The next hour or so was spent walking in silence, I wasn’t concerned about the need for stealth, it was more that I was caught up in my thoughts about the world we faced and presumably Jessica was too.

The enemies roaming these streets and less built-up areas, were mostly zombies and goblins. My skeletons had no difficulty with these.

Eventually though, through the mindless slaughter, we did encounter another elite enemy, and this one was a Banshee. Between Jessica’s new hunting bow and my extra skeleton warrior, the Banshee went down incredibly fast.

The only thing the elite dropped was another stone, which was fine.

“Can I have your old bow?” I asked Jessica. I had decided upon another small goal of mine, and that was to gear out all my skeleton warriors.

I hadn’t attempted to put any equipment other than weapons on them yet, because it was too costly and neither Jessica nor I had full gear yet. But losing left over or unusable weapons shouldn’t be an issue. She handed it over without hesitation and I allowed my warrior to take it.

My army of minions was actually looking incredibly fierce. My skeleton general led the front, 4 skeleton warriors by his side – one with a menacing mace – and a single warrior wielding a bow stayed at the back beside by my reanimated banshee.

At level fourteen I would gain another minion from Skeleton Mastery, and at fifteen I would be able to summon another reanimated corpse. Level fifteen was going to be a very large power spike for me no doubt. I was looking forward to it greatly.

I made sure to not to resummon my skeletons in case there was some issue with the bow. When Jessica used the bow, it spawned arrows when the bowstring was drawn but I wasn’t sure if that would be the case for my skeletons. It would be a tragedy if I resummoned to lock it in with the bow, only to find the warrior suddenly did nothing.

Fortunately, the next enemy we encountered allowed me to test its archery. The bow-wielding skeleton had no issue chaining attacks together with endless arrows, albeit at a fraction of the speed Jessica could do so.

“Hey, do you see that?” Jessica suddenly asked while looking at the sky.

I turned in the direction she was looking and could make out a faint column of pale light stretching from the horizon up into the sky, “Sort of… what is it?” It was so unsubstantial I couldn’t really tell. The fact that Jessica had spotted it at all must have been a side effect of her perfect vision.

“I think it’s getting brighter,” she said. We both came to a complete stop and watched as the light became somewhat more solid. It was about half a block in width and beaming straight up into the sky. “Isn’t that… where the center of the city is?”

“I think we should go inside.” I said, “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” We both looked for a building to hole up in and Jessica found an office block which had good visibility in all directions from its open plan first floor. From time to time I kept looking out at the mysterious white light. Slowly, the white color of the column grew brighter and more distinct.

After what felt like fifteen minutes, even in broad daylight, the light was so vivid I was sure it could be seen from miles away. The brighter it got, the more intense became the bad feeling I felt. As if it had reached a crescendo, it suddenly exploded with a nova high in the sky.

A pulse traveled across the land outwards from where the column had been, like an explosive shockwave that I could feel even from inside my body. Something in the world had changed in that moment, and it surely wasn’t good. “What… just happened?” Jessica seemed completely bewildered.

Truthfully, I was as well. “I’m not sure.” I had felt the pulse, but there was no new system message, and nothing visibly had changed. As if on cue to provide me with an answer, the situation outside changed. Mobs began to spawn.

“A forced respawn?” I wondered aloud. This was my first thought, but it was quickly proven wrong. The enemies that spawned outside were not just ogres and banshees. There were also a variety of new enemies instead, as if the spawns had been scrambled.

Mixed in with the mobs we were familiar with were those snake-like demi-humans as well as a new monster that I called an abomination. These were bulky humanoids, with a thick muscular torso that was more like a bull’s than a human’s. Their heads, however, were like that of a tyrannosaur, flatter but with just as many sharp teeth. It was then that I realized we had been surrounded. We were now trapped within this building with new mob types we had never fought before just outside.

Walking outside would surely cause groups of these mobs to aggro. We would, one-hundred percent, pull at least one demi-human, one abomination and an ogre by leaving the building by the main entrance. Looking at them however, didn’t increase the prickling on my neck. There was something worse out there.

My nerves were a wreck and the hairs of my neck were standing and I couldn’t pinpoint why. I scanned the area repeatedly until I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It was a person clinging almost inconspicuously to the side of a former hairdresser’s building.

I felt indescribable fear when my eyes locked onto the figure. A single word continued to pass through my mind over and over: death. The creature was pure black and humanoid shaped. It reminded me of Venom from Spiderman, except there were no eyes at all on its face. The teeth though, the teeth were things of nightmare.

If it had eyes I felt that we would have locked stares. Death sat perched on the corner of the hairdresser’s for a moment, almost as if it was waiting for us to come out. I pointed directly at it and made sure Jessica had seen it, before shaking my head.

