“Now what?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was dressed. The tiara only made her look more beautiful. Almost like a princess.
Lillus grinned at him, still covered head to toe in black. “We go kill stuff.”
CHAPTER 19
GHOSTS AND GOBLINS
The first wave of corralled Dernese goblins ran screaming from their Sinjharian tormentors and straight at Ajax and Lillus. Ajax stood in front of the Demon Mage, shield up, sword ready to slash at the first enemy.
They came at him in a gibbering mass, and he took the first two down with a single slash.
Double kill!
+80xp
Ajax took the head off the next.
Instakill
+25xp
And two quick slashes disemboweled the one after.
Inflicted 33 damage. (28 +5 from slashing attack)
Inflicted 29 damage. (24 +5 from slashing attack)
Enemy killed.
+25xp
Not much XP, but these were pitiful creatures. Goblins captured out in the field and brought to the capital to be used as nothing more than fodder to train Sinjharian soldiers. They were thin, bruised and battered and half mad. Ajax hated the idea of what he was doing, but it needed to be done. The whole world was at stake, and if Lillus was to be believed, its fate rested on his shoulders. So he would kill the NPC goblins and look at it as putting an end to their misery.
May they find peace in whatever digital afterlife awaits them.
Instakill
+35xp
Lillus burned her way through half a dozen more, and he collected half the XP gain.
+175xp
The first lot of goblins were dead, and Ajax and the Demon Mage were given a few minutes to recover among the blood, guts, severed limbs and smoking flesh. “Not even a scratch,” Lillus said, leaning against the side of the small stone arena. She still had a long way to go to fully recover from her ordeal.
“The next lot won’t be as easy.” Ajax nodded toward the line of goblins pressed against the gate leading into the pens. “I see a chief among them, so they’re going to be a bit more organized.”
Lillus waved dismissively. “I’ll cook him soon enough.”
The popcorn-eating Paladin healer standing on the podium above them laughed. “You sound cocky, mage. I’ll make it interesting for you. I won’t lift a finger to heal either of you until the last of the goblins is dead.”
Ajax grinned back at him. “That’s alright, I will heal.”
“You might get your Touch of Light off, but don’t count on casting any other healing spells. You’re going to be busy hacking and slashing.” He pointed at the goblins on the other side of the gate. “You see.”
Ajax’s heart pounded. There were two chiefs now, and at least twenty goblin thralls. “That’s too many. What are the handlers trying to do? Get us killed?”
Lillus tossed him a healing pot. “You might need that.”
He growled under his breath at the man above them. “You better have a doctor around after we’re done here.”
The Paladin shrugged as he started munching on a handful of popcorn.
Then the gate opened, and a sea of green-skinned goblins spilled toward them.
Ajax raised his shield, planted his feet and took the brunt of the attacks on his shield. He stabbed, slashed, kicked and thrust, and began to roar with laughter as the damage flowed out and the XP flowed in.
Just like the tide.
Inflicted 23 damage
Inflicted 38 damage (33 +5 from slashing attack)
Instakill
Inflicted 27 damage
+35xp
+25xp
+25xp
The bloodletting went on and on. One of the chiefs punched Ajax in the face, and he reeled back several steps, a thrall gnawing at his armored leg.
-24hp
The blow made his head spin. Crushing the skull of the thrall under foot, Ajax went for the chief.
Instakill
+25xp
“Come here, you filthy lizard!” Ajax roared.
The chief bared his fangs and leapt on top of Ajax, digging his teeth into his neck.
-33hp
Ajax ripped the goblin’s mouth away and brought his sword up under its jaw, driving the blade though its mouth and into its brain. Blood sprayed from its throat and down the front of Ajax as its eyes rolled back into its head.
Instakill
+55xp
He discarded the body with a contemptuous shove. “Come get some!”
The next in line was a pitifully weak goblin who did nothing more than drop to the ground and scream at the top of its lungs as Ajax loomed over it. Ajax cut it in half with his sword and watched its purple guts spill out onto the ground.
