2022-02-03 05:00:02His mad dash soon came to a screeching halt as he arrived at the peak of the mountain. Strong winds blew all around him as he stepped into a large crater atop the mountain.
“Ran out of places to escape?” Igna shouted as she approached. Kyle gulped and quickly tried to put some distance between them. “Not exactly,” he muttered as he stepped closer to the centre of the crater. This place had all the signs of a boss arena. Now, things were mostly up to luck:
What kind of boss would appear, and how could he take advantage of it? Those were what would seal his fate now.
“I can’t convince you not to kill me, can I?” Kyle asked as Igna stepped onto the charred surface of the crater. She paused, looked around, then smirked.
“Nah, I doubt it.” She said, tightening her grasp on the hilt of her blade. “I do like the venue though, that run up the mountain wasn’t a waste!” Her upbeat voice almost made Kyle forget the danger he was in. Almost.
He continued stepping back as she approached and considered telling her about his rather awkward situation. Would she believe him? Technically, he could prove it to her. he bit his lower lip, if nothing else, it would let him buy some time until the god damned boss arrived. He had nothing to lose after all.
“Say, Igna.” He shouted as the wind began to pick up. “Can we, uh, resume after I tell you something?”
The crimson haired young woman tilted her head. “If you’re going to blurt out something stupid, save it.” She warned him as her grip on the hilt of her sword relaxed. “Well, what is it?”
Kyle took a deep breath. “Uh, so…” He shook his head. “I can’t-“ He then paused as he looked down, at the shadow that rapidly grew larger. “Wait.” He pointed at the ground, then looked up.
“Oh shit!” Igna exclaimed as she threw herself aside. Kyle didn’t waste any time either, he threw himself back, away from her and the shadow as a large beast landed right where they were standing just a split second ago.
“You dare disturb this sacred place!” A booming voice filled with power sounded. Kyle rolled on the charred rock ground, and as soon as he could, he raised his gaze to take a look at the boss.
“Oh, we are so dead.” He whispered.
A griffin had landed on the ground amidst a cloud of smoke and broken rocks. A man sat atop the beast, armoured from head to toe, and wielding a scythe almost comically large. He was only about a head taller than Kyle. If he had met this man anywhere else, he could have mistaken him for a human player and not a boss.
“I condemn you to death!” The boss shouted, and swung his scythe at Igna, who had just gotten back up on her feet.
“Hell no, I’ll kill him!” She responded with a grin on her face. Kyle had to do a double take. Igna was happy?
She was! Her eyes glimmered with excitement, and she tightened her grasp on the hilt of her blade before rushing at the boss. Kyle watched wide eyed as she ducked under the swinging scythe, then hit the griffin with all her might. As soon as her blade buried itself in its flesh, she shouted at the top of her lungs. “The sun god’s flames!”
The blade burst into flames, and so did the griffin’s fur. The beast screeched and roared as it reared on its hind legs, throwing its rider off its back.
“You dare hurt my mount?!” The man clad in armour shouted.
“You tried to kill me!” Igna replied with an upbeat tone. She then shot Kyle a quick glance. “Hey! Whatever you want to say will have to wait till we kill this guy!” She shouted with a grin. “You keep the animal busy, I’ll take him on!”
Kyle hesitated for a split second. “Sounds good!” He finally replied and ran after the still burning griffin.
Igna raised her blade again as soon as she noticed the boss swing that rather deadly looking scythe. She blocked the curved blade, and immediately felt her feet slide back somewhat. Barely hanging onto her balance, she took a few steps back.
Her arms hurt a little from the strength of the boss’ hit. Normally, she’d need a tank for this fight. Either a paladin or a tower knight, or the help of a buffer mage to help enchant her blade with defensive properties. She had exactly none of those right now though. She would need to rely on her speed and ability to dodge for this fight.
Kyle, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel like he had the advantage. The griffin was already burning, and he could see it limb and struggle just to walk away. The health bar above its head was already halfway depleted, and the burning effect didn’t seem like it was about to end any time soon.
