I activated both scrolls and read through my new abilities as the mist settled into my body.
Rot
Range: Long
Type: Damage Over Time
Requirements: Somatic, Material (Optional): Bone Dust
Afflict your target with a curse that rots their flesh over time, eventually reducing them to nothing but a pile of bones.
Duration: 5 minutes + 1 minute per rank.
NOTE: The material component is optional. Use of the material component increases the potency of the spell.
Lesser Create Undead
Range: Touch
Type: Animation
Requirements: Somatic, Verbal, Material (Required): Skeleton
Animate the skeletal remains of a creature of size or less to serve you for a short time.
Minion Pool: 2 (Rank +1)
NOTE: The components for this spell are not consumed.
NOTE: Undead Minions work on a pool system. The minion pool governs that maximum value of minions that a necromancer can have active at one time. At the base rank, this pool is equal to the Rank in the Lesser Create Undead spell known by the character plus 1. Each category of undead has a specific minion point cost. Small sized minions use 1 point of the pool, thus at Rank 1, the necromancer can have at most 2 small sized minions active at a time. At Rank 2 this would increase to 3, etc.
“Good,” the trainer began. “Rot will help you soften up your enemies while your minions and bolts do the hard work. It is extra effective if you add some Bone Dust when casting. I highly recommend using that spell as the first in any encounter.”
He gestured to the skeletons around the room and continued, “Lesser Create Undead is our school’s most important skill and will be the basis on which we build our minion creation magics. At first rank you can animate one creature for each rank you have in the spell, plus one.”
Balaka grinned. “Now let’s get you some practice with your new skills.”
He led the way back into the main cave complex, past the merchant stalls and practice dummies and down a new tunnel that led deeper into the earth. I was relieved to see my mini-map keeping track of each twist and turn, as I was pretty sure that without it I’d never be able to find my way back.
***
4
We walked for quite a while before I heard anything other than the clicking of our talons on the stone or the swishing of our tails.
“What’s the noise?” I asked, earning a condescending glare from my teacher, but no answer.
A short time later the tunnel opened up into a wide cavern and I finally saw the source of the noise.
On the far side of the cavern was a large waterfall pouring out of a tunnel high up on the cavern wall. The water splashed into a small pond that fed a stream which wound its way through the cavern before disappearing into another, deeper tunnel.
On the banks of the pool, several small humanoid figures were milling about. Each had a pair of large, bat-like ears and long gangly arms, and clenched in their hands were weapons of various types that they were using to fish via melee combat.
I analyzed the nearest creature and its name appeared in white.
< Goblin Fisher >
Balaka noticed the direction of my gaze and grinned. “Now, Apprentice, it’s time to put your skills to the test and clear the area of the goblin interlopers. Every now and then the idiotic creatures try to expand their influence into our caverns and have to be shown the error of their ways. Now it falls to us - well, you - to deal with.”
QUEST RECEIVED – Training Part 3
Using your newly acquired skills, kill the goblin fishers in the area.
Criteria:
Use minions raised by Lesser Create Undead to kill 5 Goblin Fishers. (0/5)
Use Rot to kill 5 Goblin Fishers. (0/5)
NOTE: To qualify, a target must have been damaged by an undead minion and/or Rot
Reward: 100xp, 5 silver pieces, +1 Rank - Necromancy
The goblins were supposed to be an even challenge, so once I animated a minion I should be able to take it out without a problem. Adding a DoT to the mix should also increase my chances.
I decided to plan the whole thing out so I didn’t end up with another surprise like with the groundhogs. First up I refreshed my Dark Shield spell.
Then it was time to raise some minions. I took a groundhog skeleton from my bag and started casting Lesser Create Undead.
Two ghostly hands appeared in my view flowing through a sequence of four gestures while the karaoke incantation scrolled across my display. With each gesture, the incantation repeated, “Ex mortum, vitae. Ex vita, mortus”.
