Megumi and the others continued up the narrow pathway for a couple of minutes, looking for decent cover. Megumi knew that it would be idiotic to charge into a fortified position that was likely to be filled to the brim with enemy combatants. They needed to approach this problem in a creative way. She had a plan, and in order to enact it, they had to set up an ambush and hope that their luck paid off.

The question was whether or not Tivor was the type of bad guy who liked to keep a bunch of weaklings around him to do all his dirty work, or if he had some stronger lieutenants. Megumi was willing to bet that he was the latter based on the information she had gleaned from the villager. It was a good sign that the bandits they had encountered when rescuing Tara were all complete and utter weaklings. They had posed no threat at all to Megumi or her pet.

She couldn't discount their numbers, however. A army of weaklings would overwhelm them eventually no matter the gap in strength. She only had so much MP, after all. Not only that, but she had to hope that they could get past the risk of arrows or other things being rained down on them from the fort. Her best solution was to wait at a choke point for patrols to come in and ambush them; thus building her own forces and depleting the enemy's.

A few more minutes of walking and the trio found their spot. The narrow trail hugged a cliff face for only about ten feet and curved sharply so that she couldn't see what was beyond, but it was a pretty good bet that the fort lie on the other side. She imagined that any conventional force trying to take this place would be like shoving people through a meat grinder. To the side of the cliff there was a steep 100 foot drop that she knew she didn't want to fall down.

We're going to have to gather as many of the weakling bandits as we can and try to sneak up when it's close to dark. In all liklihood, Tivor knows that a necromancer killed the bandits sent to Tara's farm, so it stands to reason that Megu might still be around and trying to cause trouble for him.

She turned to the little girl who was clutching at her side as though she was some mighty beacon of safety and then leaned down next to her. "Tara, you need to stay back here in the trees, okay? No matter what happens, don't come out. Megu will do her best to keep you safe, but if something bad happens, wait until the bad men are gone and then go back to the village, someone will surely help you."

Tears flowed from the little girl's eyes and she clutched at Megumi even harder. Megumi patted the girl on the head and after a few moments, the girl nodded meekly with a small sniffle and backed away slowly towards deeper cover.

Megumi put on her best smile and softly said, "It's going to be okay, Tara. Megu is strong. You'll see." She stepped closer to the trail with Poro-tan and hid next to him in some thick brush.

"Now we wait."

"Right," he replied.

After hours passed by and Megumi had begun being very tired of crouching in the bushes, their wait finally paid off. A decent sized group of enemies was headed their way. Megumi estimated there were around fifteen enemies in total and she felt her heart begin to pound with excitement for what was about to come. Like a spider waiting for a fly to go into it's web, she waited until they got so close that there was no way they could get away.

Things could go south very quickly if this didn't go just right. She didn't want to be caught in a pincer if the sound of fighting alerted the bandits who were in the fortress. She gave her companion a quick nod and then took aim from her hiding spot as the men approached their kill zone. She fired off several Eldritch Blasts in quick succession, taking out the men in the front. The force of the explosion sent the enemies flying backwards into their companions causing mass confusion.

Weapons were drawn and Poro-tan moved into action like a viper. He was down in the midst of the bewildered foes in an instant and had begun ruthlessly cutting them down. Meanwhile, Megumi cast Sanguine Infusion and then Raise Undead on each enemy as they fell; unfortunately she didn't have any luck getting more TP this time around. Soon the confused enemies began to panic; trying to flee the way they had come, but Poro-tan was too fast for them and their own dead were helping to cut them down. In the span of just under a minute, they had taken out the entire enemy force and added their strength to their own.

Everything had worked exactly as she had hoped and they only lost one man, who had fallen over the cliff to his death. She had a small force of her own now. *Ding*

Congratulations! You have reached level 21!

+1 TP

She placed the TP into Sanguine Infusion. If the battle was going to go as she hoped, then she would have a lot more opportunities to gain extra TPs. She needed to maximize her chance. Once that was done, it was time to decide what to do next. Tivor was probably expecting these men back, but the question was whether or not he would send a team out looking for them or not if they never showed up.

She considered how many enemies they were still up against, and if the old man's information was correct, and who was to say that he would have any real idea of how many enemies there were in the place, then around a quarter of the enemies were now accounted for between the ones she dispatched now and the ones at the farm.

"Do you think he'll send out a team looking for them?" Poro-tan asked almost as if he had been reading her mind.

"Hopefully. Let's set up a trap and see what happens." Megumi had the undead minions work tirelessly to cover up any signs of a fight by kicking dirt around. It wasn't perfect, but it was already near dusk, and hopefully that would be enough. She had the undead form a group in a circle a little ways off in the distance; obscuring the wounds as best she could by changing their formation around.

