Wild Era 2, Ch 24: Mausoleum of Bones

Kelin took in the others’ conditions at a glance as he headed toward them. 

He set a Soulfire Sigil in the air and established a ward. As they collapsed to the ground inside, his hands glowed with healing flames. 

For a while, no one spoke much. They sorted themselves out and focused on healing. 

From the changes to their soul auras, Kelin could sense that their abilities had improved. It looked like they’d all gained an Epic upgrade.

“Your talismans made the difference,” Maro admitted as he found the energy to speak. “That undead version of me...he was a beast. I tried it without them. From the looks of it, we all did. He tore me apart. Only your shield kept me alive.”

“Same here,” Galin said with a chuckle, although he was in a better mood. “Can’t expect too much else though. They had twenty levels and an Evolution on us. It was a Dwarven Tomb Guardian...creepy as heck. All dark blue skin, freezing ice and earth powers. Half rotten.”

The dwarf shuddered.

“My version was called Winter’s Death,” Serai said. “It was an undead sylph that used Ice magic blended with necrotic energy. Very strange...arcane even. I didn’t understand her powers.”

“It was a Wraith of Rage for me,” Maro admitted. “A berserker spirit that wouldn’t rest. Giant dark axe. I definitely would have been dead without the help.”

“You all succeeded,” Kelin said, shaking his head. “That’s what matters. Adventuring is about preparation and you were prepared. It’s no different than having better artifacts.”

“You evolved,” Maro said with a grin as he looked at Kelin. “Congratulations are in order. Normally, there should be a big party at the guild. You buy the drinks. Maybe when we get back?”

“Aye, that’s the way,” Galin said with approval. “Have to mark the occasion. My parents would have done it with the clan, but the guild works for me. I’m a long way from those caverns.”

“We’ll celebrate together,” Kelin said as he took in their new levels. Despite the difficulty, they’d all reached 96 from that challenge. “Another day or so and you’ll evolve as well.”

He didn’t ask what abilities they’d attained, but he could tell that they were happy with the results. Their next classes would be much better for it.

“Remember to differentiate your subclasses,” he said. “Eventually, all your abilities will become innate around the Fourth or Fifth Evolution, so make the most of what you have to build up until then.

The other three froze for a moment as they registered what he’d just said, and then Galin shook his head.

“I’m not sure if your faith in us is misplaced or just that high,” he said with a laugh. “There’s only like one person on this planet at the Fourth Evolution. Even trying to reach the Third requires traveling all over the world to get to different dungeons.”

“You can get there in time,” Kelin said, “but you do need to be careful about a couple of things.”

He recalled their classes as he considered their future paths.

Serai. Winter Sylph. Level 96. Wind of the Falling Snow-Winter Mage.  Primary Element: Winter.

Galin Shieldmount. Mountain Dwarf. Level 96. Mountain Axe-Shield Wall.  Primary Element: Earth.

Maro Toren. Human. Level 96. Fire Berserker-Stalwart Smith.  Primary Element: Fire.

Serai’s main class was a racial one, which wasn’t purely combat, and Maro’s subclass as a smith probably added durability and fire resistance to balance out his berserker class, but they could all use some adjustments.

It wasn’t too late for them to change.

“Consider taking a crafting or support subclass this time,” he suggested, “one that augments your main class. You want to have something that boosts your abilities, rather than just duplicating offense or defense. You don’t need abilities of the same type. 

“Whether it helps your perception, your overall strength or durability, or adds something like talisman creation or enchanting, it’s all a force multiplier that you can’t find by duplicating the combat abilities of your main class.”

“The guild teaches something similar,” Galin said thoughtfully, “but most young adventurers are too eager and take the first thing that looks exciting. A lot do change their subclass at higher evolutions, I hear.”

“The sooner the better,” Kelin said. “That way the abilities build on each other.”

He left the advice at that, since it wasn’t polite to influence others’ class choices too much. That was the role of a mentor and he wanted to remain their friend.

Hopefully it would be enough.

Once everyone had recovered, they prepared to head out again. With their own Evolutions close, they were full of energy.

Kelin spent a few moments reorganizing his talismans. Then he moved on to testing his spells.

