Vanalath found Kalaki shortly after leaving the necromancer’s cottage. The old zombie was standing still in the middle of a field of dead grass, leaning on his spear and staring… at the sky? Vanalath looked up, but other than frosty peaks and wispy clouds, there was nothing there.

He growled, and the undead turned around. If he was surprised to find Vanalath standing there, it didn’t show on his vacuous features.

Had this foolish creature been standing here this entire time? Vanalath had assumed he’d been torn apart by specters, but whether through luck or ski—or luck, he yet lived. The swordsman gestured for him to follow, then turned and resumed walking without looking back. The faint connection he had with Kalaki told him that he understood the command. They had to cover a lot of ground today, so he didn’t waste time trying to figure out where he’d been or what he’d been doing. It wasn’t like Kalaki could answer him anyway. After a few seconds he heard the sound of shuffling feet behind him as the spearman hurried to catch up.

The ghoul wasn’t too dumb, at least.

After less than an hour of walking, they arrived at the first village Vanalath had visited as a lesser ghoul. The undead had somewhat dispersed since he’d been here last, but plenty of them milled about, stumbling into huts, tripping over rocks, or lying in the dirt, practically catatonic.

Vanalath approached the apathetic ghouls one at a time, but no matter how he growled or kicked them around, they didn’t seem to exit their stupor. The last one he approached was busy trying to push over the wall of a hut with its face. After staring at Vanalath for a moment, the ghoul lost interest, returning to its hopeless task. So, perfectly calmly, Vanalath unsheathed his sword and decapitated the ghoul with a swing.

[Level increased]

Strength + 1

The blue runes etched the air before him with their stark, burning light, and Vanalath stopped in his tracks. He would have known that he’d grown despite the runes thanks to the wisp of power that he felt entering him, but he hadn’t expected this from killing a single weakling. He’d ended five ghouls back in the cave for this phenomenon to occur once, but a single kill triggered it this time, puzzling him. What was special about this ghoul? Was it because it had been able to fight back?

Come to think of it, whenever he killed something that proved little challenge, his rewards were limited. The stronger the opponent, the more his gains increased. Looking around, Vanalath inspected the small horde. Rather than useless automatons, they began to look more like walking fertilizer… but no. His mistress commanded him to gather her forces, not to cull them.

Slamming his sword into his sheath, Vanalath glowered at the decapitated head that slowly rolled away. Killing this ghoul had been a mistake. How could he expect others to meet his expectations if he couldn’t meet those expectations himself?

He strode away from the scene, noticing as he did that some of the other ghouls were staring at him now. He paused in his steps. An idea came to him as he noted their expressions. Ghouls were a unique sort of creature. They rarely did anything on their own initiative unless there was a clear motive, such as chasing down a human or… following the crowd. They weren’t naturally inquisitive, but if something big enough happened, they would unconsciously gather towards the source of the disturbance, wouldn’t they?

Vanalath relocated to the center of the hamlet, climbing up onto a stone that had been placed there for exactly such a purpose.

Once there, he moved his mask to the side of his face, inhaled deeply, and howled, putting all his force of will into the noise, as he’d done when fighting the specters. This time, when he reached for the power, he felt that dark storm inside him clearly, seething with all those familiar emotions of finality and dread. It had grown substantially since he’d last checked only hours ago. This made his grip on it less controlled, but fine control wasn’t necessary here.

The energy seeped from wherever it was stored inside him and into the howl. The bone-chilling sound carried clear and loud, informing all the ghouls that a new presence was establishing itself, and the undead responded. One or two at first, but soon five, then ten, then all the ghouls in the vicinity had gathered around him, numbering nearly thirty in all. Some younger ones and a few men were scattered about the crowd, but most of the gathered undead were women or the elderly: those too weak to escape the assault on their settlement.

It wasn’t the strongest force, but it was a start. Near the fringes of the small crowd, Vanalath noted four or five ghouls who appeared to be drifting in and out, almost like they were uncertain that they wanted to be here. Vanalath growled, inserting his will into the noise as he did before, and the mass of ghouls all turned at once to look at the vagrants. Vanalath sensed that, were he to growl like that again, these noncompliants would be torn apart.

Interesting. Very interesting. What was this sense? It wasn’t quite like the connection he shared with Kalaki, but it was a feeling of control. Still, he didn’t want more of his mistress’s forces to be depleted. Turning, he headed back to her cottage, ensuring that the rest followed. He could have gone around to the other settlements with this group in tow, but he sensed that he was at his limit controlling this number of undead. Using gestures and their slight psychic connection, he then ordered Kalaki to go poke the drifting ghouls with his spear until they followed the rest of the crowd.

As soon as the large stone came into view, Vanalath stopped. Pointing at the rock, he growled, and the crowd seemed to understand as they started moving towards it. At this point, the ghouls Kalaki had been corralling seemed to understand what was expected of them as they went with the others. More likely, they just got used to following the crowd. Either way, it freed up his spear-wielder.

