Ambush!

I think I know why I was feeling a bit conflicted about this minor arc.

At first, I didn't want to do it because I thought it would take too much time and most people wouldn't like that, but I was wrong, people wanted to see him in this world, most at least.

But then I committed another mistake, which was to increase its size...

Well, this class does have a lot of explanations to do as compared to the other two which were pretty straightforward, each crafting system requires at least a few hundred words.

It may seem like a lot, but you all fast readers will go through it in a minute.

Worse, I have set the mc onto this small quest, at first, I thought it was necessary right? Being in Skyrim, he needs to do at least one...

But it has taken 2 chapters already... Chapters I could be used to progress the story.

In any case, I already wrote the next 2 chapters, and I can safely say everything will end in the next chapter after that...

It is indeed way bigger than what I initially expected.

But as long as you're all having fun, and I'm having fun, then we're golden yeah?

In total, this world will have around 7 chapters worth of content, while the other 2 had 2.5 and 3 chapters worth of content respectively.

At least, once we're done, I won't have to go further and explain more since most of it was done in this world already, something that I left for later in the other cases.

After all, even after they were done, there were still several explanations scattered around the chapters.

Hopefully, we won't have to do that here.

I hope you are enjoying this, see ya later, I gotta eat.

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'The cave entrance's layout was pretty simple, with ice and frozen rocks composing most of it.'

'It was a long corridor with an uneven path leading deeper, the unknown.'

'Philip could feel the cold air coming from within… It was enough to make his face hurt.'

'Just like most of Skyrim, this cave was freezing cold, and he was a bit thankful he had a helmet on...'

'There was a reason why the steel armor was full of fur like a coat...'

'It was also strange that Uvrik seemed fine, but perhaps all of that facial hair helped him in withstanding this cold.'

"..."

I don't hear anything... Skeletons are pretty loud, so there should be none up ahead.

'The way was pretty straightforward, they didn't meet any obstacles, and apart from a few plants he saw on the way, Philip saw nothing of interest.'

'He would collect those though… They were most likely ingredients to be used.'

...

'Eventually, they arrived at the end of the path, a large room with a small hole in the ceiling, letting light come inside.'

'They were currently on the top section of the room, an overlook that had a set of stairs that spiraled down into a lower floor.'

'Below them on the first floor was a large number of dead bodies, mostly of people, Humans, but there were also animal bodies such as bears and boars.'

'And of other species, such as an Orc and Elf.'

'Additionally, he saw several wooden carts full of miscellaneous stuff, and a bit more.'

"..."

It seems the Necromancer has captured several wagons… And the people that were likely in it.

'Philip looked at the corner and saw a makeshift bed and table, his gaze falling on top of the Unique table next to it…'

An Enchanting table…

I need it.

Would it go inside my inventory?

'He turned his face and took a closer look at the bodies and their surroundings, he even saw a Skeleton walking around… Butchering them and...'

'The rest was unnecessary to be described.'

I guess that's where those bodies came from… He used the people he captured to make his soldiers…

I remember hearing the guard talk about bandits and missing people… Is this it?

So that means… There were no bandits unless I'm mixing things.

'On another corner of the room, he saw a cage full of people, they seemed to be some of the survivors.'

'Deeming their numbers plus the number of Skeletons outside, it was clear whoever was behind this wasn't interested in laying low.'

'People would soon investigate and the matter would likely blow off proportions.'

/Whispers…/

'Next to the cage was a robed person, saying something in a low tone in front of a makeshift stone altar stained heavily with blood, it looked like a fountain as it had a small pool at the very top with a Soul Gem floating in it.'

/Bloop…/

'The blood seemed to boil as bubbles kept rising from the small pool…'

"..."

So… A few Skeletons that don't even have weapons and the Necromancer…

He doesn't seem to have accomplices… But I'll never consider a Necromancer to be alone.

As people that delve into Conjuration, if they so wish so, they could simply conjure a helper, if they can't do so, what are they even doing?

However, I'm worried.

