Extra Credit

by J. Arthur Klein

  The Guildmaster was in his office, doing whatever it is NPCs do when not interacting with the player base.

  He glanced up as I entered and looked me over. “Well Journeyman, it seems that you aren’t wasting any time,” he said and retrieved a scroll from his desk.

  “This spell can be a double-edged sword,” he said as he handed it to me. “When active, this spell will create an aura of pure necromantic energy around you that will enhance the speed and strength of your undead while weakening any living enemies.”

  He looked at me and raised a finger for emphasis. “But this ability comes with risk. The range of the aura is small, so in order to properly apply it you will need to be much closer to the enemy, so you will need to be more vigilant lest you find yourself vulnerable.”

  Nodding in acknowledgement, I activated the scroll.

  You have learned “Aura of the Grave.”

  Aura of the Grave

  Range: Aura, 9 feet +1 per rank

  Type: Aura

  Requirements: Somatic, Verbal

  This spell surrounds the caster with an aura of necromantic energy that enhances their allies and applies a penalty to enemies within range.

  Note: Living Allies and Undead Enemies are affected at 50% potency.

  Duration: Upkeep (5 mana per minute)

  So, at rank one I’d have an effective range of ten feet which wasn’t that bad. I usually tried to be further away from the line of battle than that but I wasn’t all that worried about being closer.

  I’d have to test it out and see if it was worth the danger. The upkeep cost seemed pretty low and would be negligible compared to my mana regeneration when out of combat, but in combat I could see it turning into an issue if things went on for too long. I’d have to see how it functioned in practice to know for sure.

  “Is there anything else you need?” the Guildmaster asked.

  I shook my head and headed for the door, ready to get to work for the evening.

  “Come back when you reach the next level!” he called after me.

  I headed to the graveyard to replace my minions and prepare for tonight’s mining adventure.

  I laid out my last three orc skeletons and three piles of gear to get started. The spell was almost second nature at this point so when the guide suddenly changed I was caught off guard and almost fumbled the casting.

  About a halfway through the spell, one of the glyphs that I’d normally draw was replaced with a menu where I could choose from three options. Each archetype had a unique glyph that would replace the generic one I’d been using since I first learned the spell.

  I selected the DPS option and then drew that in place of the original. The rest of the spell was unchanged.

  When the spell was complete, the skeleton shifted and rose from the ground, looking more refined than the generic skeletons I was used to.

  The new minion’s health bar popped up in my interface with its new name.

  < Orc Skeleton Warrior >

  I ordered the skeleton to equip its gear and repeated the process with the other two, creating two more warriors. I bound all three and granted them all Mining and Scavenger with Dark Blessing, and named them after another trio from the movies of my childhood.

  With all the prep work done, I headed to the mine with my three amigos: Steve, Chevy, and Martin.

  The night went by in a blur. Prospect, mine, gather, repeat, broken up only by the occasional elemental insurrection or eureka moment when I found a silver vein hiding amongst the tin.

  The night’s efforts yielded two earth hearts, almost fifty-four hundred tin ore, sixty silver ore, seventy-four uncut aquamarines, and four uncut emeralds. Not bad for Mining rank twelve.

  By the end of the night I was having trouble keeping my eyes open, even in the game, so I left my character at the entrance to the mine and logged off as soon as the alarm sounded, falling asleep seconds after my head hit the pillow.

  ***

  44

  The next morning I woke refreshed, eager to get a start to my day. The morning routine went by quickly, a breakfast of my favorite cereal doing double duty of filling my belly and eliciting amused laughs from my son as I catapulted bits into my mouth for his amusement under the tolerant gaze of my wife.

  I was already halfway through the week, and even with the amount of tin I was able to gather in a shift I had a lot more to do before I could turn this into a real source of income.

  Darr was hard at work in the smelting hut when I logged back in and was happy to trade the Earthhearts I’d obtained for journeyman mining picks for the last two minions who needed the upgrade.

