[SD:DD] Subpar Loot - Chapter 10

As Samuel is pushed back, the unresponsive part of the undead torso snake drags behind, causing the withered zombies to stumble. It isn’t much, but it opens up space. Space that Gem needed so as to not worry about hitting him.

Space they use to sneak in a charged wind blade followed by three rapid uncharged wind blades. The charged spike of wind does wonders against one zombie’s head, if not killing it, then at least taking the monster out of the fight.

The three normal wind spikes rip the withered flesh apart, leaving strands hanging on. Except without the extra charging, the holes are shallow and the damage doesn’t slow them down. At best, knocking them back a step.

Gem, “Dang it all! Of course, after barely using my spear, we end up fighting undead.”

Samuel, “Guess it is my time to shine!”

Samuel reverses his grip on his sword, grabs on with his other hand, and pounds it down into the bone snake, finishing it off.

Now dead, the ribcages that make up the undead fall apart, allowing him to burst forth. Samuel pulls his sword out of the spine it is stuck in and returns to wielding it properly.

A quick glance confirms the edge is perfectly fine and so Samuel turns his full attention on the withered zombies as he smirks. “In the rock-paper-scissors match that is blunt, piercing, and slashing the fleshy undead tend more towards being weak to slashing damage. If only you could have used your Wind Blade as a blade through that spear when you wanted instead of needing a moment to change it back.”

Samuel rushes forward, shattering the bones beneath his feet. “Get a load of this skill I figured out! [Whirlwind Slash]!”

Samuel’s arm begins to sweep around in a frenzy. The sword slices into every single zombie as they come within range of his reach. Though this action doesn’t look the most pleasant.

Gem launches a wind blade without the spear at a zombie at the edge of the group and frowns. Without the “bleed” kicker, even as a blade, the skill isn’t exactly doing much to these undead. They turn to the other two, “What’s up with his new skill, anyway? I thought you had to learn stuff in-game? Besides, we’ve all been pretty much beyond shouting the names of our skills.”

Emrys rolls his eyes, “I guess he picked up one of the tutorials for generic skills. Like, yeah, you can only learn a skill while in SoulDive. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use outside knowledge. Just that most of the time that means someone who trained with a sword irl, getting a skill to represent that.”

June shrugs, “And the whole skill name thing is because he learned the skill ‘improperly’. That could mean a lot of things. In this case, though, I’m betting someone uploaded a reproduction of a proper lesson on the skill to get around the fact you can’t record skill lessons.”

Samuel is still tearing through the withered zombies, occasionally shouting out the skill name. “It’s only smart to search out that kind of thing! Skills aren’t cheap and this saves me money. Besides, this isn’t the only reason to say a skill name. Many people use them to aid in skill activation.”

June, “And he isn’t wrong. People who don’t know him will simply assume he hasn’t mastered the skill yet. You know, instead of being incapable of not using the skill name.”

Emrys shrugs, “Honestly? If you’re going to steal a skill, do it right. Find someone teaching it in the game and take it from there. This is a game after all. You should play it. Not like they’ll stop you from taking the knowledge in various illicit ways. The game devs just don’t want you going outside of the game to do so.”

Samuel strikes down a final zombie and turns to him, “It is not illegal. If anything, I consider this a better method of learning a skill for free as I’m not breaking any rules.”

Gem frowns, “Pretty certain the people who manually teach skills include oaths about not spreading the skill around.”

Samuel shrugs, “And if I took such an oath, I would follow it as is only proper. However, I swore no oath about this skill. Just because someone else broke their word does not obligate me to resolve the issue.”

Gem shakes their head, “Whatever. You can learn all the skills you want and shout them till the cows come home. For the moment, we need to rush deeper in and see what we can see. I bet if we get some juicy details, the guild will pay through the nose for it!”

Samuel smiles, “Well then, what are we waiting for?”

The answer is nothing, and so they continue deeper into the stagnant zone. Their only real guide being to follow that feeling in the air. All the while, small groups of undead pop up and need to be put down. Mostly skeletons that have been rearranged in horrific fashion. Though the withered zombies certainly aren’t shy.