A Necromancer shouldn't be able to control this many undead, so what would he Conjure if he were to be in a bind?

Well… I'm already here, there's no point turning my back now.

'Philip looked at Uvrik and he nodded, no more words were needed.'

'He took out his bow and aimed, Uvrik followed suit and aimed his own bow as well.'

"Phew…"

/FWOOSH!/

'The arrows were released, making their way across the air towards the Necromancer's head and tight respectively.'

/Splurge!/

"?!"

'However, in a turn of events, the necromancer moved his hand and blocked the arrow with his palm, letting it pierce it instead of his head!'

/Whisper whisper…/

'He did not stop whispering, however… His profaned ritual continued, the blood pool more and more restless…'

"Dammit!" Uvrik said as he rushed down

'Throwing his bow to the side, he jumped down like a true warrior! May this old man's knees not give in…'

/FWOOSH!/

/FWOOSH!/

/FWOOSH!/

'Philip on the other hand remained still as he drew several more arrows, aiming at the Necromancer's legs and arms, successfully piercing all of them and making him fall onto the ground.'

/Crack!/

'Because of this, the man lost his rhythm and stopped whispering, making the Soul Gem crack and break, releasing a pure blue gas into the air that quickly dissipated.'

"... It… Failed." The man said in a twisted tone

'The makeshift altar that was bubbling with blood grew quiet...'

'He turned around, showing his hideous face to them!'

"!"

'Uvrik immediately realized who it was… Or better put, what it was!'

"It's a Vampire!" He exclaimed as his eyes sharpened

/Clack!/

'As he said that, the Vampire raised his hands, dark light gathering around it!'

/FWOOSH!/

'Another arrow pierced the air, but it suddenly stopped in the air.'

"No more of these petty annoyances." He said as he looked at the side

"Tsk." Philip mumbled as he saw his arrows hitting an invisible wall

/CLANG!/

'Uvrik tried to destroy the barrier, but his mace just bounced off!'

"Dammed Magic!" He exclaimed frustrated

"Brute Nord, your simple ways have no space here." He said with a small smile as he raised his left hand

Bags of meat have come to me on their own at a rather unfortunate timing.

I have yet to reign in that Troll, and I have used most of my supply to keep it at bay as I finish my ritual, but now, it failed.

/ZAP!/

'A dark lightning bolt was hurled from his hand, carving an irregular path on the ground as it slid across the ground!'

"!"

/Crack!/

'Uvrik jumped back as he raised his shield, but he was sent flying back as the bolt hit his shield!'

"Someone will have to pay." The Necromancer said angrily as his hands started glowing Red

'He pointed his free right hand to the cage…'

"Dammit, no!" Uvrik screamed as he tried to rise from the ground

"STOP!" Philip exclaimed loudly as he jumped from the upper ground

/Tremble!/

'With a might cry, the cavern shook slightly and the Vampire took a step back, his eyes absentminded due to his mind blanking up.'

[War Cry has affected the target]

[Master Vampire now flees!]

"Don't stay there, give chase!" Philip said as he ran after the Vampire

War cry only lasts for 30 seconds, which should be more than enough, but I would prefer not having to gamble!

'The Vampire ran beyond the Altar, putting his back against the stone wall, his eyes full of fear…'

'Ironic, the hunter becoming the prey.'

"Urg… I hate Magic."

These old bones can still move!

'Uvrik however, did not care, he rushed with his shield in hands…'

/SNAP!/

/CRACK!/

'A potent bolt of lightning suddenly hit the ground, cracking the stone in front of him and halting Philip's charge.'

'And a grey Orb was hurled into the ceiling, caving in the ice, sending large chunks down into the ground.'

'If it were to hit a man… It wouldn't have been pretty.'

"..."

'Philip stared at the unfamiliar sight… All of this was part of a living, breathing world, with many mysteries unbeknownst to him.'

"Stay away!" The Vampire exclaimed fearfully as he showed everyone his fangs

/FWOOSH!/

/Pierce!/

'An arrow suddenly passed next to Uvrik's head, piercing the Vampire's neck!'