  I completed smelting the last batch of ore and then hit up the auction house to keep the commerce engine churning, posting the tin up for sale and getting a read on the gem market.

  My bag was full of uncut gems, so I put about half of them up for sale at half the current market price, hoping to make at least some money from them.

  I left the auction house behind and headed out of the town, summoning my three amigos once clear of the town limits.

  The skeletons stood guard while I recharged my staff’s Create Undead slots. I cast Dark Shield on myself and then, remembering the upgrade, cast it on my minions as well.

  Opening my map, I located the area where the bandits had been reported and headed that way, leaving Sommervale behind and entering the woodlands.

  I headed north along the edge of the woods and then cut into the woods, a ways north of where the orcs had made their camps earlier.

  I briefly considered a detour into the orc camps to pick up a new zombie tank but didn’t want to waste any time when I knew a nice bandit corpse would be of much more use to me.

  Eventually I reached the area indicated on my map and heard the sound of voices filtering through the trees. I scanned the trees as I crept closer to the source of the voices, keeping my eyes peeled for sentries but finding none. I hoped the lack was due to the bandits’ stupidity and not my low Perception score.

  I edged my way forward and glanced through the trees, emerging on the edge of a small clearing. A ring of tents filled the far end of the clearing, built around a central fire pit.

  Several bandits were seated around the fire, laughing and eating cuts of meat from a deer that was roasting on a spit. The tents blocked most of my view, so I was only able to get a glance at the bandits.

  As I crept towards a better vantage point, a group of bandits emerged from the tent circle and headed into the forest south of my position. Three of the bandits were wielding short swords and one had a hunting bow.

  If I could take out the patrol, it would make the main camp a bit easier to deal with, especially with their bodies to bolster my ranks.

  The beginnings of a plan taking shape, I ducked back into the woods and led my minions through the forest on a course to intercept the bandit patrol.

  A short time later I spotted the bandits through the trees, kneeling over a felled deer. The one with the bow was busy cleaning the beast while the others watched.

  < Bandit Hunter > < Bandit Rogue>

  All four bandits showed as white, so they shouldn’t be that difficult to take out. The archer would be my primary target. I had no interest in getting skewered by arrows.

  I ordered my warriors to equip their own bows and ready their shots, taking aim at the hunter while I cast Necromantic Bolt.

  All four missiles released almost simultaneously, flying through the woods towards their target.

  Sneak Attack Successful!

  Sneak Attack Damage Multiplier x2!

  My bolt and two out of the three amigos’ shots hit, taking out the hunter before he was even aware of the threat.

  The other bandits gasped and drew their weapons, turning towards the source of the attack.

  Another round of missiles sailed through the air as the enemy rushed towards us. My bolt blasted one of the rogues in the chest, causing him to stumble in pain as his health bar dr
opped to half. An arrow followed my bolt, dropping his health even further.

  With no time for another volley, my minions dropped their bows and charged, pulling their maces free as they reached the bandits.

  I started casting another bolt, hoping to complete the spell before the bandit reached me but was too slow. When he came within range, I aborted the cast and raised my staff to defend.

  He lashed out with his sword and I managed to deflect the blow, getting knocked back in the process.

  He raised his sword again, and I thrust my staff between us, triggering the stored Necromantic Bolt at point blank range.

  The dark magic blasted into his gut, causing him to double over in pain as his health dropped to under five percent. With a quick swing, I cracked him on the back of the skull with my staff, taking him down.

  In the meantime, the remaining bandits were overwhelmed by the amigos, their light armor not up to the task of blocking the skeletal warrior’s massive two-handed maces.

  You have killed a Bandit Hunter! You have gained 100xp!

  You have killed 3x Bandit Rogue! You have gained 240xp!

  I rushed the hunter’s corpse and initiated Dissection, selecting the soul option and starting the process, trapping the man’s essence in a Rough-cut Malachite. The soul energy drained from the bandit’s corpse and rushed into the gemstone.