Inflicted 55 damage
Enemy killed
As the next group of thralls gathered their courage to attack, Ajax took the moment to glance at Lillus. She stood with a mound of burning corpses around her, a broken mana pot at her feet. She fired off several more of her bolts, killing two more thralls, then looked at him and grinned.
+215xp
Nice.
“THIS NEXT FOE WILL be more of a challenge,” the Paladin healer said, his mouth half full of popcorn. “More fitting your level and skill.”
Ajax watched the gate but couldn’t see anything. “There’s nothing there.”
Lillus came to stand next to him. “Yes there is. I can sense it.”
“You Demon Mages.” The Paladin glared at Lillus. “Evil knows evil, I suppose.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Ajax returned his glare.
The gate began to open and the Paladin’s face split into a sinister grin. “You’ll know soon enough, boy.”
A great wail erupted from the gloom beyond the gate, sending a chill through Ajax’s veins. “What is it?” He went to stand in front of Lillus to protect her. “I can’t see anything.”
The wailing continued, like a thousand lost souls voicing their torment. “It’s a ghost,” Lillus said, eyes focused on the gate. “Stay back and heal me. Your weapon will be useless against it.”
Ajax knew little about ghosts, but what he did know suggested they could only be hurt by magical attacks.
Something moved within the gloom beyond the gate and he could finally focus on it and bring up its information.
Minor Boss Mob
Level 10
Name: Artinax the Foul
Description: Bane of the graveyard, curse of the crypt, scourge of the funeral parlor and all-around stick in the mud.
HP: 950
This came as a shock to Ajax. How could the two of them take on such a powerful foe?
Artinax came raging toward them, nothing more than a shadow cast by a cloud passing in front of the sun. It went straight at Lillus, wailing, and giving off an aura of death.
Lillus’s Aura of Curse Protection reduced the damage they both took by 15%, but still their hit points ticked down every three seconds.
-6hp
-6hp
-6hp
They needed to end this fight before Ajax’s mana ran out.
Lillus sent forth several Infernal Fire Bolts, and purply black flames exploded into Artinax. It moaned as its HP slowly began to trickle down. An invisible arm lashed out and struck Lillus, staggering her and inflicting a massive critical hit.
Companion suffered -69hp damage (Crushing Critical Hit)
Companion suffered -6hp
Lillus Pwnfire
Level: 5
HP: 112/190 (+10 BLS)
MP: 134/215 (+100 from equipment)
DEF: 55 (+45 from equipment)
Crap. Mages were not made to tank.
Using three Medium Heals and one Lesser Heal, he got her back to full health. She blasted the ghost with more fire, and its health began to whittle down at an increased rate. He healed more damage for her, and gritted his teeth every time she screamed in agony.
By the O
ne God, he hated this. Watching her take damage, her beautiful face twisted in pain. At least there was no blood, as Artinax used magical-based attacks.
Lillus drank a mana potion and resumed her attacks. Ajax soon followed her lead and drank his second-to-last pot. If I run out of mana healing her, that pig of a Paladin better step in! Ajax raged silently at the popcorn-eating man above them. That was why the Paladin had been sent to watch over them. Yet he hadn’t healed them once! Almost like he wanted them dead.
Could the Imperator be trying to kill them?
The damaging aura of the ghost was taking its toll on Ajax’s hp. He quickly healed himself, then cast another on Lillus. By now, he had no idea how much health Artinax had; he focused solely on keeping himself and Lillus alive.
She took another massive hit and was reduced to less than thirty HP. In a panic, he cast both his Touch of Light and Shield of the Lost Sun on her. The reduced damage to Lillus bought him time to suck back his last mana pot and then heal himself. He’d let his hit points dwindle to less than 100, and at the rate the fight seemed to be progressing, he’d be dead long before Artinax.
How can you kill a ghost? It is already dead. Ajax gritted his teeth. Shut up brain, I’m trying to concentrate!
By the time Artinax tried to flee, Ajax’s mana was running on fumes. His mana regen, and Lillus finding a moment to gulp down a health pot, had been all that had saved them both.
