THIRTY-ONE: CORPSE FISHING

  Cassius waited around the edge of the building, eyes locked on the undead hunters that wandered through the mist. It had been a simple thing he’d overlooked, thinking only of himself when he had hatched the idea. Vira and Valeria had both reminded him that he was the only one who could actually see the undead as they came toward him and it was better for him to be the distraction while the two women got the body.

  From his vantage at the final manor at the end of the lane he could see all seven surviving creatures as they wandered about with no purpose. That there were as many of the second tier undead warriors as there were manor houses. It spoke of the foreign logic that ruled this place, of all of it.

  While he waited for the signal he let himself think over what it was that Vira had revealed to him. What had once been stone solid thoughts of the truth of the world had turned to sand and he was forced to confront what it meant. The gods did not elevate the strata to protect their creations. The strata and legions had slaughtered the previous guardians and now kept control of them to limit the strength of the people.

  The Old Guard were near demi-god beings who ruled and protected the republic with casualty that bordered on negligence. It was too much for him to honestly think about while he perched on the side of the gate, about to tempt fate once more.

  “Focus Null, focus,” he muttered to himself, repeating what he’d been forced to hear Marcus tell him frequently.

  He could see the entirety of the street with his skill active making it easy to see when Vira signaled her readiness. A spear rose up and above the gates and waved back and forth. Cassius cursed Leto again, tired and sick as the man was, he hadn’t risen when they had shaken him. Forcing Vira to leave her kinsmen had been difficult, but their survival would be dependent on Cassius finishing filling his empty skill slot and breaking into the next tier.

  Cassius pushed his spear through the bars of the gate, left his heavy shield behind, and leapt over the gate to land loudly in a clatter of armor. All seven of the surviving undead warriors stopped and spun, eyes locked darkly on him as they began to slowly move forward. Dark mana rippled down their blades as they formed a line and came toward him.

  It was too slow, a methodical march rather than the mad focused dash they wanted. They were aware of their surroundings or at least potentially aware of them. Cassius sucked in a breath, straining his lungs as he stared the approaching creatures down.

  “I KILLED YOUR BROTHER WITH EASE! YOU UGLY BASTARDS CAN NOT FACE ME WITHOUT NUMBERS! LIMP WRISTED, FOUL-SMELLING, UNDEAD BASTARDS!” Cassius felt his throat tear with the force of his cry. The words hadn’t been planned, but they had enough of an impact that the seven increased their stride, hurrying down the long road to him in perfect synchrony.

  “Could have done better,” Cassius muttered to himself as he picked up his spear and stood in the middle of the road. They passed the dead bodies in the center of the road and Cassius watched as Vira scaled the fence to land lightly on the ground. She’d taken her armor off, wearing only her arming vest, pants and boots. The rope was coiled around her shoulders as she ran toward the dead bodies silently.

  “Just a while longer,” Cassius told himself. He smacked the butt of the spear on the smooth ground and yelled worldlessly. All seven of their attention were firmly rooted on him as they continued forward. Cold sweat rolled down Cassius’ back as he waited, hardly daring to breathe. He wanted to break away, sprint to the gate and throw himself over before they arrived to hack him apart with the darkly glowing blades.

  Vira was strong enough to pick up the body of the fallen undead with relative ease, scurrying back with it over her shoulder. She was already winding the rope around its arms and tossing the loose end to Valeria who hauled it up.

  The rope rasped as it ran over the iron bars. Cassius' heart froze as all seven of the undead hesitated, a momentary stutter in their smooth strides.

  “YOU REEK OF DEATH, YOUR BLADE WORK IS INFERIOR, YOUR BLOODLINE IS THAT OF A CUR!” Cassius winced as he yelled, both at the weakness of the insults and the harshness in his throat. It was enough to draw all seven attention back to him.

  They were less than a hundred feet away now, their long strides eating up the distance with ease. Cassius didn’t worry, he had plenty of time to escape as long as he moved without hesitation.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Vira darted back into the street.

  Cassius cursed as he risked a glance behind him, the curve of the road sharp and filled with fog that he couldn’t pierce. It was the obvious end of the dungeon, but Cassius couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he turned and sprinted into that mist.

  He whipped his head back around as the undead had cut the distance down by half. If he didn’t move now there would be no time. Their blades would enter his back as he tried to scale the fence.