The necromancer would probably be fine without him there, he decided. Vanalath was trying to save time. He still had two more settlements to visit, and perhaps other areas of the valley if the zombies had drifted far afield, all while the invisible threat of hunting party loomed over them.

The next closest village wasn’t visible, but Vanalath recalled that it was further downstream than the first one, so the two ghouls walked along the riverside until it came into sight. Like the last, this settlement was located near the river. Not too close—perhaps out of fears of flooding. It was in shambles, with undead visibly roaming about.

As they neared, other differences became clear. There were more male ghouls of working age, and there also seemed to be more raw numbers here. As soon as Vanalath arrived at the edge of the village, he repeated his howl.

That was when something unexpected occurred. He met with resistance. Vanalath felt his will pulsating outwards with his roar, but the connection between him and the other ghouls didn’t form. He felt it trying to form, but something blocked it. That was when a second howl, shrill and clear, echoed out from the opposite side of the village, and all hell broke loose.

He felt a will in the strange howl brush against his mind, but he was able to shrug off the influence without exerting himself. Eyeing Kalaki, he did the same.

The nearest ghoul on the outskirts was already sprinting towards Vanalath. Narrowing his eyes, he drew his sword. Another ghoul controlled these ones already. Their mistake. An independent ghoul wouldn’t be tolerated in the necromancer’s valley.

He readied himself to strike the approaching enemy, noticing as he did that many more ghouls were approaching from within the ruins of the village. Many more.

Before he could swing his blade, he was interrupted by a thrust of Kalaki’s spear that took the charging ghoul in the throat. Kalaki slammed the unfortunate creature into the ground, then grinded the weapon around a few times for good measure, severing the spinal cord. After the undead gave its last dying shudder, he placed a foot on its chest, tugging his polearm free and lowering it once more at the incoming monsters.

Good, Vanalath wouldn’t have to fight them all, it seemed. Despite himself, he felt his turgid blood rising, almost as if his heart beat once more. He knew the necromancer wanted these undead alive, but there was little he could do about this situation without finding the ghoul who controlled them. He didn’t know where it was, and besides—

They were surrounded.

He severed the next ghoul’s arm with a one-handed swing, then he took a step back and gripped the pommel with his other hand, bringing the blade around again to strike its neck. He sliced horizontally as it stumbled past, deeply enough to sever its spine. It fell to the ground and didn’t move again.

[Level increased]

Dexterity + 1

Pivoting, he engaged the next ghoul by bashing his pommel into its forehead. It staggered back, stunned, so he simply hit it a second time and it dropped like a stone.

[Level increased]

Strength + 1

The third enemy was a large ghoul, not quite as tall as Vanalath but nearly twice as wide. It barreled at him with its arms out. Lowering his center of gravity, Vanalath waited until it was nearly upon him, then quickly whirled away while lashing out with his sword. He sidestepped the brute, leaving a gash across its shoulder and tripping it all in one motion. He then executed it with a downward slash and turned to meet the next enemy.

[Level increased]

Agility + 1

Dexterity + 1

[Level increased]

Agility + 1

[Skill increased] (Lv.0) -> (Lv.1)

Muscle memory took over as the fight continued. His sword began to flow more smoothly, flying from enemy to enemy, never needing to perform a third blow. The undead piled on, however, and Vanalath steadily began to accumulate injuries. Still, he was an undead himself, and he would not fall easily, especially against such poor fighters who lacked weapons.

When a strong ghoul grabbed his arm and wrenched it around, it popped out of its socket. He was able to bring his free arm around to deal with the enemy, but while he did, another two ghouls took bites out of him. Throwing them off, he cut down another, but was hit from behind by an unseen assailant and nearly went sprawling. Just before he would have hit the ground, he pumped all the power into his legs and pushed off the ground, sending himself sailing over the heads of his attackers. He hit the ground rolling, leaping to his feet while the stumped undead looked around, wondering where he went.

With his moment of respite, he saw Kalaki much further away. A line of dead ghouls lead straight to him, showing how his fight had progressed. Six enemies still followed him, but the old spearman kept them at bay with precise jabs of his weapon followed by quick backwards steps, sometimes using the shaft of his spear to trip up a ghoul that got too close, ensuring that he was never backed into a corner or surrounded. His spatial awareness combined with his agility—was he that quick before?—kept him alive despite the odds. It helped that the attackers followed him in an unorganized mob.

It looked like the enemy commander had sent the lion’s share of its forces after Vanalath, however. Peering around, he tried to pick it out from the crowd, but there were no obvious leaders. Nothing for it, then. The mob of foes had finally zeroed in on him, but he was ready this time. In the course of his earlier battle, he’d felt his strength increasing multiple times. Though it was only in incremental amounts each time, and he still had his injuries to content with, he felt sharper than ever.

When he reengaged with the furious ghouls, Vanalath did his best to follow Kalaki’s lead, leaping around and keeping out of reach of the various enemies. Though it meant his strikes were lighter, he risked less severe injuries that might impair his fighting ability. With only one arm, he couldn’t engage another crowd like he had before even if he wanted to. He’d be overwhelmed in an instant.

