“Thanks for the chapter!”

“Gah!” Chilly jumped into the air and bopped his head on the ceiling. He turned to see a grinning penguin waving Realm Walker at him in delight.

Kreksyte

???

“You scared the bejesus out of me.” Chilly accused, then frowned. “What's with the odd number beside your name?”

The penguin's smile grew wider, then it poofed in a cloud of smoke.

Chilly shook his head then turned back to the crevasse in the wall. He took a single step into the dark tunnel as another penguin popped into existence in front of him.

“Halt!”

Eamond

???

“Eep!” Chilly squeaked in a very manly way as he backpedaled rapidly away from the sudden appearance. “Stop...doing that!” Chilly huffed in exasperation, just barely catching himself from falling.

The penguin seemed oblivious to Chilly’s plight, raiding both flippers wide to block the path into the Bone Pits.

“Only the penitent man may pass!” The penguin claimed firmly.

“Uhm,” Chilly said, processing the odd phrase. He then clasped both hands together and bobbed his head up and down in a mildly offensive mimicry of a priest. “I’m penitent. Very penitent.”

Eamond the penguin nodded in satisfaction then stepped back to let Chilly through and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Phew” Chilly wiped his forehead from imaginary sweat. “Good thing I’m not a girl. That would have gotten awkward.”

Chilly chuckled lightly as once more he stepped forwards into the Bone Pits. This time he stilled his heart and kept his eyes peeled for any further penguins that might deign to scare him. Truly they were the most dangerous creature to watch out for in this dungeon, masters of jumpscares and cryptic advice.

The crevasse opened up gradually descending deeper into the depths of the rock with each passing step. The stone was frigid, chilling him to the bone as he made his may through the winding tunnel.

After several twists and turns the tunnel opened up into a tiny chamber that was barely large enough for him to stand upright in it. Across the way, the tunnel split into two paths that continued deeper into the cold rock.

Two penguins stood in front of each entrance. The penguin on the left-

RIF

???

- jumped in surprise as Chilly rounded the bend. It immediately raised both flippers above its head as its eyes grew wide. “Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooks!”

It was so very obviously an impression of a ghost, but came off more cute and cuddly then scary. It was hard to be scared of a three foot nothing fuzzy bird in a tuxedo.

Chilly grinned. “Books indeed.”

Rif the penguin deflated.

The penguin on the right-

Quaesitor Mortem

???

-rolled its eyes and turned to Chilly with a contemplative expression.

“Thanks for the chapter. I am fine in whichever way this story goes.”

“I see,” Chilly said, glancing at the literal fork in front of him. “Thanks.”

“Th̫a̮n͚ks͎ fo͙r t̹he̝ chapte͎r̖.͓!” Rif the penguin interjected spookily, This time trying extra hard to be both bigger and scarier.

“Thank you for the chapter you little cutey.” Chilly gushed. He took two steps towards the penguin in order to pet it or give it a hug, before he remembered that his hand would just pass right through.

Rif the penguin looked deeply disappointed at Chilly’s response. It sagged, Realm Walker touched the floor with a forlorn click.

Chilly realized his mistake and cowered fearfully. “Gah! Books! Scary!”

Rif scowled angrily. It stomped its foot in righteous indignation before it threw Realm Walker at him. The moment the wooden sword left its grip, both the penguin and the sword vanished in a cloud of rapidly dissipating smoke.

“Shit,” Chilly chuckled ruefully, “Guess I pissed off an eldritch horror.”

Quaesitor Mortem rolled its eyes, before it too dropped Realm Walker in a burst of black smoke.

Chilly’s grin slowly faded as his hunger and thirst made themselves known. It reminded him of where he was. Hostile territory. Full of likely dangerous undead.

“Any path is good, hmm?” Chilly muttered as he considered the penguin’s words.

The two tunnels looked identical. Dark, cold stone that wound its way through the rock, quickly obscuring the path onwards and giving little indication of what lay up ahead.

Rif the penguin had tried to scare him. It hadn’t worked, but the penguin had tried to do that. Rif had been standing on the left side. It was possible that something dangerous was down that path.

