Wild Era 2, Ch 21: Aura of Fear

Kelin considered the mysteries of Lareth for the rest of the night, as well as of the dungeon, but no answers were forthcoming.

Serai’s dream had given him some information that he’d been missing, and the match between her dream and his own rebirth here was too coincidental to ignore.

He had heard at the guild that there was a dungeon break out twenty years ago, but the timing had been too vague for him to put it together.

Now, he did.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that it was significant and he suspected that if he kept looking, other things would begin to appear. 

It was one of those mystical feelings that was part of his soul, like a premonition of the past and the future merging together.

As an archmage, he knew better than to ignore it, but all he could do for now was keep an eye out for other mysteries. If they appeared, he could try to determine the pattern and the reason behind it.

When morning arrived, he woke the others. 

They packed up their gear and continued on toward the next challenge, slowly killing all of the undead in the way. 

Around midmorning, the entrance appeared in front of them. 

It was a broken arch in a wall where a gate had been. There was a ruined wall surrounding it, as well as pillars on the sides marked out the boundaries. 

The wall was a sprawling thing, extending for perhaps a quarter mile in each direction as it marked out a large space inside the city, like it had once been a massive garden or a park.

Through the opening, Kelin could see a low pool of water covered with a strange and dark mist. 

It looked like it had once been a public fountain or a lake, but now there was only a small bit left at the center of the depression.

As they stepped through the arch, he saw that the water was dark as midnight. Waves of icy energy rose from the surface, turning into the mist that built up between the walls and flowed through the area. 

Even the sky was dark. Shadowfall never had much light, but here the sun had completely disappeared.

Shifting shadows were present and Kelin could hear distant voices echoing in the fog, calling like children playing and crying before they faded away into the piercing howls of wild animals.

The area was dreamlike and hazy, as if it were separated from the real world.

As soon as he studied it, the voice of the Path rang in his mind.

You have discovered a Challenge: The Aura of Fear.

Level 115 Elite.

Fear is one of the Lords of the Undead who serves the Divinity of Decay. He once had a strong presence in this city. This Challenge was established using his remnant power.

Many fear the nature of the undead...especially becoming one. 

To pass this challenge, you must face that fear and defeat an undead version of yourself. 

This is an individual challenge. Each person must enter alone.

If you survive, you will gain greatly.

If you fail, you will either be severely injured or die.

Continue if you dare.

The Path’s words faded away and a glowing line appeared on the ground about ten feet ahead of Kelin. He studied it for a moment.

The words gave him a bit more information about the undead, allowing him to sort out some of the details he’d learned from the library, particularly their ranks.

At the top was the Sovereign of Undeath and below him were the Four Divinities of Death: Decay, Silence, Plague, and Bones.

Below those four, there were these others like Fear, who had to be either Sixth or Seventh Evolution beings. 

Lord seemed to be a generic title for all of them, while the rank of Divinity was limited to the top four.

He turned to the others behind him.

“This one will be an individual battle,” he said. “The risk is high. You’ll have to face a Level 115 undead version of yourself.”

The others looked uneasy as they glanced at one another. 

“I’m not sure we can handle that,” Maro admitted. “We’ve been fighting monsters at that level here, but not solo, and undead are usually stronger than the living version. They also have unique abilities. It sounds like I might have to face a berserk death knight version of myself. I don’t think that will go well.”

“Undead mage,” Galin said, pointing at Serai. Then he knocked his fist against his chest. “And I suppose I’d be an undead dwarf of some sort. Sounds unpleasant. Neither one will be easy unless we have something that directly counters them, but with risk, comes reward. That’s why we came here.”

“If it weren’t undead, my new lantern and Maro’s codex would help,” Serai said, “but both of them are less effective here. We did bring some mana potions and talismans though, so perhaps we can outlast them.”

“That’s my idea,” Kelin agreed as he nodded at her. “The Path said the battles are individual, but it didn’t say our preparations had to be.

“Along with what you brought, I can layer talisman shields on you, temporarily enchant your weapons and armor with soulfire, and perhaps a few other things that counter the undead. 

“You’ll either have to end the battle quickly or outlast them. You should know yourselves the best, so you know what to do. The only factor will be handling the undead aspect and the level difference.”