Now that he was officially at the First Evolution, all of his spells and his durability had vastly improved. His standard bolts and shields were similar to using Blaze before.

When he activated Blaze, mana raged through his meridians like a ferocious tide that howled with force.

He sent a Soulfire Bolt searing across the open area beside the pool and it melted through the stone wall in the distance.

It was much stronger.

The calculation for it had changed, which he’d expected. Basic Evolution mana was like air, so it had to be compressed many times to get to a decent level of power. 

First Evolution mana was harder to condense, but it was naturally more powerful.

It had been at fifteen times the cost for eight times the density, but now it was six times the cost for 3.2 times the density. The mana efficiency was the same at just over 53%.

Increasing his mana density by three times was enough to put the strength around the late First Evolution, maybe Level 160 to 180. 

The drop in the cost also meant he could use it more frequently and with more of his spells, including Wildfire. 

At full soul energy, he had just barely enough to use Blaze and Wildfire once, but that was all he would need. It wasn’t usually necessary, since the spell could build on its own from a group of enemies.

Blaze was only at Expert, but he was looking forward to when it reached Epic and Heroic.

He created two soul arrows and Soulfire Bolts under the effects of Blaze and imbued them into staff. Their mana made the air hum as they orbited the top and wisps of flame condensed around them, making them look like real meteors.

As he finished adjusting things, he turned to look out at the city. As he did, his guild badge swung out from his shirt and glittered in the dim light of the dungeon. 

The material had changed. Now it radiated a pure, golden light and the surface was covered in intricate runes.

Galin’s attention was drawn to it and he froze in place.

“What in the name of the Lords of Stone?” he shouted in shock. “You’re Gold-ranked now!”

His words made Maro and Serai’s attention snap toward Kelin as they joined Galin in staring at the badge.

Kelin glanced down at the badge and then tilted his hand in the air, as if to say so-so.

“It came with my Evolution,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it too much.”

“Don’t worry about it?” Galin jumped to his feet as he came closer to stare at the badge. “That’s a Gold-ranked badge! You outrank every guild captain in Celadon! They’re only at Silver. The only Gold-rankers are on the guild council.” 

“Gold is usually at Level 300 or higher,” Serai agreed as she looked at the badge with interest. “Even Silver is the 200s. How is that possible?”

“Technically, it’s a Knight-ranked badge,” Kelin explained as he glanced down. “It’s equivalent in rank to Gold, but more individual. It’s granted directly by the Path, rather than through guild quests. The patterns are slightly different, but the base metal is the same. For the most part, it has the same authority.”

The main difference was that Knight-ranked badges were much rarer. They implied a level of trust from the Path that wasn’t necessarily part of the Gold rank.

“In this case, it’s not based on passing the guild exams,” he added. “It’s because of that inheritance that I mentioned to you, which is why there’s no need to think too much of it.”

He tucked the badge back into his shirt as he waved them away.

“The wealth of your ancestors is still wealth,” Galin said with a laugh as he looked at where the badge was hiding. “That’s luck for you, and for us for being around you. Keep it close. Who knows, it might be helpful one day to get out of trouble.”

“There’s still a lot you’re not telling us, isn’t there?” Maro asked, shaking his head, but he wasn’t upset. “The way you know all of these things about higher Evolutions. That’s wealth too. That inheritance is not normal. What are you, the long-lost son of the Guildmaster or something?”

“Nothing that elaborate,” Kelin said with a chuckle. “But maybe listen to me about your subclasses.”

“As you command, dear Knight,” Serai said with amusement. “Your wisdom is golden.”

When Kelin sighed at her, she gave him an unrepentant smile.

“But I suppose we should get back to work,” she said. “It’d be embarrassing for a Knight to have Basic Evolution friends.”

“Very embarrassing,” Kelin agreed. “We should fix that.”

The others glanced at each other, but since Kelin wasn’t adding any details, they turned their attention to other things. 

He had enough influence to be their backer in the guild now, but he’d been a mysterious benefactor since they met, so things hadn’t really changed. 

He was satisfied they were willing to let the matter go, but it did remind him to check the titles on his status sheet.

A new one was listed.

Titles: Lord of Wildfire, Knight of the Path.