No words could convey my horror of this monster. We watched it in silence for what felt like a dozen minutes but was probably only one before it rocketed off the side of the building and disappeared. The strength of its limbs must have been incredible for it to be able to propel itself hundreds of feet in a single push.

My body relaxed momentarily as the looming danger disappeared. I realized that my face and back was covered in a thick layer of sweat. “Did you feel it?” I asked her.

“We need to avoid the monster at all costs,” Jessica replied, face so pale it was almost green. “The feeling it gave me… was endless. Like a dark pit that had no bottom—pure terror. I won’t forget that, ever.”

I nodded to agree and changed the subject, “Lucas and Rebekah, I hope they’re okay.” I said. They were out in the open somewhere leveling, but with things becoming scrambled, were the outer rings still safe? I hoped they had made it inside somewhere.

“We have our own problems to deal with.” Jessica said with a gesture towards the creatures just outside the building entrance. We now could see our opponents from up close, and it was clear they were a serious threat.

The trident held by the snake-headed monster was longer than my entire body and the abomination held a cleaver as thick as my torso. They towered over us in terms of size, and their exact capabilities were unknown.

We needed to get back to Lucas and Rebekah, or it was possible we would completely lose track of them. The idea was to always regroup at their apartment, but if they weren’t able to continue killing mobs, they might starve before we could assist them.

Jessica and I had enough rations for four or five days, and that was only if we didn’t hunt at all and stayed cooped up inside. The situation wasn’t ideal, but we could make do regardless. “I will lead the front with my skeletons; you stay safe and out of range. Take no risks at all,” I urged her.

I knew that Jessica had put some points into VIT, but nowhere near as many as me. I decided it was time to commit to Bone Armor. A trident of that size would put me on death’s door at the very least, and quite possibly kill me in a single hit. There was no doubt in my mind it could pin me to a solid concrete wall with a single toss.

I pulled out the skill book and then used it without hesitation. The skill populated my stats window and I could now see a better description of the ability.

Bone Armor: Covers the user in an armor of bone that greatly reduces damage from physical and magical attacks.

Armor value is based upon thirty percent of the Users maximum HP value. Seventy-five percent of damage taken is absorbed by Bone Armor before reaching the User.

If I understood the wording correctly then a hit of 100 damage would deal 75 to bone armor and the remaining 25 would be dealt directly to me. Besides that I also had 6 stat points saved, which I decided would go best into VIT and WIS.

Name: Mike Reynolds (27) Class: Necromancer Level: 11 EXP: 1%

HP: 475/475 MP: 191/230

STR: 5

AGI: 2

DEX: 1

VIT: 15 +2

WIS: 15 +5

Available: 0

Skills: [A]Summon Skeleton LV. 5 |[A] Decay LV. 1| [A] Reanimate Dead LV. 1 | [A] Bone Armor LV. 1 | [P]Sixth Sense | [P] Bravery LV. 2 | [P] Mutated | [P] Pain Resistance | [P] Skeletal Mastery | [P] Intimidate Living

With my current HP, Bone Armor would have a value of about 140, which wasn’t bad at all. Ideally, it would absorb one attack at the very minimum, which could be the difference between life and death.

“Aim for the eyes first. Once you’ve removed their sight you’re free to maneuver into a better position. I will be mixed in with my skeletons to avoid any ranged attacks to start. Focus on getting a Quagmire down: it doesn’t have to be activated via trap,”

Jessica nodded and I could see her resolution. She’d come a long way since I had met her.

I cast Bone Armor for the first time and felt a small weight added to my frame. A thin layer of bone formed around my body with flexible hinges at each joint. Looking down, the new armor was hard to see, as my body was already mostly covered by Demonic Garb, and my face had Skull Mask over it.

The only truly visible parts of my body were my neck and hands, and it was hard to discern that the white of my skin really was bone. There was a white layer around my fingers that could easily be mistaken as a pair of gloves. As I moved my legs and hands to test whether there was any restraint on me, I was surprised at how smooth my motion felt. There was no chunkiness and movement felt natural, which was unexpected and very welcome.

My hand grasped the door and I gave one last look to Jessica, she nodded quietly and I pushed it open. My horde of skeletons rushed out into the open and I hurried to blend in with them. The demi-human, abomination, and ogre noticed my pack all at the same time and the three enemies turned in my direction.

A rattling hiss and the sound of dragging chains grated against my ears. My heart was in my throat for the first time in what felt like days. There could be no holding back at all in this situation and my minions immediately surrounded the demi-human enemy.

From behind, I could hear Jessica cast Quagmire and the enemy banshee bolted it repeatedly, greatly slowing its action speed. I sent my skeleton general on his own to intercept the abomination and hold him for as long possible. The two clashed: with my skeleton general being the underdog.