If they’d still been in their 60s, this would have been suicide, but they were almost to the First Evolution now. 

A difference of 23 levels was a lot, especially across an Evolution, but they could probably make it work.

With some help.

“I’ll be doing this,” he announced. “Will you wait or do you want to join me?”

“I’m going in,” Galin said firmly as he raised his axe into the air. “Load me up with shields.”

Waves of Earth mana filled the area around him, making it feel like he was getting larger as a mountain rose. 

After a moment, Maro and Serai agreed as well.

Kelin considered how to help them the most as he pulled out a stack of Warden’s Talismans and began to activate one after another. 

Soon, a layer of ten shields surrounded each of them. It would be enough to absorb quite a few blows.

After that, he used Soulfire Reinforcement to imbue their weapons with a layer of soulfire, which would harm the undead. Then he made sure they had enough mana and healing potions, as well as some antidote ones that would help against necrotic poisons.

He thought for a minute and then took out some Soulfire Blast and Soulfire Infusion talismans, as well as a handful of mid-grade mana crystals.

It was normally difficult for someone at the Basic Evolution to activate a First Evolution talisman, which was why he didn’t just hand them a stack. It might take half of their mana or more without adding anything to the power of the spell. 

He knew a way to get around that, but it was a bit wasteful. It wouldn’t be as smooth, but it would work.

He spent a few moments attuning the mana crystals with soulfire, which made them glow with a brilliant golden light.

Then he handed two sets to each of them. Each set was made up of two infusion talismans, a blast talisman, and a mana crystal.

“Use the mana crystals to activate the talismans,” he said as he showed them the activation method. “There’s enough of my mana in them that it will work.”

The attunement he’d added to the crystals made it so their mana would flow easily into the talismans. It only required the most basic of mana control. 

All they had to do was will the energy to move. 

Each talisman on its own was enough to kill a Level 110 monster, and they had the equivalent of six. 

It should be enough for them to wipe the floor with this challenge.

“Your opponents will probably have standard gear for the undead and altered versions of your abilities,” he added. “Use the talismans and burn them down before they can do anything. Don’t draw it out unless you have to.”

That got him a round of nods, as well as wary looks at the talismans they were holding. 

All three of them were glowing with magic, which meant they were ready, so he turned to look at the lake.

They walked forward together.

When Kelin’s foot crossed the line on the ground, the mist in front of him darkened, making the world fade away.

The other three disappeared, leaving him to continue alone. 

He walked forward and soon he was on top of the area where the lake should have been, but it still felt like solid stone beneath his feet.

The mist began to brighten with a cold blue color, making it look like he was under a dark glacier. Strange shadows rippled at the edge of his vision and the howling voices he’d heard outside returned.

A prickling cold feeling ran across his skin and tugged at his heart. The force behind it was ethereal and overwhelming, full of the power of an unhinged Law of Fear.

Even with all of the wards on his soul, it made him waver for a moment, but then the crystallized section in his soul from his rebirth hummed slightly.

The feeling of imbalance disappeared and the area around him swiftly became brighter, illuminated by the same blue light.

Shadows gathered together in front of him as a figure appeared. 

It was a skeleton wearing tattered green rags that had once been an ornate robe. Silver and gold threads of old embroidery marked out a badge of Irian on the chest that was barely visible.

If he hadn’t known it so well, it would have been hard to tell what it was.

It was the same one of the academy he’d once attended when he had been very young. 

The Irian College of Mages.

It was too ruined to show all the details, but his mind filled in the blanks and the design of a silver scroll crossed over a mage’s staff with a star in the background appeared in his mind’s eye.

Memories of old lessons and long hours of study flooded through his memory, so many that he almost missed the undead raising its hand.

A wave of black flame soared through the sky, taking the shape of an undead dragon with its jaws open wide. Its body was a frame of bones made of fire and its wings were a tattered ruin, but it was so realistic that its claws and fangs looked like they were covered with bits of rotten flesh and specks of mold.

Flames gathered in its throat and then a cloud of blue and black billowed down toward him. Where it passed, even the mist around him decayed and crumbled away to mottled ash.

It took him a moment to gather himself, but the mist didn’t affect him. A glowing golden shield kept it from touching his skin.

