Marty’s POV

“Holy cow, that’s one hell of an evolution.” Jon replied, and the rest of us were sitting there silently agreeing.

“Yeah, I thought so too. Honestly though, I’m most excited about two things. I can earn experience at the normal rate, and I don’t talk with little kid speech patterns. It was fun doing that in those games where intelligence contributed to your dialogue options, but when you are immersed in the game it is annoying as fuck.” We all got a good chuckle out of that.

“Og. Smash.” Jon said, standing up and pounding on his chest.

“No. Grub. Smash.” I said, deepening my voice and pounding my chest as well. We both furrowed our brows to try and seem like we had larger, sloping foreheads before we both broke out into giggles.

“Look what you did Derrick.” Phoebe muttered while shaking her head.

“Me not do.”

“Seriously? Weren’t you just complaining about those speech patterns not even a minute ago?”

“Pretty lady mad.” Jon stage whispered to me.

“Pretty lady is gonna make you sleep on the couch tonight if you don’t stop!”

“I. Feeel. Faculties returning rapidly.” Jon drug the first few words out before talking normally. “Sorry hun, I have no idea what came over me. Musta been temporary insanity.”

“Uh huh. Sure. Aaaaanyway, what’s your next move Derrick?”

“Well, I need a few levels first. Then I need to head to a really remote area in the north to meet with a few of my kind and learn some stuff for a quest.”

“Nice.” I added. “Did you bump up to elite?”

“Yeah, it looks like that is pretty much normal. Though when I came back to the village and reported what happened, they actually hailed me as a hero. I even got bumped up because of it, so now I’m a level one heroic giant.”

“If you ever run into a group of players they are gonna have a hard time figuring out how to take you down.” Jon pointed out.

“I know, it’s gonna be great! Besides, I’m a little taller which means I can toss people that much further.”

“Oh god, are you going to try and get a skill for throwing people?” Phoebe asked, holding her head in her palm.

“HA! Gimme a sec, I’m gonna send that off to Emily as a suggestion. Thanks Phoebe!”

“See if they will add a portion of the dart’s armor class to the damage.” Jon pointed out.

“This is gonna be great if I get this skill.” Derrick was chuckling like a madman. “Anything else we need to ask about? No? Alright, I’m sending it off.”

“So, have you guys thought about teaming up in game?” Phoebe asked. “We have a decent team if you think about it. I’ve got physical dps, Jon for debuffing the enemy, Marty for ranged dps, and Derrick would make one hell of a tank. I’ve never had a spell casting tank before, that’ll definitely throw people for a loop.”

“I would be next to useless in an arena situation.” I pointed out. “But if you guys were to draw aggro I could do some major damage from a flanking position.”

“Yeah, it’s just too bad that monsters can’t form a party.” Jon lamented.

“Serious? Damn that sucks. So how does it work for you and Phoebe travelling together?” Derrick asked the same question I was thinking.

“Whoever does the most damage gets the experience.”

“Do you even have a damaging skill?” I asked. “Last I knew all your stuff was debuffing the enemy.”

“Bastard got a fantastic one.” Phoebe muttered under her breath as Jon smiled.

“Damn right I did. I managed to link a few skills to create my own. Anytime I cast [Consuming spirits], I automatically use [Body conversion].”

“Not too shabby.” Derrick nodded.

“Still a little confused here. Can I get an explanation?”

“[Body conversion] trades his health for mana.” Phoebe interrupted Jon. “Sorry hun, but you tend to get a little long winded on these. Anyway, [Consuming spirits] drain his enemy’s health and returns a portion of it to him. It also gets a boost from [Weaken resist], so he can effectively refill all his pools while simultaneously killing his enemies.

“Heh, always nice when you get a rotation of skills that build off each other.”

“I know, right? Phoebe likes to complain, but she forgets about her [Bloodfury] ability.”

“Let me guess, recover health based on damage dealt during melee?” I asked.

“Bingo.” Jon replied. “Plus it’s a passive, so she doesn’t even have to activate it.”

“Yeah yeah, but no girl likes getting bathed in blood.” Phoebe pointed out.

“Well, none that you want to keep around for longer than a night.” Derrick chuckled. “Sometimes crazy can be fun.”

“Aaaaand here we go again. You boys enjoy talking about crazy women, I’m heading to bed.” Phoebe declared.

“I’m heading off too.” Jon said. “Phoebe likes to start early in the morning.”

“Later guys.” Derrick and I said our goodbyes, and he turned in his chair to stretch his legs out onto Jon’s former chair.

“So what about you Marty? Big plans for the next few days?”

“Gonna suck, but I need to do at least one night hunt. See what comes out at night, plus there’s a graveyard that looks interesting. After that? Somehow get to the Barren Lands.”