He dashed at the creature and swung his blade at its throat. It tried to retaliate as he drew some blood, but its motions were slower, and not very accurate. Still, he needed to be wary. He was much lower level than both this beast, and the armoured boss. A single hit could probably bring him to his knees, and he didn’t intend to die here. Not today.
He waited for the creature to stagger, and quickly moved in for a few more attacks. It took a few hits, but the creature soon succumbed. As its body collapsed and fell to the ground, Kyle turned his attention to the top ranker.
“Flame strike!” Igna shouted as she swung her blade. She had whittled down the boss’ health by a quarter by now, but as he watched, Kyle noticed she wasn’t going to win this fight.
She was already wounded. He could see the cut marks on her arms, face, and a rather deep wound on her shoulder. Naturally, because she was a player, she didn’t feel any real pain, but she did suffer any disadvantages such wounds would cause.
If he had to guess, she couldn’t take more than maybe ten superficial hits. Even with the free resurrection of her sword, she wasn’t going to be dealing enough damage to kill the boss.
Unless he helped her.
DweiaHeya! First of all, thanks for checking out A Lich's Master! Secondly, We've got a Discord! You can find links to all of my other books there, as well as a roadmap of all current and future projects! Come check it out if you want to read more of my work, or just want to chat. Here's an invite:https://discord.gg/smeCbFjSAN Take care and stay safe!
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The Lich's Master Chapter 19: To Taunt a Boss
The boss kept wailing on Igna. His scythe moved quickly and decisively, forcing her to either back off constantly, or block his attacks and take chip damage every time. If she had the chance to go on the offensive, Kyle was more than sure that she would deplete the boss’ health bar very quickly, but as things stood, she simply didn’t have that opportunity. Not while the boss was solely focused on her. He glanced towards the entrance of the crater, could he leave at all? No, there it was, the rippling, misty effect in the air all around them. As usual, the boss arena would become sealed off once all players had entered, and it wouldn’t let anyone leave until either the boss, or the players were defeated. Kyle gulped. He did not want to be left alone here with the boss. He needed to help her, and then hopefully get her to believe him. Grasping the hilt of his blade tightly, he dashed to the armoured boss, and hit his back with all his strength. A ‘clang
The Lich's Master Chapter 20: Topple The Mountain Lord
With each hit of the scythe he blocked, he felt his whole body shake. He couldn’t stand his ground anymore, nor did he feel like he could dodge the boss’ strikes anymore. They were too fast, too swift, and Kyle felt too sluggish, as if someone had lined his clothes and filled his boots with lead. He wanted to steal a glance of Igna, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off of his enemy. He was already at enough of a disadvantage as it was. One misstep, one single strike that passed through his defence, and he was done for. Distant shrieks sounded again, and Kyle gritted his teeth. His shoulder still hurt. His now cauterised wound was making it quite difficult to properly use his right arm. “Get down!” Igna’s shout echoed. Kyle didn’t hesitate, he blocked the boss’ next strike, then threw himself to the ground just at the nick of time as a wave of flames passed over his head. He heard the boss shout something, but he couldn’t quite make out the words over the soun
The Lich's Master Chapter 21: A New Path Revealed
‘Kyle – Lv. 22 Unclassed INT 10 | WIS 10 | DEX 10 | STR 10 | CON 10 Available Points: 22 Achievements: Lich Killer, Topple the Mountain Lord Player Kills: 6 Glory: 30’ They both stared at his interface for a moment. “God damn it,” Igna eventually exclaimed. “I didn’t get the achievement because I was in the middle of reviving!” Her frustration was audible. Kyle felt her hand squeeze his shoulder. “So annoying.” Her eyes then suddenly widened. “Wait, back to the subject at hand.” She said with a harsher voice. “Your interface is basically identical to mine though, yeah…” She muttered, mostly to herself. “The why do you bleed like the mobs do?” Kyle flinched. “Did you start doubting me again?” he exclaimed with a defeated tone. He had no energy left to try and convince her all over again.
The Lich's Master Chapter 22: So.... What Do I Summon?