His eyes were fixed on the old robe.

Eventually, he let out a sigh as he pulled himself together and analyzed his opponent.

Kelin of Irian. Revenant Sorcerer. Level 115 Elite.

Beneath the robe, the undead Kelin’s form was only that of a skeleton with strands of hair loosely attached to his skull. Some bracelets and rings decorated his body and a belt with pouches held the remains of the robe to his waist.

His eyes glowed with blue light and heavy waves of necrotic energy surrounded him, bending the air in response. 

The revenant was much more powerful than the lich Kelin had faced in the last dungeon.

Despite that, Kelin felt none of the fear this challenge was supposed to invoke, only a trace of nostalgia.

The revenant was beginning to cast something else, but Kelin only flicked a Soulfire Infusion talisman at his mana shield, where the denser mana reinforced it.

Then he inscribed a ward circle around himself and hung his Soulfire Sigil in the air, where it drove back the mist that was trying to press close. 

He saw the revenant’s mana ignite as it used a version of Blaze, and spells began to crash down around him with extreme force, one after the other.

Talisman after talisman flew from his hand and infused his ward, which was cracking under the onslaught.

The dragon continued to attack, combined with necrotic lightning, poisonous fogs, and attempts to rip his soul out of his body. 

The stone and mist around him shattered as it flew in every direction and a pool of acid stretched out beneath his feet, separated from him only by his mana barrier.

If he’d been fighting the undead with just his own mana pool, it would have been extremely difficult, but his preparations were enough that he was completely calm.

Blaze was enhancing its spells and the undead seemed to have no lack of mana. With that infusing its magic, the spells it was using were closer to Level 140 than 115.

He continued to throw Soulfire Infusion talismans at his shield, covering for his lack of mana to compete.

His alternate self having Blaze was within his expectations, but he had to admit that it was stacking the deck in the thing’s favor, especially when it seemed to have unlimited mana. 

Sometimes it took three or four of the talismans to deal with one spell and his supply dwindled swiftly, but it was worth the expense.

To him, the greatest gain from this battle wasn’t the reward at the end, but this chance to see himself from a different perspective.

Seeing the old robe of Irian was a nice touch too.

He studied the undead’s magic, using it to get a better sense of the core principles of his spells and how they could be altered.

The principles of necrotic energy were an antithesis to soulfire, and by seeing it translated into them, it gave him one insight after another, flooding him with ideas for how to improve his class, as well as how it could be built up for the future.

It was a fortunate experience right before his Evolution.

He studied the undead’s magic, watching as it tried to send a dark blue soul arrow at him, and then he shredded it with a blade of soul energy.

His stock of talismans dwindled as he waited for one specific thing. 

Eventually he saw it.

The revenant raised its hand and a swirling sphere of Wildfire appeared. Instead of rainbow flames with red and yellow dominant, it was a dark blue and black with other tumbling colors inside.

A Law resonated from the sphere, but it wasn’t the Law of Wildfire, it was a tumbling fury of death and despair, resonating with the necrotic energy that had created it. 

Ghostly howls split the air as faces appeared on the edges of the flames, like spirits trying to escape. The spectres let out cries as they struggled and then collapsed back into the sphere, where they disintegrated into the swirling energy.

Wisps of white and black energy gathered around the sphere, making the space all around them shudder. Cracks split through the mist as sections of it disintegrated and it felt like the entire challenge was going to crumble.

The power contained in that sphere was well beyond Kelin’s current version of Wildfire. 

It also wasn’t the Law of Wildfire.

The challenge’s attempt to recreate the Law had made something entirely different, a spell that was resonating with the necrotic energy around them, absorbing and breaking it at the same time.

Strands of the mist from the area were flowing into the spell as he watched, making the sphere grow larger.

Kelin hadn’t felt much fear at this challenge so far, but that spell gave him a sense of mortal danger. 

The undead version of himself had created something that was closer to the real power of Wildfire. 

It was only a little more, since the challenge was limited by the current level, but between the undead Kelin’s version of Blaze and the challenge’s ability to duplicate the real Law, it was more like a Second Evolution version than a low First Evolution.

Rather than Wildfire, it would be better to call it the Law of Wild Necrosis. 

