Reborn as the First Boss, Chapter 62

Chapter 62 – Return to Magehallow

The trip back to Magehallow was an easy one, not that I expected any differently. After all, we were nearly twenty levels higher than we were when we made the trip out, just a couple days ago. If the area had changed enough that we were going to start seeing problems, it would have come up before now.

Part of me wanted to go straight to Kester, and unload the loot we had. We did give him right of first refusal, after all. There were some interesting pieces of loot in the pile. Most were just more powerful versions of the loot people normally found in the dungeon, caused by the bosses they dropped from being a higher level than normal. But there were some special ones, especially from the two Bosses.

As far as I knew, Akkras had never been defeated, since he became the final boss of the dungeon. Even before he was a Boss, he had been too tough for most to take on. That meant the loot we got from him was likely something that may as well be unique, at least in this area.

Robes of the Undead King

Type

Armor

Rank

Super Rare

Price

25900 gp

Weight

2 kg

These robes were made for one versed in the necromantic arts. Only an undead or one with a class related to undeath may wear these robes safely, and they serve to mark the wearer as a powerful commander of the dead. Does not interfere with spellcasting.

+100 Defense

+50 INT

+50 WIS

 Lord of the Dead – Able to control 4x as many undead for your level. Undead you create or place under your control gain a 25% bonus to all attributes.

Deathtouched – This robe is infused with the powers of death. If the wearer is not undead, or possesses a class like Necromancer which inures them to Death, they suffer CON damage equal to 1% of their maximum CON, and the item becomes cursed, preventing them from removing it.

Deadly Spells – All spells of the Necromancy school, or spells which deal with the undead and negative energy, are 50% more effective.

Staff of Necromancy

Type

Simple Two-handed

Rank

Super Rare

Price

26000 gp

Weight

2 kg

Damage

STR

Critical

x2

Range

N/A

Damage Type

Bludgeoning

This staff made of white oak has been shaped to look like a human spine, with a skull at its head. While it can be used as a weapon, its primary purpose is to amplify the user’s necromantic magic, though those without a Necromancer’s skills can still use some of its power.

+50 INT

+50 CHA

Empowered Necromancy – All spells of the Necromancy school, or spells which deal with the undead and negative energy, are 50% harder to resist.

Create Undead – The wielder of this staff can cast the Create Undead spell at will, without requiring any material components, other than the corpses to be raised.

Summon Undead – Summon up to CHA/10 Skeleton Warriors to defend you. Reserves 20% of your maximum MP. Skeleton Warriors have attributes based on your level, and remain for 1 hour, or until destroyed.

Ring of False Life

Type

Ring

Rank

Rare

Price

14000 gp

Weight

N/A

This simple ring of bone, inset with an onyx gem, appears to be a mere trinket, but is, in fact, a powerful bridge between the realms of Life and Death.

False Life – The wearer of this ring is treated as being either Living or Undead by all spells, skills, or other effects, depending on which is most beneficial to them. Cure spells heal them as if they were living, and Inflict spells heal them as if they were undead.

Close to Death – The wearer of this ring can focus on a creature, and see an approximation of how much HP they have remaining, showing how close to death they are.

As befit a Lich who was the boss of the dungeon, Akkras had some fine loot. The robes were very nice for any necromancer or wannabe lord of the dead, while the staff worked nicely with it giving anyone who had the pair a serious boost to their MP, and to how nasty their Necromancy spells were, with a 50% boost to damage and reducing the target’s defenses by 25%. Not too shabby.

But the real prize, in my opinion, was the ring. The other two items were far too focused. For a Necromancer, or a necromancer-adjacent class, they were great, but outside of those types, only the staff was of any use, and even that had to be weight against what you’d be giving up by using it, over some other weapon. The ring, however, was pure upside, with no downside. [False Life] was a clear win, obviously, but the more interesting part, to me, was [Close to Death], which allowed you to see a bar over a creature’s head when you focused on them, showing how much HP they had. This was something I wanted to talk to Kester about, and see if he could transfer that enchantment to one of my other rings.

Demontouched Warpfire Staff

Type

Simple Two-Handed

Rank

Super Rare

Price

225800 gp

Weight

2 kg

Damage

2*STR

Critical

x2

Range

N/A

Damage Type

Warpfire

This staff of twisted elm has been warped by otherworldly energies, making it hazardous for those unworthy to touch. However, for those who can withstand its power, the warping ability of this staff is well worth the cost.

Restricted: Must be Tier 2 to use.

+250 INT

+250 WIS

+250 CHA

Warpfire – This staff’s head is coated in the unearthly energies of another plane, resulting in an aura of pinkish flames. These flames do no damage to the staff, but inflict Warpfire damage on all they hit. Warpfire ignores resistance or immunity to fire. Creatures hit with Warpfire have a (10 + Wielder Level - Target Level) percent chance of sprouting spontaneous, random mutations. Warpfire damage cannot be healed by magic under Tier 2 in strength.

Warpfire Spells – By paying double the MP cost, the wielder can transform their damaging spells, to make them do Warpfire damage, instead of their normal damage.

Demontouched – Those without demonic blood who so much as touch this staff must resist a [Curse of Madness] spell as if cast by a Tier 2 Mindbreaker.

