It was indeed, what it looked like.

It was large, easily five times as long as Adam was tall. It was bone white, because it was made up of thousands of connected bones. Its skull was large and flat, and jutting out from its jaws were large fangs, which would tear apart any man with ease. As it slithered towards the village, it crushed a large number of skeletons in its path.

“It is a giant bone snake,” Jurot said.

“I can see that,” Adam replied, nodding his head.

“You asked the question.”

“It was rhetorical.”

Though it was a rhetorical question, Iyrmen did their best to answer such questions anyway.

Adam stretched out his neck and his arms, watching as it continued to slither towards them. “Lucy!” Adam called. “There’s a giant bone snake!”

Lucy punched a skeleton into bits, before withdrawing towards Adam. He had spent the last while on the tower with Jurot, guiding the villagers and their nearby companions against the skeletons.

“They needed the XP,” Adam had said, and so the pair of Experts had remained back. Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to deny Lucy her fun, so let her protect them from on the ground as Adam blasted some of the skeletons in the back with his Flame Bolt trick.

She climbed up the tower to look out to see the giant bone snake slithering towards them. “Finally! Something fun to fight! Let’s go kill it!”

Adam threw a look to Jurot, who nodded, and the trio quickly dropped from the tower. “Clear a path!” Adam shouted, while the villagers warned of the upcoming threat. “We’ll deal with it!”

Battle Order

D20 + 1 = 21 (20)

Adam had donned his shield as he dropped from the tower, and instead of reaching for Wizard’s Axe, he reached for his warhammer instead.

Fighting Spirit: 3 -> 2

Attack - Warhammer, Flanking

D20 + 7 = 23 (16)

D20 + 7 = 24 (17)

Hit!

Mana: 9 -> 8

Ability: Divine Smite

1D6 + 1D3 + 3D6 + 4 = 22 (5)(1)(3, 3, 6)

Vulnerability exploited!

32 damage!

Attack - Warhammer, Flanking

D20 + 7 = 16 (9)

D20 + 7 = 27 (20)

Critical hit!

Mana: 8 -> 5

Ability: Divine Smite

2D6 + 2D3 + 10D6 + 4 = 39 (3, 4)(2, 3)(1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 6, 6, 6)

Vulnerability exploited!

55 damage!

Onward Soar: 1 -> 0

Attack - Warhammer, Flanking

D20 + 7 = 21 (14)

D20 + 7 = 27 (20)

Critical hit!

Mana: 5 -> 2

Ability: Divine Smite

2D6 + 2D3 + 10D6 + 4 = 59 (2, 6)(3, 3)(1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6)

Vulnerability exploited!

77 damage!

Attack - Warhammer, Flanking

D20 + 7 = 10 (3)

D20 + 7 = 15 (8)

Hit!

Mana: 2 -> 1

Ability: Divine Smite

1D6 + 1D3 + 3D6 + 4 = 22 (5)(1)(3, 3, 6)

Vulnerability exploited!

32 damage!

Skeletons were easy opponents for Adam.

Adam held a number of abilities from a diverse set of classes. From weapons to magic, he had decided to take the best bits of each class, though he hadn’t taken everything yet. However, the abilities he had taken thus far were useful against skeletons.

He used a warhammer, which would deal twice as much damage against the snake.

He had the ability to smite, which dealt an extra die of damage against Undead.

Just these two abilities alone would make him a deadly combination against skeletons, but he also possessed the abilities to surpass his limits for a moment.

Onward Soar.

It allowed him to act again, and since he was an Expert, he could attack twice.

Four attacks.

Had he not used three Fireballs previously, he would have been able to smite his foes freely, but he kept one Mana, just in case.

He was a flurry of Elf and Man, his warhammer crashed against the giant bone snake, shattering all the bone. The metal flashed white with divine magics, which caused the giant bone snake to shudder, rattling wildly in pain. His onslaught didn’t end until most of it had been shattered apart, kept up by less than half the bones it had originally possessed.

Due to Adam’s onslaught, it had become slow, and then came the two, who would have put the fear of Baktu into any normal being. Their faces contorted into Iyrish and Demonic glee, as they both brought down their axes, one of which was aflame, and the other which pierced into what tethered the skeleton to this realm.

The giant bone skeleton shattered, falling to the ground. The explosion of bone caused many of the nearby skeletons to fall under the terrifying onslaught which had occurred beside them.

Adam remained still, while Lucy and Jurot dealt with the few skeletons remaining.

