Everlast Online

CassReyes Hi, I realised I'd done something stupid with certain skills and am going to change them how they work.

In relation to passive skills there will be 2 types. Passives, like [Voodooist] that don't level at all and passives that do.

Passive skills like [Swordsman], [Spearman] and similar skills will not have levels but will have a proficiency %, that way warrior players can improve their initial class skills. This will also be for crafting-type skills like Liz's [Apothecary], so now it would be [Apothecary (0%) (C)]. That way they don't just start being able to make high level crafts thanks to high ranked skills.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

"Assholes..." Liz looking at the 2 items Clash and Brant had dropped after dying:

[Boar Fur (F)]

[Processed skin of a boar monster. Crafting item]

[Boar Fur (F)]

[Processed skin of a boar monster. Crafting item]

All she received were 2 low level crafting items, she could probably sell them in Barview when she arrived, but for now they were worthless to her.

"Well whatever, at least my skill level has improved. And so did I." Liz said seeing the change to [Puppet Hand], at level 2 she could now form 2 hands to float around her, as she expected, and the range had increased as well. Liz was pleased with the direction the skill was heading in. Next was to look at the newest of her skills:

[Summon: Skeleton Hound (1) (F): Expend mana to summon a skeleton hound to fight for you (0/5)]

"Another summoning skill, let's check it out." Liz muttered quickly using the spell to see what appeared. 

Like before a summoning circle imprinted itself upon the floor and from it a canine looking monster made from bones appeared. Unlike the humanoid warriors, the hounds were clearly some kind of beast, they looked similar to wolves but slightly larger.

Maybe dire wolves or something? Liz thought, trying to match it to some kind of monster she knew of.

Regardless she found it to be an excellent summon, the warriors were fine in combat, but not the fastest. Liz could tell that the hound was definitely a speed type summon that would be able to chase her enemies, looking at its size she wondered if she may be able to ride one.

She tested this and found she could, but since the entire thing was made purely from bones she was very uncomfortable; but in a pinch it would be good for escaping. So, with no more enemies Liz continued towards Barview.

All 5 hounds and 15 warriors, Liz thought looking over her defences, Hopefully this will be enough, though with my hands it should be; even if they are collecting plants right now.

Both of the hands were off collecting herbs around her, swiftly adding more items to her inventory as Liz made her way closer to Gahsten Forest, the forest that lay between Gahsten and Barview. Very few dangers presented themselves as she went, a few wolves here and there but they were quickly dispatched and looted.

Liz knew she could buy a [Dismantle] skill that would improve the amount of loot she could get from bodies but she didn't have the time to do so as she was constantly swamped with quests.

As she reached the halfway mark of the forest road something finally happened: An arrow flew straight into the back of Liz's head.

One skeleton collapsed into a pile while the rest moved to stand in the direction the arrow came from.

"Thank god I activated my skill in time." Liz said as she rubbed the back of her head, her voice much louder than it needed to be. It was clear she was being targeted, and Liz didn't want them to realise her biggest weakness.

Right as Liz made it back to her feet she saw another arrow flying from her front side, with her agility she could dodge it; and she did even if she didn't need to as it would create the illusion her [Voodooist] skill had a cooldown.

So, it's a group. Liz realised she was in more danger than she thought. Her hands quickly flew to her side and soon skeletons began forming all around her until an entire army of them was present.

A few more arrows had flown in that time but nothing got past her gradually increasing army of bones. Only when Liz was fully guarded did the assailants reveal themselves, 10 men dressed in all black with their faces covered; they surrounded the large gathering of undead.

"Why is it that whenever a cute girl enters a forest, some big bad wolf's got to come and ruin it for her." Liz joked, trying to see how the men reacted. They remained stoic.

This isn't looking good. Liz thought glaring at her enemies, If they are confident enough to face me even with my numbers then they've gotta be strong!

Liz was beginning to panic but kept her facial expression stable, trying to use identify.

[??? (???) (NPC)]

All Liz was able to gather was that all 10 men were NPCs, so at the very least 'Golden Radiance', or whatever their name is, hadn't caught wind of her yet. What frightened Liz the most was the lack of information available to her, at the very least a level should have appeared. Unless they are that much higher level.