I was thankful that the gestures were symmetrical since having to do different motions simultaneously might have been a bit of a problem for me.
I concentrated on the spell, slowly following the guiding hands and chanting what I could only imagine was some form of bastardized Latin.
With each repetition, the glow around my hands grew brighter and flowed into the pile of bones. When the spell was complete, the energy swirled around the bones, reassembling them and infusing them with a necromantic power. My first minion looked up at me, its eyes glowing deep purple.
You have created a new minion: Skeletal Groundhog. [1/2]
A small window appeared at the bottom of my display labeled “Skeletal Groundhog” with its own hit point bar and a timer that was ticking down from 10 minutes, and a new message popped up.
You have created your first minion! Undead minions are an extension of your power, and thus an extension of your will. Simply focus on your minions and will them to do your bidding, and they will comply… to a point. The complexity of commands that a minion can follow is related to both the rank of Create Undead skill of the caster, and the mental capacity of the remains being animated.
Not having to manage another set of controls for my minions was a load off my shoulders. Back in the games of my youth, pet classes often had entire hotbars specific to a pet’s abilities.
My mana bar dropped to less than fifty percent with the completion of the spell.
I hadn’t paid attention to how much mana I had before the casting but could still tell that the animation spell was costly. I decided to hold off on raising a second minion for the time being, not wanting to be completely drained and needing to rest while the timer on my skeleton ran out.
I spotted a goblin standing alone on the riverbank, a good distance away from any of the others. An ideal first victim. Moving to my maximum spellcasting range, I targeted the goblin and cast my new Rot spell, followed the new, single-handed spell gestures. A sickly-looking cloud formed around the goblin, clinging to its flesh.
The goblin let out a pained scream and raised its club as it charged in towards me. I mentally commanded my skeleton to attack and grinned as it skittered across the stone and leaped for the goblin’s throat. The creature raised its arm to block and took a nasty bite to the forearm instead of its jugular.
Its health bar appeared, a small chunk missing from the skeleton’s attack, but it was still looking pretty healthy. The mist clinging to its flesh pulsed, and blisters and sores appeared all over its skin, leaking puss and other nasty fluids.
Its health bar dropped by another chunk as the spell’s damage over time ate away at its flesh.
The goblin screamed in pain and lashed out at the groundhog with its club, striking a glancing blow and sending the groundhog sliding. Its health bar dropped down to sixty percent from the hit.
I sent a Necromantic Bolt streaking into the goblins side, dropping its health down to less than ten percent and sending it stumbling to the side, leaving it open to my skeleton’s counterattack.
The groundhog dashed in and sank its teeth into the meaty part of the goblin’s thigh, tearing off a chunk of monster meat and bringing it to the verge of death. Another pulse of Rot finished it off, it’s now lifeless, and thoroughly rotted corpse falling face down onto the stone.
You have killed a Goblin Fi
sher! You have gained 20xp!
Quest Objective update! Goblin Fishers killed with Lesser Create Undead 1/5
Quest Objective update! Goblin Fishers killed with Rot 1/5
One down, four to go. I walked over to where the goblin had fallen and called my minion over.
Its ribs were cracked in multiple places, and two had been completely broken off near the spine. I searched the ground nearby and found them, wondering how to repair the skeleton.
I stuck the broken bits into my bag and returned to examining the goblin, seeing what kind of loot I might be able to scrounge up.
I grabbed the goblin’s shoulder and rolled it over, looking for any pockets or pouches on its gangly form. There were none, but there was a small lump in the waistband of the thing’s loincloth.
Not wanting to miss out on any potential loot, I shrugged and unrolled the filthy cloth being careful not to look underneath it. Inside were two copper coins.
I focused on the corpse and tried to dissect it but when the options popped up, they were all greyed out. I tapped on the grayed-out bone icon to see what would happen.
Unavailable: Your current Dissection skill is too low level to dissect this creature.