"Time to wait again. Megu is going to check on Tara. Wait in the bush like before, Poro-tan."

"All right."

Megumi made her way back through the trees a ways and found Tara hiding inside a large hollow spot in an oak tree facing the sheer cliff face that blocked people from going around the choke point. "Are you okay? We'll be done soon. Megu and Poro-tan took care of some of the bad men."

The little girl nodded meekly. "I'm okay. Is this a good hiding spot?"

"You did good. Just stay in there, okay?"

The girl nodded again and Megumi reached into her magical bag, pulling out a few pieces of fruit and handed them over to the girl. "Megu has to go. See you soon."

When she got back to their hiding spot she let Poro-tan know that Tara had found a good hiding spot and they went back to waiting. She hoped that Tivor wasn't the type of guy who would go out looking for his men on his own, but she highly doubted it was the case.

Even if that did happen though, she now had over a dozen corpses that she could send running at him like ticking time bombs in a pinch. She didn't know a lot about the monk class, but she did know that they favored hand-to-hand combat. They were usually said to be strong and utilized their mana to enhance their bodies rather than having any spells. Their ki could be used to enhance their punches and kicks by a substantial margin.

A hour or so passed, but as she had hoped, another group of bandits came around the corner and towards her new trap.

It's like going fishing. They're going straight for the bait!

She grinned and watched as the group headed straight for her undead minions. They still didn't notice anything was wrong with their former comrades.

The one in the front called out to them, "What the hell are you guys doing? The boss has been waiting for his money all damned day. He's getting irritated."

Megumi had the undead shuffle around a little, but had no way to make them respond otherwise. The man who had spoke seemed to be getting very irritated at being ignored and stomped his way ever closer to her trap. Taking careful aim, she fired at the men in the rear while simultaneously having her undead turn suddenly and attack the man who had been stomping over.

"What the f—?" was all he got out before he was killed where he stood.

"It's an ambush!" another one yelled.

They tried to run, but there really wasn't anywhere to go and Poro-tan was already down there, blocking their path to retreat. He raised his blade and performed his shockwave attack. It ripped through two of the enemy combatants instantly and he charged in with his blade, spinning. Everywhere his blade pointed, death followed. Megumi followed the same pattern she had before, and raised undead fighters as soon as the bodies hit the ground while hitting them with Sanguine Infusion as well.

When all was said and done, they had added ten more minions to their group with only a couple casualties. Her total was now 19. She had managed to net a few TPS from all her Sanguine Infusions, and that was a huge stroke of luck. She placed all her new points into Sanguine Infusion, bringing it up to level 15 and then she gained a notification.

Notification You have reached the current level cap for Sanguine Infusion. No further points can be allocated until you reach the next required level. (50)

She knew this was bound to happen eventually, she wasn't gaining levels rapidly enough to keep up with all the TPs she had been gaining. Her mentor had told her that the skill Sanguine Infusion was incredibly rare, and that in his four hundred years of life, he had never heard of another gaining the skill. She had been lucky in that respect, a prodigy of a sorts. There was a reason that necromancers didn't rule the world, after all.

It probably didn't help that her bretheren tended to lock themselves up in dank crypts or get themselves killed off before they could become strong, either. She shrugged and moved on to bigger things, like planning their next move.

She checked Poro-tan's status and saw that he had leveled up as well. "Hey, Poro-tan. Where should your next TP go? You know more about what would work good for you than Megu does. Take this as a sign of trust that Megu is going to let you make a decision on your own growth even though you're her minion."

He frowned at the last part of her comment, but answered her anyway, "Put it into Sword Mastery. The better I am with a blade, the better off we'll be against that guy."

"Okay."

"So what's our next move? I doubt that he's just going to keep randomly sending out more minions for us to slaughter. He has to know something is going on at this point," Poro-tan said.

"It's time to take the fight to them. It's getting dark and we can sneak in with the group. Hopefully the doors will open right up for us."

"And if they don't?"

"We'll worry about that if it happens. Don't be so pessimistic, Poro-tan."

After checking on Tara once more, it was dark enough that they could initiate the plan. Megumi gave Tara some more supplies and some money before leaving her and going back to the group.

Megumi tied her back into a low pony tail and put on a dark cloak before putting herself in the middle of the group; directly behind some taller bodies. It was time to go.

"Let's do this, Poro-tan."

Her companion nodded, she even spotted a glint of what she thought was blood lust in his eyes. The group silently trudged along the narrow path and in no time at all the sight of the large fort stood before them. Torches were lit out front of the large gate leading into the stone fortress. She spotted murder holes and a few bandits atop the ramparts who were walking around.