It was stripping necrotic energy from this place, and the longer it went on, the more it would absorb.

He responded by creating a sphere of true Wildfire, which ignited in his hand in its regular colors. The bright yellow and red sparks tumbled over one another and the sphere shone so brightly that it made the mist look dim.

He ignited Blaze, pouring energy into the spell to make it stronger. He didn’t have the energy to use Blaze first and fully power Wildfire, but he could use it after the fact to enhance it.

Then he began to activate Soulfire Infusion talismans. 

Within seconds, a dozen of them were active, their force thundering around his staff in arcs of soulfire, and he split his attention to his ward, sending some to reinforce it.

“Go ahead,” he said, speaking for the first time. “Let’s see how it matches up.”

The undead Kelin’s lips split as a harsh chuckle wheezed out through its lips, and then it threw the spell.

Kelin threw his own at the same time, but he altered the trajectory slightly, making sure it would fly past the spell that was heading for him.

The spells passed each other in the air and crackling tendrils of necrotic energy and blazing wildfire hissed and exploded where they touched.

The spells pulled toward one another like they wanted to fuse, but Kelin took control of his to shove it back onto its path.

Then he focused on the one approaching him.

Instead of waiting for it to strike his ward, he lashed out with Spell Disruption, targeting the core concepts at the center.

The partial Law of Soulfire and the Law of Endless Flames that he comprehended flickered as he did his best to fuse them into the strike. He knew how Wildfire functioned, so he tried to leverage them to disrupt it.

Across from him, the other Kelin had raised a dark ward and a darker version of the Soulfire Sigil burned in the air above its shoulder. It could have tried the same Spell Disruption, but it was apparently planning to resist directly. 

The two spells arrived at the same time.

A dark storm of howling ghosts blasted outward as the necrotic spell crashed against Kelin’s ward, burying it in a flood of energy. 

A massive cold explosion shattered the world around him, shaking his mind and the ward. Spikes of necrotic energy shot out in every direction like icicles, stabbing at everything nearby, and between them tendrils of wailing energy tore at his vitality.

But his ward held, even swamped as it was. 

He’d infused nearly twenty Soulfire Talismans into it and a lot of the energy was still there. Augmented by his sigil in the air, it was just enough.

Massive cracks ran through the shield and cold winds tore at Kelin’s skin, leaving blackened lines like frostbite. 

His defense was centered on his staff and his right hand that was gripping it froze over, curling into a gnarled and blackened fist that looked like it had been burned. All the moisture in it disappeared as tiny black and blue crystals covered the surface.

His skin blackened three-quarters of the way up his arm, stopping only when it approached his shoulder, and he felt part of his ribs and hip on his right side freeze as well.

Only the warmth of the soul wood that made up his staff kept his grip from failing. His innate soulfire burned fitfully at the edges of the damage, trying to repel the necrosis that continued to slowly spread.

At the same time, his own spell reached the fake Kelin. There was a mocking flame in the revenant’s eyes as it watched the Wildfire strike. 

The sphere of rainbow flames reached its shield and erupted like liquid light across the dark surface. Waves of wildfire washed across it, making the shield shake.

The shield shuddered, but it held, and the revenant’s bony features cracked open into a cruel  smile.

The Wildfire was close to the First Evolution in strength, but it was on the edge. Without building force from the souls of some weaker monsters, it didn’t have the strength to break through.

Then four streaks of light appeared, whistling toward the shield.

The first one slammed into the ward with a thunderous explosion of soulfire, tearing a massive hole through the center.

The other three bolts flew through the opening.  One was a Soulfire Bolt and the other two were soul arrows.

They were the ones that Kelin had held in reserve around his staff, ones that were already at the First Evolution in strength. He’d launched them as soon as Wildfire struck, using the explosion to hide them. 

All four of them glowed with enhanced strength from Soulfire Infusion and they landed at nearly the same time. 

The Soulfire Bolt blasted through the dark Kelin’s mana shield and tore a blazing hole in its chest, and the two soul arrows followed it in.

The revenant staggered as the arrows landed and the necrotic energy that served as its soul exploded into flames, blazing brightly with force. 

Ethereal smoke billowed up from its chest and limbs, swiftly rising toward its head.

