Chapter 1 – Laying the Dead to Rest

“Mehehehehe.” I chuckle as I gleefully observe my small skeleton army march through the forest. The ivory bones gently reflecting the moonlight as they silently advance towards our objective.

It has taken me three whole months of grinding to get this far. Three whole months of carefully avoiding players as I slaughtered beasts deep inside the forest to milk them dry of all the experience points they had to offer. It has been a long and tedious process, and finally… FINALLY, I’m going to reap the benefits.

It’s been one hell of a long road.

I’m probably one of the highest level Necromancers in the whole of Ascendance Unlimited at the moment. Not that I have much competition anymore though. There aren’t many people who bother going down the Necromancer route anymore. It’s just too damn punishing. Playing a Villain class is brutal. Far too brutal. It’s like playing the game on hard mode while blindfolded and missing both your arms.

Don’t get me wrong; the Villain classes are the strongest classes there are. Their strength and growth potential are just plain outright staggering. What makes it hard, however, is that the game puts such massive restrictions upon you that the odds are always stacked heavily against you. I may have a massive boost to my stats and amazing strength through my summoned minions, but I lack flexibility and security.

All safe zones are off-limits to me. I’m not allowed to party up with other people, there’s a constant bounty on my head, and unlike other players, I lose all my accumulated loot and gold if I’m killed.

So what the hell is the point?

The rewards, of course. Unlike the rest of the population, Villain classes have a nearly unlimited potential for accumulating wealth. I have the option of robbing the world blind while selling off stolen goods for gold. Since my class is already hated by default, I don’t have to worry about such petty things as ingame laws and punishments. I don’t have to care if the world’s NPCs won’t give me quests as I can’t accept them anyway. I don’t care if I can’t enter safe zones, as my class grants me other options. I don’t care if stolen goods can only be sold for a fraction of the value compared to regular goods. I have other means…

Being the Villain allows me to do so much more.

Looting and pillaging is the best way to get rich. Sure, there are some moral issues to the path I have chosen to walk, but it’s just a game, really. The possibility of trading in game gold for real-world currency makes it just a tad too tempting. Killing for money isn’t frowned upon if it’s just a simulation after all.

Which coincidentally, is what tonight is all about.

My target is a small village on the outskirts of the Emperia Empire. I estimate the population to be around eighty people. Farmers mostly. Not the richest of targets, but they should have enough wealth among them to pay my rent for a couple of months. I could have chosen a more lucrative target, but I’m not willing to take the risk quite yet. I need to avoid other players at all costs as I’m not confident I can defeat a well-organized group quite yet. I’m only level thirty-eight, with a small army of fifty-nine Skeletons, Skeleton Archers and Skeleton Warriors. With these numbers, and with the cover of night, I’m certain I’ll be able to kill them all with acceptable losses.

I can already feel the taste of all the money and experience I’ll gain tonight. Just a few more moments to go.

My small army finally reaches the edge of the forest. Walking ahead, I crouch near some bushes, taking a view of the open plains ahead. The dim moonlight reveals a small village built on an open plain between two large forests. The open ground is littered by tilled soil, and a thin dirt road runs right through the small cluster of hovels. Some smoke rises from the village blacksmith, signalling that at least someone is still awake down there. Not that it will do much for them.

Grinning in anticipation, I send a mental command for my Skeletons to start marching towards the village. My minions respond instantly, starting their silent approach across the field.

Walking safely at the back of my army, I start buffing my skeletons. Being a Necromancer, I’m basically just a summoner with a large repertoire of support magic. The class only offered me a few offensive abilities, but they are far too weak compared to the rest of my arsenal.

“Death’s Vitality.” I mutter, watching the bones of my skeletons glow with a soft dark shade.

“Fangs of Blight.” Their weapons emit a sickly green fog.

“Fear the Reaper.” The blue glow in their eye sockets turns crimson red.

“Cull the Living.” Their bones seem to float above the trodden dirt beneath them, increasing the speed of their march.

My head starts throbbing as the last points of my already depleted mana pool ebbs out. It’s the most annoying part of being a spellcaster in this game, as a headache builds up as I drain my mana. A natural symptom I personally would prefer they left out of the game. It doesn’t matter too much though. It’s uncomfortable, but not unbearable. A small price to pay for ensuring the success of my raid.