"So. Any reason you fine gentlemen are attacking a young lady like me?" Liz asked, feigning innocence. The men just looked at her, none of them said a word to her; the assassins stood at the perimeter of her skeletons, if they went to attack a gap would be made, "Don't suppose it has anything to do with some cargo I'm carrying, does it?"

A slight twitch in one of the men told Liz she was right.

This letter is becoming more hassle than it's worth.

"Say, gents. Can't you just let me pass." Liz asked sweetly, "I'm just delivering a letter between two friends."

"We can't let you do that." One assassin spoke, confirming the letter was what they were after. 

"Judging from your unwillingness to press forward you have doubts whether or not you can kill me, right?" Liz taunted, hoping to weaken the awareness of her foes, "I'm sure there is some deal we can make."

"Hand over the letter and we will leave." The same man spoke again, Liz believed he was the leader of this group. Liz really didn't want to fight, but it looked like it was heading that way. It really looked like a fight was about to start.

Seeing her remain silent, one assassin got impatient.

"Don't play games with us girl!" He growled, stepping closer to the skeletons as if he was not afraid of them. A cruel grin spread across Liz's face as a perfect opportunity had presented itself.

The sword of the closest skeleton warrior shone with the light of skill activation and slashed the unprepared assassin in the chest; either from not reacting in time or perhaps a lower level than Liz had expected, the man fell backwards. No sooner than the blood starting to fall from the wound, a rabid dog formed from bone jumped out of the army's ranks and began mauling the assassin like a starved beast. It was fast, faster than Liz had anticipated it would be when she gave the order for it to attack; she watched in delight as it weaved expertly through the crowd and pounced on the assassin.

"Attack!" The assassin leader, breaking from the stupor of seeing one of his subordinates die, ordered the rest of his men to attack their target.

"Kill the enemy! Protect me!" Liz gave out 2 orders as she began using her puppet hands to blast the group with bone spears, aiming not for vital regions on the body, but their legs. As assassins, their mobility was what made them strong, without it they are cattle waiting for the slaughter, not to mention it's harder to avoid. Liz focused her attention on resummoning the skeletons she lost

The men certainly were higher level than her, mowing through the skeletons easily, or at least getting past them; but the numbers Liz held were no laughing matter.

The 2 groups were stuck in a stalemate as one side, with superior skill, couldn't surpass the pure numbers of their enemy. Not to mention, if they allowed themselves to be unaware of their surroundings for even a moment they would be jumped by a bone-beast that moved almost as fast as they did, or shot with a magic attack. Or perhaps even both if they were unlucky.

Liz could see the apprehension in the leader's eyes behind his mask. This was why he hadn't immediately approached, the numbers were more than double his but he was given no choice as the little girl refused to give up what he wanted. As he was about to give the order for retreat he saw he had made a mistake: The skeletons had encircled them

If they wanted to run they would have to make it past even more enemies. Liz had achieved this by having the hands float around the field and occasionally summon skeletons behind the assassins between bone spears; these men were great experience for her summons and she could feel both her and them on the cusp of the next level. 

The leader, realising his predicament, decided his life was more important and moved to flee. Liz of course noticed this and did what she could to stop him, but as he jumped into the air, over a skeleton, and a magic attack was about to hit him; the leader took another leap, essentially double jumping and managed to get away.

"Dammit!" Liz cursed, turning her attention to the last of the assassins, she wouldn't be able to kill their leader, but she sure as shit would make sure his subordinates died.

Without their leader the assassins lost morale, being abandoned did tend to leave that effect. Liz considered capturing one assassin to collect information but figured she would get all the information she needed by delivering the letter.

Liz had used all but one of her mana potions in the fight, but after searching from the drops Liz was able to get this up to 6, so not a complete loss. Other than that, the remaining 4 assassins just dropped throwing knives even though they never used them.

Weird that NPCs give drops too. Liz found it weird but ultimately a positive so chose not to question it too much, instead heading deeper into the forest with all her undead ready to fight.

"The hounds are right at the edge, but the warriors are going to need a while." Liz said looking over her skills and abilities, "I also used a lot of potions, It seems mana is my biggest issue here."

