The Lich's Master

Chapter 15: Gotcha!

He couldn’t sleep. No matter how much he tried, he simply couldn’t convince his body to relax, and his mind to let go of his worries for a short while. It just didn’t seem to work. He lay on the soft fur bed, staring at the rocky ceiling, wide awake.

The lingering smell of smoke was still fresh in his mind, so were the words of the players who were on the hunt for him. All because of that stupid knight. He felt as if his life had suddenly been turned upside down. Why had this caused more alarm for him than being stuck in this game had?

He let out a deep sigh. He didn’t think he would be able to sleep today.

At least, he thought to himself, they hadn’t found Cacophus’ cave. At least he was safe for now, and so was the Lich. He wondered what would happen were the Lich to be killed. Since the phylactery was in Kyle’s inventory, he wouldn’t die permanently, right?

Truth is, there was no way to know that. Aside from giving it a try, or course, but Kyle would very much prefer not to take any chances. Cacophus and his little army of skeletons was the only advantage he had gained so far, and he had grown somewhat fond of the Lich. He would hate to lose him.

He rolled around on his fur bed, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep, only to fail again. He eventually gave up and opened his character sheet. If he couldn’t sleep, the best thing he could do was checking the classes available to him and trying to make a decision.

Come morning, he had narrowed down his choices to a simple few. Still quite sleepy, he crawled out of bed and headed to Cacophus’ room. His stomach gurgled, reminding him to find some breakfast. Despite this being a game, hunger was still something that existed.

For normal players, food was used to give buffs, and avoid any exhaustion depuffs. It wasn’t vital for survival. Kyle still preferred to eat though, he couldn’t shake the feeling that if he didn’t eat, he could starve to death, just like in real life. Perhaps because this was now his life. He wasn’t sure.

“I HAD THE SKELETONS STOP MINING FOR THE NIGHT.” Cacophus’ voice sounded in his mind as he stepped through the partially open door. “NOISE COULD MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU TO SLEEP. DID YOU SLEEP WELL?”

Kyle forced a smile. “Not really, but it wasn’t your fault.” He felt a little guilty now, and surprised that the Lich was actually so thoughtful. “Thanks anyways, I was able to rest, even though I was awake most of the time.”

“ARE YOU ANGRY AT THE HUMANS?”

The Lich’s question caught him off guard. He hesitated. If he said yes, would he try and kill them again?

“At one of them.” He finally admitted. “Remember that knight who kicked me through that door and almost killed you?”

“OF COURSE I DO.” The Lich exclaimed, his eyes glowing a darker green. “HE DID NOT SEEM TO BRIGHT.”

Kyle let out a low chuckle. “That’s an understatement. Anyways, I hate him, I think. At the moment. It’s not a big deal, really. I didn’t have much at that house, but still…” He shrugged. “I’ll calm down in a couple of days, so no killing!” He quickly warned the Lich.

Cacophus nodded, albeit rather sheepishly. Kyle knew it! He was planning to kill him until now!

“I’ll go and check if there’s anything salvageable.” He said, turning around and walking to the door.

“TAKE SOME OF MY SKELETONS WITH YOU,” The Lich suggested quickly. “IT WILL BE SAFER.”

Kyle shook his head. “It’s fine, besides, if I walk round with a handful of skeletons following me, I can hardly convince anyone I’m not evil, right?” He chuckled. “I’ll be back soon.”

With that, he walked through the door, then through the winding tunnels towards the exit. The skeletons had begun their work once more, widening the tunnels, mining whatever ore they could find. Kyle spotted small lumps of copper, iron, and gold laying at the corners. Several small gemstones were also stored neatly in wooden boxes.

He couldn’t help but wonder why the Lich would need these resources. Was he going to try and craft something? Like a piece of equipment? He made a mental note to ask Cacophus about it when he returned. He was too curious after all.

Once he stepped out into the open, he took a deep breath. The smell of smoke no longer lingered in the air. Instead, he smelled fresh earth, plants, and the smells of the forest carried here by the morning breeze. Some of that anger still burning in his chest began to subside.

A house could be rebuilt after all, and all things considered, he hadn’t lost anything of value. Nothing irreplaceable at least.

His steps carried him downhill, to where the path leading to his home started. His gaze lingered on the ruins of the once cosy house, and he felt the fires of anger rekindled.

“I’ll make sure to kill you at least once more.” He promised to himself. Granted, considering his track record, that promise wouldn’t be too difficult to fulfil. If anything, the stupid Knight would probably step onto one of his random traps and fall to his death. Again.

He approached the ruins, and the smell of smoke reached his nostrils. He covered his mouth and nose as he walked past the half burnt logs. There was really nothing left to take with. There hadn’t been much to begin with, and everything remotely valuable had burnt down completely.

Kyle sighed. “So much for salvaging…” He muttered to himself.

“I’d say I salvaged that lost time quite nicely, myself.” A woman’s voice sounded from behind him. He felt something cold press against his throat as a hand grabbed his neck. “Gotcha!”