Chapter 14 – Swift Justice

Maximus stared into the man’s blinking eyes, sweat beading across his bloodied face.

“The black man is called Andre; he’s around level 20, though he’ll be leaving this plane sooner than us. We haven’t met the other members, since most of them come and go once the time limit is up,” the man explained, trembling.

“How do you become a member? How do they find people if everyone is randomly summoned into the Trials?” Maximus pressed.

“They’re part of dark guilds outside, and they recruit people before they’re summoned. Sometimes, like in our case, they find someone interesting during the Trials and bring them in,” the man explained.

“Why join them? What do you even gain?” Maximus asked.

“Skills, man… So many skills to choose from, and for free. No points, none of that crap,” the man said, a greedy glint in his eyes.

“So that’s how you gained that golem skill. Interesting… And where did they get those skills from?” Maximus asked, though he already suspected the answer.

“From other people. That was one of our jobs, to repay them for the skills they gave us… With skill stones,” he replied simply, a faint hint of pride in his voice.

Quest Created: Bring down the Skill Hunters of the First Plane

Rewards: 10 Talent Points, 1x Armor Selection Ticket (C)

That’s a good reward… But no way I can face someone at that shadowed man’s level yet. I need to reach at least level 20 before I can expand my power further.

“So… How many lives did you harvest?” Maximus asked as he stood.

“Hey, man, we didn’t kill that many, alright? You can let me go, yeah?” the man began pleading.

“How many?” Maximus raised his voice, sharp and commanding.

“I-I don’t know… Twenty or so? Something like that,” the man muttered, shrugging weakly.

“Spectral Wolf… Feast,” Maximus said coldly as he turned away, walking back toward Felix and Oscar.

Behind him, the spectral wolf manifested and lunged, tearing into the last necromancer. The man’s screams echoed through the village, mixing with the wet crunch of bone and tearing flesh, until silence finally fell.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side.” Oscar chuckled, though his expression grew more serious. “Mind you, you’re proper stone cold when it comes to finishing off other folk, aren’t you?” he added.

“The wild nature of my class is changing me. I can feel it.” Maximus replied calmly. “They killed innocents, so it only feels right that they die as well.” He twisted the truth slightly, not to seem too cold-blooded.

“I get that. My class is influencing me too.” Felix nodded. “My emotions… They’re slowly fading,” he added with a quiet sigh.

“Blimey, I didn’t know that was a thing. My class is proper basic, so I guess that’s why I’m not feeling any different.” Oscar scratched his head before shrugging. “Still, I’m with you on doing these scum in. No arguments from me, mate. Right then, let’s see if they’ve got anything decent in their gear, it’s not like they’re gonna be using it now, is it?”

“You two go ahead. I need to check my notifications. I gained a few levels.” Maximus said as he sat down on a nearby stone wall.

“Lucky bastard… I only got two.” Oscar sighed.

“I got three,” Felix said with a faint smile as the two of them headed toward the warehouse the necromancers had used as their base.

***

You have defeated: [Zombified Goblin Lv. 6] x15

You have defeated: [Zombified Goblin Lv. 5] x8

You have defeated: [Skeleton Warrior Lv. 4] x7

You have defeated: [Corpse Golem Lv. 15]

You have defeated: [Human Necromancer Lv. 13]

You have defeated: [Human Necromancer Lv. 11]

You have defeated: [Human Necromancer Lv. 12]

Alert: Killing fellow participants will grant no experience.

“That’s… Useful information. A sound rule, I suppose, though even with it, those idiots still found reasons to slaughter each other…” Maximus muttered as he reviewed the rest of his notifications.

Class Leveled Up: [Druid Lv. 10 > Lv. 14]

Talent Points gained: +8

Battle Tokens earned: 500

Alert: Multiple skills leveled up. Check Skills status.

Skill Unlocked: [Healing Flow (C)]

“Oh, I’m glad all that effort was properly rewarded.” Maximus smiled and checked his status and skills.

Talent Points: 8

BT: 1,250

Class: Druid – First Awakening

Arcane Path: Sealed

Health: 600 | Spirit: 390 | Mana: Locked

Physical Condition: Weak Human Vessel (Under stress due to recent heavy injury)

Spirit Core Stage: Seed Formation

Skills: Seedling (F) LV.12, Thorn Whip (F) LV.10, Minor Shapeshift (F) LV.6, Barkskin (F) LV.3, Seedling Companion (F) LV.5, Nature’s Wrath (E) LV.7, Potioncraft (D) LV.3, Basic Swordsmanship (F) LV.5, Cat Form (F) LV.3, Rejuvenation (F) LV.3, Static Strike (E) LV.4, Follow Me! (F) LV.1, Spectral Wolves (D) LV.2, Entangle (F) LV.2, Healing Flow (C) LV.2

Feral Skills: Prowl (E) LV.2, Claw Strike (F) LV.3

…

Class Traits: Nature’s Seed (E) LV.5, Friend of the Wild (E) LV.1

—-

Skills:

…

Healing Flow (C) Level 2 – Stay still for 15 minutes, channeling the healing energies of nature to restore your body. The longer you remain still, the greater the healing effect.

No Spirit cost. Cooldown 6 hours to allow the body to recover from the overuse of Spirit.

—-

Class Traits:

Nature’s Seed (E) Level 5 – One chosen by nature and the spirits of the world. Nature-type spells are easier to learn, and spirit energy regenerates 1.5% per 90 seconds. The amount of spirit energy currently stored has doubled, and it’s starting to merge with the user’s body at a fundamental level.

Spirits are observing you.

…

—-

Everything is progressing steadily. This new skill isn’t bad either, though the requirement to remain still is a drawback… At least my seed is growing well, and so is Sprout.

He glanced at Sprout, who sat quietly beside him.

“You’re getting bigger… Good boy. Well, you look like a boy, I think,” he muttered, chuckling softly at his own rambling before rising and walking toward the three corpses.

There, within a pooling puddle of blood, two skill stones shimmered, dark green and faintly eerie.

Maximus picked them up, along with the white staff that had belonged to their leader. The others didn’t seem to carry weapons, or perhaps they had stored them in their inventories.

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Wait… What happens to items inside storage when someone dies? Do they just vanish?

He frowned slightly as he began appraising the loot.

[Willow’s Zombie Staff (E)]

Enhances the Raise Zombies skill, allowing the summoning of +5 additional zombies.

All minions deal 18% more damage and are that much harder to destroy.

Usable by Level 10+ Necromancer.

[Skill Stone: Corpse Explosion (E)]

Contains skill Corpse Explosion (E)- Detonate a nearby corpse, dealing moderate damage.
‎This skill may be cast instantly if a valid corpse is within range.