12 Distant Memory
[Vital Strike]!
Markus wasted no time at all and directly penetrated the melted head of the humanoid creature. Its body was elongated and seemed to have been melted to a warped shape. The skin had turned to an ashy grey and its fingernails had become hardened like claws. It looked like a zombie from a twisted horror movie. Since it resembled a human, Markus felt the head was the best vital to aim for.
Resisted!
-4
'New combat term!' Markus didn't have time to investigate, but his guess was that, like critical, it affected the final damage. His immediate thought was that resistance ignored the difference in level in favor of the lower leveled person. What made him think this was Leona's [Indominable] talent.
The battle with the boar was still ongoing. The two fighters were still level 1, so their damage output was poor. Although the boar wasn't able to break through their defenses at the moment, Punch would eventually be exhausted from overcasting. Markus struck out again since the forsaken was still removing itself from the ground.
Resisted!
-1
Resisted!
-1
He made two attacks in quick succession before taking three long steps backward. Even then, he couldn't escape the reach of the monster. Its long spindly arms swiped out toward him and grazed his chest. Three long gashes appeared on his armor but did not penetrate.
-0
[Crude Leather Armor was affected by [Decay], its durability is reduced.]
After seeing the notification, the gashes turned black and the adjacent leather melted away, leaving three holes in his armor. The menu showed that the defense rating of his armor had dropped another 2 points at the lower end, and 1 point from the higher end.
'This thing has a nasty ability.' Markus clicked his tongue and tried to maintain a further distance. After seeing its legs, he was able to guess that this creature moved with its arms. Once he left its range, his guess was proven correct. The creature began to drag itself forward with one arm and swing the other one like it was trying to swat a fly.
Because it was slow, Markus managed to strike at its wrist during its repetitive motions. However, the result was the same, only dealing a single point of damage. The moment Markus began to relax was his downfall. Since the fight became just a series of backsteps while looking for an opening, he entered a comfortable rhythm. That was when he heard a familiar voice.
"Sweetie, its time to wake up." Markus's vision went blurry and grey ash began to fall like a heavy snowstorm. He suddenly found himself surrounded by loud sirens and car horns. His body was heavy and broken glass was everywhere. He was woken up by his mother's voice. When he looked upon her, he could see that she was growing paler. "Wake up. You can't fall asleep. Stay awake for mommy…"
Cough, cough
Blood splattered on Markus's face, and he flinched. This was a memory that tormented him greatly. A terrible car accident that claimed his mother's life. As he stood in a daze, from beyond the gray ash, a vicious arm came swooping in at him. The illusion of his mother suddenly smiled at him. However, Markus sensed bloodlust from her eyes.
[New ability Mind Block learned.]
[Mind Block level 1
Rank: Deified Hero
Effect: Create a barrier around your mind that protects you from a mental attack at player level + 0 or lower. 60 seconds cooldown.
Message: If one wishes to travel the underworld, protecting the mind is an absolute must.]
Although he broke free from the forsaken's mind attack, he still could not avoid the arm coming at him. His only hope was to sacrifice a bit of health and then counterattack. However, as he steeled himself, he felt a force envelop him. Little did he know, the dire circumstances he entered attracted someone else's attention. Punch had run over immediately and once she got in range, shouted an incantation.
"Induro!"
After finishing the incantation, Punch collapsed on the ground unconscious. When Markus felt the magical membrane envelop him, he threw caution to the wind and charged forward. He was paying attention to his ability bar and it seemed that between the kiting and illusion, his cooldown had finished.
[Vital Strike]!
Resisted!
-4
Shatter!
Markus impaled the forsaken through the chest and saw its health bottom out. Fortunately, it was only level 1, or he would have likely failed. The protective enchantment shattered around him like broken glass the moment he landed the final strike. It was really a do or die moment. Although he had plenty of health, there was no telling what would happen if his skin was directly affected by [Decay].
[Forsaken (hero) level 1. /Loot | /Offer]
When he saw the new prompt, Markus raised an eyebrow. However, he didn't have time to spare now. With Punch incapacitated, the boar fight was getting dangerous. He walked over and casually stabbed at the boar's neck from the side. Although the boar was enhanced, in the end, it was still just a level 1 boar with more health.
Lloyd heaved a sigh of relief and walked over to check on Punch. Markus hovered around closely and took a few glances at her. After Lloyd looked her over for any injuries, she heaved a sigh of relief. Markus nodded his head and then returned to the corpse of the forsaken. He brought up the menu again and pondered what the 'Offer' option would do.
'Its either related to being a hero ranked enemy, or a monster from the underworld. Well, no use in overthinking it, offer!'
[Offering… /Choice
-Hades (+3 favor)
-Dionysus (+1 favor)]
'Another decision…' At first, he wanted to just pick up the one that seemed to grant him more of whatever 'favor' was. However, after rethinking it, he decided to choose the second choice. Something felt strange to him about the list of choices. Markus wondered if someone else had been doing the offering, would that option have appeared?
[Offering to Dionysus…
Favor x1
Underworld's Gift x1]
The ground suddenly split open and chains shoot out from the depths. Inside the hole the only thing that could be seen was an infinite flame. The chains wrapped around the forsaken's body, stimulating it back to life. The forsaken started wailing in agony as it was dragged back into the hole. After the body of the monster was completely submerged, the hole sealed perfectly as if it were never there to begin with.
Markus blinked for a few moments in awe, but then another flame appeared in the spot of the fallen foe. The flame burned away and what remained was a small stone chest. Markus had played enough games to recognize this as a monster dropping loot that it normally wouldn't make sense to have. He felt the developers gave a very good flavor to this random loot by making it a reward from the underworld.
[Level 1 Forsaken offered… 3 exp gained.]
[Underworld's Gift
Rank: Mortal
Effect: Receive a random reward based on rank. Disappears after opening.
Message: In the name of Hades, I grant compensation for your deeds, mortal!]
Markus decided to open the chest later and stored it in his inventory. He turned to the big boar and saw Fists in the process of cutting it up. Markus watched him using a stone knife that seemed to be specifically made for carving up animals. The process was bloody and slow, so Markus decided to return to the campsite and reset his [Overworked] timer.
Lloyd had already brought Punch into the camping area to rest. Fortunately, the unconscious state only lasted 5 minutes. However, she was unable to do any more incantations for another 25 minutes due to the [Overworked] condition. Markus suddenly raised his brow. He wasn't aware of this restriction from his reading the forums. Ideas began to form in his mind as he took out the chest to open.
"Ooh, that's so cool! There's a big three-headed dog design on this box its so beautiful." Punch excitedly examined the box.
"Since you basically killed it yourself, we won't fight over splitting the loot." Lloyd clarified.
"Fine. But you don't have to give me any portion of the boar. Just treat me to a meal." Markus insisted. Lloyd nodded her head, satisfied with the trade. She thought that this could very well be the first or one of the first monster drops. There might be a special reward!
[Opening…
Hellfire Bow x1]
[Hellfire Bow
Rank: Hero
Effect: After successfully hitting the target, 25% chance to inflict [Burn].
Message: A bow with a string formed from the tendons of mortals tortured in Tartarus for 100 years.]
Everyone's eye's lit up when Markus held the bow up. The size was perfect for him, and the weight of the string matched his strength. He was ecstatic until Punch pointed out the obvious as the box turned into a flame and disappeared.
"Where are the arrows?"
