Chapter 4

[ ITEM DIGESTED ]

[ ITEM HAS BEEN IMPROVED ]

" Ah! So that's why it felt different. "

He summoned the now-improved sword and inspected it. Visually, nothing has changed but he could feel a slight increase in its weight. He allowed the mist to devour another sword, this time the digestion time was further decreased to three seconds, prompting him to use his spell.

Once the item was digested, the sword was once more improved. It was sharper than before and a bit longer. Excitement, this discovery made him want to experiment with it more.

Sword after sword, the mist devoured and improved the blade, that was until the thirtieth sword.

[ ITEM CAN NOT BE IMPROVED ANY FURTHER ]

" Well, that was disappointing. "

' It looks like there's a limit huh. ' With twenty-plus swords left and with no more improvements for the sword, he decided to go for the bow.

The mist improved the bow by increasing its range and power. He was feeding the mist with no worries, he was abusing the undead will and the mist's devouring ability to improve his weapons, it seemed like he was playing a game with mods.

Everything was going smoothly, that was until a problem came.

Nikolai felt exhausted as if he had run a marathon. He could not cast Undead will and the timer came to zero and the headache came.

" W-what just happen?" He asked himself, he could not cast a spell anymore and any further attempt made his vision blurry.

[ YOU ARE EXPERIENCING MAGIC EXHAUSTION ]

[ REST IS REQUIRED ]

" Wha- " His body gave in, and he drooped to the ground with a thump. A few seconds later...

SNORE!!!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

YAWN!

Nikolai had just experienced the best sleep he ever had in the past week. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He was outside the cabin and the sky had turned dark.

' Wait a minute, IT'S DARK!!! '

And on cue, ten draug emerged from the dark woods. They all rushed at him, weapons raised and bows drawn.

He immediately used Undead will forcing him to calm down. He summoned his improved bow and took aim and released an arrow that brutally tore the head off an archer from its neck.

' So this is the power of a bow that has improved for fifteen times. '

The remaining archers released their arrows that were aimed straight towards him. Summoning his shield, he blocked the incoming arrows. He switched to bow again and shot another archer.

His arrows seemed to magically spawn when he draws the bowstring, it was like having infinite arrows, but it also came with a weakness. Once the arrow is shot, he cannot spawn another one until it has hit something.

He immediately switches to his improved sword on seeing that the melee draug was approaching a little too close to his attack range.

The sword he summoned was a bit longer than his arm and equally wide, it was a little heavy but it provided more range that the swords the draug had.

He decided to face them head-on as he rushed towards their direction. They approached closer and closer and in the last moment, Nikolai jumped high... above the draug... with a flashy front flip, he landed behind them.

He again summoned his shield and block an incoming volley of arrows. He proceeded to rush towards the archers. In a group fight, the one with the range advantage is always the first priority to eliminate to ensure victory.

He drove the sword straight to the neck of an archer and twisted the blade snapping the neck, killing it.

The last archer shot an arrow at him, but he used the dead draug as a meat shield, with an opening he cleaved its neck with a swift swing.

The melee draug were too far away to assist the archers and with this, there were only seven left and he didn't take much time to defeat them.

Looking at his mess, consisting of ten dead draug littered outside his cabin, he noticed that fighting these draug have become easier these past days.

" Man, these guys are weak. " He commented, they better bring a stronger one, because these draug are not even making him sweat.

There's a saying that goes like this. " Be careful of what you wish for, because you might just get caught by it. "

And this is what happened to him, as a metal chain wrapped around his body. " What " he could not finish his sentence as he was pulled by a strong force that brought him inside the dark forest.

He got a look at the bastard who did a " GET OVER HERE! " move to him and he was not liking the bastard, appearance wise that is.

Standing eight feet tall, wearing rusted Viking armour with metal shoulder guards and a face filled with maggots eating whatever flesh remained on his once fleshy face, it wielded a long metal chain and a metal gauntlet.

" You are one ugly motherfucker. " He felt a tug, the giant draug pulled him closer with a violent tug.

SLAM!

The metal gauntlet made contact that sent him to the ground with a thud. Keeping its grip on the chain short, it lifted him and slammed him down without mercy.

Nikolai had used Undead will, though he could not feel pain, he felt very disoriented after that slam.

Seeing that he was unmoving, the giant draug limited him up and slammed him again and again and again.

Nikolai was not moving, he lay there motionless.

The undead lifted his gauntlet and was going to smash him for good measure.

Nikolai rolled away from the incoming gauntlet, quickly getting up, he summoned the sledgehammer and slammed it on the draug's shoulder. The metal shoulder guards did not protect it from the blunt attack and destroyed the arm. But the draug grip on the chain was still strong.

He didn't understand what was with this chain, it was wrapped around his waist, but why is it so difficult to remove it? If the draug was not letting him go then he has to remove the hand then.

Summoning his sword, he attempted to hack the now-destroyed shoulder but was intercepted by the metal gauntlets. With a back fist, the draug sent Nikolai back first to a tree. Undead Will was a heaven-sent blessing at this moment.

He stood up, ready to attack the maggot-infested undead again, but the said undead had other plans. The chain began to give a dim greyish glow, and he felt something being drained out of him, and he realised it was draining his magic from him and it was draining very quickly. He had to quickly stop it before he goes gets magic exhaustion again.

He made a beeline straight towards the giant undead with his summoned sledgehammer.

The undead deliver a haymaker with its remaining arm, but Nikolai slides between its legs. Slamming the sledgehammer at the back of its legs, it fell to the ground with a thud and a broken leg, but Nikolai immediately followed the onslaught by swinging the sledgehammer with all his strength.

CRACK!!!

The blunt weapon demolished the head sending those maggots flying everywhere and leading to a disgusting sight, but the most important thing to consider was that this ugly motherfucker is dead.

Nikolai released Undead Will and a wave of intense pain came over him, especially his back. He fought through the pain and proceeded to remove the chain that was still tightly wrapped around his waist, but it would not budge.

" CYKA BLAT! " he cursed, as the chain was still draining his magic, he had a limited amount to begin with and had to immediately remove the chain.

[ ITEM DEVOURED ]

[ DIGESTION TIME: 1 WEEK ]

Never was Nikolai this happy that the mist had devoured something without his permission. But a week for digesting this chain means he was going to get something cool next week.

Well, it was already getting late and the adrenaline in his body had faded and he was feeling all the pain he was supposed to feel a few minutes back.

He limped his way back to the cabin ignoring the bodies of the defeated undead that lay around him. He was going to burn them all the next day. That night he slept without knowing that his action tonight and the ones in the past week was going to bring him a lot of trouble.