A badge was just a badge, but that title meant he was getting back a little of his old authority, even if it was only a sliver.

One day, he would be back as an Archduke of the Path.

A Knight rank was impressive on a small world like Lareth, but it was the Platinum-ranker who was really in charge, so it wasn’t going to change that much. 

Platinum was one level up. The equivalent rank was Baron.

His rank might be useful for revenge against Verasun, but his level was too low, so it wasn't a golden ticket.

After their discussion wrapped up, it didn’t take long for everyone to get ready. Kelin scanned the dungeon as he picked a route toward the third challenge.

There were still a number of wandering undead in the city, so as they moved along, he drew their attention and let the team deal with them.

Their progress was smooth.

His spells were enough to kill the monsters in one to two normal strikes and he was able to use mana shields to protect the team, which kept the talisman expenditure down.

A few hours and about thirty undead later, they all reached Level 97. Kelin remained at 101, but he was about a quarter of the way through.

When they found the third challenge, it was notably different from the first two.

The building was a vast cathedral, its roof soaring upward for two hundred feet, where it ended in bone spikes that stretched into the sky.

Its walls and the bricks were all made out of bones, but ones shaped to resemble stonework. Only their surface revealed polished ivory instead.

Not all of them were normal bones. Many were interwoven with strands of metal, veins of gemstone, or other materials in glittering inlays. The mana of enchantments radiated from most of them, weaving into a series of dangerous wards around the cathedral.

This place was important.

It looked like someone had used the bones as the base for enchantments, or perhaps the undead had an entire culture of using bone that way, with classes to match.

As they walked through the grand doors at the front of the cathedral, a wave of dark mana passed through the air.

Congratulations, Lord of Wildfire. 

You have discovered a Challenge: The Mausoleum of Bones.

This place was once the home of the Lord of Bones when he visited the city and his power still lingers.

Be cautious.

As the voice of the Path faded away, the interior of the cathedral opened to Kelin’s view. 

It was similar in design to a real cathedral, but everything here was made of bones, from the floor that looked like flagstones to the rows of seats and an altar at the center.

Strange but artistic flourishes were everywhere, carved into the bone in the same way as stone, but there was a heavy element of spines, teeth, and knobby joints used as decoration that gave the area a threatening appearance.

Half a dozen bone-armored knights that were ten feet tall lined each side of the aisle, while the Elite stood at the center. 

It was a skeletal figure in a dull white robe with a belt made of skulls and fingerbones. Designs that matched some of the art in the cathedral were embroidered into its robes, but it was the creature's bones that stood out.

The skeleton's bones were interlaced with veins of mithril and silver, as well as a dark blue crystal that was similar to sapphire, making it look like it was covered in tattoos.

Dense mana radiated from it, lending a heavy and oppressive feeling to the air.

Kelin analyzed all of them in an instant.

Deathbone Servitor Knights. Level 113.

Adept of Bones. Level 115. Elite.

As expected, it was a follower of the Lord of Bones.

This city must have been important for it to have remnants of all four of the Divinities of Undeath. Perhaps it was a capital that the Path had seen once or taken from another galaxy.

The adept raised its head to look at them and a gravelly voice rattled in its throat, echoing across the cathedral.

“Those who dare to trespass in the Great Lord’s domain will become materials to worship his name.”

The adept’s hand rose and the inlays in its bones glowed as it channeled mana through them. It was like they were its meridians.  

The wards on the cathedral flared to life at its command and a wave of pressure slammed the door closed behind the team.

Bone spikes began to extend from the walls and a dull black haze rose from the floor, bringing with it a sense of disruption that made Kelin’s bones ache in response.

At the same time, the knights lining the aisle shuddered as they awoke. Their eyes blazed with blue flames and bone plates shifted across their bodies as they straightened up.

They were covered in bone that resembled full plate armor, except that it had more sections and thousands of smaller bone scales interlayered between the parts. Some of them had shields and spears, while others had great two-handed bone swords. 

A similar dark haze radiated from their weapons as they raised them. It was a threatening presence, like the touch of it would corrode bone and poison the flesh.

There were a dozen of the servitors, and now that they were awake, they moved with easy speed and force, more like leopards than skeletons. Their bones cracked as they walked toward the entrance.