‘Kyle – Lv. 22 Summoner INT 10 | WIS 10 | DEX 10 | STR 10 | CON 10 Available Points: 22 Achievements: Lich Killer, Topple the Mountain Lord Player Kills: 6 Glory: 30’ “Twenty two points…” he muttered to himself as he dusted off his clothes. Now, most mage classes needed to focus on a mix of intelligence and constitution. From what he read in the ridiculously long text, the summoner needed plenty of wisdom as well. He pursed his lips, pondered for a short moment, then let out a deep sigh. ‘Kyle – Lv. 22 Summoner INT 20 | WIS 17 | DEX 10 | STR 10 | CON 15 Available Points: 0 Achievements: Lich Killer, Topple the Mountain Lord Player Kills: 6 Glory: 30’
The Lich's Master Chapter 23: Magic Skeletons
The wind blew his hair back as he watched the raven soar through the air. A smile appeared on his lips. “Come back to me,” He said softly. Almost as if the bird had heard him, it folded its wings and descended, only slowing down when it reached his raised arm. It landed on his arm, and cawed. “Nice,” Kyle said with a smile. “Alright, you can go now.” He muttered, and the raven vanished in a silver mist. He continued his descend down the mountain path, his heart still beating fast from the thrill of casting spells and using magic. Summoning, maintaining, or dismissing the raven used no mana whatsoever, meaning he wasn’t just going to be a commander standing in the back, he was going to be aiding his summons in battle with his own spells as well. He smirked. That would show that stupid knight! Of course, his first order of business was going to be getting some more powerful creatures under his control. Ideally, he wanted something good at tanking, though he ref
The Lich's Master Chapter 24: A Visit to the Orchard
Kyle spent the night in Cacophus’ cave again. Laying on a fur bed made specifically for him, he fell asleep immediately after placing his head on the soft pillow. After a dreamless, refreshing sleep, he woke up. Ready and excited for his next adventure, he got dressed and left the small bedroom the Lich and his skeletons had prepared for him. He bid the Lich farewell and warned him not to go after any humans that happened to pass by, then hurried outside after a quick breakfast. His destination was the elves’ orchard, and he was eager to meet with their leader again. His fast paced steps carried him across the woods and over the hills as he muttered softly. “Come forth.” He pointed on the ground ahead of him as he spoke, and a silver mist appeared there before the raven materialised. “Go on then,” He said with a smile. “Alert me of any nearby enemies or humans.” He ordered the bird. The raven cawed twice, then with a couple of strong beats of
The Lich's Master Chapter 25: You Want Me to What?
A gentle wind ruffled the leaves of the crystal fruit trees. Kyle listened to the elven leader’s words his mouth agape. Was this guy serious? “Would you do this for us?” The elf finished his words with a hopeful question. A notification popped up at the corner of Kyle’s eye. ‘New Quest Chain unlocked: Saving the Elven Orchard’ Kyle let out a sigh. “I will try.” He said, knowing that he definitely didn’t want to miss out on whatever rewards the quest would give. And also, because he had grown somewhat fond of the elves. “Can I take some more fruits with me when I’m done?” He asked, suddenly remembering Cacophus’ request. The elven leader chuckled. “Of course!” And just like that, Kyle found himself walking the stone paved grass that followed the deep, raging river. The elves’ request wasn’t something he thought he was easily going to be able to do, but he had an idea still. A plan, so to speak, though it relied more on luck rat
The Lich's Master Chapter 26: A Mind Fully Lost
“I’m nowhere near that level!” Igna protested. “And you’re even further! What kind of a quest is this that you got it so early? This is ridiculous!” Her voice was filled with annoyance as her eyes burnt with anger. She was still staring at the pond. “Igna, it’s been an hour.” Kyle reminded her. How long was she planning on standing there and watching the water? It wasn’t like the boss was going to just suddenly die on its own. “So what?” Igna hissed. “I need to kill that thing somehow.” Kyle shot her an odd look. “You do realise I’m the one with the quest, right? And I can just wait till I’m high enough level. There’s no need to rush.” He calmly spoke, but his words seemed to have the opposite effect on Igna. The fire in her eyes burned brightly as she looked at him, eyes wide open. “Do you have any idea how much stuff it would drop if we killed it while we’re so many levels down?” She asked, her voice filled with excit
