests, he discovered that it greatly increased their durability. However, he didn't have sufficient mana to reinforce the whole skeleton, so he focused on the skeleton's weapon, shield, legs, head, and tail. He figured these areas would be struck the most often, and the large shield and tail would protect the interior bones and arms.
After a few trials, he stepped back and surveyed the finished version of the new skeleton. It was an intimidating sight and towered over Jason. He had the test skeleton strike a tree with its sword, tail, and shield several times to assess their durability. They were surprisingly resilient.
A grim smile lit Jason's face. He needed to conduct some combat testing to see what the new skeleton was capable of, didn't he? He raised three zombie soldiers and ordered them to attack the new skeleton. The resulting battle was almost comical.
The three zombies surrounded the skeleton in an attempt to flank the creature. The bone tail swept at the soldier at its rear, tripping it. The spiked ball at the end of the tail then hurtled downwards, striking the zombie soldier’s head. The soldier’s helmet crumpled, as its head was crushed with a splintering crack. Congealing blood leaked from the mangled helm and dripped onto the grey soil.
The other two soldiers had attacked the monster from the front, thinking that it was distracted. The skeleton charged forward with large, lumbering steps while it held its shield in front of it. The shield impacted one soldier, impaling it and lifting its body into the air.
The impact barely slowed the skeleton due to its weight, and it used its forward momentum to put additional force behind its sword as it swung at the remaining soldier. To his credit, the soldier managed to bring up his sword in time to block the blow.
Apparently zombies didn’t understand physics. The zombie soldier was sent hurtling backwards by the force of the blow and slammed into a tree with a crunching noise before sinking to the ground. The skeleton showed no mercy and swiftly decapitated the incapacitated zombie. Then it turned back to Jason, ready for additional orders.
Onyx stood beside Jason. He kept glancing between the skeleton and Jason. Jason couldn’t quite read the cat’s expression, but it seemed to be something along the lines of, “Holy shit!”
“No kidding. That thing is ridiculous,” Jason said in an awestruck voice.
Jason inspected the creature before him. The skeleton was level 85 and had nearly 3,000 health. Jason expected that his allocation of dark mana made the skeleton tough, but it lacked the raw damage of his Night Children. It had cleverly used its momentum and weight in the fight with the soldiers, but he expected that its normal strikes would carry less force. He also noticed that it was quite slow even at a full run, a downside of its weight.
As a last step, Jason needed to assign the new skeleton a name. However, his hand hesitated as it hovered over the control panel of the skeleton editor.
Onyx look up at him disdainfully. His expression said, “Just get on with it already!”
Jason scratched his head and stared at the sword and shield that the skeleton carried. It looked like some kind of demonic knight. An idea struck him, and he quickly typed in a name.
His new creature would be called a “Death Knight.”
What was truly terrifying about the Death Knight was that it cost 2,500 mana to cast and required nearly thirty times the number of bones as his Night Children. After leveling, Jason’s Control Limit had grown to fifty-one, and he could still summon thirty-one minions. However, the huge pile of bones beside him could only create twenty-five Death Knights. It would take thousands of corpses to make a sizable number of Death Knights!
“Damn game balance,” he grumbled under his breath.
After he made all of the Death Knights he could with his existing materials, he received a couple skill and spell level up notifications:
x3 Skill Rank Up: Bone Crafting
Skill Level: Beginner Level 7
Effect: Access to bone modification in the skeleton editor. May currently alter composition of bone by 11%.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Custom Skeleton
Skill Level: Beginner Level 5
Effect: You may raise a custom skeleton using nearby bones. The skeleton’s level is calculated as the caster’s level + Willpower/73.
Once his Death Knights had been summoned, Jason ordered his thieves to retrieve the bodies of the soldiers. He raised an additional six soldiers, bringing him to his Control Limit. As he surveyed the remaining corpses, a thought occurred to him and he ordered the thieves to load the extra bodies onto his Death Knights. They were each able to awkwardly carry a body using their forearms.
This was a fine solution as far as Jason was concerned. He was going to keep them far back from the road during the trip back to the Twilight Throne anyway. They made far too much noise.
The dark bodies of the Death Knights towered over the thieves and soldiers that stood before them. Jason admired his troops, eyes glowing darkly. With a new surge of confidence, he ordered his miniature army forward into the dark forest.
He had work to do.