“Get ready,” Maro warned as he raised his axe. Flames surrounded him in a protective shield, clashing with the mist. “Here they come.”

Kelin set his Soulfire Sigil in the air, which hummed with golden light, and swiftly drew a ward circle. The dark haze from the cathedral floor hissed fiercely against his ward, like tar mixing with flame.

Crackles of soulfire flared out from the edge of the circle, igniting the haze and clearing the area around it, while the space inside stayed pure.

Then he waited. 

He had to give the others a chance to test themselves before he started leveling this place.

The leading two servitor knights had spears and shields, and the points of the spears slammed into the ward a second later.

The ward held with only minor damage, but the knights didn’t give up.

Spears and then their shields slammed into the surface, sending waves of force across the ward, while the Soulfire Sigil flickered above.

At the same time, Maro and the others attacked. An axe blade of cutting flame seared out from the ward as the berserker swung his weapon.

The attack made the servitors raise their shields, but it only left a charred line on the surface, and two of them managed to dissipate the force before it could reach any of the others behind them.

Galin followed by releasing a wave of earthen force that turned into stone spikes, which stabbed upward at the servitors. Then he raised his shield and slammed it into the ground.

A crushing force descended on the servitors, slowing their movements as their bones creaked, and pressure radiated around them as it continued to weigh down.

“Just learned that one,” Galin muttered as he stepped up to the edge of the ward circle and cut out with a heavy axe blow at a servitor’s leg. His axe chopped into the bone, but it was deflected and only left a small cut.

A frozen wind from Serai left layers of ice on the servitors, slowing them down further, and a rain of ice blades fell from the air, but it was only a precursor to her real attack.

The temperature around the knights dropped swiftly until tiny crystalline snowflakes began to fall onto their shoulders and weapons. As the spell spread, their armor’s color began to fade, turning in patches to a paler and more brittle white.

Serai raised her staff and twisted it in the air, and a wave of force followed, breaking the ice she’d just created. Tiny cracks ran all across the servitor’s armor, covering it in a latticework.

It was an impressive spell for her level, but the power wasn’t there yet to do much more. If it had been stronger, she could have shattered all of them with that.

Kelin kept his attention on the ward as he let them continue to attack. The servitors recovered and continued to hammer at his ward, which was draining his mana, but it was nothing like it had been before he evolved.

He could do this for a while.

It was only a few moments before the adept joined in.

“Your bones will merge with the cathedral to sing praises to the Lord.”

The adept’s mana hummed as it shifted tactics and the floor of the cathedral began to rise. The dark mist and the wave of bone spikes flowed across the floor toward them. It looked like a saw blade or a wave of shark’s fangs rising from the floor. 

A constant pressure of corrosion from the mist and dozens of teeth slamming into the ward made Kelin’s mana dip, but he ignored it.

Instead, he began to study the adept and the magic it was using, tracing the lines of power from its bones and the connections to the cathedral.

It was obviously an art with a long history, something like a sacred technique of the Lord of Bones. 

It made him wonder if this was how the undead usually upgraded their bodies. He knew they liked to take bones from powerful enemies, but this type of enhancement was new. 

He’d never seen anything like it before.

He let the fight go on for a while, but the servitors began to overwhelm his allies and their mana dropped swiftly.

The adept began to use other tactics, attempting to tear out their bones and to turn them against them.

The spells were powerful curses, but Kelin disrupted them before they could pass through his ward, which rendered most of the adept’s effort futile.

The Elite was strong, but it couldn’t match up after his Evolution, so it was an unhurried battle. 

His Effective Level had jumped much higher. He wasn’t sure where it fell yet, but it was well over Level 115, maybe as high as 140.

Now and then, he drank a mana potion or tossed an infusion talisman at his shield, which kept his expenditure down, but mostly he waited.

After a few dozen exchanges, he decided it was time.

The sphere of a Soulfire Inferno appeared in his hand and he ignited it outside the ward, catching the servitors inside. 

He focused on Ascending Flame as he let the spell grow stronger. The mana cost was higher, but 25% wasn’t much, so he was planning to use it with all of his spells from now on. 

Once the ability reached full strength at two minutes, the cost would be cheaper than using multiple spells. 