Right after one such fight, Gem frowns as they do a quick once-over. “You know what? The amount of loot we’ve been finding is quite subpar.”

Emrys waggles a shin bone at them, “We’re picking up a few bones here and there that seem to have some residual magic to them. They should be worth something.”

Gem waves him off, “I don’t mean like that. Because sure, a dragon’s body is going to be worth a ton, but you’re expecting to find a hoard! And these are the undead so I would expect to find the remnants of their life hanging around. Either stuff like the jewelry they wore while alive or at least grave goods.”

June, “Nah, there’s something in charge. While the zombies still seem to be wearing the tattered remains of their clothes, just consider how altered the skeletons are. Whatever is in charge will have stripped the valuables off for their own use or collection. If only to make it not worth our time to wipe these undead.”

This annoyed Samuel now that he was made aware of it, but the prize of a reward from the guild kept him going. Nevermind the fact that he was very much needed for this. The various skeletal horrors were tough all around, needing a “blunt” approach that even with his shield, none of the party was really all that good at delivering.

However, the withered zombies basically required him to finish in a reasonable time frame.

Gem, “Rawr! Blade! You’re a Wind Blade!” And they fire another shot through their spear. The result is still a spear of wind.

Emrys shakes his head, “You can change the skill back into a blade, it just takes time.”

Gem, “Which we don’t exactly have.”

Emrys shrugs, “Guess you’re just stuck in a bit of a Catch-22. Without the spear, even charged, your skill doesn’t slow the zombies. Once used through the spear at least the bleed kicker can slow them down if you catch them right and when charged actually take them out.”

June nods, “Maybe focus on charging the skill faster. As that seems to be the bottleneck.”

Gem rolls their eyes and takes a bit longer than it would have to just charge the skill. “I’d prefer better control.”

A regular wind blade slices through the air and lops off a zombie’s legs, leaving the stump “bleeding” the black necromancy mist. Gem nods, “See? Even without a charge, the blades are so much better when used through the spear. When I try a wind blade without, this happens.”

From Gem’s offhand, another wind blade is fired at the now downed zombie. It strikes about the same area on the other leg, but while the flesh is sliced apart, the bone remains strong, blocking the blade from cutting deeper. “That happens.”

Samuel, “Well, I don’t remember the assay mentioning a damage boost.”

Emrys shrugs, “Likely just a side effect of being channeled through a properly aligned tool. Sort of like you can technically fry an egg on a hot enough rock, but if you want it to look good, you’re going to want a frying pan.”

Whatever the case, with every new group of undead, Gem will tweak and test ways to cast Wind Blade through their spear. They never manage to make an actual blade any faster than it would take to channel the skill. Though they proved many times over that even uncharged, a wind blade channeled directly into a zombie’s bodies after piercing them with their spear? Yeah, that is pretty effective. And it isn’t like this was without other benefits.

{

Level: 11 > 12

Body: D- > D

Mana: S- > S

Stamina: F > D-

Sense Mana lv7 > 10 [Rank Up Available]

Mana Control lv0 > 3

☆ Wind Blade lv2 > 4

}

Gem sighs, “Well, at least my final core skill is ranking up.”

June, “That’s good. Though how have you been practicing Sense Mana? Like, Emrys ranked his up because he kept checking everything for Mana.”

Gem, “Duh, I was feeling how the Mana moved through my spear when I use my skill. Anyway, let me rank this up real quick.” And Gem steps aside.

{

Greater Sense Mana

The ability to sense Mana within yourself and, to a lesser degree, around you.

Sense External Mana

The basic ability to sense Mana within yourself and around you.

Artificers Sense

The basic ability to sense Mana within yourself, within items you are holding, and to a lesser degree, around you.

}

Gem pouts, “Am I cursed to only want the generic upgrade option for these skills?” And they pick Greater Mana Sense.

Back with the group they ask June the same question. Though June isn’t the first to answer.

Samuel laughs, “For someone so devoted to Chaos, I would have figured your skills would be chaotic as well!”

Emrys shoots him down right away, “Nah, at this level what they’re experiencing is normal. After all, to be chaotic, you need the most options, which is exactly what the basic skills give. Take my Mana Sense for instance.