"Gu-ha!"

'The Vampire suddenly lost the ability to breathe, not that he needed to but it was pretty distracting!'

'Taking this as an opportunity, Uvrik approached the vile creature and pummeled its head with his mace, again and again.'

'All of this happened in just a few moments, so the Undeads raised by the Vampire barely had time to react before they fell on the ground, lifeless.'

'A Vampire may be Immortal, but that was only towards aging, they would still die were their heads to be removed.'

"It's not over yet old man, drink this for now."

'Philip, however, did not let his guard down as he approached Uvrik, and using his sword, he cut off the Vampire's head, making sure it wouldn't come to bite them anytime soon.'

'He didn't want to try his luck, if the Vampire decided to use his last bit of strength to bite them, they could end up contracting Vampirism.'

"Huff… Huff… Hahaha!" Uvrik laughed heartily after he drank the potion

'He was tired, hurt, and overall pretty beaten, this was the most action he had in years combined!'

'And this made him laugh uncontrollably…'

"It wasn't long, but what a tale to tell!" He said as he turned to face Philip after calming down

"It is…"

"But we can enjoy this later, for now, let's go back before something happens." Philip said as he crouched near the Vampire

I don't want to wait for trouble to come, the quicker I leave this place and return to the Alchemy table, the faster I'll Level up and become stronger.

'He quickly looted the guy, gold, a few gems, several ingredients, a key, a single Orchish Dagger, and a few more things, like a strange powder and his fangs.'

'He didn't take the Vampire's clothes though, especially his enchanted robe yet, as that might raise some suspicion… But he would as there was no way Philip would abandon that Robe.'

'A robe with a +105% Magicka Regeneration? Humph!'

'So aside from that, what took his attention were the few books he had on him:'

[Nameless Diary]

A diary… I'll read this later.

This book has the School of Conjuration's symbol.

Please tell me it's…

[Soul Trap Spell book x1]

A decent find!

"Get those guys out of the cage before they start complaining." Philip said as he pointed backward, giving a small key to Uvrik

"Oh! I was about to ask if you found it… I'm not that good with Lockpicks."

Not that I would need to, it was a wooden cage, after all, a good hammering is all I need…

After… After I rest a little.

'As this happened, Philip started to explore his surroundings.'

'Ignoring the Necromancer, the Skeletons, the other bodies laying around, and the altar, he went to the side where he saw a makeshift bed and table, full of things on top of it.'

'He saw several pieces of flesh, most likely Human, and cutlery… Nothing interesting.'

'Vampires were cannibals, after all, they wouldn't mind eating the flesh of their own species…'

'He ignored those things… Despite them all being materials, Philip felt it wouldn't be right to grab several dozen kilograms worth of "meat" in front of these people.'

'Philip wasn't doing this because he was a good guy, he wasn't disgusted by those organs, he had seen plenty already.'

'Of course, this didn't mean he would go psycho and taste them in order to get a few meager bits of experience in Alchemy…'

'He had a bottom line.'

'Regardless, he had no space for it all even if he wanted to use them for Alchemy.'

"At least 8 hearts… If we disregard what the Vampire probably ate…"

No wonder people hate them so much, one appears and a small village's worth of people dies.

'But next to the table he saw what he was looking for!'

'With a sneaky smile, he started to collect his loot.'

[Petty Soul Gem x13 has been added to your inventory]

[Lesser Soul Gem x7 has been added to your inventory]

[Common Soul Gem x2 has been added to your inventory]

[Greater Soul Gem Fragment x8 has been added to your inventory]

[Half black Soul Gem x1 has been added to your inventory]

'Some of the gems were filled with souls, but not all.'

These won't be useful for now, but that won't be the case later.

But what about those last 2?...

'Before Philip had the time to think it over, someone called him.'

"Young man!" Uvrik exclaimed from behind him

'Philip turned around, looking at the small crowd that was now moving around the place, letting out happy tears, cries, and wails that they were now free...'