Megumi did her best to hide behind the tall men and they continued straight until they reached the gate with no issues. The enemies above must have not been able to see very good, as they weren't being pelted by arrows. Megumi couldn't help but feel that something was off though. This was too easy and no one had come down to greet their group.

This smells like a trap.

Megumi looked up and saw a figure leaping from the top of the fortress. The figure flipped several times while in the air and landed on the ground behind her group with a loud thud. She moved her undead slightly to have a better look at the man. There was no doubt that this man was Tivor, the fallen monk. His was shaved completely bald and the flickering tochlight reflected off his scalp. The man had enormous muscles and he wore no shirt, perfectly displaying his cuty physique. Around his neck, he wore a large bead necklace. The beads were made of wood and were about the size of her fist. He was grinning at her like a cat that had just caught a mouse.

"I had a feeling that you wouldn't be able to resist attacking my fortress when I heard about you from my men. People who act solely upon emotion are predictable and weak." He frowned at her. "I should have realized sooner that you had done something to my first group of men. It's a shame that you have defiled so many of my minions with your foul magic. Not that numbers will save you anyway."

"Enough talk. Megu is going to end your existence, not listen to you give a speech!"

"If you're in such a hurry to die, who am I to deny your final request?"

The gate swung open behind her and she heard bandits pouring out and attacking her minions behind her. She mentally had the undead engage the attackers, but didn't shift her focus from the deadly foe before her.

She held back five minions who stood between her and the monk like a meat shield with Poro-tan behind them. She tentatively sent two of her pawns rushing towards the man with swords raised, intending to explode them when they got close enough.

The monk moved with surprising grace and fluidity as he engaged her minions in the blink of an eye. He carefully placed his open palm on the chests of each undead and jumped back. The corpses exploded in a spray of congealed blood and bits of bone. She hadn't even done it herself. She wiped away a speck of gore that had landed on her cheek. This wasn't going to be easy.

Megu really underestimated this guy.

"Keep him busy, Poro-tan. Don't let him touch you."

She turned away from the monk and focused on the battle behind her. The undead were holding their own, but she had suffered some casualties. She raised new Undead from the fallen and exploded several corpses while forcing her way into the fortress.

Once she was inside she had her minions block the entrance while she laid waste to the enemies within. She sent Eldritch Blasts into enemy after enemy, and then brought them back as fodder to use against more of the bandits. She had been quickly casting Sanguine Infusion on each downed enemy as well and had already gained another two TP so far.

Poro-tan had been pressed back into the fortress and was desperately warding the enemy's blows away with his sword. All of the undead minions who she had left to aid her companion had already fallen, so she sent more enemies towards the monk. She exploded the corpses as soon as they were close to the enemy and showered him with shrapnel from a short distance. His body was tough, but he was definitely taking some damage at least.

There weren't a lot of bandits left to kill, and she still had a little more than a handful of minions to use. She raised two more undead and sent them over to join Poro-tan once more.

Tivor charged in, finally getting close to Poro-tan, and landed a heavy kick. Poro-tan flew back a dozen feet and rolled across the ground in a heap. He was already in bad shape. His health was low and she needed to help him. The monk was already stalking towards her, and she couldn't blame him for the strategy. After all, if he killed her, all her remaining minions would fall as well.

She saw Poro-tan drinking a potion, but she didn't know if he would make it in time. She sent more undead after the monk and exploded them, but he dodged them with ease, taking only minimal damage. Next, she started sending Eldritch Blasts his way, but still he closed the gap. It was time to try something risky. She poured two TPs into the Decay curse and then cast the curse upon the approaching enemy, but the spell failed.

Damn! It's not strong enough.

He was nearly to her now and he was grinning. The monk clearly thought he had her well in hand. Poro-tan was back on his feet, however and managed to rush inbetween her and the monk once more, holding his sword out wardingly. Megumi would have a little more time.

More bandits had come out of the woodwork and were charging at her from behind. She only barely caught one out of the corner of her eye and sent him flying backwards with an Edlritch Blast. She quickly dispatched the foolish weaklings who had offered her lives so readily to her and cast Sanguine Infusion on each one as they fell, she gained 3 more TPs from the nearly two dozen enemies that she had now managed to down in such a short amount of time. They were wearing her down though, she was mentally fatigued, and her mana was nearly depleted, despite the mana potions she had just taken.

She placed all three new TPs into Decay and cast it again. Success! The monk's movements slowed and he appeared to be in excruciating pain.

