Chapter 26: Chapter 26. New discoveries
Giving one last look at the fading Altar of Lilith, Michael shook his head and moved onward. If he wanted to find this Hermit anytime soon, there was much ground to cover. Since it was still nighttime and he had no clock in the Sanctuary, he couldn't tell just how far the dawn was and couldn't count too much on it.
The snowstorm didn't subside yet, and the snowflakes battered his face. Fortunately, as his attributes increased, so did his body's senses. Not only could he see and hear better, but he didn't feel the cold as much anymore.
"I would've thought I somehow got hypothermia if Martel didn't explain the body's natural resistance to the elements. Still... these roads are so desolate and bleak that it makes me believe that I transmigrated into a horror game rather than an adventure genre..."
With only the wind howling and the low visibility, even with his enhanced senses, Michael braved the unknown, little by little being uncovered on his MAP.
There were many branching paths, but he smartly decided to stick to the main road.
Unluckily for him, the Sanctuary seemed to have different things planned.
"That familiar pinging sound... what did I uncover this time?"
Looking curiously at the MAP, a strange marker appeared close to him. He wasn't far from the location marked as 'Altar of Lilith 1'.
To describe it, the marker looked similar to an open door leading underground. Similar to...
"Huh! A cellar? The MAP marked it as 'Iceworn Cellar.' I wonder if it's a Dungeon."
As if hearing his uncertainty, the Sanctuary reacted immediately.
[ New Quest issued - Explore the Iceworn Cellar
Description: Cellars are small chambers that contain a wide range of content and enemies. Explore them at your peril. ]
Curious about this Side Quest he was just issued, Michael tracked the closest route to the cellar's location.
Upon getting there, he was surprised to see a corpse almost entirely encased in ice close to the entrance of the building.
Scanning his surroundings, he was surprised to see the dilapidated wooden building serving as a cellar. Curious, he moved around it, but the ground level seemed empty, and only the stairs descending to the underground appeared somewhat maintained.
Crouching, he checked the corpse for wounds but couldn't see much because it was frozen and covered in snow. He was surprised to find a total of 8 gold in the dead man's purse, as well as a token saying 'Militia' on it.
"I don't recognize the motif on the token, but this should be a militiaman from Nevesk or another nearby town. Maybe Kyovashad since it's close by. This means that this poor militiaman either died because of the weather or was killed, and whoever did it didn't bother searching him for loot."
The missed purse containing gold coins could be either due to the killer being in a hurry or not being interested in the coins as they hold no value to them - pointing out to an invader of Sanctuary - or this whole mess wasn't murder, and the guy died due to various other reasons.
Seeing the body trying to move away from the cellar, Michael already knew what might've happened but wasn't 100% convinced just yet.
"Guess that it's time for some more Dungeon diving... I'm already leveling up slowly, probably due to a lack of enemies."
His experience bar was currently showing 3205/8580, meaning he wasn't halfway through Level 5. Looking back at the entrance to the building, Michael was surprised to see that it lacked the film/barrier the trio and Gonk mentioned to him.
Upon entering the Dungeon in the ruins of Nevesk, he felt the same slight resistance upon moving inside, but there was nothing of sorts in this cellar.
Sending Pathfinder forward, he was surprised to still see him after crossing the doorway.
"No teleportation? Or maybe it doesn't work on a summon? Could it indeed not be a Dungeon but just an actual cellar? The prompt mentioned a 'wide range of content and enemies,' meaning that this could be a hiding spot for bandits or other hostile factions of nearby towns."
Realizing that further probing with Pathfinder wouldn't do much good as the thing was a Skeleton and not a drone, Michael prepared his dagger and buckler and walked inside.
Unsurprisingly, there wasn't a barrier or teleportation set, meaning it wasn't a Dungeon. Moving carefully through the dilapidated wooden building, Michael wondered why this wreckage was still standing.
"It doesn't even provide slight cover against the wind or cold, but its purpose is most likely to avoid snow covering the entrance to the cellar. The stairs leading down are also surprisingly clean, meaning someone has been ensuring this place remains usable."
Checking his items, skills, and Essence, Michael was as ready as he could be. Therefore, without any further hesitation, he proceeded down into the cellar. Minions ahead, of course.
Once he reached the end of the stairs, he was greeted by a small hall-like room containing different boxes, though most were empty. As for those that weren't, they contained meat and other things like wine barrels.