Twisted Goggles of Future Sight

Type

Face

Rank

Super Rare

Price

215500

Weight

0.5 kg

These goggles of infernal brass with lenses of warptouched quartz are potent tools for those who wish to peer into the future. However, being able to see all future paths is problematic when you can no longer see the present.

Restricted: Must be in Tier 2 to use.

+250 INT

Future Sight – The wearer constantly sees all future paths, able to witness the results of every action they take, up to a day in the future. These future paths are constantly changing as choices close off some paths and open others. However, the wearer is prone to becoming distracted by the myriad futures, leaving them vulnerable in the present if they do not force themselves to pay attention.

Withheld Fates – The Voice of the World shields creatures of unique stature from this item’s power. Creatures with Heroic Souls or Chaos Orbs are warded from the [Future Sight] of this item, unless they are the one wearing it. Such creatures are invisible to the wearer’s [Future Sight].

Catastrophic Bracers of the Prophet

Type

Arms

Rank

Super Rare

Price

267400

Weight

1 kg

These bracers of elf leather and corrupted mithril have been designed to enhance the wearer’s powers of divination and destruction. While they are powerful in their own right, there are few who can handle some of the gear’s quirks.

Restricted: Must be in Tier 2 to use.

+250 CHA

+250 INT

Prophetic – If the wearer of these bracers has the Divination school of magic, they receive a vision of the future each morning. This vision may or may not relate to them, and may take place anywhere in the next ten years. The wearer’s Divination spells are 10 times as effective as normal.

Catastrophic – The wearer’s damaging spells have a 25% chance to become Catastrophic. Single target Catastrophic spells also affect the closest creature to the target, dealing 200% greater damage to both of them. Multitarget Catastrophic spells target 4 times the number of targets, chosen randomly from those within range. Area effect Catastrophic spells have 10 times the normal area, and ignore cover or obstructions. If a spell turned into a Catastrophic spell, there is a 25% chance that the spell will deal damage to the wearer equal to the damage dealt.

Naturally, these were all completely useless to me, or my group. Even if we eventually made it to Tier 2, I wasn’t really liking how these items worked. The Demontouched Warpfire Staff was the least problematic of the trio. Decent stat boosts, no hidden stings, so long as you had demon blood, and warpfire looked like a good way to get around some damage immunities. However, my most-used damaging spells were from the Spellshooter class, and I couldn’t wield a gun at the same time as the two-handed staff.

The other two items were worse. Yes, there wasn’t explicitly bad about the goggles, unlike the bracers which literally would sometimes have a spell blow up in your face. However, I could read between the lines. The bit about how seeing all those possible futures could make you lose sight of the present? That screamed ‘bad news’ to me. Hell, even the bit about those with chaos orbs and heroic souls not showing up in the futures was a big problem. Clearly, the goggles didn’t prepare the last wearer for someone with a couple heroic souls delivering overwhelming firepower to his face, which meant if another Hero or Boss came after me, I wouldn’t know about it until it was too late, even with the goggles trying to drive me mad by showing me all the different parallel timelines at once.

Worse, I probably couldn’t sell those three anywhere in Shadescar Barony. There just weren’t enough people who had Tier 2 classes and professions around here, and something told me that an enchanter would need to be on the cusp of Tier 2, or actually in Tier 2 before he could do anything useful with those three items.

The other items? Well, Kester could probably break them down. Might get him to try and add the [False Life] ability from the ring to one of my own rings. Either way, he should be able to help us dispose of the rest of the loot from the dungeon, and turn it into useful gear, or coin.

But I couldn’t do that right now. As much as I wanted to go and see the fence first, maybe get some nice toys or upgrades to my kit, if I could, first thing I needed to do was go to the Adventurers Guild, and make sure the local Guildmaster learned everything that was going on. And, you know, hopefully keep him from getting too pissed at me.

The guards at the city gate stiffened as we approached. Not surprising. The only Level 40 anywhere near here was Guildmaster Roland back in Windwater Towne, and here was a whole party of level 40s, just riding into town. Obviously, they would have questions.

“We’re adventurers just returned from the Necropolis,” I said, before they could start. “We have word for the Guildmaster regarding the recent announcements from the Voice of the World.”

That got them to quietly step aside, though I noticed three of the guards leaving the detail at the gate. One ran off, probably to go inform someone in charge. The other two followed after us. As they put it, it was to ensure that no one stopped or harassed us on our way to the guild. And while that might have been part of it, I figured the main reason was to ensure that we didn’t get ‘lost’ or take the ‘scenic route’ on our way to the Guild. No stopping by the fence, it seemed, until after we’d delivered our report.

All eyes turned to us as we entered the guildhall, which wasn’t unexpected, since we were new faces, had a couple guards behind us, and were mostly attractive women, with a single man in our midst. More than one adventurer was looking hungrily at us. Not that I minded, but it wasn’t time for that.

Walking up to the reception desk, I smiled at the clerk, and said, “We need to speak with the Guildmaster. It is about the messages from the Voice of the World.”

The clerk stammered as he looked up at me, and clearly his brain needed a moment to restart. Even without trying, an attractive woman with 800 CHA was going to be ‘distracting’. “R-right away, miss—I mean, ma’am!”