“What are you thinking?” Lucy asked.

“If I didn’t cast those Fireballs, I could have dealt over two hundred damage,” Adam said.

Lucy wasn’t sure why he was using numbers. “How much is that?”

“Probably enough to kill the Chie- the previous King’s Sword outright,” Adam said, realising he shouldn’t be thinking about killing Iyrmen. That kind of misunderstanding would have been awkward to explain.

“Really?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, though he isn’t weak to warhammers,” Adam said. “Just my charm.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. “He’s mine.”

“I wouldn’t dare dream to take away such a hunky man from you.”

“That’s right!” Lucy stormed off. Though she and Jurot had managed to finish off the giant bone snake, they were certain Adam could have dealt with it by himself. ‘Why am I even here?’ Lucy thought. ‘I should have just stayed in the Iyr to admire all those hunky Iyrmen!’

“You did well,” Jurot said, patting Adam’s shoulder.

“Jurot,” Adam said. “Aren’t I really strong?”

Jurot stared at Adam. “Yes.”

‘First my Aunts and Uncle, and now this giant bone snake. No, the only reason why I was able to defeat them so easily was because I was lucky, and because of my weapons. Adam, don’t be dumb! You can’t die! Not again! Seriously! At least not before you get laid in this life! Damn it!’ Adam slapped his face, trying to centre himself.

Eshva and Kandal quickly appeared onto the scene.

“Where is it?” Kandal asked, before seeing the giant pile of bones around Adam and Jurot, while Lucy was casually cutting apart skeletons nearby.

“Where is what?” Adam asked.

“The giant bone snake!”

Adam looked around the ground. “Some of it is over here, some of it is over there.” Adam pointed around himself.

“You dealt with it?” Kandal asked.

“Well, yeah.”

“You don’t seem injured.”

“Obviously. We beat it up before it could do anything.”

Kandal blinked, before looking to Jurot, who nodded. “How?”

“With our weapons,” Adam said.

“And Adam’s magic,” Jurot said.

Kandal placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder.

“No,” Adam said.

“At least let me ask, Adam.”

“I have already refused, so you shouldn’t be so rude to ask again,” Adam said.

“Last time you were drunk.”

“No I wasn’t.”

“Why else would you refuse joining my family?” Kandal asked, pulling Adam closer, wrapping his arm around the Half Elf’s head, pinning the Half Elf to his chest.

Adam pulled himself away, before he retreated back to the village, all the while Kandal laughed.

Eshva let out a grunt towards Kandal.

“Why would he join your family when he has already refused mine?”

Eshva nodded her head to the warhammer at Adam’s side.

“He only uses one,” Kandal said, before the pair of them returned back to the village.

Victory!

Giant Bone Snake

XP Gained: +500

XP: 8825 -> 9325

Adam and the others had farmed the skeletons for a large amount of XP. He was certain that Nobby and Brittany were at least Level 1, with the absolute basics of their classes mastered, from the weapons to the Rage Dancing, to Brittany’s ability to sneak about.

‘I’ll have to wait until we’re in actual combat, I suppose,’ Adam thought.

The rest of the day passed by mostly uneventfully, with most of the skeletons dealt with.

“If the giant bone snake appeared, then it must mean there will be less skeletons to appear from now on,” Argon said.

“Fewer,” Tazwyn said, managing it right before Adam.

‘Damn,’ Adam thought. ‘I can’t believe I, of all people, missed it.’ He shook his head.

“Thank you all again,” Merl, the Chief, said.

“Any time,” Adam replied. “Though, can I ask a small favour?”

“Yes?”

Adam motioned his head to the giant bone snake’s skull, which had been set aside. “Can I have the skull? I want to send it back to the Iyr.”

Jurot was about to speak up, as Iyrmen did not usually request for such things, but he recalled Adam was technically not an Iyrman.

“Of course,” Merl said, nodding her head. She had heard that Adam had mostly dealt with the snake by himself, with some minor assistance from the Iyrman and Devilkin. A skull was a small price to pay to try and win him over.

“Nice,” Adam said, smiling. ‘Won’t they think I’m cool when they hear the story and how I beat it.’

That’s when it came to him.

“Hey, Jurot?”

“Yes?”

“The reason why I used a warhammer was because it was better to use it against skeletons,” Adam explained.

“Yes.”

“I’m a still a Nephew of the Rot family.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t tell Lanarot and the kids that I used a warhammer,” Adam said.

Jurot remained silent.

“Jurot, please.”

Jurot remained silent.