This was the point where the traits of an undead truly came through for Vanalath. Leaping around like an acrobat with a heavy sword is a certain way for a warrior to tire himself out for any fight lasting longer than a minute. A human, even one far more talented than he, would have died ten times over if they copied him, but the stamina of an undead was not a trifling thing. More importantly than even his stamina was his ability to continue fighting while accumulating wounds.

The fight continued for a long time. Vanalath may not have dropped easily, but neither did his enemies. He had to either strike a fatal point on their spine, brain, or he had to cripple them severely enough that they no longer posed a threat. With the longer reach of his weapon and his superior stats, it was simple enough to dance circles around the mindless undead who followed him in a crowd. Kalaki had shown him the path, he just had to follow it.

Another howl came from the direction of the village after Vanalath had already dealt with a sizable chunk of his enemies, and their approach suddenly shifted. The ghouls spread out, trying to circle him. At this point, however, there were too few left to make this strategy viable. Vanalath instantly assessed the situation and blitzed the weakest-looking one, breaking out of their encirclement before it could be completed. From this point, he isolated his enemies one at a time, finishing them off with flurries of vicious strikes while ensuring that the others didn’t surround him.

With the deceptively quiet sound of a sword cutting into flesh, the last ghoul perished to Vanalath.

[Level increased] x 7

Strength + 2

Stamina + 3

Agility + 6

Dexterity + 2

Ichor + 1

[Ability obtained]: (Lv.0)

[Ability increased]: (Lv.0) -> (Lv.1)

[Level increased] x 5

Stamina + 1

Agility + 3

Dexterity + 1

[Skill increased] (Lv.1) -> (Lv.2)

[Skill obtained]: (Lv.0)

By the time the battle finally ended and the last foe was in five pieces scattered across the dirt, Vanalath was practically in pieces himself. Even his immense pool of stamina had finally reached rock-bottom, and he felt like he was swimming through tar by just trying to move. He didn’t need sleep, he just wanted to… stop trying. It was like he was a newly born lesser ghoul again, forced to fight against his own mind to take a single step.

But he couldn’t stop. Not yet. Pushing through the stupor, he reached deep within him. Though his stamina was spent, the black energy inside him was bursting. He unleashed a second earth-shattering howl. The dead grass swayed as the eerie noise swept through the valley. This time, he wasn’t summoning ghouls, but sending a message to the enemy commander.

Submit or die.

There was no responding howl this time, but a different sort of noise: that of shuffling feet. Behind a hut, a ghoul appeared. Then another. And another.

Six of the undead walked out from their hiding place. He’d been expecting one, not a small group. It wasn’t in a ghoul’s nature to cower. Vanalath narrowed his eyes. On closer inspection, they were walking strangely. They moved in a strange formation, with five of the ghouls surrounding a central figure. The five outermost ones were big: the biggest he’d seen so far, perhaps. The center ghoul was far smaller than the others. A female.

As they approached, he got a closer look. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the female’s appearance. It wasn’t that of a lesser ghoul. Though clearly dead, she wasn’t nearly as disheveled as the rest. Truthfully, it was the lack of gaping death-wounds that gave it away: this one had evolved, like him. Her hair was a curly brown, tied into a ponytail that reached nearly to her waist. Did she fix that herself, or was it a carryover from life?

Most striking was her eyes which, yellow like all ghouls, nevertheless glinted with cunning. Though perhaps not quite as intelligent as a human, Vanalath wasn’t intending to underestimate her. She’d shown that she was able to learn, after all, by the way she switched the strategy of her subordinate ghouls halfway through the battle. It had been hopeless by that point, but if she’d thought of the strategy earlier, Vanalath may have been killed.

When they were twenty feet away, the group stopped in their tracks. Vanalath stared them down, unflinching behind his frowning mask as he stood atop a small pile of corpses. For a while, they remained in this odd stalemate, a nearly-dead ghoul who could barely stand facing off against five powerful enemies in full fighting condition, along with a sixth who coordinated them. Most of the guards bore weapons, too—simple clubs fashioned from furniture or farm implements.

Vanalath could tell that she was scanning him, making a note of his injuries, judging how tired he had to be after his brutal fight.

Or perhaps it was only him doing that. He still wasn’t sure how intelligent other ghouls could be.

Vanalath didn’t move. He wasn’t sure if he could win against six more enemies, but there wasn’t a sliver of fear inside him. If she didn’t surrender, she would die. That was what he communicated to her, and he intended to keep his resolution.

Slowly, she stooped over, placing both knees on the ground and lowering her head demurely. The five other ghouls followed suit, though far less gracefully.

[Level increased]

Miasma + 2

You have received the title: (⁎)

Intelligent enough, then.

INFORMATION

Name: Vanalath

Titles: , (⁎)

Race:

Level: 31

Abilities: (Lv.1), (Lv.0), (Lv.1)

Class: (rank up pending)

Level: 20

Skills: (Lv.2), (Lv.0)

Status Effects:

STATISTICS

Strength: 27

Vitality: -

Stamina: 30

Agility: 22

Dexterity: 18

Ichor: 4

Miasma: 12