7 Filled with Conviction

In the middle of the room, a blue round portal of the size of an adult man opened. Blue flashes of lightning swirled on its periphery inspiring a sense of spiritual mystery and awe.

Shin lied on the floor and tinkered with his status window. His wounds healed but he was yet to get up. After point allocation, his current progress left him with a feeling of achievement.

Level 4 | Experience: 0

Life Points: 130 | Essence: 160 | Mana: 160

Str: 10 | Agi: 10 | Int: 40

Drain [7] | Animate [1] | Explosion [1]

Drain [7]

Channels essence through your foe, stealing 49 points of life per second.

Cost: 7 essence points per second.

The boy coughed. During the frenzied running and dodging, he had swallowed a lot of dust hanging in the still air. The fine dust irritated his lungs. He stood up and brushed his coat of soot. It was not a good idea. Soot smeared over his dirty hands and stained it black. Ultimately, he decided to wipe his hands on his pants.

With his main means of attack upgraded to level 7, Shin could now kill an ordinary goblin in about two seconds. He chuckled happily.

"I wonder how much can it grow. For now, I should be pretty much safe from everything except attacks to powerful to defend against."

The boy looked around the room. The radiant portal immediately caught his eye. It had a certain allure.

"It looks inviting."

Shin said as he looked around. The portal could wait. Although it looked promising, the seventeen-year-old promised himself that he would not go unprepared to a place of unknown origin. No more.

After a fight, the boy finally had a moment to familiarize himself with his trophies. First, he went to the center of the room, to the place where the shiny loot scattered after the killing of the goblin king.

[Wooden Mask] | Boosts essence regeneration.

[Black Skull] | Grants resistance.

Apart from two modestly described items, the boy also got two more of red regeneration potions. For now, he had yet to take a sip from the flasks so he could not ascertain its effects. Two additional loot boxes fell out from two of the knights, who luckily joined the fight only after Shin had dealt with the boss. They yielded him two flasks of blue liquid, mana potions.

The description of the wooden mask filled him with optimism. Regeneration of essence was his weak point which restrained his progress many times.

When he put it to his head, mask immediately adhered to the skin of his face. It was made of light, white wood, carved into delicate lines and looked like an indigenous work of art. It somewhat resembled the skull of an animal, demonic in nature, but without clearly marked facial features. Although the mask had no visible holes for his eyes or mouth, when he put it on, he could freely see and breathe.

The black skull was the size of a thimble and was rather an interesting decoration, something that an enthusiast of heavy music and occultism would put on the cabinet in his room. Although he had no idea what resistances is strengthened, Shin put the trophy inside his trousers' pocket.

Afterward, he called his skeletons again. This time, three undead guards stood beside him. After the advancement, his mana finally crossed the threshold of 150 points, which allowed the necromancer to summon an additional defender. Unfortunately, Shin was unable to animate the boss mob. He tried casting [Animate] upon its massive carcass but spell didn't initiate.

In the outside world, thirty hours have passed. It was evening. Amidst the beautiful mountain scenery, two skeletons appeared in blue flashes of lightning. A moment later, the light flashed again.

Shin appeared next to the huge, black structure. He looked up, tilting his head back. The last of the delicate, blue discharges faded into the air.

"What the fuck?"

The curse slid off his tongue like a venomous snake. Shin did not curse too often. When he typically did, he was blasphemous only inside his head. After the whole experience, he vocalized profanities with a bit of distasteful regularity.

The sun was low in the sky. The last rays of red light reflected on the smooth surface of the obelisk. The shadows lengthened as Shin stared at the unearthly view with a look of thought on his tired face. From where he stood, he could not see to the end of it.

The terrain was piled up in places where the obelisk dug into the ground. Barrows of uneven soil with tree trunks protruding here and there were not the firmest of footholds. The boy slowly and carefully walked down the insecure ground.

"Am I still in Saint John's mountains?"

He asked, uncertain. It is not difficult to be surprised, because the place where he was now, though not distant from the place he came from, changed its appearance completely.

"Wait, can it be?"

The masked necromancer suddenly quickened his pace. Three skeletons clumsily tried to keep up with him. Not far from him, the boy noticed something that lifted his spirits. He wouldn't expect that he would be so happy at the sight of old, worn backpack. And rightly so. What actually cheered him up was the thought of cheese sandwiches that were neatly packed inside.

"Boy, I love cheese."

He said in between bites. Pressed curds of milk never tasted better. After filling his stomach, he abundantly drank the sandwich down with a bottle of water. The last slice of bread went back to the backpack.

"Emergency rations."

Taking this opportunity, Shin changed clothes and wiped off most of his blood. At that time, one of the skeletons was repacking his tent. The necromancer donned the mask and cloak again and ordered one of his undead lackeys to carry the rucksack. The sight of straps, tightened around the bony shoulders of the walking skeleton brought a smile to his face.

Horizon burned. After climbing the nearest point of observation, the boy looked in the distance. Now, he could see the city. The black spire scratched the sky, rising from the southwestern district of the city. It was clearly visible even from a distance of 40 miles. Obelisk towered over the city's buildings. Black smoke rose above the burning houses. Far away, he could vaguely discern even more black monoliths.

Half of the town was submerged in darkness. It was as if black ink spilled onto the map. There were no street lamps lit, and no light was shining in the windows of buildings and apartments. From a distance, the boy saw that the immediate surroundings of the obelisk seemed to blink as if surrounded by a cordon of light.

"Return may not be the best idea. The world is changing. Although I have the impression that I can take care of myself now, it is better not to risk my life among the frenzied crowd."

He concluded. The boy did not trust people. They have let him down on more than one occasion. Filled with conviction, he decided to return to the place where he appeared only half an hour earlier. The time has come to investigate the black pillar.

About five miles from where Shin was watching his miserable hometown, inside a thick forest, a group of armed men in military uniforms climbed up the mountain. They moved quietly but quickly, in a well-coordinated formation. It was evident that they were thoroughly trained.