'And that some of their friends were now gone.'

"How many?" Philip asked

"It's tragic… Only 9, according to some of the people, initially, they should've been at least 40…"

'Uvrik shook his head, now wasn't the time to grieve over the dead.'

"..."

40… 4 were in the Cabin, around 10 attacked Uvrik, and there are at least 7 Skeletons here in the cavern, be them walking around or inanimate.

So he used about half of his forces solely on the Troll…

To think a single Master Vampire could control so many, perhaps not at once, but at least 15 at a time as possible.

I'm grateful most of these skeletons were bare-handed though.

"Is she here?" Philip asked deeply

If the lady died, I guess I'll have to say goodbye to my money and my alchemy table use…

There are other alchemists… But I can't bet on them.

"Yes, the lass is right over there… Albeit her lover…"

'Philip looked inside the cage to see a young woman kneeling on the ground, holding onto a dying and pale man.'

'Without saying much more, he approached her and asked:'

"What happened to him?"

"Ah!"

'She was startled, but upon seeing Philip, the one who took down the Vampire, she calmed slightly.'

"I was sent here by your Grandfather, so you can relax take a deep breath and tell me what is the problem."

"Grandfather?... Ah, it surely has been a while since I left…"

"I'm glad he noticed something was wrong… But also…"

'She looked at the man in pain and said:'

"To be honest I… Didn't come here to collect herbs… I simply wanted to… Meet him and now… It's all my fault."

'Tears started to form in her eyes, it was truly pitiful.'

"He was hurt by the undead trying to protect me and for the past 2 hours, he has been bleeding non-stop… Sniff…"

"... I see." Philip said as he took out a potion from his inventory

Good, since I'll have to use it eventually, I'll use it here.

'He placed it on the man's throat, forcing him to drink it all.'

"That will do." He said as he got up

Let me see just how strong such a potion actually is.

A potion that costs months out of a normal Family's income.

'The seconds passed, and the man's condition became better and better…'

"Urg… The pain is gone." The man said for the first time in a raspy and dried voice

'He was extremely weak before, barely even capable of talking, and his eyes unfocused, his expression pale.'

'But now, he was even a little rosy…'

"Hashiv!" Abedi exclaimed in excitement

'It seemed everything had gone well.'

"..."

Impressive, so this is what a Full health potion can do?

I can see that he isn't truly 100%, but deeming how fast it worked, this is truly a miracle.

From it, I suppose it can heal all sorts of injuries, reconnect tissues, regrow dead matter…

Albeit, it doesn't seem it can regrow limbs, at most reattach them.

But this potion is meant for consumption, so it remains to be seen if it'll be as effective if I use it on my skin.

'He looked around, there were a few people hurt, but nothing serious.'

"Here, I have 3 potions, share them among yourself." Philip said as he took 3 potions from his 'belt' discretely

'He turned to Uvrik as the peasants recovered…'

"I'll stay behind."

"Hum? What do you mean kid." He asked with a frown

"I'll make sure to properly clean this place, and I'll return as soon as I'm done…"

"That'll be dangerous."

"But it has to be done." Philip said deeply

"... You're brave, but do not mistake blind courage and greed with it." He replied as he turned around

'Uvrik had seen many things, he partly knew what Philip wanted to do.'

"I'll lead them all back into the city and alert the Jarl, Vampires acting near the Hold isn't a good sign…"

"Be sure to return soon, he'll surely have a nice reward for you." He said as he walked away

"Aye." Philip said with a nod

/ROAAARRR!/

"?!"

'Everyone suddenly looked up to see a white beast!'

'It was smeared in red blood… Its own blood!'

'Despite it all, the Skeletons wounded it, even if it already recovered from it.'

'Uvrik grit his teeth, clenching his mace to the point his hands became red.'

"By Talos' Ax! It's the dammed Troll!"

/Fwoosh!/

'As soon as he said that, Philip drew his bow once more…'

/Thud…/

'But it was ineffective, the Troll's fur was too thick, its skin was like that of a lizard, hard and rough…'

'He tried aiming for its eyes but… He missed.'