Liz had levelled twice, putting her at level 22 with 25 saved up points. Despite her spooky witch gear, she still struggled maintaining all of her skeletons in more difficult fights, this was one of her major weaknesses right now, no skeletons meant no [Voodooist] and with her pitiful END stat that likely meant certain death.

"With voodooist, buffing my END should be a second thought, done mostly with items and titles. STR is basically useless for my class and goals, I should just leave that to titles like END." Liz mumbled trying to decide where best to place her stats, "As I thought, INT and AGI are just much more important if I wish to act as a summoner."

With that, Liz decided she would not attempt to properly balance her character; while this did create stability, which in turn made her safer, it was inefficient in regards to her overall fighting style, this being: 'Don't' as the main part of her style. It was best if she simply left it to the summons, while using her high INT to support them. With that the 25 points were split: 15 into INT and 10 into AGI:

====

Name: [Smokey]

Race: [Abandoned Doll] (Attributes)↓

Class: [Necromancer (22)]

Title:

[Reputation: 2000] [Gold: 10750]

Stats: [STR: 8] [END: 10] [AGI: 30 (+3)] [INT: 50 (+25)]

Race Skills: [Voodooist (S)] [Puppet Hand (2) (C)]

Class Skills: [Summon: Skeleton Warrior (3) (F)] [Bone Spear (2) (F)] [Summon: Skeleton Hound (F)]

Other Skills: [Mana Bolt (4) (F)] [Heavy Slash (1) (E)] [Apothecary (0%) (C)]

[Inventory]↓ [Equipment Menu]↓

[Player Auction]↓ [Currency Conversion]↓

====

As Liz closed her menu she remembered her item, she had sold the ring from Nolan on the auction and it should have sold by now. It was time to cash that in

====

[Player Auction]

[Iron Fist Ring (D)] [Starting: 100 Gold] [Seller: Smokey]

[Ring worn by the Iron Fist, Nolan Grimm. Grants +5 STR, +20% Physical damage when using fist-type weapons]

[Sold for: 3501]

====

Liz looked at the selling price, gobsmacked about how much she had just made. Quickly she regained her wit and took the money, laughing over what the final price indicated. Liz had set no lower limit for bidding, clearly someone had bid 3500, but at the last moment another person bid 3501; winning it by a single gold. 

Liz now had more than 14 thousand gold, though most of it would be going to Piper and Liz's life outside the game.

I can imagine the outrage this caused. Liz laughed inside, seeing the end of the forest tunnel. As she could also see the city nearby she chose to dismiss her undead, this however was a poor move to make.

"Well. Well. Well, who’s this then?" 4 men stepped towards Liz a little while after she left the forest.

"Who the hell says: 'Well, well, well'" Liz said, mocking the man who spoke, "What are you, cartoon mobsters?"

Even the other 3 men couldn't stifle their laughter at Liz's joke and the man who talked before became incredibly angry.

"You dared to disrespect our Golden Radiance, now suffer the consequ- AAAH!" The 'leader' was cut short as a pair of skeleton hounds jumped on him and ripped him to pieces, the rest quickly following behind as Liz continued summoning her undead.

"Haah..." Liz sighed, putting away most of her undead as the 2 hands went back to picking herbs, "This is going to be a recurring thing isn't it?"

It was only the second time they had tried something and Liz was already tired of it, she just hoped it wouldn't affect her personal life. If it did...

Well Liz wouldn't hesitate to go... Nuclear... On these golden radiance losers.

Liz looked over the auction as she walked, seeing nothing of value to her, and eventually reached the gates.

The guard gave her a disapproving look as she approached with her skeleton warrior guard, Liz quickly chuckled and dismissed the subordinate and was then sent into the city, though not without some suspicious looks.

All around her Liz could see both NPCs and players, seemingly drawn here as Liz was the only one who had opened up a city. And a city it was, the place was massive and bustling with activity.

Liz passed by shops and stalls along the side, she even saw glass windows, which she hadn't expected to see in a mediaeval setting.

Still, Liz did not stop, deciding she had already been attacked once and that it was best to just deliver the letter. So, she walked to the biggest building in the city, assuming it was where the Marquess lived.

"From one forest to another..." Liz said, "I wonder what kind of wolves live here."