Chapter 31
Chapter 31 - Testing New Classes on an Army of the Dead
The approaching skeleton army merged with the ghost that had been lingering beyond the edge of the campfire's light.
Their numbers were nearly impossible to count. Skeletons and ghosts made up the bulk of the horde, but they weren't alone. Other undead lurked among their ranks, their silhouettes barely visible beneath the pale moonlight.
Army of the Dead (Elite) - Lv. 65
Mei stared at the tide of undead marching toward them.
“This might be a bit challenging…”
“Should we increase our strength first?” Granessa asked, pulling the class advancement ticket from her inventory.
“Good idea.” Mei immediately took out her own.
While they had been resting around the campfire, Adam had explained how class advancement worked. Since the process happened entirely within the soul, almost no time passed in the real world.
Even so, he was surprised when both women opened their eyes almost immediately, their faces lighting up with excitement.
“Wow! That was fun!” Mei exclaimed. “There were so many classes. It was hard to choose just one.”
Granessa nodded in agreement.
“I don't know how you managed to combine all of yours. I couldn't even combine two before I was forced to choose the largest light.”
Mei blinked.
“Oh... I forgot to try combining them!”
Adam stared at her.
“You forgot?”
“Apparently.”
He wasn't sure if that was impressive or concerning.
“What kind of classes did you get?”
“Legendary,” they both answered at the same time.
Adam paused.
“...Legendary? Not Common Plus?”
“Nope. Legendary,” Mei said proudly. “Look, it even has a cooler name now.”
She opened her status window and shared it with the group.
Mei Mori - Level 41
Class: Gunslinger of Legend (Legendary)
A legendary gunslinger is one who has transcended the utmost limits of both body and mind and touched upon the concept of soul. Their body itself becomes a weapon. Equipped with tools to enhance themselves, they become a near-invincible fighting force.
Effects:
All Stats +1 Rank
When casting bullet-based skills through your body, reduce damage by 90% but consume no mana
Stats:
Strength - B
Constitution - B
Dexterity - B
Magic - C
Luck - A
“Mine has a new name too,” Granessa said before sharing her own status window.
Granessa - Level 44
Class: Orc War Goddess [Lesser] (Legendary)
The legendary War Goddess is a symbol of orcish faith. She was a being who transcended her limits and achieved what even her giant ancestors could not: godhood. The bearer of this class walks the same path.
Effects:
All Stats +1 Rank
[Slaughtering Star]: Each continuous kill increases attack power by 1%
Stats:
Strength - A
Constitution - B
Dexterity - B
Magic - C
Luck - C
Adam slowly looked from one status window to the other.
Then he discreetly opened his own.
Adam Colt - Level 41
Class: Shield-Healer (Common+)
Shield Healers possess exceptionally fit bodies and use magical barriers to protect their allies while providing buffs and healing.
Effects: None
Stats:
Strength - D
Constitution - C
Dexterity - E
Magic - B
Luck - E
He compared their legendary classes.
Then their stats.
Then his own stats.
Then their stats again.
“Life… isn't fair.”
His numbers were so bad compared to theirs that looking at them felt like taking a million points of emotional damage.
“Says the one with Mythic equipment.”
“True…”
There was no time left for more idle banter. The Army of the Dead was already closing in fast.
Mei shifted as if to step forward alongside Granessa, ready to take the front line, but Adam held out an arm and stopped her.
“Wait. Let me take your spot.”
“A front-line mage?” she asked, half-joking.
“Says the front-line mage,” Adam replied. “But I’m technically a tank now.”
“Eh? Really?”
He nodded and activated new spells, which he had gained from the insights he received during his class advancement.
“[Sacred Shield], [Tower Shield].”
[Sacred Shield]
A shield spell imbued with divine power.
Effects:
When struck, releases a wave of divine power in a thirty-foot radius.
Blocks a significant portion of magical damage, and can also block physical attacks at reduced effectiveness.
(Divine power heals allies and damages undead creatures.)
[Tower Shield]
Creates a full-body shield with extreme physical defense.
Effect: Blocks a significant portion of physical damage, and can also mitigate magical attacks at reduced efficiency.
A circular golden shield formed over his right hand at the same time a massive, black, full-body shield manifested over his left. The contrast between them was stark, almost like two different philosophies of protection given form.
“See? I even have shields.”
“If your shields weren’t made of magic, I’d have thought you were some half-dressed perverted warrior,” Mei said with a laugh. “But I know better. You’re a half-dressed perverted mage.”