Kelin’s right hand was ruined, but he didn’t hesitate to grab a few more infusion talismans with his left and hurl them at the flames. At the same time, he poured his remaining mana into Soul Ignition, making the flames leap upward.

He’d infused a few talismans into the Wildfire while they were preparing the spells, but most of them had gone into the bolts around his staff, ensuring that they were as powerful as possible.

It only took a few moments for the revenant to begin to disintegrate. Cracks ran through its bones as dark mist flowed out, which was swiftly ignited by the soul flames.

Kelin watched it with calm eyes.

Its power had been significant and the laws of this place had augmented it more than he’d expected, but it hadn’t had the advantages of his staff or talismans. 

A minute later, the revenant crumbled to dust, turning into a pile of dark ash.

Notifications rang in Kelin’s mind, but he ignored them as he looked down at his arm.

What he saw made him grimace. 

Black and grey ridges ran across it, all of it mottled with those strange crystals, making the surface look more like tree bark than skin. It looked like something that belonged in a coffin, and not a new one, like a mummy’s arm beneath the wrappings. 

When he pulled aside his robe to check, his right ribs, hip, and part of his right thigh looked the same, which made him shake his head. 

That would take a while to heal.

He could feel his soulfire fighting against the invasion of necrotic energy and now that the revenant was dead, it was starting to get the advantage, but his mana was draining swiftly.

If he hadn’t had some resistance to mortal wounds, it would have been worse.

He took out a greater healing potion and drank it, followed by a greater mana potion, and then he pulled out some healing talismans and began to apply them.

The fight had gone mostly as he predicted, but even with his preparation, it was closer than he would have liked.

He’d only won because of his talismans and the spells he’d prepared, things the revenant hadn’t had. 

He’d used close to forty infusion talismans, which was ridiculous.

As he worked on the healing, he felt the mist around him beginning to thin, so he turned his attention to the notifications.

Congratulations, Lord of Wildfire.

You have completed the Challenge: The Aura of Fear.

You have gained 2 Levels.

You are now Level 100!

Your Soulbonded Elemental has also gained 2 Levels.

You gain 6 Intelligence, 2 Wisdom, and have 10 free attribute points to assign.

For completing this Challenge at a higher Evolution, and due to facing an attack that was near the Second Evolution in strength and infused with a rare Law, you have earned an Ability Reward (Epic).

You may choose one Ability to advance by a tier, to a maximum of Epic.

Make your choice now.

There was a moment of silence as the Path waited for him.

Kelin looked at the options, but he already knew what he was going to choose. The damage to his arm was reason enough.

A moment later, the Path acknowledged his choice.

A storm of golden energy appeared in the air, spinning around him in a massive hurricane as it began to infuse his body with threads of soulfire.

Congratulations, Lord of Wildfire.

Your Class Ability: Soulfire Body Refinement has gained a tier and reached Epic (Perfect Foundation).

By perfectly aligning your physique to Soulfire, you gain a 75% improvement to your durability and physical recovery. You also gain a 75% resistance to mortal wounds.

At the Epic tier, the power of a Soulfire affinity flows freely through your existence and you have become capable of harnessing that energy more adeptly. You now have a 20% Soulfire affinity improvement to your spells and abilities.

The flames surged through him in waves that changed his muscles and bones, touching every part of his existence, and it took a long time for them to settle in, as if they were struggling against a natural law.

The power of the Path was overwhelming and eventually he felt the threads fuse in. As they did, his physical constitution soared upward.

His body glowed with flames that licked along his limbs and some of the damage from the necrotic energy melted away.

As the changes settled into place, he took stock of the improvement. 

The ability was up to 75% now, which was a 10% gain over Elite and the former 10% affinity boost had doubled. 

That would help his spells.

Body Refinement was his hardest ability to train, so it had been his top choice. He was curious if it would give him a better class option.

Then he turned his attention to the final notification, the one that was hanging at the edge of his mind like a massive golden sun.

The Path’s voice echoed in his mind, so powerful that it seemed like it filled all of existence.

Your Abilities and Innate Traits have been assessed.

You have met the requirements for the First Evolution.

Your Evolution will begin.

As he heard those words, the world dissolved into a wash of golden flame.