“Barren Lands? That’s a pretty long hike from where you are. You really gonna spend a week traipsing through the wilderness?”

“God I hope not. Are there any big cities over that way?”

“You look kinda devious. What are you thinking?”

“Well, the alchemy guild has some teleports. Maybe I could teleport into the general vicinity and save a week or two of travel. Use a traveler’s illusion ring to get out of the city.”

“That could work, but all guards now have something that allows them to see through illusion, so just save your money on that.” Derrick leaned onto the table to think. “Think you could trust the drow? They are only a day away by foot.”

“Ugh, not high on my list of things I really want to do, but I could try it I guess. I just hope they don’t try and double cross me.”

“Hah! Good luck with that one.” Derrick chuckled. “I don’t know anyone the drow wouldn’t double cross given a chance.” Plans settled, we kicked back and played a few hands of cards. He completely demolished me at Rummy, though we seemed to be fairly even when we switched to Texas Hold’em. After several hours, I just couldn’t keep going anymore and headed off to bed. The next day I spent lazing around outside of the game, killing time before I went in for a night session. I even managed a small nap in the middle of the afternoon, much to my surprise.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Angus! Where’ve ya been all day ya lazy bum?” Alnoss called out to me as I made my way down into the dining area.

“Sleeping a bit, being lazy.” I said to her when she came over with a steaming plate for me. “Now how in the hell did you know that pork chops and gravy is my favorite meal?” I asked, digging in to the tender meat. I didn’t really need the knife, as the side of my fork was more than enough to cut through the meat.

“You’re just like Khaliss. According to him, all my meals are his favorite.” She chuckled.

“If all your meals taste like this, I really don’t blame him.” I retorted. “Hey, before you run off.” I said, quickly shoveling another bite into my mouth and chewing it as fast as I could. “I’m gonna be out hunting tonight, definitely not going to be back until late. How do you want to handle things like that?”

“Since Khaliss and I both trust you, I’ll only let you do this.” She said, leaning in and whispering the next part. “Stone manipulation to let yourself in when you are done. Don’t let anyone know about that.”

“I won’t.” I promised. Damn, I didn’t realize just how much they trusted me.

“Thanks. Good luck with your hunting tonight. Where you headed?”

“Creepy looking graveyard.” I said between bites. “If it’s that creepy during the day, I really want to check it out at night.”

“Ugh, just be careful.” She said with a shudder. “Spooks and haunts always get me. Give me a solid enemy any day of the week.”

“I hear that. Unfortunately, I’m the only one strong enough to head out there that is guaranteed to return if I am slain. Even if I’m not victorious, we will still have information on what is out there.”

“And that attitude right there is why Khaliss values you.” She said with a smile. “Somehow he knew, even back when you first met, that you are the type to always do what needs to be done.” I don’t know what exactly a blushing drakeling looks like, but I’m sure I was a fantastic example. Alnoss just chuckled as she walked away. I finished my dinner and left some coin, then headed out. Just outside the door, I spotted Khaliss walking my way.

“Evenin’ Khaliss.” I said in greeting. “I talked to Alnoss, but figured you would want to know as well. I’m heading out to explore that creepy graveyard if you need anything that way.”

“That was to the south, yes?” I nodded, and he continued, “That’s fine. Thanks for being willing to check that out for us. I really wasn’t looking forward to sending a squad.”

“Not a problem.” I said, then turned to head out. I headed straight to the graveyard, I arrived at that perfect time. The sun was just getting ready to drop below the horizon, and the sky was lit up with a fantastic array of colors. I had startled a rabbit into the clearing, and it was oddly huddling in fear next to one of the tombstones. As the sun dropped below the horizon at last, I found out why.

Several swirling purple portals appeared, and tall humanoids emerged. Seven and a half feet tall at the least, they were emaciated to the point where a human would be considered anorexic. They were entirely black, save for their white head and hands. Fingers as long as bananas, they had an extra joint as well. The heads though. They were lacking, everything. Just pure white egg shapes on top of bodies. The one nearest the rabbit cocked its head for a second, then flashed down and caught the petrified creature before it could even think to move. Slowly standing back up while holding the poor thing by the neck, it smiled. Oversized flat teeth in a mouth that would have gone from ear to ear on a human head, it opened incredibly wide. A string of drool going from top to bottom jaw broke, flinging liquid everywhere, as the thing slowly put half the rabbit in, head first. With a crunch, the suffering ended, but the chewing. I shuddered as it savored its meal, and identified it.

The Faceless Men

Lvl 50

Demons from an unknown plane, not much is known about these creatures. Delighting in the torment of innocence, they are cruel existences that will surely never show mercy. It is unknown how they detect their prey, but it is nearly impossible to sneak up on them. Should you encounter them, pray you are either stronger or faster. Preferably both.