This bow is too terrible, I'm not some Elf with goodly Archery Skills regardless of how good the bow in my hands is.

If I had even a tenth of my true body's senses, this would've been a breeze, but…

/ROAR!/

'The Troll started to walk down the stairs, making its way to them angrily.'

"Hey, kid!" Philip exclaimed as he looked at Hashiv

'He threw the bow and arrows he had towards him as he drew his sword.'

"Me?!"

"Who else?! They told me you were a hunter, so at the very least, keep that fucker distracted!"

"I… I can do that much." He said with some determination

"Everyone else, retreat to the back of the cave! Wait for an opportunity to flee!" Uvrik said as he got into position with his shield

'While everyone prepared, Philip smeared his sword with an unknown dark concoction before throwing the rest of the bottle on the Troll's face.'

/CRACK!/

/SNISS!/

/ROAR!/

'The Troll cried painfully as his eyes burned to the poison.'

'With a serious smile, Philip dashed forward!'

/CRACK!/

'The Troll swung its hand sideways, trying to predict where Philip was based on the sound he was making.'

'But it missed when Philip ducked, hitting the cavern's walls, turning the stone into many fragments…'

'Its raw strength was unmatched!'

/CUT!/

'Philip took this chance to swing his sword with his two hands, aiming at the hand the Troll was using to wipe his face.'

"ROAR!"

'The beast wailed miserably as it lost several fingers at once.'

'Philip was very conservative as he didn't want to waste this chance trying to cut its hand, so he aimed at his weaker fingers.'

/BAM!/

'Uvrik didn't stay still as he swing his mace down on the Troll's knees, making the beast fall.'

/CRACK!/

'Still unable to see, the Troll tried to smash his unhurt hand and kill Uvrik, but he had already left, this wasn't his first time hunting a Troll.'

/CUT!/

'Taking this chance, Philip sliced the Troll's third eye located on its forehead!'

/ROAR!/

'The beast finally went berserk, flailing its arms around as it started to run in a random direction…'

/Fwoosh!/

'Right at this moment, Hashiv started raining arrows on the Troll, it's movement pattern was simply too simple for this experienced Hunter.'

'In this sense, he was better than Philip, his current body was too unaccustomed with these things, while Hashiv himself had a much better grasp of these bows capabilities…'

/Whimp…/

'The Troll started to whimper in pain as it fell on the ground upon tripping on a rock, how pitiful…'

'The previously domineering Troll was now reduced to this in front of decent teamwork…'

'But it wasn't over yet, just because it had fallen to the ground, it didn't mean it was dead, it still had a lot of strength to spare and its bleeding had even already stopped…'

'It was a threat until its head fell…'

"HAA!" Uvrik exclaimed loudly as he jumped on the back of the Troll, hitting it's head with his mace

/CRACK!/

'The unhealthy sound of bones breaking followed by Uvrik flying in the air happened as Philip ran with his sword.'

'With a final swing, Philip pierced with his sword directly through the Troll's forehead eye, slashing its brain and everything in between.'

/Thud…/

'As soon as the Troll fell, he took a defensive stance before grabbing his sword and piercing his head once more, and finally cutting its head off.'

"Can never be too sure."

"... All of this work to take down a single Troll..."

Sigh...

'He started to walk closer to the fallen Uvrik.'

Hum… He's okay, but the Troll hit him in the chest with the back of its hand…

This is what you get for being careless, he's going to be okay, Nords are sturdy, especially a trained one, but…

'He sneakily took a potion and fed it to him, he didn't mind wasting these potions like this, they were, after all, mainly fuel for his Alchemist Skill Level, and their total value didn't even equate to 1000 Septims.'

'In the end, he needs these people alive if he wishes to have a good time when he's back.'

"Urg… My back…" Uvrik said as he was pulled from the ground

"Can you walk?"