With his decision made, Chilly walked down the right tunnel. The one that Quaesitor Mortem had been standing in front of. Following the advice of an eldritch horror was just common sense. Even if that horror was a cute penguin.

The tunnel immediately made a sharp right turn, then continued on for a way, before it turned sharply to the left. Chilly stepped around the bend but immediately jerked back. Slowly and with far more caution than before, he poked his head around the corner and studied what lay beyond.

The crack in the wall opened up into a massive circular space. It was as if some giant had dug a perfectly cylindrical hole in the ground and filled it with bones. Yes. That was the other thing about the hole. The entire floor was littered with human bones. Femurs and skulls made poor footing as five undead abominations lurked in the space.

Two of the undead where mostly familiar-

Putrid Ghoul of Frost (x2)

Level: 6

Life: 365, 405

Armor

Fire Resistance

Cold Resistance

Lightning Resistance

Chaos Resistance

53

24

45

30

7

-ghouls that idled wretchedly in the corners. Unlike the ghouls that he had found previously, these ghouls had claws made of jagged shards of ice. Long and serrated, the ice hooked viciously. One ghoul stood relatively close, while the other was on the other end of the chamber.

The other three undead though were new.

Patchwork Abomination (x3)

Level: 7

Unlike the ghouls. These undead shambled randomly around the circular room. They were composed of various bones stitched together with a pale yellow fiber that gave them a sickly vibe. The three abominations were uniformly huge, looming ten feet above the bone covered floor. They were however entirely unique from each other. Bones stuck out at random angles, with anywhere from two to eight limbs propelling the distended torso, composed of what looked like dozens of rib cages, forwards.

It was as if a child had found a play box of bones and had glued them together with little care for biological plausibility.

One of the Patchwork Abominations didn’t even have a head.

Suddenly a penguin appeared right in the center of the pit beside a giant Patchwork Abomination that ponderously stepped over the tiny penguin's head.

Abowden

???

“Welcome to the bone zone!” It called out loudly. “It's really gonna be the pits!”

Chilly’s heart leapt into his throat as he shrunk deeper into the safe darkness of the tunnel. He couldn’t help it. A stealth mission didn’t work if random penguins started shouting at the top of their lungs.

Somehow the undead didn’t seem to mind the penguin among their ranks. The Patchwork Abominations continued shambling in circles, while the Putrid Ghouls stood silently where they were.

Abowden cocked its head to the side. “Out of curiosity, Why not eat the goblin?”

Goblin? Chilly mouthed as his heart slowly recovered. The crypt goblin? From the Mausoleum? Why would he...eat it?

“You can even cook it. That could at least solve one of your problems.”

Chilly’s lips curled in disgust as he recalled the foul crypt goblin. His stomach however had a different opinion and growled loudly. Half panicked, Chilly froze as he watched the undead for any reaction to his rebellious stomach.

After several seconds it became clear that the undead would not react to the soft sound.

“I’d really rather not...” Chilly whispered, then waved to the penguin to join him in the side tunnel. “Come on, get out of there.”

Abowden the penguin grinned, “It was never human, so it's technically not cannibalism.” It said with smug amusement.

Chilly’s stomach growled again, the thought of cooking the disgusting goblin getting more and more appealing every moment.

“I’ll...consider it” Chilly whispered to the penguin in resignation.

The penguin hopped up into the air in excitement and dropped Realm Walker.

Chilly studied the chamber for a few more minutes, slightly entranced by the distinctly alien biology of the Patchwork Abominations. The large bone constructs moved rather aimlessly around the chambers, with smooth insect-like motions. Sometimes they were spread evenly through the room, while other times they clumped together and even walked over each other in their mechanical desire to keep moving forwards.

The Ghouls were still. Like the ghouls he had encountered previously, these undead seemed content to wait for prey to come to them. The ghoul on the far side of the chamber was near another hole in the wall which presumably led deeper into the Bone Pits. The ghoul’s ice claws were worrisome. It implied that they would deal either extra damage or cold damage with their attacks. Either case would be troublesome since he had zero cold resistance at the moment.

It seemed that Chilly could count on enemies getting tougher as he progressed to the higher levels.