“By upgrading it to the version that is more specific to researching Mana, my ability to sense Mana within myself and around me hasn’t improved much at all since. All of the improvements have gone towards sensing types and interactions when I’m able to specifically focus on something. Convenient for me, but it means the skill is a lot less useful in a fight.”

Gem nods, “Yeah, as far as I can tell, my upgrade’s description basically just drops the word ‘basic’. Which I can already feel to a certain extent? Though presumably it will be clearer as I level the skill.”

June nods, “Honestly? Unless you are going for something specific like that research skill, staying general for the first evolution isn’t the worst idea. Besides, I’ve heard rumors that you get more unique options at higher levels no matter what you do.”

Gem smiles, “Well, I can’t wait for that! I guess it takes the game a little bit to get used to who we are and offer us better choices. Because there was an option in this selection that I know why it got offered, but which I would never take.”

And with that, the group pushes further. All around them, the buildings are ever more preserved. Signs of fabric awnings become apparent, though any colors they might have had are faded beyond recognition. The addition actually made the area look even more dead, the bleached white fabric bringing to mind bones instead of clothes.

Though oddly enough, the density of undead monstrosities begin to fall. The withered zombies still shamble around, though more individually.

Gem frowns as Samuel cuts down another. “I think these buildings are original.”

Emrys raises an eyebrow, “Why would you think that?”

Gem gestures, “The zombies aren’t actually randomly wandering. They appear to be doing that thing some zombie movies include. You know, where the zombies end up mimicking how they acted in life. That last one? They were ‘shopping’ at these stores.”

The others look around and realize Gem is probably right.

June nods, “Yeah, I can see it. Instead of random buildings, while still not organized, it feels more like they grew together through life instead of put together in death.”

Gem smiles, “Which means we are almost there!”

Samuel frowns, “There?”

Gem nods, “The street here is broad on purpose! Those buildings? Fancier than not. We’re at the central area for this place and it only took us a few hours to get here. I bet if we just follow this road, we’ll find what we need to see!”

This seemed sensible enough, so the group pushed on a bit further. And now that they’re watching the buildings? Everyone notices right away that they’re changing. From stores and big houses, to government-looking places. Though everything falls away after another half hour of exploring and gives way to religious structures.

Temples to various minor deities pass them by, unidentifiable as the undead have clearly gone over each one with a fine-toothed comb. Any iconography? Scraped off. Statues to the deities? Shatter beyond recognition. Even some basic building features appear to have been removed, presumably as they could have identified who was once worshipped there. 

And through them all, a pattern. Rough carvings done with exacting detail, all of the ornamental scythe and the sheath of wheat from the corn. Except not quite. Whereas in the coin, the wheat is thick with plump seeds, the grain in the rough carvings are barren.

Then suddenly the whipping winds and blind sand dies. Before the party lies a ten-story hexagonal pyramid. Each block is pristine with edges so sharp that simply looking at them makes it feel like your eyes should start bleeding. No symbols are carved into this structure. The white stone stands undisturbed for who knows how long.

Gem nods, “Welp, that’s what we were looking for! Let’s go take a peek inside.”

June frowns, “That doesn’t sound like the smartest of plans?”

Emrys shrugs, “The doors open, nevermind I don’t think it has an actual door to close.”

Samuel, “Besides, We’ll get more money if we take a look.”

With three against one, the party advances and are able to enter. The hexagonal pyramid itself is empty except for a single pillar in the center.

June glances around, “Well, nothing to see here. Let’s go.”

Gem walks further in, “No, I think I see something around that pillar. Also, wait a second!”

Emrys raises an eyebrow and walks up next to them, “What?”

Gem points up, “This isn’t six-sided! There are seven sides.”

The others frown and look up, counting the sides.

Emrys nods, “Huh, you’re right, it does seem to have seven sides. Oh, and there does seem to be something on the floor behind the pillar.”

Now that someone else has confirmed it, the entire group walks around the pillar and stares down. And down.

And down.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Because it isn’t something ON the floor. It is something cutting through the floor. More specifically, it is the top of a staircase leading far into the depths below.

Another Skill Rank Up - Chapter 9

Soul Fire Eyes - Chapter 11