"Of course I can, a few bones won't… Arg… Stop me in my tracks, I've had worse…"

"But I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to protect anyone anymore."

"..."

It's too dangerous to have them go back like this…

"Fine, gather everyone and have them go to the Cave's entrance, I'll take a last look here and follow you all back to town."

"Good… For me." Uvrik replied in pain

/Crack!/

"Ah! My back!"

"..."

…

'Once everyone left the cave, Philip started to work.'

'He quickly went to the Vampire and grabbed all of his clothing items with the exception of his underwear, that would be disgusting.'

[Ring of Fortify Conjuration]

[Vampiric Ring of Drain Health]

[Amulet of Fortify Conjuration]

This guy surely was loaded...

Hopefully, Enchantment isn't a complete hurdle of a task.

'Following suit, he looted all bodies for literally everything, coins, ingredients, and any piece of jewelry.'

"... I'll leave these for their families."

'Shaking his head, he left the Human hearts and other "materials" on the table, there was no need to grab them, leave it to them to mourn.'

"Skeletons… Check… Bodies… Check… Below the bed?"

Aha!

'With a devilish smile, he pulled a small stack of books from beneath the bed.'

[Raise Skeleton Spell book x1]

[Reanimate Skeleton Spell book x1]

[Raise Zombie Spell book x1]

[Reanimate Corpse Spell book x1]

[Conjure Flesh Atronach Spell book x1]

[On Oblivion x1]

[The Doors of Oblivion x1]

'One by one, he collected the small pile of books and stuffed them into his inventory.'

'How odd is to think that his first collection of books on the subject of Magic would be on the most controversial of topics… Conjuration, something akin if not worse than what Dark Magic is back in Eden.'

"This seems to be it."

The Necromancer himself was rather poor, a few hundred Septims on hand, and yeah.

To be honest, a Vampire has no need for the common folk's money, not like he can enter a city and buy things.

The true rewards were these books and the Soul gems.

And albeit I have collected a few things for the corpses laying around, including the little jewelry I found… They won't amount to much.

Perhaps I can enchant them, this would raise their price exponentially.

"Well… If anyone comes to me and asks, I won't mind returning their belongings…"

Until then, I'll 'safe keep' them.

'Finally, Philip approached the Altar.'

"I don't see anything special about it…"

'He quickly took out the Vampire's Diary, it was rather large, so he jumped to the final pages…'

…

/5 minutes later…/

"I see now." Philip said as he closed the diary

How… Uneventful.

All of this ritual… Just to Conjure a Flesh Atronach?

"Pretty much, this Vampire was incapable of Conjuring or making one on his own, so he tried to do it through a ritual."

Not that making it easy in the first place, some of the details are inscribed in this diary.

If that wasn't enough, in order to Conjure it, he first needed a Black Soul Gem, in order to... 'Trade' for a decent Golem.

But he couldn't get his hands on it, so he started researching into turning a normal Soul gem into a Black one.

Hence, the Half Black Soul gem and the Great Soul gem fragments I got.

But the thing is... This Spell is… Adept Level…

'Philip felt disappointed, had it been a Master Spell, things would've been different... But would a Master Spell be so easy to get?'

"Sigh, this only goes to show that I shouldn't base myself on the games, reaching Adept is already a great accomplishment in itself in this world."

The number of decades necessary to do so is numerous… And it's not like this Vampire was weak.

He would've won if I had not used this Skill.

Dual casting Magic... Strong Magic... High regeneration from being a Vampire...

And simply judging by how well he resisted some of our attacks, it was clear his body was strong as well.

Still... This Level of Conjuration could be achieved within a single day by casting Soul trap on a dead body back in the game...

"Wizards are a force to be reckoned with, and none should be looked down on as even an Apprentice Level wizard cause this much damage, much to say a Master."

'With a final look, Philip turned around, leaving the cave for good.'

/FWOOSH!/

/SPLURT!/

"?!"

'Out of nowhere, an arrow pierced his shoulder, and before Philip had the time to react, his body froze as he fell on the ground like a dead leaf.'