In the middle-left of the hall, an open door stood from where Michael could hear the familiar sound of bones rattling.
"Skeletons!? What the hell are they doing here?"
Moving carefully toward the opened door, the system helped him identify the enemies.
[ Skeleton (Minion) - Level 9 ]
[ Skeleton Archer(Minion) - Level 9 ]
[ Skeleton Captain (Elite) - Level 10
*Frozen: Summons three balls of frost. Upon explosion, they freeze and deal 30 fixed damage in a five-meter radius. ]
Unexpectedly, all three variations of his bone friends were here to welcome his arrival. And the Captain wasted no time, summoning ice flowers on the wooden floor.
Upon their 'blooming,' everything was frozen inside, including Goon No.1 and Good No.3, which were now helplessly stuck. Michael and the other two summons were lucky enough to notice the white circles in time and get out of range.
"I fucking hate surprise attacks..."
While complaining, Michael threw a ball of Blight at the Captain and had Pathfinder and Goon No.2 engage him. Another ball of Blight was thrown at the Archer, and three more Bone Splinters killed it for good.
Grinning at the normal Skeleton in full swing, he used his trusty buckler to parry the incoming sword. Pushing slightly upon contact, the Skeleton lost its balance and reeled back several steps.
Not willing to lose the opportunity, Michael dived in and hit it twice with his Magic dagger, killing it quickly.
Flummoxed, he looked at the dagger in a speechless manner.
"The fuck!? Just how high is the damage on this thing?"
A flying Pathfinder pulled him out of his surprised state, making Michael realize this Elite was quite strong. Fortunately, the Frozen status on his other summons ended, and all five started bullying it with their superior numbers.
Seconds later, the poor bastard died, though there was no loot from either of the three mobs. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Michael used Raise Skeletons three times and healed his summons to almost full health over the course of several minutes.
[ Reward unlocked: Challenge Interface
Description: Complete feats of great valor (or maybe just surprising achievements), and the Sanctuary will grant you rewards.
Reward: Lucky, Commoner (Player Titles). ]
"???"
The word 'confusion' was written all over the newbie Necromancer's face as a system prompt appeared out of nowhere.
The Character interface also opened, showing a new entry under his name called 'Titles - no title selected.'
"I mean... It's a normal game mechanic, but it's still weird to see it applied to me when I'm already more of an NPC than a player... Let's see what these titles do."
Opening up the sub-interface, Michael was stunned to see ten categories showing 478. That meant a total of 478 challenges he could complete.
Shocked at the stupidly high number, he checked on the separate categories.
1. Class Challenges
2. Crafting Challenges
3. Exploration Challenges
4. Feats of Strength Challenges
5. General Challenges
6. Hardcore Challenges
7. Monster Challenges
8. Multiplayer Challenges
9. Open World Challenges
10. Quest Challenges
"... damn!"
Upon seeing the ' Multiplayer Challenges, ' he barely got that word out through gritted teeth. Annoyed, he searched through the interface and finally saw the two titles he got as a reward for... exploring the Icehowl Cellar?
[ Lucky - Equip this title to receive a 5% increase in loot drop.
*Can equip up to a maximum of two titles at a time. ]
[Commoner - Equip this title to receive a +1 increase to the four main attributes.
*Can equip up to a maximum of two titles at a time. ]
Without hesitation, Michael opted to equip both titles immediately since both gains were very much welcomed.
He couldn't see a Luck stat or a percentage for loot drop chances, but that's usually the case in games. It was more of a hidden mechanic.
With the boost from the Altar of Lilith and the new Commoner title, his attributes raised a bit.
[ Attack Power: 134
Armor: 203
Life: 64
--------------
Strength: 30
Intelligence: 31
Willpower: 32
Dexterity: 38 ]
He could only smile wryly, seeing how he was beginning to look more like a Rogue than a mage Class. The only comforting thought was that he would undoubtedly get more items pertaining to his Class in the future since the Sanctuary would tailor the items based on his needs.
This was information gained from the trio and previously confirmed by the Barbarian. Not to mention that the Scythe he gained after slaying X'Fal had +20 Intelligence, also proving that fact.
The next ten or so minutes were spent searching every nook and cranny of the cellar, though nothing came out of it. Despondent, Michael left with his Skeletons leading the way.