The ghost fled back toward the gate, but the weakened Lillus would not let it escape. She blasted it with one last Infernal Fire Bolt, and it screamed a high-pitched scream that made Ajax and Lillus cover their ears. Popcorn rained down over them as the Paladin watching the fight accidentally dropped his snack so he too could cover his ears.
Then the screams died away, and a burst of cold shot over them.
Artinax the Foul has been vanquished!!!
No longer shall the friendly rotting denizens of your local graveyard fear his wrath.
+1000xp
An exclamation mark appeared in Ajax’s mind’s eye. He had leveled up.
Oh, thank god. Ajax took Lillus in his arms and hugged her tight.
CHAPTER 20
THE TERROR OF THE SKIES
By the time Ajax and Lillus were done grinding for XP, they had both reached level 8, just like she’d wanted. It had taken two wearisome days (and a lot of bruises, cuts, pain and slain enemies) but when they spent their final night in the Dragon Keep, they were eager to begin their journey east the next day.
Ajax had spent his talent points and stat points. He had put two stat points into Spirit (to increase his mana regen and healing) and one point into Intellect (to increase his overall mana pool by ten and hopefully stop himself from sounding like an idiot all the time). As he had allotted them, he had briefly considered putting a point into Luck. Many never bothered with their Luck stat; some claimed it was useless. But it governed everything in Visaria, and those with high Luck were unpredictable to be around, either for good or bad. But a more balanced Luck level could be a good thing, especially in the days ahead.
Maybe next level I will dump a point in it. For now, I got a taste of battle healing and found I rather enjoyed it.
Then he had allotted his talent points. He’d considered branching out into the Templar tree to get...
Hammer of the Lost Sun
Area damage attack 10-25 damage to all targets in range.
Cost: 30mp
Cooldown: 30 seconds
But again, he would follow the consensus that stated one should not branch out until level 10. So he dumped them all in the Paladin tree and got...
Strong Heal
Heals 31-50 damage (scales with Spirit)
Cost: 30mp
Cooldown: 2 seconds
And the Tier-1 Paladin final ability for having eight talents in the tree.
Wings of Deliverance
Saves the Paladin from death once a day by returning them to half health when their HP reaches zero*. Auto cast.
Cost: 0mp
Cooldown: 24 hours
* Will not save you from fall damage. If you are eaten by a monster, it will only prolong your suffering.
Plus, he got his usual HP, MP and AP gains from leveling. He also found time to smelt his iron chunks into iron bars and do a little blacksmithing!
Ajax Stoneheart
Race: Human
Class: Spiritual Warrior
Skill Focus: Warrior Paladin
Level: 8
Player Kills: 3
Might: 16 (BASE: 7 +9 from equipment) (1 Might increases AP by 5)
Dexterity: 1
Intellect: 3
Spirit: 12 (BASE: 5 +7 from equipment) (1 Spirit increases healing by 10% and improves mana regeneration by 2%)
Luck: 1
HP: 327 (BASE: 235 +12 BLS +80 from equipment)
MP: 230 (BASE: 190 +40 from equipment)
AP: 210 (BASE: 150 +15 from weapon +45 from equipment)
DEF: 145 (BASE: 20 +125 from equipment)
XP: 11067/15500
Professions
Blacksmithing
Level: 95/300 Intermediate
Mining
Level: 74/300 Novice
Not a bad haul, if I don’t say so myself. In the almost week they’d been at the Dragon Keep, his power level had gone up exponentially.
Yana greeted him with an intense kiss on the lips as he reentered their bedroom after having smelted his iron bars. Her forked tongue licked at his, her body pressing against him. After nearly thirty seconds, he finally managed to pull away.
The succubus grinned. “I can’t help myself, you’re just so delicious. Being banished to the realm of the dead was such a drag. All I wanted to do was kiss somebody!”
Ajax wiped her saliva from his mouth. He had to admit, part of him was happy the demon was back—he could just do without the kisses and being ensnared by her whip when the demon suddenly felt the need to touch him.