We reach the edge of the village without being spotted. Unable to keep the grin off my face, I order half my skeletons to group up in squads of five, going house to house and kill as many of the villagers as they can. With no hesitation, the skeletons split into six large groups and head for the closest four hovels.

It takes a few pinpoint mental gymnastics to do it, but I manage to make the skeletons kick the doors in simultaneously. Soon after, the skeletons rush into the homes. I hear a few shrieks of surprise before the sounds are abruptly cut short. No doubt due to my skeletons carrying out their grim orders. I feel a small stab of guilt in my chest which I quickly shrug off with a shake of my head. Damnit Ryan, focus. It’s just a game.

“Who goes there!?” A voice cuts through the still evening air. Turning my head, I spot a farmer holding a torch who just appeared between two hovels roughly thirty meters to my side. It’s a disheveled looking old man, wearing dirty linen clothes, most likely stained from tending to the fields all day. “Reveal yourselves!” He shouts as he squints into the dark night, the light of the torch doing nothing to improve his sight.

Cursing beneath my breath at this sudden interruption, I order my Skeleton Archers to quickly open fire on the man. My skeletons obey, as nearly a dozen arrows quickly loosen towards the poor farmer. Sadly, because of the low level of my archers, and the distance towards the man, most of the arrows fly wide. An arrow hits the man in the shoulder, while another in the thigh.

His eyes widen in shock as he stumbles backwards.

“I-Intruders! Call the alarm!” He screams as he falls out of sight.

“God fucking damnit!” I curse. And things were going so well. Fuck. There goes the element of surprise. I order my nearby Skeleton Warriors to charge towards the village square. If I can’t slaughter the farmers in their beds, then I need to take control of the natural gathering point. My main objective is now to make sure the farmers can’t rally a force to oppose me.

My skeletons quickly find their way deeper into the village as more and more panicked shouts echoes across the village. It doesn’t take long until their confusion turns to fear until they eventually turn to painful shrieks cutting through the night.

“Skeletons! Run for your lives!”

“Where are the guards!?”

“Robert!? Where are you- GAH!”

“Help us!”

“NOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAH!”

The panic spreads further as more of the farmers become aware of the situation. The shouting is soon mixed in with the sound of metal striking metal as some of the farmers try to fight back. It doesn’t take long until they are overwhelmed by the horde of undead. I finally make my way over to the village square, carefully peeking around the corner of the village tavern. A sight of carnage greets my eyes.

My skeletons are systematically mowing down the farmers. The poor villagers were caught completely unaware, disorganized, and wielding nothing but farming tools to fight back the numerous skeletons. Things are going better than I expected. I grin as I open up my status page to watch the experience points pour in.

“There’s too many of them! Flee!” A woman screams from the other side of town.

“Flee where!? They’re everywhere!” A man shouts back. “There is nowhere to go!”

“Everyone! Rally at the blacksmith! We can fight them off if we stay together!” A rough voice cuts through the panicked yells. My eyes flicker over to watch a burly man wearing a leather apron and wielding a massive two-handed hammer trying to draw the villagers towards him. He takes a massive swing with his hammer, completely shattering the ribcage of one of my skeletons. That must be the village blacksmith. Several of the nearby farmers regain a hopeful look in their eyes as they try to push themselves towards the large man.

“Not if I can help it.” I mutter as I order my archers to launch a volley of arrows towards the Blacksmith. Taking their time to aim properly, the arrows soar through the sky before they impact the man high in his chest. The large man falls to his knees as he coughs up a mouthful of blood. His hand grasps at the shaft of an arrow, too weak to get a proper grip. His arm falls limp as his body slouches together. His head drops while his body topples sideways to the ground.

“NOO! Robert! You bastards!” A woman shrieks, her voice breaking. “Someone help us!” She pleads, the energy quickly draining from her body.

“Too late to save you now.” I shake my head as I order my Skeletons to slaughter the broken villagers. I take no pleasure in executing the apathetic peasants, but I do what I need to. It should be over in a few minutes…

“Consecrate!” A pillar of light descends through the air, striking the center of the village square, right on top of my Skeleton Archers. The archers are sent flying backwards, two of them shattering against the stone well in the middle of the square. The surrounding skeletons are all staggered from the sudden blast of holy energy.