Chilly backed away from the entrance and returned to the intersection. He chose the left hand path this time and carefully made his way through the dry cold tunnel. The torch was the only source of light. The perfect sphere, while interesting at one point, was more than a slight nuisance now. Periodically Chilly would stop and shoot Incinerate down the tunnel in order to get a better view of what was coming up next.

The tunnel opened up to a small cavern. Unlike the pit from before, this chamber had a low ceiling and few if any bones littering the ground.

Patchwork Abomination

Level: 7

Putrid Ghoul of Frost

Level: 6

Life: 388

Armor

Fire Resistance

Cold Resistance

Lightning Resistance

Chaos Resistance

53

24

45

30

7

Two undead ambled aimlessly in the small chamber. Two dim tunnels extended to the left and right side of the chamber. Based on how far he had walked, it was possible that the tunnel on the right led back to the pit, though it was hard to tell.

The ghoul was actually pretty close by, while the abomination was moving towards him at the moment.

Chilly examined the two undead for a couple seconds before he made his way back up to the Shrine. He sat at the campfire to consider his next move. Several dozen penguins materialized around him. Some sat around the campfire, while others plopped down beside candles or simply chose to pace back and forth.

“Right, guys.” Chilly flinched as several penguins scowled at him furiously. “...and gals. The way I see it. This is a huge boon.”

A penguin walked forwards. Chilly squinted at it, before he rolled his eyes as a small grin tugged at his lips.

NickXenix

???

In a melodramatic voice the penguin raised his sword like an orator. “Chilly struggles through the tomb as he walks through the halls, why bother?”

“...right...anyway.” Chilly said, “The biggest problem with the Undead Parish is actually the fact that there are like fifty enemies. The ghouls-”

“The ghoul snuggles the walls as the wind blows colder.” NickXenix jumped onto a bench, upending another penguin in his zeal.

“Ahem...As I was saying. The ghouls only have around three fifty health. That means I can take them out in...five or six seconds. Hmm, let's add a second for the fire resistance...Let's make that two seconds. Right so seven or eight seconds. If I can lure one out and keep it from getting to me then I could burn it down and get enough experience to level up. The question is how to keep it occupied for that long?”

“The doors are your saviour and shield you from sin.” NickXenix mournfully orated.

“Brilliant.” Chilly slapped his thigh, “If I break out the level six wooden door to the Mausoleum, and hell I could even use the trapdoor to the annex. Jamming them in that narrow tunnel would definitely hold it off for a good long while.”

“A blade of betrayal stabs in your back by a heretic penguin.”

“Shush you. So I could try to lure the close ghoul in the pit or in that small cave place down the left hand passage. I think a flash of Incinerate would be enough to agro it.”

“The others cry in shock as the killer snickers.” NickXenix placed a flipper to his beak and snickered dramatically.

Chilly stared at the crowd of silent penguins for a moment, “Ahuh, The risk as I see it, is that more than one undead follows me up the tunnel. I don’t think the abominations would fit but two or three level six ghouls roaming in the Shrine would be devastating.”

“It was all over, this story of wonder.” NickXenix swooned dramatically, Realm Walker coming dangerously close to falling and banishing the deceiver.

“Right!” Chilly stood with no small amount of exuberance. “Let's get those doors!”

Chilly rushed over to his stash and pulled out his old level one magic axe and made a beeline towards the Mausoleum’s door. He started hacking at the tough stone. Chips of stone flew through the air as behind him the penguins watched with keen interest.

“The betrayer laughs,” NickXenix laughed maniacally. “‘All tickets are sold!’”

“He chants, ‘Blood for the blood god!’ As the prophecy foretold.”

Chilly paused his hacking for a second and stared back at the crowd of penguins.

“Some of you are weird, man.” he muttered to himself.

Chilly stared at the contraption. It consisted of the level four trapdoor strapped to the front of the level six wooden door, and was wedged in the long side tunnel leading to the cave with the Putrid Ghoul and Patchwork Abomination. Since he didn’t have any rope, the two doors were held together with various pieces of armor that he had cannibalized for straps. In the end he had used more armor than was strictly necessary. The more the merrier really.

The set up did mean that he would only be able to see the life of the Wood Door, since the trap door was obscured behind the bigger doors bulk.

Chilly considered the improved door as he ran through the numbers.

He didn’t know how much damage the ghoul did per attack, but the two doors had a combined health pool of 407 plus 256. Except they had different amounts of resistance. 41 armor on the trapdoor was roughly...Chilly rejiggered his armor until he had around 40 points... 30% damage reduction from physical. The door had 66 armor, which would be...around 40% resistance.

Hmm...

Chilly sat down as he tried to do algebra in his head. A task he hadn’t done for at least a decade.

30% is roughly a third. So a third of 256 is about...90? 80? That would mean the effective health of the trapdoor was about 340-ish. 40% of 407 was...hmm, 10% of 400 was 40, so four times that would be 160. So 660 + 340 was about 1000 effective physical health combined between the two doors.

That seemed like it would be enough.

Of course the doors would have to survive through Incinerate too since the skill was indiscriminate, but even then it seemed like his contraption would slow down the ghoul long enough for it to succumb to the flames.

Chilly nodded firmly to himself and carefully levered the door to the side as he made his way down the tunnel. At the end he watched the two undead carefully. He waited for the Patchwork Abomination to shamble as far away as possible before he channeled Incinerate for a fraction of a second before turning around and running.

A small gust of flames rolled through the air and caressed the Putrid Ghoul of Frost, blackening its cold skin. The ghoul snapped its gaze at Chilly’s fleeing form and screeched.

You have been Hindered

“Shit,” Chilly cursed. Somehow he had forgotten about the ghouls' shout. Still he had a very healthy head start on the sprinting ghoul. He pushed past the molasses like slow of Hinder and dodged behind his double door contraption. In a second he rotated it into position and slammed his weight behind it.

Not a second later the ghoul slammed into the other side just as flames burst through the iron bars of the door and lit everything on the other side with roiling flames.

The Ghoul dragged its frostbitten claws over the trapdoor in a rage. Horrible sounds of tearing wood sounded through the tunnel as chunks of the soft level four wood splintered horrendously under the assault.

Chilly shoved his weight against the door grimly as Incinerate slipped through the iron bars.

The Ghoul distended its jaws and bit down on the trapdoor, utterly annihilating it in a blast of splinters and frost. A chill descended on Chilly as he realised that the ghoul had two shot the trapdoor. A door with 256 health. He only had 235 health.

Chilly nervously glanced at the Wooden Door’s life.

The ghoul clawed at the hard wood of the wooden door. Sparks flew as the ghoul’s claws dug deep furrows in the stationary obstacle.

Chilly gasped as he watched as the ghoul practically ripped the door in half. He was tempted to turn and run, but a quick peek through the bars showed the ghoul’s skin had charred to the point that it was an unrecognizable hunk.

Besides, cursed with Hinder as he was, there was no way he would escape.

Despite its grievous burns the ghoul was still moving with alacrity. It latched onto the door and with an almighty heave, ripped the door in half.

The door splintered into a half dozen broken pieces. Bits of straps and armor scattered across the narrow tunnel and mixed with the frost coated wood shards from both doors.

Chilly straightened up and stared death straight in the face as he channeled cleansing fire at the ghoul. Lines of molten fire covered its skin, and cinders fell down freely from its decrepit frame.

With barely a moment of hesitation, the Putrid Ghoul of Frost leapt over the pile of detritus and slashed both of its claws at Chilly’s throat.

Chilly screamed as he was practically bisected by the powerful blow. A wave of frost flooded through him as he struggled with the violating pain of the wound. Tears in his eyes, Chilly didn’t let up. He worked to overcome the pain and continued channeling his salvation.

Flames licked hungrily at the dying ghoul. Ashes began collecting at its feet as its motion caused burnt bits of itself to fly off and mix with the air.

It raised another claw and slashed it down in a lightning fast motion.

Chilly’s vision went dark around the edges, and he fell backwards. Faintly he noticed a wave of purple miasma flood over him as the ghoul finally succumbed to its wounds. That was pushed to the background as his vision was flooded with notifications.

You have slain a level 6 Putrid Ghoul of Frost!