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Chapter 277: The Locust Demon Arrives
The serene white light changed as soon as they stepped into the garden. It grew brighter, lighting up even the darkest corners of the garden. “Finally.” Azazel whispered. He calmly stepped towards the bright white light. “It’s been so long.” He and the rest of the group arrived before the tree. The Fallen Angel reached for the tree, only for his fingers to touch a barrier surrounding it. The yellow-brown barrier rippled as soon as the Fallen Angel’s fingertips touched it. Azazel flinched, and pulled his hand back as a look of disgust appeared on his face. With furrowed brows and blazing eyes, he turned around, and shouted at the top of his lungs. “Show yourself, Demon!” Droigheann flinched. “He’s here?!” The Demon of the Nightbloom asked wide eyed as he unsheathed his blade, and put his helmet on without hesitation. Luke stepped forward, making sure to stand in front of Caille and Kyle. Igna tightened her grip on the hilt of her blade, while Cacophus’s bony fingers rummaged through
Chapter 276: The Ancient City of Necron (4)
The fully armoured knight dropped his sword and tried to grab the slimy goo with both of his hands. The goo only latched onto his helmet further as he struggled. The man started to stumble a few moments later.Kyle couldn’t help but laugh a little, though his near brush against death kept him from enjoying Jeffrey’s suffering. The knight soon managed to grab onto the goo properly, and threw it away, only to be met with Kyle’s light magic.“Bolt of Light!” The young man shouted, then as the Knight raised his hand to cover his eyes from the bright golden light, he dashed towards him, blade in hand. He hadn’t used a sword properly in ages, not since he’d gotten his Summoner class, and started summoning powerful people such as Aoris, or Irena. But Aoris and Irena were busy protecting the cathedral, and Droigheann had his hands full with the remaining group of enemies.And he had a particular hatred against Jeffrey and his constant stupidity. He grabbed the hilt of his blade with both his
Chapter 275: The Ancient City of Necron (3)
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Kyle rolled his eyes as the enemy charged at him and his allies. Jeffrey’s ridiculous accusations and ignorant behaviour was the last thing he needed at the moment.Droigheann unsheathed his blade and struck the ground with it. Black veins spread across the grey marble plaza, originating from his blade. They leapt off the ground, reaching for Jeffrey and his allies.“Fire storm!” A voice boomed. Kyle flinched as a whirling storm of flames burnt away the roots and veins. Droigheann gritted his teeth and removed his swords from the ground. “Damn mages,” The Demon grunted as he stepped forward. His helmet materialised in his hand, and he promptly put it on.“SHALL I DISPATCH OF THEM, KYLE?” Cacophus’ sudden question surprised him. “Yeah, please help Droigheann.” Kyle hissed as he pointed at the group. “We shouldn’t waste much time on them.”As he spoke, several shards of crystallised light formed at his fingertips. He fired them at the man leading the charge.“AS YO
Chapter 274: The Ancient City of Necron (2)
Kyle took the first step down the grey marble staircase. As his feet touched the ancient slabs, he involuntarily flinched.Azazel and Droigheann followed just a step behind, along with Cacophus, who chose to float next to them.“AMAZING, IT HAS BEEN PRESERVED PERFECTLY!” The Lich exclaimed, pausing just a few steps in, and carefully inspecting the waist high walls preventing them from falling off the side. “LOOK AT THIS CRAFTMANSHIP!”Kyle shot a glance at the waist hight wall. It was covered in intricate carvings from top to bottom. Just a few meters of this wall must have taken weeks to create, if not more. “Yeah, it’s amazing.”“Just like the legends.” Droigheann carefully ran his finger along the carvings. “A city of ancient wonders, housing powers beyond imagination, made from the most beautiful materials by the best craftsmen ever to grace the face of this world.”“Seems about right.” Azazel pointed at the buildings. “Any one of these would have taken months to perfect, if not y
Chapter 273: The Ancient City of Necron (1)
The Necronomicon’s pages turned on their own. Kyle waited patiently for the book to settle on a page. Once it did, he read through the spell. It was a modified dispel spell.“Stand back, just in case.” He said to the others. Everyone took a few steps back, even Cacophus who had just arrived. The Lich didn’t speak, but the green glows in his eye sockets glimmered and lit up brightly with excitement.Kyle’s lips curled up with a faint smile for a moment before he turned his gaze back to the Necronomicon. “Open thine gates, lift thine veil.” He recited the spell’s words clearly. “Allow me passage to what is rightfully mine, as I hold the Book of Ancient Secrets!”A moment passed before the spell fully took effect. The barrier around the Ancient City of Necron began to lower as Kyle felt his vitality drain with alarming speed. He looked down at the back of his hand with a panic as the few locks of dark hair dangling before his eyes slowly began to turn white.The mark of the Evertree glow
Chapter 272: The Records Restored
The elderly woman took the two pieces of the hourglass in her hand. A faint, almost mellow smile appeared on her lips as she closed her fingers around the pieces of the hourglass. “I am in your debt, Azazel, young man.” She whispered as she clenched her fingers further. The muffled sound of something cracking sounded. Then, a fine dust flowed from between her fingers. The cool breeze caught the dust, carrying it away from the patio. The elderly woman smiled. “No, come back.” Her voice was calm, almost as if she was speaking to an old friend. “I’m right here.” The wind whirled, suddenly changed its direction, and blew the dust right back at her. She closed her eyes and smiled. Kyle braced himself for… something. “It’s alright now.” Her motherly voice reached his ears. “It feels good to be whole again.” She turned her gaze towards the sky. “It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Kyle disagreed. Dark clouds covered the sky. “It is good to have you back, Record Keeper.” Azazel bowed his
Chapter 271: The Hourglass
It was a misty morning and getting out of bed felt like a huge chore. He still dragged himself out of bed, albeit slowly, and staggered towards the hot spring. He paused in front of the mirror for a second. The bite marks on his neck were awfully visible. Vis had definitely taken some of her frustrations out of him last night.He let out a sigh and went to take a bath. She was rightfully upset, and he didn’t care about how he looked too much. He bathed, then got dressed and opened the door of his room, only to see Droigheann standing there, leaning against the wall.“I didn’t realise you’d come out.” Kyle said as he fixed his cloak and hair before the mirror.“You were asleep.” Droigheann explained with a faint smile. “You found the second half of the hourglass.” He stated with a hint of curiosity in his voice. Kyle nodded. “We did. We almost died for it too.” He shuddered. “I’m never going back to the Celestial Plane.”Droigheann laughed out loud. “That is indeed a good idea.” The De
Chapter 270: The Waking World
His eyes shot wide open, and he stared at the grey ceiling above him. A couple of moths were walking in rough circles. One of them tried to fly, only to continuously hit the ceiling afterwards.He blinked a few times as he tried to figure out where he was.“You’re awake!” A panicked voice reached his ears. “Rhealis, they’re back!” It took him a moment to recognise Vis’ voice. A cold hand pressed against his forehead as he slowly began to notice the numbness around his right arm. There was a mild pain too.Footsteps approached as Kyle tilted his head to look at Vis. “Did something happen while we were gone?” He asked with a crusty voice. He licked his dry lips. He could use some water right now.“Your arm got charred!” Vis hissed wide eyed. Was she angry? “And the Fallen Angel’s wings started bleeding!”“Indeed,” Rhealis approached them with a glass of water in her hand. She helped Kyle sit upright, then gave him the glass. He drank it without hesitation. The water passing through his
Chapter 269: The Wasteyard of Heaven
Azazel led him through the distorted landscape in a hurry. “They can’t see as well here.” The Fallen Angel explained as soon as they walked through a cathedral door and fell upwards. Kyle hit the ceiling with a muffled thud. A thick, soft carpet had broken his fall.He moaned with pain still. Constantly falling somewhere was slowly taking its toll on him. His back couldn’t take many more falls. “Why?” He asked as he sat upright and rubbed his sides.Azazel flew up and closed the cathedral’s door. “Because of the distortions. They don’t see things as you do. They see what something is, can be, and was.” The Fallen Angel hesitated upon seeing Kyle’s confused expression. “You don’t understand, do you?”Kyle shook his head. “Nope.”Azazel’s shoulders dropped with disappointment. “When you see something,” The Angel said, speaking slower th