That, was not something I was expecting. Ghosts? Specters? Hell, even ghouls would be normal for a graveyard and here I was facing demons and a portal to whatever plane they happened to come from. At the back of the graveyard, where two one winged statues stood forming an arch between them was an active portal. I had originally thought it was simply two timeworn statues, but now everything was making sense. The faces of the statues hadn’t been worn away in time, they were never there in the first place.

Well, that didn’t matter to me. They obviously eat things, let’s just see if they bleed? They stood stock still, only moving when prey got close. Taking a regular bolt out of my pack, I didn’t trust any of the ones crafted with shadow infused material. That just seemed like something that would call to a demon. Taking aim at the one that ate the bunny, I noticed it still had several lines of blood running down from its mouth. Since most things tended to need a head, I aimed right between where the eyes would be on a human and fired.

The bolt flew true, rocking the head of the creature back with the force it carried. It only took off a third of its life, and the creature screamed. The sonic wail caught the attention of the others, which all dropped into hunting crouches, fingers shifting into blades. The one I shot sheared the shaft of the bolt in half with a casual swipe, and started flailing about looking for whatever hurt it. I took the time to reload, this time aiming for the center of the chest. Before I fired, I activated [Mystic vision] to see just how the magic flowed, and adjusted my aim. There was a small spiral of magic in the head, but a much larger one centered just about where the solar plexus would be. The shape of the body made the swirl more rectangular. As it finally calmed down, I fired again and this time got immediate results. The demon dropped to the ground, instantly killed.

I reloaded again, and looked at some of the other demons. They hadn’t sensed the death of their compatriot, or at least didn’t care, but all were still on guard. Judging by the swirls in their heads, I had shot about an inch and a half too high on my initial attack. The second demon to get targeted took a bolt through the chest, and again died immediately. Once again reloading, I fired at the swirl in the head of one of the demons. It started to react, but a small flinch wasn’t enough to save it. Again, it seemed like central portion of the mana swirls were the weaknesses.

Luckily for me, I had one last demon to deal with and one experiment I needed to do. This time I loaded a decapitator bolt, and charged it with shadow mana. I fired, and the bolt was completely blocked by a backhand from the demon as it spun to face me. I could only get a rough estimate, but it seemed like they had a detection radius of about ten to fifteen feet. As long as I was outside of that window, I was fine.

Of course, as soon as it batted away my bolt it charged back along the trajectory it came from, leaping through the graveyard with ease. Time for a little divine action. “[Cold grasp of death][Death’s gaze][Reaper’s edge]. Thanatos, I don’t know how you feel about demons, but this one’s all yours.” Charging in to the immobilized demon, I chose to bisect its head instead of decapitating it. With a glorious spray of mana and ichor, the head split straight through the swirling center of mana. Like a puppet with its strings cut, the body dropped bonelessly to the ground.

Thanatos finds your offering acceptable!

For slaying an acceptable offering, you gain 20 favor.

For slaying an offering at full health, you gain 20 favor.

For slaying a monster while using Death’s Gaze, you gain 20 favor.

For slaying a monster with Reaper’s Edge, you gain 20 favor.

For slaying a monster with Cold Hand of Death, you gain 20 favor.

For slaying an extraplanar entity, you gain 50 favor.

Total favor: 739/5000

Champions killed: 0/10

Elites killed: 0/1

Weekly kills: 8/25

Well, this could be quite lucrative. I just hoped that I could find a few champions or elites through the other side of the portal. Before I went though, I tried to do a down and dirty autopsy for the faceless men. The head was a mess of organs I had no idea what they did. The only thing I did notice was a large mass in the center of where the swirl was. This was obviously an important organ, and oddly was the end point from the mouth. Did these things rip apart matter into mana? No, that would release all sorts of energies, it would be like having a nuclear powered stomach.

The rest of the body was just as crazy. There were no bones, or even muscles from what I could tell. Bundles of a spindly fiber were throughout the body, and running mana through them caused them to contract. So, these things were completely dependent on mana? Too bad I was out of my mana burn potions, I had a feeling those would be incredibly effective. The rest of the bodies were the same, without a frame of reference I was completely useless at guessing their anatomy. The only parallel I could come up with was that the one in the head was some sort of brain slash stomach combination and the one in the chest was like a heart. Critical targets, and they needed both intact to function. Standing up, I cracked my back and turned to the portal.

“Be vewy, vewy, quiet. I’m demon hunting.” Sure, he wasn’t the mightiest hunter around, but he had a good time doing it. Besides, they killed the wascally wabbit. They deserved what would come.