  WARNING! Bandit Hunter Soul Energy exceeds the recommended capacity of Rough-cut Malachite!

  The gem started vibrating violently in my hand and then cracked. Deep down I knew something was going horribly wrong and reflexively tossed the gem away, seconds before it exploded in a bright flash of light.

  Soul Harvest… Unsuccessful!

  “Damn it,” I cursed, wondering how I was supposed to tell what kind of gem I would need for each soul.

  I grumbled a bit at the loss of the gem, but decided to try again on one of the rogues before the timer for soul collection ran out.

  WARNING! Bandit Rogue Soul Energy exceeds the recommended capacity of Rough-cut Malachite!

  The rogue’s soul flowed into the gemstone and I cursed as it started to vibrate wildly one again. I readied myself to toss it away, but instead of cracking the vibrations slowly reduced to a slight hum.

  Soul Harvest… Successful!

  The gem didn’t break, but holding it, I could tell it was very unstable and unlikely to last for very long. The rogues were probably at the maximum level that could be stored in the lowest tier gem.

  I directed the amigos to collect the rest of the corpses and bring them to where the hunter had fallen to make things easier, looting a few coins and some arrows from the group, but more importantly gathering the candidates for the role of zombie tank.

  The hunter seemed a bit heartier than the rest, so I had the amigos drag the others a short distance away and started casting.

  I raised the hunter as a zombie, selecting the tank specialization and imbuing it with the soul taken from his rogue friend.

  As the dark purple magic settled into the body, its muscles and bone structure shifted slightly, adding some extra mass, resulting in a much sturdier looking zombie than the original Hoss had been.

  < Human Zombie Warder >

  Hoss’ gear fit the human zombie perfectly, turning it into a grade A meat shield. I cast Bind Minion on the new zombie, and not feeling especially creative kept the name Hoss.

  A quick look at my stats showed I had six minion pool left to play with. I could raise another two zombies, or a ghoul and a skeleton, but without knowing what was waiting in the bandit camp it would be hard to decide.

  I’d have to see what the camp contained, and where the merchant’s daughter was being kept. Maybe I wouldn’t have to kill the entire camp to complete the quest… regardless of the experience and potential loot involved.

  I shrugged and ordered my minions to be on guard and then activated my belt, bursting into murder form and flying up through the forest canopy.

  I flew over the trees towards the bandit camp, searching the forest below for any signs of movement. After about a half a mile I finally got a good view of the campsite. Six smaller tents were arranged in a semicircle around the cooking fire.

  The other side of the fire was occupied by a much larger tent with a small pavilion in front.

  The aerial view allowed me to count how many were in the camp, and it didn’t look good.

  There were at least twelve bandits lounging around the fire, a mixture of archers, enforcers, and rogues. Under the large awning sat a richly dressed man, dining with a frightened looking girl, probably no older than fifteen.

  I could see the tracks her tears had drawn through the dirt and dust covering her face, and her eyes darted between the well-dressed man and the other bandits in fear.

  The well-dressed man registered as yellow and was labeled “Bandit Chief.”

  Quest Update: More Bandits!

  You have located the merchant’s daughter at the bandit camp northwest of Sommervale. Rescue the young lady and escort her safely back to her father.

  I flew back to my minions and returned to my normal form, trying to come up with a plan of attack that wouldn’t result in me getting mobbed by bandits.

  More than two-to-one odds were not something I saw myself surviving, especially in an environment with no bottlenecks. It was going to take a bit more than storming into camp, guns blazing.

  If I could somehow split them up, I’d have a better chance, and the more of them I took out, the more corpses I would have to replace my own losses.

  It was all going to depend upon just how intelligent the AI for the NPCs was. A lot of games had strict aggro logic based on range, where others allowed the NPCs to make intelligent, tactical choices. I was hoping for the former here.

