Necromancer

A Royal Road Fan Fiction

By: Halosty

Chapter 54

Quietus went back to finally turn in his quest. It had been more than a day since he last played. After climbing the wall to get into town (no point in risking his disguise being seen through) he headed directly for the guild. Fortunately, the quest giver was available for him to meet with right away. He handed over the sword he’d gotten from the death knight.

“What’s this?” was the response he got.

“It’s a death knight’s sword.”

“This sword? Death knights may not have all the same swords, but they all have a certain quality about them. There’s no way this is a death knight’s sword.” The necromancer looked ready to have him fail the quest.

“No, it really is! Sure, it might be his backup sword, but I got it straight from the hand of a death knight. You didn’t say it had to be his primary sword.” Quietus was annoyed that they didn’t say what they really wanted before.

“You stole a backup sword from a death knight? What happened to his real sword?”

“Well, it was stolen from him by a paladin. I brought it back to him in exchange for his backup sword.”

The necromancer stared at him incredulously. “A death knight gave you a sword? Even if it is their backup, that’s almost unbelievable.” The necromancer thought for a minute. “Then again, having seen the abilities you have acquired, it is not unreasonable for you to have talked to a death knight. It is certainly worth checking the authenticity.”

The necromancer placed the sword down in front of him and started chanting with his hands over it.

“Visions of the past, come to me. Show me the thing I desire. What I wish… the previous possessor of the sword.”

There was a glow from the sword, and Quietus felt the air swirl around. Then…

“It seems you were telling the truth. It was indeed from a death knight.”

“What was that?”

“A simple divination spell.”

“Do all divination spells require so many words like that?”

“All magic… most magic does. If you are going to be a necromancer, you’ll have to get used to using magic like this.”

“Oh, okay. What purpose does it serve?”

“The words help gather and concentrate magical energy, increasing the power of the spell. That is why longer spells are generally more powerful.”

“Ohhh. Interesting.”

The necromancer almost sighed. “Well, you have finished the test. Do you still wish to become a necromancer?”

You have been offered a class change to the advanced class Necromancer. Do you wish to change class?

“Yes.”

You have become a necromancer!

Intelligence +100 (+100 INT)

Wisdom + 100 (+100 WIS)

Affinity with the undead increased.

Able to learn and use necromancy spells and wear necromancer specific equipment.

Able to reach mastery in dark magic and the effectiveness of dark magic is increased by 50%.

The creation of undead is not forbidden, but is not seen well. Any research into new aspects of necromancy is strictly regulated.

Then, two skill books were brought out. “In these are the basic spells for a necromancer. For the rest, you will have to find or purchase them.”

Quietus immediately used the skill books. The spells he learned were:

Undead Rise:

“Ye who have returned to the land of living. This black and corrupt land is a dark place. The eternal dark law will never disappear, engrave this upon yourself. Undead Rise!”

This spell creates undead from all of the corpses in the area. The type of undead varies with the quality of the corpse. Undead will eventually fade from existence.

Cost: Varies with the number and level of corpses.

Dark Spear

“Gloomy darkness falls upon the spear. Spear born from the darkness, penetrate the enemy’s heart. Appear, Dark Spear!”

Summons a floating spear of darkness. Can be thrown or wielded as a melee weapon.

Special: Because of the warlock class’ affinity with dark magic, Dark Spear causes more pain than is normal for the damage.

Cost: 400 sp

Quietus was happy to finally have a better undead creating spell. There was no limit on the level of the undead created and they could be many different types. They also lasted much longer than with Animate Dead! However, Quietus was slightly disappointed that it had a duration limit at all. Maybe he would get an even better spell later.

As for Dark Spear, it was basically an upgraded version of Dark Arrow, except it could be used as a melee weapon. Quietus would have to be very desperate to do that, though, because he had no idea how to wield a spear. It cost more mana, but Quietus had just gained a large increase in mana from his class change. Plus, even his older spells would be more useful now.

“Although you are now a necromancer, you must still choose a path. The path of a Blood Necromancer is impossible for you to follow, but you can still choose between Spirit and Mind.”

Quietus remembered something about hearing about those before. Spirit Necromancers used magic involving spirits, while the Mind Necromancers specialized in offensive dark magic and curses. “Do I have to decide now?”

“No, that is not necessary. Whenever you are ready to decide, you can seek out a teacher. It is good to think well about the decision.”

You have received a quest!

Choose a Path

Your journey as a Necromancer has just begun. To continue, you must choose a path. You may follow either the path of Spirit or Mind. When you are ready, seek out a teacher.

Special: This quest does not count toward the normal limit of quests.

Quietus thanked the guild member, and set out. First, though, he browsed the selection of spells available. He found few he was interested in, and some that were out of his price range. In the end, he only bought one spell.

You have learned a spell!

Heal Undead. This spell will repair damage to an undead. However, the state of the undead remains the same. Missing and broken limbs will stay in their current form, unless reattached or properly set.

Quietus wanted the better version, which could fix broken limbs and grow new ones, but it was very expensive, and required him to be a higher level. It wasn’t a big problem, though, since he could manually repair undead anyway. Now he was just capable of making his repairs more permanent. That is, if the undead themselves lasted.

Now it was time for Quietus to head out on another quest. Since the location wasn’t a secret, Quietus had looked up where King Suna’s Tomb was. Therefore, he planned set off to the southwest, into the Desert of Tranquility. However, he could not travel alone. The desert was hard to navigate, and he would also need food and water. He could take care of the latter problems by becoming a ghoul and eating whatever he found, but then he would be significantly reduced in magic power. He didn’t want that, since he wanted to test out his new abilities.

Quietus didn’t want to, but he signed up with a caravan. It was bringing supplies to the workers in King Suna’s Tomb, and exchanging workers as well. The caravan would also bring back anything they had discovered and items people wished to sell from their hunting in the area.

Quietus could have signed up as a guard, but he didn’t want people to know about his profession. Sure, Necromancers were accepted, but nobody wanted to party with someone who took all the experience. Necromancers weren’t good as guards since they needed a supply of corpses to fully use their powers. Of course, Quietus could have signed up as a rogue, but he wanted to be able to use some of his spells without people questioning.

Instead, he just paid for passage. There were quite a few people in the caravan, but nobody he knew. There were a wide variety of players, but none that were below level 150, Quietus judged. The Desert of Tranquility wasn’t exactly a perfect name for where they were going. Quietus chose a spot toward the rear of the group. That was useful for him, since nobody was watching him, and nobody saw him look like a fool. He sure didn’t want to walk the whole way, but riding a camel was quite awkward.

End Chapter 54

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