Adam’s brow twitched, but he decided not to retort. Not because he had nothing to say, but because the undead army was close enough now that he could almost smell their rotten breath. If they even breathed.
Granessa tapped his shoulder.
“I’ll follow your lead. Just leave the killing to me,” she said, resting her giant flaming battleaxe casually over one shoulder.
“I will,” Adam replied. “But you’ll be competing for kills with Mei. And she rarely loses.”
“Good. I love competition.”
“Then… let the competition begin!”
Adam slammed his shields together.
The impact triggered [Sacred Shield], releasing a surge of divine energy that rolled across the front line of the Army of the Dead like a shockwave.
The effect was immediate. Skeletons and ghosts alike were erased before they could even react, their forms dissolving into bone fragments and drifting ash. If they had vocal cords, they would not have had time to use them.
The losses didn’t slow the army. If anything, the remaining undead pressed forward with a more cautious, coordinated movement, as if adapting around him.
There was a commander behind them. That much was clear now.
The horde began to shift its focus, attempting to bypass Adam entirely and move toward Mei and Granessa behind him.
“No you don’t. [Taunt]!”
[Taunt]
A provocation skill designed for group combat.
Be careful not to overextend; overconfidence is the bane of tank classes.
Effect: Forces nearby enemies to prioritize targeting the user.
The undead reacted instantly.
Skeletons and ghosts that had been veering away snapped their attention back to Adam as if pulled by invisible chains. Only a few at the far edges of the skill range ignored him.
Those few didn’t last long.
A series of sharp, echoing bangs rang out.
Purple magic bullets tore through the battlefield, piercing ghosts cleanly before continuing through and punching holes through the skeletons behind them. Both types of undead collapsed in equal measure.
Mei’s shots were pure magic, and that made them lethal to both physical and incorporeal targets.
So she was a mage, technically. Even if she didn’t fight like one.
Granessa wasn’t idle either.
The moment the [Taunt] took hold, she lunged into the clustered undead with explosive force, her flaming battleaxe carving a blazing arc through bone and spirit alike.
Every swing sent skeletal remains scattering across the battlefield. Bones shattered, skulls rolled, ribcages broke apart like dry wood. The ghosts were more troublesome, slipping through physical strikes, but even they were forced back and damaged by the heat and flame licking along her axe.
For a moment, Adam couldn’t help but think.
Was she technically also a mage…?
But he quickly denied that thought.
No. She wasn’t a mage. Not really.
She relied on raw physical strength as the basis for most of her damage, with her skills acting as secondary damage sources.
Granessa just hit things until they stopped existing. She was the very embodiment of a muscle-bound warrior.
That said, Adam wasn't exactly lacking in the muscle department either.
He charged forward right behind her, keeping [Taunt] active to draw as much aggro as possible.
Skeletons immediately converged on him, rusted swords, axes, and spears crashing against his shields. Despite the surprising strength hidden within their skeletal frames, they couldn't force him back even a single step.
Every skeleton that struck the golden surface of his [Sacred Shield] was met with a pulse of divine energy. The offending undead would disintegrate instantly, often taking several nearby allies with it.
Adam wasn't actually far behind in kills thanks to the absurd radius of his shield's effect.
The problem was that both Granessa and Mei were monsters.
Granessa was a wrecking ball given physical form. Every swing of her axe tore through multiple enemies at once, reducing skeletons to flying piles of bones.
Mei had unrestricted access to an entire battlefield full of targets.
Against that combination, Adam's respectable kill count quickly became unimpressive.
The larger problem soon became obvious.
Despite slaughtering dozens upon dozens of undead, they hadn't made a noticeable dent in the Army of the Dead. The horde stretched far into the darkness beyond the campfire's reach, and every skill they used consumed resources faster than they could recover them.
Granessa suffered the most from mana limitations.
With her low Magic stat, she had to carefully choose when to activate her skills.
Even Adam, possessing a respectable B-rank Magic stat, was beginning to struggle. Both of his shields continuously drained mana to remain active, while [Sacred Shield] consumed additional mana every time it absorbed a hit and released its divine retaliation.
Ironically, Mei had things the easiest.
She had abandoned her weapons entirely and was now aiming her index finger like a pistol.
“[Finger Blast]!”
A purple magic bullet shot from her fingertip and punched straight through a skeleton's skull.
[Finger Blast]
An exclusive skill to the class: Gunslinger of Legends (renamed by Mei Mori). By channeling magic power through the body and performing a set hand sign, all magic energy usage is reduced to zero.