Lillus watched on from the bed, an apple in one hand and a book in the other. “I have spoken to the head adviser of the Imperator while you were away. He said that Ithilda has granted us the use of one of her dragons and that we will be escorted to the fighting in the east by one of her Elites.” Her eyes followed him as he sat at the table. “We leave at first light.”
“We get to ride on a...” Ajax knew he must look like a kid in a candy store. “Dragon.” He imagined the cold wind blowing in his face, the feel of the beast moving under him, the rush of adrenaline as it took flight. “I can’t wait.”
“You better not get airsick,” Yana said. “I love you, but I don’t love you enough to have you vomit all over me.”
Ajax gave the succubus an evil grin. “If I puke, I’ll try my best to miss you.”
EARLY THE NEXT DAY, they walked out onto a dragon perch hanging out the side of the Dragon Keep and found two of the giant beasts and an Elite Dragon Rider waiting for them. Ajax recognized the man as the one he had seen the day they arrived. The Elite had fiery red hair and a long beard of the same color. He nodded to them as they approached. “Greetings.” He got a distant look as he no doubt checked over their stats.
Ajax returned the favor.
Talon “the Inferno” Rhydan
Race: Human
Class: Martial Warrior
Skill Focus: Brutal Warrior
Level: 12
Allegiance: The Sinjharian Imperium
Origin: Mafra
Player Kills: 47
Might: 21
Dexterity: 10
Intellect: 2
Spirit: 1
Luck: 3
HP: 395
EN: 100/100 (EN=ENERGY)
AP: 324
DEF: 120
Active Abilities
Battle Fury (BF): Increases magical and physical damage by 5%
Wow. Ajax could only imagine how it must feel to be so powerful, and to have so many player kills under your belt. Every one of those kills had come from a one-versus-o
ne battle.
Talon grinned. “Well, now that we know one another, I’m obliged to tell you that I ride alone. Not so much because of me, but because of Firesoul, my dragon mount.”
The red dragon behind him snorted smoke, eying Ajax coldly. It stretched thirty feet long and held its nose in the air proudly.
“You three will be riding her.” Talon pointed at the other dragon, a golden beast with mottled scales. “Meet the terror of the skies. The dread shadow. The dark nightmare of the Republic.” He paused for dramatic effect. “We call her Old Nel.”
Ajax’s heart sank. Old Nel looked just as her name suggested. Old, senile and cranky. The dragon hissed at him, its jaw filled with missing teeth. The few that were left were an off-gray color and looked like they could break at any moment. Then the dragon yawned and rested its head on the ground.
Lillus pushed past him, Yana right behind her. “Is this some sort of joke?”
Talon glanced around, then leaned in close to them. “It’s not my doing. The Imperator decreed that you shall ride Old Nel, and trust me, the ancient lizard isn’t happy about the decision either. If I had my way, you would be riding a younger, faster and stronger mount; but this decision goes well above me.” He grinned. “Look on the bright side, Old Nel was once a fearsome beast and has killed more Dernese than almost any other dragon here. She even fought against Pendrax back in the day.”
Old Nel’s eyes closed and she began to snore loudly.
Old Nel (formally known as Terrorwing)
Race: Dragon
Level: 60
Allegiance: The Sinjharian Imperium (when she remembers what that is)
Current Afflictions: Old age. Senile. Dementia. Undiagnosed fatty liver. Two bum hip joints, and a stiff arthritic tail. Inflammatory Bowel Disease causing occasional incontinence. Lung cancer (she self-diagnosed this). 90% loss of hearing. Kidney Stones. Three hernias. Ovarian cy—
By the One God, I can’t read anymore! Ajax wanted to cry. Why the hell did the designers of Visaria program all these real-world ailments? What were they thinking? I want to ride a real dragon, not the withered carcass of one.
“I’m not riding on that,” Yana said. “Recall me when you are at your destination, mistress.” With that, the succubus winked out of existence.
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