Chapter 29 - Grotesque
Morale had fallen considerably since the attack on the camp two days ago. As Riley rode in the column towards the Twilight Throne, she noticed that both the players and NPCs continued to glance nervously at the darkness lining the sides of the road. They huddled towards the middle of the column, trying to stick together in anticipation of future attacks. Carrying a torch was now seen as an honor rather than an obligation amongst the soldiers.
If the attack on the camp had been bad, the next forty-eight hours were w
orse. The army had been constantly plagued by attacks. It wasn't just the constant fighting, but the way that the attacks were made. Jason never struck the same way twice, and his methods were a bit... unorthodox.
Riley’s thoughts were interrupted by the conversation of two nearby NPC soldiers.
“Why the hell did we join up for this war?” asked a soldier in a gruff voice. The soldier appeared to be in his twenties, and dark circles hung under his eyes. Both he and the soldier beside him were making the journey on foot.
“Well, the money of course, but it isn't worth dying in this damned forest,” said the other man in a bitter tone. He stood nearly seven feet tall, but his shoulders were bent under the weight of the pack he carried.
“I second that. This Jason is more ghost than man. First the massacre at the camp and then two days of constant attacks. To top it all off, no one has actually seen him!” the first soldier said, disbelief in his voice.
“That doesn't surprise me one bit. Jason's a clever one.” The second soldier paused for a moment, lost in thought. “You remember that first attack when we got back on the road?”
The first soldier sighed and shook his head. “How could I forget? One of our own came running out of the woods screaming for help. I watched a group soldiers from House Auriel break off from the column to help the man.” He shuddered slightly. “As soon as they made it to him, he just… exploded. Took out the whole group.”
He hesitated, taking a deep breath before continuing. “The skin actually melted off their bodies and their… their parts were scattered everywhere. Alexion ordered me to gather the pieces and burn them...” He trailed off at this last part, as he relived the memory. His mouth twisted into a disgusted grimace.
The second soldier nodded solemnly. “And that isn't even the worst of it! Yesterday, a group was blown up as they passed over a stretch of road. They found pieces of armor and equipment lodged in the dirt. This demon buried the corpses in the road!”
The first soldier looked at him in shock. “I didn't hear that one. It must have happened farther up the column.” He looked at the ground beneath him nervously as though it might explode at any minute.
“Don't bother looking. It certainly didn't help the other group. I suggest you settle accounts with the gods. I pray every night. There's no telling who will be next,” the second soldier said, shaking his head.
“The nights are a good time for praying. They are even worse than traveling down this death trap of a road,” the first soldier said, as he spat on the ground.
“You aren't lying,” responded the second soldier. “I don't dare to even get up to take a piss anymore. A few of my tent-mates haven't ever returned. Though it has seemed safer since they started digging the latrines right next to the tents.”
“Except for the smell,” the first soldier grumbled.
“Better to smell shit than eat it,” the other rejoined with a dark chuckle.
The conversation between the guards was not surprising to Riley. She had witnessed many of the events they were describing. Since she had attended nearly all of the meetings between Alexion and the NPC commanders, she had a good sense of the army's actual losses.
Over the course of two days, they had lost an additional 150 NPCs and players, dropping the headcount of the army to approximately 950. Riley also knew that some of the players hadn't actually been killed. They had simply stopped logging back in as the constant attacks and darkness took its toll on morale. The game was simply too realistic; those that left couldn't handle the psychological war that Jason was so successfully waging.
The reaction among the players that stayed was surprising. Many couldn't decide whether they were angry or impressed. Jason was waging a guerrilla war in this forest, and he was clearly winning. Many of them were rapidly realizing that it wasn’t a fluke that Jason had conquered Lux. In contrast, Alexion didn't seem to be able to offer much of a defense. The forest was too dense and too dark to try to pursue Jason or to allow Alexion to use his superior numbers effectively. The army was basically a sitting duck while they traveled down the road.
As she watched the reactions of the NPCs and players over the last two days, Riley had felt a change in herself. It was a hard feeling to pin down, but it was there. In spite of her anger, she felt more calm. More… cold. She had also become increasingly numb to Alex's abuse or his threats. With the cooling of her rage, she began to seriously question herself.
Why hadn't she told her parents about Alex's threats? Why had she let herself be browbeat into collaborating with Alex's story at school? Why didn’t she just fess up now?
The other part of her mind answered back scathingly, “It's because you were weak and afraid.”
In the midst of her self-recrimination, her thoughts had focused on Jason. He fascinated her. On the long journey, she had sometimes pretended it was the Jason she knew. Riley tried to think of what she would say to him if she saw him again. Each time, she fumbled with the words. What could she say that would make what she had done any better?
