Necromancer

A Royal Road Fan Fiction

By: Halosty

Chapter 88

Mortimer shot up from the capsule, breathing heavily. His eyes were wide with fear. He thought he’d gotten used to all the ways to die, and was no longer afraid of them. However, he’d just “discovered” a new one. While it hadn’t been the most painful way to die, it was the most terrifying, at least to him.

He’d been testing out his abilities as a ghost. Flying, sneaking around, and moving through walls and floors. The last one had been the issue. He had no problem with walls, but navigating underground was somewhat of an issue. Normally, he’d have no senses at all, but ghosts had a somewhat limited sight that let them still navigate. The real problem had come when he’d forgotten to watch his mana. Then, he ran out. Underground.

He’d experienced being buried alive. That was rather unpleasant, to be sure. However, it was not the same as suddenly becoming physical underground. He’d somewhat coexisted with the ground. He wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but he did know that it hurt. Worse than that, he couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything, since there wasn’t even a slight pocket of empty space for the things around him to move to. He also couldn’t turn into a ghoul, since he was out of mana. Likewise, he couldn’t drink a mana potion. Thus, he had just had to wait to die, helpless, and without a chance to struggle. He decided he would have to be very careful about that in the future. Though, first, he would test limbs being stuck… that could be interesting, and he would still be able to do something.

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“... anyway, the dungeon seems to just be impossible!” Ruby complained.

Quietus wasn’t sure when he became a valid candidate for complaining about the game to. Maybe it was because he had offered a few inventive solutions to previous problems. Not that he minded being complained to. After all, complaining about games to friends was an important part of many games.

This particular case seemed worthy of complaining about. There was a particular quest she had to retrieve a magical instrument from a dungeon. Relatively straightforward, except there was a magical barrier blocking further progress. The kind of barrier that killed people. Furthermore, there was no apparent way to turn it off. In fact, there was no way at all, as far as the various people (Scouts, Rogues, and the like) Ruby had asked to assist her in finding something.

“Did you try-” Quietus started.

“Of course I tried breaking down the walls! That worked the other time, but this time it’s no good. The floor and ceiling are no good either, and there isn’t another direction. I definitely have to pass through the barrier, somehow.”

“Well, let’s go look.” Quietus didn’t have any other advice he could give without seeing the situation. Besides, it was much easier to try different things if he was actually there.

Getting there, though it involved fighting their way through some monsters, was relatively easy. Ruby was obviously quite familiar with the area already. Probably more than she wanted, since she had been stuck for some time. There was only one thing they had to be cautious of. Since the dungeon was actually occupied by undead, they had to be careful… not to attack Quietus’ minions. Quietus could have gotten through by himself without issue, and Ruby could likewise have fought her way there, but it would have been slower than just killing everything on the way. Plus, it was decent experience.

Eventually, they arrived at the barrier. It glowed, and shimmered, and otherwise did barrier like things. It was still possible to see the area beyond it somewhat, and there didn’t appear to be any immediate enemies.

Quietus started with some simple tests. Though it wouldn’t do Ruby any good even if it succeeded, he tried to send a ghost he’d brought with him through the walls, ceiling, and floors. The result was disappointing but informative. The area was similarly warded to Aullet’s tomb, actually, though he didn’t have any ghosts there, the walls were similarly impenetrable.

Next, Quietus threw a rock at the barrier. Through the barrier, it seemed, with no ill effects. The barrier itself completely ignored the rock. So, the barrier didn’t seem to destroy objects. That was something. Quietus next sent a disposable minion through the barrier, fully expecting it to be destroyed. However, that didn’t happen. Instead, it just walked through.

“So… I expect that you tested that it kills people? Someone walked through?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm, either it faded for some reason, or undead can pass through because… maybe it only kills living things. Give me a bit.” Quietus went out of the dungeon for a while. When he came back, he had four ghouls dragging a bear who was in a rather pitiful state. The ghouls then tossed the bear through the barrier. This time, the barrier reacted, and turned the bear into a charred husk, and then shortly thereafter a pile of ash.

“Well, it’s still killing things.” Quietus pondered for a few moments. “I have a method that might work, but you probably won’t enjoy it, it’s not fast, and there are consequences even if it doesn’t work.”

“...What kind of consequences? Because I really want to succeed at this quest.” Ruby looked very determined. Stubborn, maybe, but they were almost the same thing.

“Well, you lose a level. Because you’ll have to die.”

“How will that help? I know you can get my body to the other side, but I need to be alive on the other side.”

“I can make it so that you respawn wherever your body is when you next log in. Though, it’s not guaranteed that we’ll be able to complete the dungeon or anything after this, since we don’t know what’s beyond it. Though, I guess I can check.”

Quietus transformed into a ghoul. It was mostly out of habit, as it was one of his first forms of undead. Then, he walked through the barrier. “Well, that’s good. Still undead.” Upon entering the room, he determined that the barrier stopped. If it continued on into the room, then coming back to life in the room would have been a disaster. However, he could go no further, since the next problem was outside his area of expertise. First, he tested being alive, just to make sure. Still not dead. Good.

After he came back through the barrier, he reported to Ruby. “Well, you should have no problem coming to life in there, but after that it’s somewhat your problem. There’s some musicy stuff to do.” Quietus actually knew a bit about “musicy stuff” since his parents had tried to get him to learn an instrument, mostly the piano. However, he had intentionally not learned it. Though, he’d picked up a bit more than he let on.

“Right.” Ruby looked around somewhat nervously. “So, you’re sure the first part will work? I just have to… die?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Quietus stood there awkwardly. “So, umm. You want some help? I can make it quick and mostly painless. Completely painless if you have low pain settings.”

“Err… sure. I’ll take the… help.”

“Okay, tell me when you’re ready, and then don’t move. Oh, first I have to do this. Soul Bind!”

Ruby looked down at the weird black chains now surrounding her, but without any feeling or solidity to them. “Well, I guess I’m ready. See you tomorrow, I guess?”

“Indeed.” Then, as promised, it was over, quickly and painlessly. At least, Ruby didn’t feel any pain. Quietus… well, he’d killed a lot of people in this game, and never felt bad about it. This time, though, he felt bad. Even though it was to help.

//End Chapter 88