"What the... Attack!"
Upon getting out of the shabby wooden building, a pack of four Worgen attacked his summons, but unfortunately for them, he managed to kill three and chase down a fourth.
The chase did lead him and his minions to a secondary path, but he moved further on it upon noticing another marker appearing on his map. It looked like the symbol of a pillar surrounded by a gate or circle of sorts.
And sure enough, some minutes later, he was standing in front of an obelisk filled with carved runes shining exceptionally bright. There was no light source around it, making the sight stranger and adding a mystical flair.
[ Identified objective - Shrines of Power
Description: Using his powers to bless the land, the Sanctuary responded to his request and helped him erect statues that would strengthen his children. Due to the angelic nature of these shrines, the Sanctuary helped shield them from the sights of those who don't consider the Father an ally.
Prompt 1: Shrines of Power are hidden all over Sanctuary. They grant temporary boosts to those discovering them upon activation.
Prompt 2: There are consequences of accepting Inarius's blessings. ]
Michael rolled his eyes at the system's description of the obelisk... or rather, shrine. The strange couple were at it again, making Michael wonder just what sort of stupid game these two were playing.
Even more surprising was that he could see it, even if he had activated Lilith's Altar just under an hour ago.
"You can read the undertone of the Sanctuary in the description. Lilith used her power to provide small but long-term benefits, while Inarius would provide stronger but short-lived blessings. Also, while Lilith pleaded with the Sanctuary for its help, Inarius 'requested' for the shrines to be erected. I can see how a relationship between people with such different personalities wouldn't exactly work out..."
Curious, he touched the shrine, and all its glow seemed to envelop Michael's body, flowing through the stone into his hand.
There was no feeling of being watched this time, making it evident that Inarius had better things to do than to spy on a newbie Level 5 Necromancer.
A 'Greed' status was affixed above Michael's Life bar, making him unable to understand what purpose this blessing would serve.
"Huh!? Again? What the hell is wrong with the Sanctuary and undead?"
Eight Skeletons rose from the ground, only to be easily disposed of by Michael and his minions. Surprisingly, there were three gold coins per dead enemy, making him realize that this 'Greed' status had to do with providing currency upon killing enemies.
"Interesting, but useless. I mean, the gold coins are pretty nice to have, but if you're in a situation where you'll almost die because enemies surround you, that's quite the shitty buff to gain..."
Curious about the end of this side path he took, Michael followed it going up a hill, and after killing three more demonic wolves, who also dropped three gold coins each, a beastly roar shook his body.
Looking back, he saw a four-meter bear rushing at him on all fours. Game world or not, seeing a bear run at you will make the blood in your veins freeze in fear. Especially when it's at least twice your size.
Michael threw a Blight ball at it and hurried his minions to attack, but the damned beast charged through them and seemed fixated on him.
The system's prompt followed, identifying the scary bastard.
[ Shocking Arctic Bear (Elite) - Level 9
*Shock Lance: Creates a ball of lighting that attacks everything in a two-meter radius. ]
Before he could rejoice that this Elite was a level lower than the Captain he fought in the cellar, a red ball of electricity hit his body, stunning him in place.
The bear's paw immediately made contact with his torso, sending him through the air into a tree stump.
"*Cough**Cough* Motherfucker! It feels as if a train hit me! What the fuck was that ridiculous skill!?"
Fortunately, the bear's Life was on the low end, and his minions made short work of it. As for the Shock Lance 'modifier,' it appeared to be a passive skill that would throw that red ball of electricity whenever hit in retaliation. One such ball was released when Goon No.2 hit it with its sword.
There was a short cooldown between releases, though, and Michael made good use of it.
A Potion Orb, 15 gold coins, and a small item box were on the ground. Judging from how it wasn't glowing, Michael realized he shouldn't hope for too much.
And indeed, he was right. It was a pair of normal boots called... Strider's Leggings.
Shaking his head in disappointment, he drank a vial of Weak Healing Potion and used the Potion Orb to replenish his stash.
He couldn't risk leaving behind hidden injuries.
"Kind of useless since the boots from Martel are better, but it's good stock to sell in the next town. Anyway, I've spent too much time doing Side Quests and exploration. I should find this Hermit and get this thing over with."
Opening the MAP and inspecting the golden-marked area, Michael started walking again.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone