As his panic began to set in, a notification came on his display.
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Hidden Quest Discovered!!
Venturing into the forest to hunt you encountered something far more sinister. A dark mage with an army of skeletons and three seemingly special corpses. Run back to the city and warn the people of this danger.
[Reward] 250 xp 10 gold
[Penalty] Possible death if caught
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'Ok... No problem, just gotta lock in.'
Now that he had a direct goal this was a lot simpler. From the previous hunt Ian got one level. Not a lot, but it was 3 stat points and a skill point since that marked level 30. All stat points quickly went into DEX without hesitation. The quicker he can move the better.
The skill point he would save for later for now he had to run. As he prepped to set off a shiver ran through his spine. In the crevice the gaunt man was looking directly at him. The mages sunken eyes were shadowed by eye bags, bloodshot.
Ian jolted back and began running at top speed back to the city.
'A dash skill would be super useful right about now.'
Shouts echoed from the cliff face as Ian bolted away from the area. Skeletons began pouring from the crevice, not just a single one but 16 skeletons.
'All these for one guy? You'd think 6 would be enough'
Ian looked back with a grim expression. It seemed the mage did not want him to get away. Nevertheless he continued running.
Weaving between trees Ian tried his best to lose them to limited success. He didn't lose them for long each time he did. The mage must've had some scrying spell or tool.
A couple skeletons in the back raised crossbows and began to fire. Bolts flew past Ian as he zigzagged through the trees. Unfortunately a few did hit, his ear was pierced by one clean through. Another hit his back.
Taking the hits Ian just focused on moving as fast as possible. He discarded any loot he got from his earlier hunt to lighten the load and improve his speed further.
The extra speed gave him a bit more room for a counter attack. Ian quickly drew his bow and fired as many shots as he could while running. Aiming a biw while running at full speed wasn't the easiest task though.
Ian's arrows flew pff in various directions, some hit the skeletons but none did enough damage to kill.
'Shit! This could not have gone worse. How did he even see me?!'
Ian continued running with a grim expression. Crossbow bolts flew past him as he ducked under branches and behind bushes.
Arrow, flying above, swooped down on the skeletons every now and then. The birds sharp talons came down like guillotines. The skeletons didn't take much damage from from the hawk's attack but they were disrupted.
With Arrow disrupting them, the skeleton crew did not have as much room to shoot Ian. The downside was the target that Arrow's back had now that he was participating in battle.
Shots flew everywhere as the skeletons began to target both Arrow and Ian. While running at top speed Ian opened his interface to the party chat.
[Ian Nightgale]- HELP! SOS! I got a bunch of undead after me!
[Ty Daybreak]- i'm sorry, what? undead don't spawn here. where are you?
[Ian Nightgale]- Crazy shit went down man. I ran into a dark mage in the middle of some ritual. He had an army of undead, at least 1,000 of them.
[Jasmine Aglain]- 1,000?! Are you sure?
[Ian Nightgale]- No question. My eyes don't lie. I'm on my way back to the city right now. Go to the western gate and wait for me. We'll kill these mobs in one go once the party gets back together.
Closing the chat Ian took a deep breath. Thankfully the mage didn't seem to care to chase Ian at all. All he did was send his minions after him withput getting up himself.
'Phew! Looks like it's just these skeletons. If that guy chased after me too I definitely wouldn't be able to make it.'
As the gate came into view another bolt came flying. Only this time, it hit. Ian's thigh splurted with blood just as he left the last trees behind.
A scream echoed in the clearing as Ian fell to the ground holding his leg. Although his pain settings were low, being shot still hurts. Looking back Ian saw the skeleton platoon closing in on him.
The ones up front raised their swords and axes with vacant eyes. Ian resolved to lose a life when the glow of a magic circle interrupted his thoughts. Vines rose from the ground and entangled the skeletons.
From a distance shouts rose.
"Hey buddy! You good? The cavalry has arrived! You're saved! Hahaha!"
A tall orc rushed out into the clearing and swatted the skeleton with his great sword. They were mere bugs before Ty's silver level strength.
In the blink of an eye every skeleton lay on the ground lifeless as they were meant to be. Ian breathed a sigh of relief and laid his head on the ground. Today had been very eventful, from reaching the city and heading to Gordon's to venturing out and almost dying.
If any word could describe Ian perfectly at this moment it would be tired. The sun began to set when Ty reached out a hand.
"Get up bro. Stop being a sissy."
"Ha ha. Shut up dumbass"
Ian took his hand and stood with a groan his teeth gritted in pain. He turned to Ty pnce he finally stood.
"You wanna carry me big bro?"
"Fuck off. Come on"
Ty offered him a shoulder as they headed in through the gates. A glow enveloped Ian as Jasmine completed her healing spell.
"Thanks Jaz. That hurt like hell even with the settings low."
"No problem. It's what I do."
Jasmine smiled as she walkes alongside them into the city.
As they walked a voice chimed in from above.
"Ian! You made it back!"
Diane sat there looking out her window. Her expression noticeably brightened.
"It's like I told you. I'm pretty strong."
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Chapter 16!
What do we think of this new arc? I feel like it's going well so far. No note last chapter because I wanted to build some suspense. As always feedback is appreciated.