What?!

Dammit! An ambush?!

My body feels like a rock... Completely unresponsive...

"This took longer than I would've desired."

'Philip couldn't move his head, only his eyes, but since he fell with his back facing the ground, he could still see who it was.'

'It was a man with a hood and a mask, holding a bow with an iron dagger on his waist.'

A thief? Doesn't seem like it...

"Remember me? Boss?"

"..."

No...

'Philip went through all of his memories, and nothing.'

"I forgot this paralyzes the whole body... But perhaps this will shed some light on your thoughts." He said as he pulled down his mask

'He had a scar on his neck, and as soon as he saw it, Philip started to understand his situation...'

'Because there were a few people Eddy was wary off, and there was a man whose description was having a nasty scar on his neck...'

"It's me, Luric." He said with a small smile

"!"

'Philip finally connected the dots, it became clear.'

The Caravan had a total of 20 Mercenaries acting as guards, and 10 guards directly under Eddy's father, Jum.

To split the power, Jum contracted with 2 different Mercenary groups, while the rest was filled with Freelance mercenaries.

And Luric was part of the latter, a Mercenary that has been working with them for a few years already, but his greed and self-centered mentality were noticed even before Jum died.

His criminal record was exactly what made Eddy wary of him, and from everyone that worked in the Caravan, he was among the top 3.

He, the Administrator, and the Guard Captain.

I didn't expect them to move within a day after I left the Inn, I surely expected some sort of confrontation, but such direct means were beyond my expectations.

He said poison, right?

"... Expect me to..."

'While Luric narrated his reason for doing all of this with a sick smile on his face, he started to bind Philip with a set of ropes.'

'He was planning on torturing him to get some information!'

"?"

Does he not know that there are people outside?... Did they somehow... Not meeting each other?

No, that isn't possible, for him to be here, he has to have followed me, and he would've realized I had someone with me as well...

What should I do?

'Philip opened his inventory and saw that his paralysis would last for at least 4 more minutes.'

'But that didn't matter as he had several antidotes ready, one of them was bound to work, at least reducing the time.'

"Heh, ye thought you could hold onto such secrets like that?"

"You have no allies you idiot! Someone like you..."

'But Philip ignored his stupid ramblings.'

"..."

His breath smells of alcohol, is he under some influence?

I can see a bottle of mead on his waist, did he drink as he waited?

This guy... He doesn't look that smart.

Yeah... I should end this quickly.

If he binds me, then things would get a bit complicated.

And this arrow stuck on my shoulder hurts a ton.

'Philip opened his inventory and with a decisive gaze, he choose to use a strong antidote.'

[Paralisys has been lifted]

"... LIke that I'll..."

/FWOOSH!/

'In a swift motion, Philip kicked the man in the nuts before equipping a small knife and plunging it into his neck!'

"Gu-Oh..."

'The man didn't even have time to process what happened before he died.'

{One-Handed 20 -> 21}

'Continuous fragments of information were poured onto his mind following this notification, and after a few seconds, Philip sat down on the ground and pulled the arrow out carefully.'

"Urg..."

It's a shame, but I'll spend my last Level point here.

I could use a potion, but since I would have to use it anyway, I'll do it now.

I have already confirmed the efficacy of potions, so as long as I have one in my inventory, I can heal myself through the System Menu.

As with this, I would have to wait sometime.

"Here I go..."

...

/A minute later.../

'With a sharp gaze and a few more items, Philip left the cave, not before throwing the body onto a pile on the corner, this way, the blame would be sent to the Vampire instead of him.'

'No matter what, murder isn't very well seen, and even if it was for self-defense, how can he prove it?'

'Instead of going through some boring things, Philip decided to leave the cavern...'

'Not before harvesting all of the herbs on the way.'

"I almost forgot..."

'He turned around and rushed inside the cavern again.'

Can't leave you behind... Enchanting Table.

It does fit in my inventory. Great.

I'm a bit heavy, but it's nothing I can't deal with.

Onwards.

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Notes