Being unable to dissect the goblin was a bit of a letdown, but at least I had gotten some loot. I’d have to wait until I could rank up my Dissection skill to start my goblin skeleton brigade, but I had time.
I spotted another loner a short distance away with its back turned and tried to approach it quietly.
Racial Skill: “Stealth” Unlocked
Stealth – This skill allows the user to remain undetectable to other beings. Attacks made from Stealth have an improved critical chance. Characters with a higher Perception skill can detect a character using this ability.
My talon scraped against the stone and the goblin began to turn.
Stealth check failed!
My attempts at subterfuge foiled, I decided to try and deal with the goblin as quickly as possible. I sent my pet rushing forward and cast Rot, timing it so the skeleton would reach the enemy just as I finished my spell.
I got pretty close, but the skeletal groundhog was even worse at sneaking than I was, and the goblin was ready for it.
As it darted in to bite at the goblin, the enemy swung its club and landed a solid blow to the groundhog’s skull. Chips of bone went flying in all directions and the poor critter crumbled into a pile of loose bones as its health bar dropped to zero.
Groundhog Skeleton has been destroyed!
The Rot spell pulsed, stripping a layer of flesh from the goblin as it turned its angry eyes towards me. My first Necromantic Bolt took it in the chest, but it shrugged off the pain and continued its charge.
My second bolt took it in the stomach, dropping its health to just over thirty percent but it refused to die. I had enough time to cast one more bolt before it reached me, which should be enough to finish it off, but when I completed the spell, instead of a blazing bolt of necrotic energy all I got was system message.
WARNING – Insufficient mana for “Necromantic Bolt”
I cursed. The goblin was seconds from me, its club raised to smash in my skull, so I did the only thing I could. I ran.
I sprinted directly away from the goblin, glancing back to make sure it wasn’t gaining on me and headed back towards where I’d left Balaka, thinking maybe the trainer would help me out.
I hadn’t gone that far from the cavern entrance, but apparently it was far enough that my trainer’s aid was out of reach. Luckily, it turned out that my planned pleas for salvation weren’t needed after all and the creature succumbed to the Rot spell while I ran for my life.
You have killed a Goblin Fisher! You have gained 20xp!
Quest Objective update! Goblin Fishers killed with Lesser Create Undead 2/5
Quest Objective update! Goblin Fishers killed with Rot 2/5
I backwards glance revealed the goblin lying face down on the floor, its flesh rotted almost completely to the bone. The remnants of my magic clung to the corpse, slowly dissipating into the air.
Seeing the threat neutralized, I collapsed to the ground and took several deep breaths, my new reptilian body definitely in need of a steady cardio workout to improve my stamina.
When I could breathe normally again, I headed over the corpse and looted it, taking its club and another three copper that it had tried to conceal in its ragged boot.
I made my way back towards the river and located the remains of my minion scattered on the stone floor. The skull had a large crack in it, and I wasn’t sure if it would ever rise again, but I gathered all the remaining bones and piled them into my bag.
That fight had taught me an important lesson in mana awareness. Being unable to get a third bolt off had almost ended up with me bludgeoned to death by the hulk’s malnourished mini-me, so I would have to be very careful going forward if I was going to lead with the much more mana-intensive Rot.
I rested until my mana was full, already glad that I had put those points into Wisdom to speed up my mana regen. Even without any bonuses, Argos Online’s out of combat regeneration was pretty forgiving, but every second counts when there're bills to pay.
I’d heard rumors that in some of the other VR games players would be forced to sit twiddling their thumbs for long stretches of time between fights unless you could shell out the cash for potions.
Ready to get back to the goblinicide, I pulled a new skeleton from my bag and animated it, this time paying attention to the actual cost of the spell: a full third of my mana pool.
You have created a new minion: Skeletal Groundhog. [1/2]
Doing some quick calculations, I decided that my out of combat regeneration should be good enough that I could raise another minion and then rest for a few minutes before entering combat and still have enough juice for my debuff and three Bolt spells. Plus, with a second minion I might not need all of the bolts.