He sent a pair of Soul Arrows flaring across the distance to sink into the adept’s soul, followed by two more, and he let them work as he began to bombard the servitors and the adept with Soulfire Bolts. 

Searing explosions filled the cathedral and echoed from the walls. 

He kept the pace slow so the others could join in with a few last attacks, but one by one, the knights collapsed in broken armor that was filled with craters and the adept began to stagger as rainbow smoke poured away from its skull and chest.

Eventually the knights all fell and then the adept collapsed as the necrotic energy animating it burned away.

The Path’s voice rang in Kelin’s mind.

Congratulations, Lord of Wildfire.

You have cleared the Mausoleum of Bones.

You have gained a Level.

You are now Level 102.

You gain 9 Intelligence, 3 Wisdom, 3 Aura, and have 6 free attribute points to assign.

Your Soulbound Elemental has also gained a Level.

You have earned an Opportunity Reward for clearing this Challenge.

It lies in front of you.

As the surge of energy from the level settled into Kelin’s body, his attention was drawn toward a glowing light that appeared above the altar.

Approach the altar to discover one of the secrets of Undeath.

With that, the power of the Path’s voice faded away.

He tossed the free points into Aura, which took it to 349, and then the team gathered the cores and necrotic crystals that had fallen from the undead.

There were several more mana crystals with a Decay attribute, as well as a few pieces of equipment, including an enchanted bone dagger, the adept’s robe, and a book of bone curses.

Kelin analyzed each of them.

Bone Curse Dagger (Rare: Professional).

Robe of the Bonekeeper (Rare: Professional).

Grimoire of Bone (Rare).

The rewards were significant, but none of it was that useful to the team. Perhaps if one of them had been a shaman or a witch with an affinity for bones, they might have made use of it.

“Let’s sell these,” Kelin suggested. “The rarity will give them a good price, and we can split the proceeds for better gear.”

“That’s reasonable,” Serai agreed. “If that robe were a little better, I would be interested in it, but it won’t do much for my magic. Maybe I could trade it for one that fits, but I already have this lantern, so I won’t claim it.”

“There should still be a few more things in the dungeon to divide up,” Kelin agreed. “Now let’s see what this altar is all about.”

He walked toward the altar and the glowing light. When he reached it, he heard the Path speak again.

Every altar of the Lord of Bones is imbued with the magic to enhance its followers. This one has fallen under my control.

Sit beside the altar and make your choice.

As Kelin sat down in front of the altar, he saw a few options appear in his mind.

The Altar of Bones offers you a Trait. Choose from the following list.

Bone Tempering:

Bone tempering allows you to harden your bones to better resist damage. This is a useful Trait on the long path of body refinement. Your Constitution will benefit from this change.

Bone Enchantment:

Your bones create a pattern. This Trait allows you to change them to form a natural enchantment, one that will be difficult to alter once it is set. Your Intelligence will benefit from this change.

Bone Recovery:

A natural enhancement to your bones will take place, accelerating your healing and preventing curses, poisons, and other dangerous energies from settling into your bones. Your Constitution will benefit from this change.

Bone Affinity:

This altar has the ability to enhance your soul and grant you an affinity for Bone Magic, but beware the connection to the Lord of Bones. Your Wisdom will benefit from this change.

Bone Infusion:

If you have a rare material to use, it can be infused into your bones, allowing you to enhance your natural mana flow or to channel a unique property of the material.

There were five options in front of him, so Kelin went through them one by one, considering the advantages and disadvantages. 

He quickly discarded Bone Affinity, since he had no interest in forming a connection with the Lord of Bones. 

Since the Path was offering it, it probably wasn’t too severe and the Sovereign might even be trying to create a challenger for the Divinity, but he wasn’t going down that route.

He also discarded Bone Infusion, since he didn’t have any material that he wanted to infuse into his bones, nor did he trust the process. He wasn’t sure if it would cause a problem down the road.

As he considered the idea, however, a nudge from Gaius made him turn his attention inward. After a moment, he figured out what the elemental wanted and chuckled.

The chunk of Runic Silverflame Ore in his storage space disappeared and landed in Gaius’s control.

It seemed like the Path was offering the same choice to his companion. 