“What- Who the fuck!?” I stutter, my eyes going wide in surprise.

“Bring it you pansy toothpicks! Shield Slam!” A deep voice bellows as a skeleton at the far side of the square is sent flying backwards, its bones scattering across the ground.

My eyes quickly find the owner of the voice, and I can feel my stomach twist. Why the hell are there players all the way out here!? There shouldn’t be a reason for them-

“By the power of Lumina, Smite!” A female voice yells as one of my Skeleton Warriors disintegrates in front of me in a blinding golden light.

Fuck! My mind races as I try to collect myself. I need to-

“Arcane Shot!” A massive blue arrow cuts through my forces, slamming into one of my remaining archers. “Hoo, that’s a whole lotta undead guys! What are they doing all the way out here?”

“Who cares!? They’re free exp! Boar’s charge!” A heavily armored dwarf charges shield first through my front rank of skeletons, knocking several off their feet.

“Focus on their ranged units! Smite!” Another golden light vaporizes an archer.

These bastards! How dare they ruin my plan!? Not on my watch... “Warriors! Ignore the dwarf, find and kill the cleric and the ranger!” My skeletons quickly disengage from the warrior and charges towards the location the two previous voices came from.

“Oy! What the fuck Marc! How the hell are you losing aggro on these low-level mobs?” The cleric shouts.

“What? How? Well, I’ll be… Taunt!” The dwarf bellows. “That’s right, come at me ye buggers!” My skeletons hesitate for a moment, some of them turning to face the warrior once more.

Fuck. That.

“Stay on target!” I mentally order my skeletons to once more ignore the dwarf and attack his two party members.

“Marc!? What the fuck! They’re still coming!” The cleric yells.

“What!? Why isn’t it working?!” The dwarf shouts.

“Guys! Something’s off about the skeletons. Their swords are blighted. Low-level skeletons aren’t supposed to have blighted weapons.” The Ranger says, his solemn voice carrying across the battlefield.

“So what!?” The Cleric shouts. Her voice starting to show signs of panic.

“I don’t know… it makes no sense. It’s almost as if they have magic support. But there shouldn’t be any liches this close to the border.”

“For fuck’s sake, Paul! I don’t give a shit! Help get these fuckers off me!” The woman yells.

Listening to their arguing ignites the hope in my chest. I might be able to win this after all. Keeping an eye on my mana bar, I make a quick mental calculation of what spells I can pull off with what little I have left. Luckily, due to me dropping almost every single one of my stat points into wisdom to increase my number of skeletons, I have been able to regenerate a little over half my mana. That’s enough to use the ace up my sleeve.

“Raise Dead!” I shout as a dark vortex of magic coalesces around my body. The death magic spins wildly around my arms until it shoots off into the square, gathering around the fallen villagers. Their dead bodies start twitching for a moment before the villagers come to life for the second time today.

“What the actual bloody fuck is going on!?” The dwarf yells as he plants his axe into the skull of the zombie blacksmith.

“It’s a Necromancer!” The Ranger shouts. “We need to kill him, quickly! I haven’t seen such a high-level Necromancer before, he must be worth a damn fortune in renown points!”

“What!? A Necromancer, here? I thought they were all low-level scrubs that all quit the game already.” The dwarf laughs. “Sounds like heading all the way out here wasn’t a waste after all! Daniel, he is all yours!”

Tssch. So they figured me out. Not that it’s going to help them much. My undead will tear them apart piece by piece long before they find me over here. It’s only a matter of ti-.

I freeze. Wait a moment. Who the fuck is Daniel!?

I turn my head around just in time to spot a leather-clad human running straight at me, wielding two long daggers in each hand.

“Oh you gotta be fucking kidding-”

[You take 226 Piercing Damage (Critical Hit!) from Player ShadowStriker69(45).]

[You are Stunned for 5 Seconds.]

[You take 174 Piercing Damage from Player ShadowStriker69(45).]

[You take 212 Piercing Damage (Critical Hit!) from Player ShadowStriker69(45).]

[You take 163 Piercing Damage from Player ShadowStriker69(45).]

[You have died.]

[You will respawn in 00 Minutes, 59 Seconds.]