Again, Jessica cast Quagmire, this time under the abomination to assist the skeleton general and then she began to release arrow after arrow: each one pelting the demi-human enemy in its snake face, specifically targeting the eyes, and I instructed my undead banshee to shift casts between each enemy so they all remained chilled.

I followed up with a Decay that rapidly withered the scaly exterior of the demi-human and something that I hadn’t considered came to me in the moment my warriors pummeled the decaying flesh. Decay also reduced the enemy’s defense by softening their natural armor. Blow after blow plowed off dead flesh and revealed the fleshy interior.

Jessica had managed to pierce one eye and yet the trident rained down blows against my summoned undead. Just two hits were all it took before my skeleton warriors exploded into a boney dust. The skeleton general was still off to the side deflecting as many blows as possible.

With so many battles happening at once, it felt like a lot of time had passed. The reality however, was that we had been fighting for just a few seconds only. Everything was happening so fast and the stress of battle was building.

The abomination’s cleaver rained down like a clock tower chiming twelve. Still, my general held strong with every blow and did his best to concentrate on pure defense. The sword he normally wielded was already on the floor as both hands grasped the shield and he braced himself for each impact.

The demi-human was hemorrhaging blood, which sprayed from each wound it had received. By now though, three of my four melee warriors were destroyed. A single one remained and then I would be dependent on my two ranged summons. “Finish the ogre!” I yelled to Jessica. Until now, the ogre was the enemy we had been ignoring, and it was currently attacking my last melee skeleton beside the much tougher demi-human.

I focused all my fire power on the ogre as well, as I badly needed a new corpse to respawn my summons. The new strength of Jessica’s bow could hardly be seen against the demi-human, but it completely blew the brains out of the brutish monster. Its head nearly exploded as it collapsed to the floor.

My last melee skeleton fell as the ogre died, and I was left exposed. The demi-human began to race towards me while I rushed forward to get in range of the corpse: an ominous feeling washed over me that I had no choice but to ignore.

There was a gurgling sound from the demi-human’s mouth as it sprayed a viscous green liquid through the air. I instinctively dived forward to try and avoid the spray. Yet I heard the splatter as a decent chunk of the mist landed upon my back and back legs. I prayed in that moment it wasn’t lethal as I rolled forward.

My HP began to rapidly fall as a searing pain raced along my skin. Bone Armor was melted rapidly away until the entire layer disappeared completely and I was left exposed. It felt as if a boiling liquid was poured upon my skin and I let out a howl of pain.

The corpse was in range now, and I cast Summon Skeletons again. My skeletons spawned on the spot and then immediately rushed around the demi-human once again. I backed away while enduring the terrible sensation that was now burning across my skin.

The acid attack had completely removed Bone Armor’s protection and dealt another 150 or so damage directly to me. The functionality of my body was fine, however, and with gritted teeth I pushed on through the pain and moved to a safer position.

My renewed skeleton general began clashing again with the abomination while Jessica and I targeted the demi-human. Soon it was convulsing in its death throes: there were no more surprises and no longer any avenue for its survival. Jessica had fully blinded the snake eyes of the monster and continued to put arrow after arrow into its damaged eye sockets.

Her arrows dug deeper with so much power they cracked the creature’s skull and eventually went directly into its brain. It collapsed into a heap after taking two more skeletons with it. I didn’t hesitate to rush over and cast Reanimate on it. It was clear we needed a bulky melee to back up my general else the abomination would run freely over us.

Fortunately for us, the abomination was a much easier fight. It continuously plowed into my General over and over again without stop while being pummeled repeatedly. I couldn’t cast Decay on it, but the reanimated snake-headed human spat acidic venom on the large creature that melted its outer flesh.

As the abomination’s hit points became lower and lower, it also used a special ability. Noxious gas poured out from the openings all over its decaying flesh. Fortunately for us, the poison seemed to have no effect on my undead army, as they simply ignored it and continued to lash into the monster.

The fight with the abomination was straight-forward compared to the snake-headed creature: I considered it a tank and spank, purely a stat check encounter. The relief I felt when the monster died made me want to fall on my ass, but I rushed over and reanimated it instead.

It was definitely the tankier of the two enemies, and the noxious gas it expunged intrigued me. I had a good idea for this ability that I wanted to test at a different time: as soon as we could get out of here and back to base.

Name: Mike Reynolds (27) Class: Necromancer Level: 11 EXP: 43%

HP: 338/475 MP: 121/230

STR: 5

AGI: 2

DEX: 1

VIT: 15 +2

WIS: 15 +5

Available: 0

Skills: [A]Summon Skeleton LV. 5 |[A] Decay LV. 1| [A] Reanimate Dead LV. 1 | [A] Bone Armor LV. 1 | [P]Sixth Sense | [P] Bravery LV. 2 | [P] Mutated | [P] Pain Resistance LV. 2 | [P] Skeletal Mastery | [P]Intimidate Living

I opened my stats and took a look at how I’d fared in the battle. I had lost 137 HP and 70 MP during the encounter. On the brightside we had gained a ridiculous amount of EXP. These new enemies gave five or six times the amount of EXP of a banshee or brute, which was incredible.