Eh, what’s the worst that could happen, I thought and pulled out a second skeleton, welcoming it to its new unlife. My mana dropped by another thirty percent, but my regeneration was doing its job nicely to offset the cost.
You have created a new minion: Skeletal Groundhog. [2/2]
Another goblin had moved into view, doing its best to be an utter failure at fishing. I crept into range and attacked. My Rot spell went off without a hitch, and I’d timed it perfectly so my minions reached it just as the Rot spell took hold.
The combined damage from the two minions and Rot quickly dropped the goblin’s hit points enough that a single bolt was enough to finish it off.
You have killed a Goblin Fisher! You have gained 20xp!
Quest Objective update! Goblin Fishers killed with Lesser Create Undead 3/5
Quest Objective update! Goblin Fishers killed with Rot 3/5
My Scavenger skill triggered again while looting the latest goblin, highlighting the creature’s incisors. As with the initial use, touching the glowing bits created copies of them in my hands, which I tucked into my pouch with the small handful of copper pieces from its pouch.
Success! You have obtained Goblin Tooth x2! You have gained 5xp!
The timers on my minions were still good and my mana pool had refilled to a decent level while I was looting so I set off in search of my next victim.
I spotted another goblin lounging on the banks of the river closer to the center of the cavern. Its attention was focused on something in the river, and the sound of the waterfall was loud enough to drown out any noises I was making. I crouched down and focused on sneaking as I approached.
Stealth check successful.
Once again, my minions ruined the fun, the clickity clacking of bones on the cavern floor piercing through the white noise to gain the goblin’s attention. Cursing, I ordered the skeletons to charge and cast Rot.
As the spell took effect, a new problem reared its head. A second goblin had been nearby when my minions attacked and was it wanted in on the party.
Cursing, I red
irected one of my minions towards the newcomer, hoping it could pick up its aggro before it could get to me. I cast another Rot spell, targeting the new goblin and glanced worriedly at my mana as it dipped.
This is going to be close, I thought. My initial target had eliminated some of distance between us and was gaining an advantage over my minion. I cast Necromantic Bolt as the goblin took another swing at the groundhog and dropping its health closer to zero.
My bolt struck the goblin’s central mass, taking a nice chunk out of its hit points and knocking it back a step. Apparently, groundhogs were creatures of opportunity and my minion was able to capitalize on the brief mistake, pouncing onto the goblin and dragging it to the ground in a frenzy of claws and teeth.
A well-timed pulse of Rot brought the goblin even closer to death and pretty much sealed its fate.
The initial goblin spoken for, I turned my attention back to the party crasher just in time to see it punt my minion into the river. Its skeletal limbs flailed as it hit the water with a surprisingly small splash and it disappeared from view.
It was bleeding from several small wounds on its legs and its skin was covered in boils and blisters from my Rot spell, but its hit points were still over half full.
Its tormenter no longer in sight, the goblin turned its pain-wracked gaze towards me and headed my way. A weapon that looked like someone had taken a baseball bat and driven several nails through dragged behind it on the ground.
I used the last of my mana to hit it with a Necromantic Bolt, dropping its health even further but not finishing the job. I pulled the Utility Knife from the sheath at my waist and dropped into a ready crouch, hoping Rot would deal with it before it could bring its weapon to bear.
Class Skill: “Simple Weapons” unlocked.
Simple Weapons – This skill allows the use of the most basic of weapons. Clubs, Staves, Knives, Daggers, Bar Stools, etc.… Using a weapon with which you are not proficient will result in vastly decreased accuracy and damage.
A quick glance revealed that my minion was still wrestling with the first goblin, neither one able to gain an advantage. My other minion was alive somewhere in the river, but was probably out of the fight, so it was going to be up to me to finish the fight.
Extra Credit Page 4