Effect: No mana consumption. Damage reduced by 90%.
The skill wasn't particularly powerful, but it didn't need to be.
It consumed no mana and had virtually no cooldown.
Mei had effectively transformed herself into a mobile turret.
Three or four shots would hammer into a single target in rapid succession, killing most undead almost instantly.
“Couldn't you have picked a better name?” Adam shouted over his shoulder.
“Why?” Mei asked while continuing to rapid-fire magic bullets. “What's wrong with [Finger Blast]?”
Adam looked at the grin plastered across her face. She absolutely knew what was wrong with it.
Eventually she discovered she could dual-wield her finger guns.
Things escalated quickly after that.
“Die! Die! Die!”
Laughing maniacally, Mei spun in a circle while spraying dozens of purple bullets from both hands.
Adam stared.
“Was that a Reaper reference?”
“No. I don't have Hellfire Shotguns.”
“But it was the voice line.”
“Maybe.”
“You even did the spin.”
“Maybe.”
“What if we get copyright striked?”
“By whom? No one's watching.”
“I feel like someone's watching.”
As he spoke, Adam smashed the edge of his shield into a skeleton's skull.
The impact shattered the undead and triggered another divine pulse, wiping out several dozen nearby enemies before he retreated a few steps to recover mana.
A few moments later, Granessa hacked her way free from the horde and stopped beside him.
She was panting heavily and bleeding.
A lot.
Despite the healing pulses from [Sacred Shield], she was accumulating wounds faster than Adam could repair them. Her fighting style consisted almost entirely of offense, and her new equipment only encouraged that behavior.
The leather protecting her chest and thighs remained almost completely undamaged.
Everything else was another story.
Cuts covered her arms, shoulders, and stomach. One of her ears was missing the tip, sliced off by a rusted blade. Blood soaked her white hair until it had become a tangled crimson mess.
“You good?” Adam asked.
Mei shot Granessa a concerned glance while single-handedly holding back the advancing horde. She had switched to her shotgun and was repeatedly activating [Dragon's Breath], burning wide swaths of undead with every blast.
“Never felt better,” Granessa replied.
A savage smile spread across her face, blood staining her teeth.
“I'm filled with power!”
Adam followed her gaze and noticed a floating percentage hovering beside her.
+243% Attack Power
His eyes twitched.
Just how many enemies had she killed? More importantly, how much damage had she taken?
Between her class skill and equipment bonuses, her attack power had reached a genuinely ridiculous level.
While contemplating the increasingly terrifying orc, Adam cast another support spell on her to increase her regeneration.
Fortunately, her attack bonus didn't require her to remain injured. She only needed to suffer the wounds once to gain the stacking buff.
Which somehow made the entire thing even more concerning.
With a sigh, Adam stepped back into the battle as Mei's [Dragon's Breath] entered cooldown.
“Careful. Don't go too far in,” he warned Granessa.
She nodded.
Then immediately hurled her battleaxe through the crowd to clear a path toward the center of the army.
Adam blinked.
“That's the opposite of what I just said.”
His attention shifted toward Mei.
She was already sprinting after the flying axe.
“What the hell?! I said stay back!”
Neither woman heard him.
Or perhaps they simply chose not to.
The constant clash of steel, explosions, and undead shrieks made it impossible to tell.
Shaking his head, Adam hurried after them and took up a position behind the pair. If they inevitably overextended, someone needed to keep their escape route open.
Mei continuously rotated between her four weapons: knife, pistol, shotgun, and finger pistols.
Of the four, the combination of knife and finger pistol quickly became her favorite.
The bear tooth dagger was too low-level to reliably cut through skeletal bodies, but it excelled at deflecting weapons and creating openings.
Every time she blocked an attack, a burst of purple bullets would follow, punching through empty eye sockets and shattering skulls.
Adam refreshed [Taunt] once more.
Immediately, the surrounding undead turned their attention toward him.
The distraction allowed Mei and Granessa to carve through the horde with almost no resistance.
Together, the trio continued pushing deeper into the Army of the Dead.
Eventually they encountered something that wasn't a ghost or skeleton.
“Zombies!” Mei shouted.
Whether it was excitement or fear, Adam honestly couldn't tell.
Sure enough, a battalion of rotting zombies stumbled into view.
Loose flesh hung from their bodies in ragged strips. Decaying limbs dragged across the ground as they shambled forward, mixing into the sea of skeletons, ghosts, two humans, and one very enthusiastic orc.