If we didn’t have to fight two at once, I figured we could dispatch either type with relative ease; it would just cost a bit more MP per encounter to do so. There was also a new surprise: Pain Resistance had reached level two. I was happy for that, but definitely not happy about the pain I went through to level it up.

“Let’s do our best to avoid the snake-heads and move back to Lucas and Rebekah,” Jessica said. “If they were lucky they also took cover and we should be able to find them.”

Her suggestion was definitely easier to state than deliver. With the mix-up of spawns, it was no longer a leisurely walk through the city and back. We had wandered some 8 or 9 blocks away before finding the second elite and getting a second class changing stone.

In the end, we decided to move towards the outskirts only to find they still contained abominations and snake heads, just in a slightly less volume. It seemed the ring-like stratification of the city had been destroyed when that light exploded. Also, the situation outside the city was a complete unknown.

Then too, there was that mysterious death-monster we saw on the building exterior. I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that it could kill Jessica and I in a matter of seconds. This was just a feeling, but I didn’t want to test it at all.

The mixup of enemies seemed so completely random that some streets were just goblins and zombies and brutes and banshees all mixed together. The idea I wanted to test later was going to be tested now instead.

I tasked Jessica to lay a Quagmire trap and then sent my reanimated abomination out. He wobbled and the fat flaps and bubbles of pus jiggled as he rushed forward, gathering every mob in sight. As soon as they were chasing him, I pulled him back.

He led them directly over the Quagmire trap and then stopped, causing every pulled enemy to enter into that slowing zone. There were about fifteen enemies around him attempting to swing at him in near slow motion.

Once there, I had him use his noxious gas ability. Fumes of green and grey poured out from the pits and holes and pustules on his body and quickly infected everything around him. The goblins and little aliens melted in place as if the most toxic poison had afflicted them.

The brutes and banshees started to dissolve but clearly lasted longer. In the end, however, everything died to a single cast of his bilious poison. “Jesus Christ…” Jessica said. I felt the same way. It was like the most toxic release of gas you could possibly imagine: in my head the smell of that attack was so bad that everything alive within range simply died.

Zombies were the only enemies remaining, which confirmed that undead enemies were immune to his ability. That suggested to me that the abomination’s ability was some form of spell similar to Decay. Clearly, dead enemies couldn’t exactly decay any further.

The abomination hacked the remaining zombies into pieces before returning to my side. Just out of safety, I made it stand far enough away from us that an accidental emission of poison wouldn’t reach us.

“Good idea,” said Jessica earnestly. “I don’t feel comfortable anywhere near that guy.”

What was clear though, was reanimated corpses retained at least some of their strength and ability from when they were alive. The same skill level had been used for the abomination as I’d used to summon an ogre and banshee, and yet it did more damage and had considerably more HP. Even so, it certainly couldn’t go one-versus-one against the living version of itself.

I was pleased with the success of my AOE idea, and the quick burst of EXP we received. For the lot of fifteen monsters we got around 22% of our level. It seemed goblins and zombies gave almost nothing, somewhere below 1% at least per kill. Unfortunately, not a single item dropped.

We cleared the area of any immediate danger and took shelter for several minutes. Our regular food store was depleted and we broke into our stock of Rations and decided to try eating one each. It was actually my first time trying it, and I was very curious.

There were only five rations between the two of us, so I gave three to Jessica and kept two for myself. “I’ll take the next one that drops,” I assured her. Each Ration had 3 uses, and I wasn’t sure exactly how it would affect us.

Was one entire Ration considered a day’s worth of food? Or was one use of a Ration a day’s worth of food? I bit into it as if I was eating a piece of bread. The spongy texture was nice, but the flavor was clearly lacking, it was bland almost. It wasn’t inedible, but definitely wouldn’t be my first choice if I could avoid it.

It was gone in merely a few bites, and yet any hunger or thirst I felt completely disappeared. In fact, after a few minutes had passed I even felt bloated—stuffed even. “I think if we ate one of these in the morning we would be good all day.”

“Agreed,” Jessica said with a burp. If I was right, we had around fifteen days’ worth of food between us. I felt a bit better now about how few of them had dropped. Given their strength, we might be able to feed ourselves through grinding.

As we kept moving with slow progress through the mobs, I realized that reaching Lucas and Rebekah would probably not be possible before sunset.

They would need to survive the night, and the next morning too. It would be afternoon before we could probably reach them.