  Vira was dragging her dead kinsman back to the gates, his heavier armored form more difficult for her. The man’s feet dragged on the ground while the majority of his torso was over her shoulder.

  “Damn you, Viridian, damn you to the depths,” Cassius said as he launched himself forward. The distance between him and the seven had shortened enough that there was no chance of him escaping without injury unless he did something.

  [Thrust] and [Reinforce] filled the long spear, his arms leaping forward even as the spear glowed bright red. Instead of holding it tight, Cassius threw his strength behind the mana infused blow. The spear flew from his fingertips, crossed the distance in an instant, and was met with a wide sweeping sword blade that knocked it to the ground.

  The resulting flash of light was spectacular, bright as the dawn. Cassius' back was turned to it as he used the momentum of his quick leap forward to race toward the gate, jumping in a smooth motion as he grabbed the top of the gate and threw himself over the edge. He thanked himself for wearing his armor as the iron points scraped long scratches along the thick steel as he fell in a heap. Pain shot through his arm from the awkward landing, to go with the pain in his ankle.

  “Roll you bastard,” Cassius screamed at himself, pushing off with his good arm and rolled deeper into the estate lawns. Again, seven darkly lit blades plunged through the spaces in the bars, seeking his death.

  Cassius got to his feet, well outside of their blade reach, and looked down the street to see Vira and Valeria hauling Titus’ body over the top. The crash of the fully armored man was loud enough that no matter what Cassius did, the seven undead warriors turned.

  “VIRA! THEY Come!” Cassius screamed as loud as he could, his throat failing him at the last moment.

  Cassius cursed as he hobbled to his shield, grasping it in his good arm. There was an ugly lump in his forearm that Cassis feared was a broken bone. He couldn’t afford to look at it as he started to run as fast as he could manage, reaching the next gate and looking at it. There was no way he could climb it in his current state.

  “Cursed gates,” Cassius cursed as his legs folded out under him and he slammed against the gate with a loud rattle of metal. Adrenaline and anxiety slowly leeched out of him, leaving him drained as he sat there, waiting.

  Pain radiated from the arm, a harsh reminder of his carelessness and Vira’s reckless choice. His ankle sent pulsing throbs of pain as he waited impatiently. It wasn’t long before he saw the two women coming over, Vira and Valeria moved slowly through the mist, but he could see the rage on Valeria’ face as they did so.

  “Here,” Cassius rasped as he leaned against the gate, hitting it with his shoulder to let the metal ring out.

  Two two women altered their trajectory and cut across towards him as Cassius sat there, basking in his pain. If it wasn’t for the aggravation of his ankle and the broken arm, he would be furious at Vira, but the pain was smothering that at the moment.

  “Are you hurt?” Vira asked. Cassius thought that there had been no anger in him, but that question burned through the pain and he found himself snapping before he could catch himself.

  “I have a damned broken arm because you decided to take too long retrieving your dead cousin!” There was plenty of bite in his voice as he said it, enough that he saw Vira reel back and wince.

  “I could not leave him out there for those creatures to tread upon. While it was my fault, we do have a gift for you that will take the sting from this,” Vira said. She reached through the gates, her hand holding a ragged piece of cloth. Cassius grabbed it with his good hand, feeling something small and sharp in his hand. Peeling the bloody cloth off he saw the skill shard for the first time.

  It was clear as the finest glass in Aurum, spiked points that threatened to draw blood if he closed his hand too tightly upon it. It was hardly larger than the last knuckle of his small finger.

  SKILL CRYSTAL

  REGENERATE

  ACQUIRE SKILL Y/N?

  ONE SKILL SLOT AVAILABLE

  “Is this what I think it is?” Cassius said, not absorbing it yet.

  “A healing skill, then yes. I understand now why the old legion didn’t break this dungeon. If they could farm the skill then it would be a powerful asset to anyone. Absorb it and we shall find the dungeon heart and harvest the rest of these creatures. We shall all leave with this skill,” Vira said with a wide smile.

  “Hurry it up. I wish for this to be over,” Valeria grumbled.

  “I have no desire to let Leto suffer here. The two of us will pass into the next tier, harvest more of them, and see Leto back to his feet,” Vira said. Cassius nodded and absorbed the skill without another word.