You receive 3 experience!

Congratulations! You have leveled up!

You are now Level 5

Will your status screen open to allocate your points.

You have reached a milestone!

Maximum number of augments increased by 1

Chilly groaned as his life began regenerating. He climbed to his feet and stared down at the fallen ghoul. Its claws shimmered faintly in the torchlight. The body, which had never been in great condition, was utterly burned to the point where it was more char than flesh.

A faint glimmer in the ghouls chest cavity caught Chilly’s attention. He leaned down and pulled out a silver coin covered in ash. At first he thought it was an Essence of Iron, but was clearly distinct upon closer inspection.

Unknown Essence

Take this to a crafting bench to learn of its properties!

Chilly pocketed the new essence and hobbled his way out of the desecrated ground. Then he turned and stared at the carnage the ghoul had enacted.

“Level 6 is utter bullshit.” He muttered to himself.

“Bah humbug!” a penguin said at his side.

Chilly looked down-

Sure Ruse User

???

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Chilly replied darkly.

“Thanks for the chapter,” The penguin nodded amicably.

“Mhmm,” Chilly said, still looking at the carnage.

A moment later he looked down only to see the penguin staring at him accusingly.

“Ah, right. The whole point of doing all of this in the first place.” Chilly said and pulled up his character sheet. As he perused the contents, his grin only grew wider.

Gregory “Chilly” Morhuil

Level

Exp

Skill Points

Spec

5

1/5

3

Fire

Life

Life Regeneration

Starving, Dehydrated

168/253

22.46

Armor

Fire

Cold

Lightning

Chaos

86

46.33%

0

0.00%

0

0.00%

0

0.00%

0

0.00%

Incinerate

Helmet:

Iron Barbute

Vitality

Body Armor:

Iron Plate Vest

Summon Bone Giant

Pants:

Iron Pants

Mass Revive Undead

Boots:

Iron Greaves

??? (Available)

Gloves:

Iron Gauntlets

???

Jewelry:

???

Mainhand:

Skull of the Bone Giant

???

Offhand:

Iron Kite Shield

(AN: The life regeneration here includes Starving and Dehydrated debuffs.)

Incinerate

Unleash a beam of fire that burns enemies that it touches. The beam dissipates after 5.4m

Deals 84.4 Fire damage per second

Channeling

Augments available

Choose an Augment for Incinerate. Costs 1 skill point.

Maximum 2 Augments.

Empowered Flames

30% more Incinerate damage

Ignition

Enemies burnt by Incinerate catch fire dealing 35% additional fire damage over 4 seconds

Embered Heart

100% more ash effect

Chaotic Flames

12% more damage over time

Massive

Incinerate gains an additional 3m of range

Scorching Ray

Incinerate inflicts scorch

(AN: I shortened the flavor text here for consistency, the effect is the same as it was before)

Vitality

Your body thrums with a powerful vitality increasing both your life and life regeneration.

Regenerate 8.6% of maximum life as life per second

11.1% more life

Augments available

Choose an Augment for Vitality. Costs 1 skill point.

Maximum 2 Augments.

Heart of the Warrior

Regenerate 3% of maximum life as life per second

Troll’s Blood

24% more life regeneration

Titanic Vigor

12% more life

Stalwart Bulwark

Regenerate 3% of maximum life as life per second while stationary

Unity of Purpose

Vitality affects nearby allies with 50% less effect

Indomitable

150 sap resistance

You have an open skill slot!

Choose from one of the following skills:

Flammability

Curse an enemy with a powerful malediction, weakening them to all forms of fire damage for a duration.

Cursed enemies have 19% less fire resistance

0.25s cast time

15s duration

Crest of the Phoenix

Summon a flaming crown to wreath the head of you or an ally granting additional fire damage to attacks and spells.

12 added fire damage to spells and attacks

2s cast time

60s duration

Pious Path

Walk along the path of the holy. If the path does not exist, create it yourself. While stationary consecrate the ground beneath your feet granting life regeneration to you and allies.

2m radius

30s duration

Consecrated Ground

Buff

Ground Effect

Grants 5% of maximum life as life regeneration per second to allied units