  I had a plan. Best-case scenario I’d be able to lure some of the bandits into the woods and take them out without pulling the entire camp. Worst-case I pulled the entire camp and ran as fast as my little legs could carry me and hope that there was an aggro radius I could escape before the bandits caught me.

  I unsummoned everyone but Chevy, freeing up enough of my minion pool and raised all three of the rogue corpses as ghouls.

  Their bones popped as their arms stretched and long, filthy looking claws sprouted from their fingertips. Their shoulders popped, and with a tearing sound their mouths split open at the cheeks, revealing rows of needlelike teeth dripping with a nasty green substance.

  Honestly, I was a bit freaked out. Seeing a ghoul ant was one thing, but the human version was nightmare fuel.

  Chevy hid behind a nearby tree with his bow ready, the skulls of his fellow minions nearby just in case. I activated my belt and flew into a nearby tree, finding a nice solid perch from where I could keep watch.

  With a slight shiver of sympathy for the bandits, I set my plan in motion.

  I instructed my ghouls to head in the direction of the camp and slay anything that they might meet along the way. Once they got to the camp, they were to attack the bandits around the fire and then retreat into the woods and return here. And not to attack the female human. Definitely do not attack the female human.

  The trap laid, I activated Stealth and waited for the party to begin.

  Human Ghoul has been destroyed!

  Ok, here we go, I thought as the sounds of branches snapping filtered in from the direction of the bandit camp.

  With one ghoul down I had enough points to summon another minion so I activated Martin and had him ready his bow as well.

  The ghouls came skittering into the clearing with the bandits close behind. I counted six enemies, more than I wanted but not an overwhelming number.

  I ordered my skeletons to open fire and watched as two arrows appeared in the chest of the lead bandit, dropping him to the ground.

  Their luring duties complete, I allowed the ghouls to join the fray, watching in horror as they leapt upon the closest bandits. Their claws ripped through the bandit’s leather armor like cloth, while their tee
th tore free huge globs of flesh that were quickly consumed, healing their wounds with each gulp.

  A bandit rogue stepped over to help his companion and drove his blade into the ghoul’s back, severing its spine and dropping its health to a bare sliver.

  With a twist, the bandit tore the blade free of the emaciated undead, ending it, but also leaving himself open to the second ghoul’s lunge.

  Human Ghoul has been destroyed!

  Arrows continued to rain from the woods as the amigos continued their barrage. Three of the bandits were down, but so were two of my ghouls, and the remaining bandits were almost in range of my archers.

  I commanded them to switch to melee and then entered the fray myself, casting Cripple and then Rot on the rearmost bandit as they reached my skeletons.

  Miasma quickly followed, spreading the debuffs to the remaining bandits just as the final ghoul leapt into attack.

  The Bandit Enforcer spun, slashing through the ghoul’s head in midair as he blocked a two handed blow with his shield.

  Human Ghoul has been destroyed!

  I reached out with my mind and re-summoned Hoss and Steve, who appeared on the bandit’s flank and immediately bashed a hole in the man’s skull.

  A Necromantic Bolt struck another bandit on the top of the head, knocking him to the ground where a two-handed mace from Larry assisted him the rest of the way to the afterlife.

  The sole survivor went down in seconds as he was mercilessly circle beaten into a pulp by my entire undead force.

  You have killed 4x Bandit Rogue! You have gained 320xp!

  You have killed 2x Bandit Enforcer! You have gained 200xp!

  I activated my belt and flew down to the ground, looting the bandits. My Scavenger skill kicked in twice, resulting in some extra coin, but nothing especially rewarding.

  The rest of the gear was pretty shabby, so I left it on the corpses, hoping it would provide some benefits for the next batch of minions.

  I ordered my minions to drag the corpses with us as we moved closer to the bandit camp. There was a nice ambush spot a short distance from the clearing where a group of large trees formed a natural wall along the game trail I was following.