The opening was just enough for Poro-tan to make his move. He dodged the incoming fist of the monk, which had considerably less speed behind it than it had before, and slashed the man with his cursed blade. The skin around the cut began to darken immediately and the man grimaced in pain. He tried to retreat back a few steps, but Poro-tan was now on the offensive. He landed another cut and then another. Just as he had gone in for the killing blow, the monk managed to land one final kick, which sent her companion flying once more. He didn't get back up.

Megumi screamed in rage and blasted him. This time, she landed her attack. Her MP was now completely depleted, but it had been enough. The monk fell backwards and was engulfed in green flames. Tivor, the fallen monk, had fallen and would not be getting up again. His story was now over.

Megumi felt dizzy from being out of mana and stumbled, falling to the ground painfully. She lay on the ground for a moment, breathing heavily as her MP slowly went up. *Ding*

Congratulations! You have reached level 22!

+1 TP

*Ding*

Congratulations! You have reached level 23!

+1 TP

After a short while of being on the ground, she got back to her senses enough to drag herself to her feet. Poro-tan!

She ignored the screaming headache that she now had and ran over to her companion, who lay crumpled up on the ground. He only had 13 HP left, according to his status, and she could see that he had several broken bones. She reached into her bag and pulled out a special healing potion she had picked up in Oleander. It had cost quite a bit, but it was worth it. She poured the orange liquid down Poro-tan's throat and watched as his bones reset themselves and he slowly healed. The potion would take time, but he would be okay.

She flopped back onto the ground and breathed out a sigh of relief.

We did it. Megu can't believe it, but we actually got out of this debacle alive.

After a hour or so, she couldn't really tell though, his HP stabilized at 293 and he slowly opened his eyes.

"We won?"

"We won."

He let out a dry laugh and she smiled down at him. She had gained a ridiculous amount of experience and TPs through doing this, but it had been far too reckless. She promised herself to be a little less reckless in the future. They left the fortress behind them and headed back to where Tara was hiding. It was time to get back on the road. They would be at Rivean soon and she was ready to plant her dungeon core!

Spoiler: Poro-kun's Stats Name Hideki (Poro-kun) Level 021 (25,572/27,801 EXP to next Level) Class Warrior HP 1000/1000 MP 50/50 TP 2 Adventurer Rank C Attributes Vitality 40 Magic 3 Endurance 28 Magic Resistance 8 Strength 25 Luck 7 Agility 18 Dexterity 17 Passive Skills • Warrior's Essence - Level 3 (+30 HP regeneration/min)

• Sword Mastery - Level 7 (+70% proficiency with swords)

• Tiger Style - Level 1

• Turtle Style - Level 2

• Stalwart - Level 1 (+5% natural defense)

• Fortify Health - Level 2 (+100 HP) Active Skills • Holy Blade - Level 1 (Envelope blade in holy aura for 15 seconds)

• Shockwave - Level 2 (Release shockwave from blade) Spoiler: Megumi's Stats Name Megumi Level 023 (32,602/34,419 EXP to next Level) Class Necromancer HP 450/450 MP 1000/1000 TP 2 Villain Rank C Attributes Vitality 18 Magic 68 Endurance 10 Magic Resistance 47 Strength 6 Luck 16 Agility 9 Dexterity 10 Passive Skills • Mage's Essence - Level 4 (+120 MP regeneration/min) Active Skills • None Necromancer Magic

• Sanguine Infusion (50 MP) - Level 15 (Absorb life essence of recently deceased, 15% chance to gain +1 TP from human victims [Cap reached. Lvl Requirement for Lvl 16, (50)])

• Corpse Explosion (30 MP) - Level 7 - (+70% damage from explosion)

• Corpse Absorption (10 MP) - Level 1 (Absorb a corpse's essence. Recover 80 MP)

• Raise Undead (20 MP) - Level 10 (Raise weak undead to fight for you. Max: 50)

• Soul Trap (350 MP) - Level 1 (Trap soul of a recently defeated foe. Max: 1 [Cap reached. Lvl Requirement for Lvl 2: (30)] )

• Soul Trap Mastery - Level 1 (+1 to all stats of Summoned Soul)

• Spirit Barrier (100 MP) - Level 1 (Erect a barrier using souls of the dead for fuel. Blocks spells and projectiles)

• Magic Skin - Level 1 (Actively consumes MP to negate physical and magical damage. Higher levels lower the MP cost)

• Decay (120 MP) - Level 5 - (25% chance of success. Causes body to rot from the inside out causing extreme pain and slowing movement at joints)

• Eldritch Blast (75 MP) - Level 11 (Unleashes a roiling ball of Eldritch energy that burns its subject on contact for 5 seconds)