As an elemental, Bone Infusion was a much more interesting option for Gaius and it didn’t seem to matter that he was made of earth. 

Unlike with a human, the ore would enhance his overall strength and make his magic stronger. 

Kelin gave Bone Enchantment a long look, but the idea of being stuck with an enchantment on his bones that continually drew on his mana made him set it aside. The boost to his Intelligence would be nice, but it wouldn’t matter much in the long run. 

It was a better choice for a warrior or someone with fewer spells.

That left him with either Bone Tempering or Bone Recovery, both of which would boost his Constitution. 

Bone Recovery’s ability to protect his bones from dangerous energies would be nice, but soulfire did it well enough, so after consideration, he settled on Bone Tempering. 

He still remembered how many bones he’d broken fighting Verasun’s butler.

With the choice made, a strange and pale white energy drifted out from the altar and poured into Kelin’s body. It was in thin strands, but each of them felt as dense as iron.

He felt the energy spiraling through his meridians and seeking out his bones, where it slowly fused into them.

The process was accompanied by a piercing agony like a thousand needles driving into his bones and joints, and his body seized up.

A force from the Path kept him locked in place, even as his teeth ground together. He was biting down with so much force that they might have shattered, except that strands of the bone energy flowed into them as well, hardening them before it could happen.

Needles stabbed into his teeth as well, making it feel like a hundred explosions in his mouth, and he let out a muffled hiss as his body seized up.

Time passed as the energy settled in. He felt it drifting everywhere and as it merged into his bones, he felt his Constitution rising.

Eventually notifications began to ring in his mind.

You have gained the Innate Trait: Tempered Bones.

Your Constitution has improved by 40. 

Your bones have been tempered and their durability has significantly increased. This Trait will grow stronger with your level, ensuring that your bones will always be a durable part of your defense.

Kelin let out another hiss as the pain in his bones faded away.

The improvement to his Constitution was significant, sending it up to 249, which was decent for a First Evolution mage. 

Eventually, the Path released him from the paralysis he’d been under and he turned his head to check on his friends. 

They were similarly frozen in pain as they underwent the change.

From the traces of the energy he could make out, none of them had taken the Path up on the offer of a Bone Affinity, even with the adept’s equipment in front of them.

It looked like all of them had chosen Bone Recovery.

That was a little surprising, but it didn’t take him long to figure out that they must have been attracted by the offer of accelerated healing and resistances.

If he hadn’t had a healing ability already, he probably would have chosen it too.

Unfortunately, it looked like their experience in gaining the trait wasn’t any more pleasant than his.

Kelin gave them some privacy to recover as he checked on Gaius, who had fully fused with the Runic Silverflame Ore.

The elemental’s body was covered in flecks of the silvery material, giving him a sense of magic and depth.

More mana resistant now, Gaius explained. Also stronger. Option to become a Silverflame Earth Elemental, but need more ore. Other options too, if they can be fused with it.

A good improvement, Kelin agreed. I’ll keep an eye out for more ore. It’s rare, but the guild might have some. How much do you need?

An image of Gaius appeared in Kelin’s mind. He was ten feet tall and six feet broad at the shoulder. 

About a quarter of my body, Gaius said. Four hundred pounds.

Kelin almost choked at the number, but he managed to hold himself back.

Runic Silverflame Ore at the Rare grade was worth about 2,000 gold for three ounces, which was the size of the bar he'd given Gaius. Four hundred pounds of it would probably bankrupt the entire guild in Celadon.

It wasn’t impossible to find, but it would be difficult.

We’ll try, he said. 

The best chance would be if he found a vein somewhere and Gaius could extract it himself.

The others were taking a while to recover from the addition of the new trait, so Kelin set up a ward and a small work table, where he began to make more talismans.

Eventually, all three of them broke free of their paralysis, but at that same instant, a starry light descended like rays from the night sky.

The power of the Path covered each of them, creating a bright shield that hid them from view.

He’d gained a level from that, but they’d gained several, and they’d already been at Level 97.

Their Evolutions were beginning.

It would probably take them the full hour of time to finish Evolving, so Kelin gave them a nod of respect and then he went back to talisman crafting.

He was looking forward to the changes.