She clutched at the reins tightly. There was nothing she could say that would make up for what she had done to Jason. She needed to act. Yet before she could help Jason, she needed to help herself. She needed to do something to escape Alex…
A call was raised from the soldiers at the front of the column. Riley couldn’t see anything from her position in the middle of the army. As she made her way forward, she heard the whispering from the soldiers. They had reached the city.
Then the city’s dark walls came into sight. Enormous blocks of obsidian stone towered over the army. The dark iron gate that led into the city stood firmly closed. Billowing dark clouds hovered in the sky, casting a nearly impenetrable blanket of darkness over the field. Lightning arced between the clouds, an occasional bolt striking the ground as thunder peeled like the sound of cannon fire. In the brief flashes of light, Riley could see spiraled towers that stretched into the void-like expanse of the sky.
Alexion moved to the front of the column, sitting straight on his white horse. He began the words and gestures of a spell. As he finished casting, a bright light radiated from him in a blinding explosion. In that moment, Riley saw the throng of undead lining the walls of the city, watching the approaching army with milky, soulless eyes. Their bodies trembled, not in fear, but with eagerness at the prospect of the upcoming battle.
Riley felt a strange emotion overtake her. It was a tantalizing mixture of awe, fear, and excitement that momentarily expelled her sense of self-doubt. A shiver ran up her spine.
They had finally arrived at the Twilight Throne.
* * *
The last two days had gone exceedingly well.
Jason had managed to whittle down the remaining army with a series of small attacks and subterfuge. He had lost all of the soldiers he originally raised back at the camp and was forced to dip into the spare corpses that his Death Knights carried. However, he had been able to recover a few bodies from his attacks that he used to replenish his reserves.
He had also received several notifications during the past few days:
x1 Skill Rank Up: Leadership
Skill Level: Beginner Level 7
Effect: Minions and subjects will receive a 4% increased learning speed for skills.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Tactician
Skill Level: Beginner Level 8
Effect: 12% increased damage multiplier for a successful ambush or strategy (Currently, Damage x 1.12).
x4 Skill Rank Up: Sneak
Skill Level: Beginner Level 7
Effect: -16% reduced visibility (reduced effect in direct light).
Cost: 2 stamina per second.
x3 Skill Rank Up: Night Vision
Skill Level: Beginner Level 10
Effect: 19% increased vision in darkness or near darkness.
x5 Skill Rank Up: Tracking
Skill Level: Beginner Level 6
Effect: 10% increased chance to pick up your target's trail.
Jason had hit level 81 during the two days of skirmishes, and he put the additional points into Willpower again. This brought him up to 444 Willpower, or an effective 537 Willpower with his Summoning Mastery. This meant, he could now summon a total of 53 minions at once.
He had gained surprisingly little experience even though he had observed a significant reduction in the size of the army. By carefully tracking his kills, he had begun to suspect that a decent number of the players were not logging back in each morning as the army continued down the road.
Acting on a hunch, Jason had sent two of his thieves behind him to scout one of the old campsites. When they returned, they reported that they had killed several players that had logged back in long after the army had left. This seemed to confirm Jason’s suspicion of player attrition. His plan was working.
The diminished army had arrived at the city a few hours ago. Alexion had approached the Twilight Throne from the south gate with Jason close on his heels. As soon as they reached the city, Jason had sent one of his thieves to the north gate. He needed to tell Morgan, Jerry, and Rex that he was outside the city and had managed to substantially reduce the size of the enemy force. His best guess was that the army was now sitting at roughly 1,000 players and NPCs.
Jason sat in a tree south of the graveyard and watched the enemy camp.
Morgan failed to mention that a crucial part of being a successful Necromancer is a natural affinity for climbing trees, he thought wryly.
Ha! Climbing affinity! Maybe they will add a seventh magic school. Fear the power of parkour!
“I've really been alone in this forest for too long,” he muttered under his breath.
Onyx just gave him another long suffering look.
Alexion had posted sentries around the army's camp, but by now Jason's Sneak skill made him almost invisible in the impenetrable darkness of the forest. He had no trouble getting close. The torches the sentries carried just helped him spot them more easily. On the journey back, he and his thieves had taken turns taking potshots at the flaming targets each night. Unfortunately, Jason had also discovered that he was a terrible shot with a bow.
Awaken Online: Catharsis Page 35