Chapter 67: [Arc 2] Chapter 14: Location Quest: [Dead Man’s Bridge]

"Sniff, you don't need to start acting like a pyromaniac out of the blue like that. I almost ended up dead again." - Jack (half-burned)

"That's because you withheld the most important info all this time. Tell people about stuff like that first, before babbling about unrelated stuff like Tamers. Ah, Skeleton." - Garami

*swish* *crack*

And then, there was one Skeleton less in the world. Good job, boy? Girl? Good job, Orimaru. That Skeleton Scout didn't stand a chance.

This one doesn't deserve that 'cursed' name. It is a good luck charm, but only for me. The Scout didn't have any luck at all- Hey, this Scout got a good knife. All the other ones only used Rusty Iron Knives, but this one's a regular Iron Knife.

"Here, catch." - Garami

"Whoa, who, there. Don't throw sharp stuff around! It's dangerous!" - Jack

How can a knife damage someone who's only bones anyway? He got the meaning by giving him the knife, as he replaces it with the old one he had. Not using something related to a dagger, while having [Daggermanship] is like throwing pearls before swine.

Speaking of daggers, I've added [Daggermanship] to my skill list. The reason for this is that having Orimaru equipped on me, lets me use its Arts-skills, such as the [Dagger Arts], and [Katana Arts] skills, as my own myself.

The best part is, I can improve that [Living Weapon] skill of Orimaru with skill points so that I'm able to learn the shared skills myself. Then, I can use [Dagger Arts], and [Katana Arts] on my own, even without Orimaru! Still need a weapon though. I can also add other skills to be shared, but not those that only Orimaru can use, such as Mana Blade.

And for those who don't know, to use certain Arts-skills, one needs the corresponding -manship skill. For [Dagger Arts] one needs [Daggermanship], and [Swordmanship] for [Sword Arts]. There are some exceptions to this rule, such as different martial arts-skills.

[Assassin Arts] is another exception, as it's a type of universal Arts-skill, which gains new arts, depending on how one trains oneself in assassinations. I've only used my limbs, so I've only unlocked the basic arts of the skill, but I should be able to get arts related to daggers, swords, spears, and even bows, as long as I use those types of weapons. The possibilities are countless here.

The bad news is that I can't obtain the matching skill for [Katana Arts] yet. That's a derivative skill from [Swordsmanship], which means I need to get that one up to a certain level, plus fulfilling some requirements related to the katana. Come on...

[Swordsmanship] alone costs 3 skill points, and [Sword Arts] takes 5, so I'll only take [Daggermanship] for now, since it only needs 1 point. Better to have a stock of points, in case of an emergency.

---

An hour or so later, plus some more wild Skeletons, the two of us (plus Orimaru) reached the biggest obstacle on our way towards the city of Velantas; one ridiculously large ravine.

"...... It's bigger than I thought." - Garami

I'm just guessing here, but I think there's 1 kilometer to the next side. Impossible to jump over, not even with my threads. The ravine was formed for who knows how many years ago, by a massive river at the bottom of the ravine.

The river originated from an underground spring, and sent water from the north, towards the region of Solomar, down in the south. Of course, now there's just dust left of that famous river.

"This is..., 'The Great Scar'. I almost forgot about this. Back in my days, the vegetation was so thick that you couldn't see the fall till one's right in front of it." - Jack

"How did you guys cross this thing, back in your days?" - Garami

"Most Quests given by the Adventurer Guild needed materials located on the other side, the one closer to the city. And for the few assignments that needed to cross the Scar, one either took the detour to the north, to go around it, which will take half a day more-" - Jack

That long!? Is this thing aiming for the world records in the 'longest ravine' category?! And since the city is located straight west from our position, won't the detour take almost a whole day then?!

"-or, we can use the 'Great Scar Bridge', just south from here." - Jack

There's a bridge?! Tell me about that first! So south, that's... down there. I can even see it from here! Isn't that a natural bridge? It looks like it could fit two car lines on there. There are some handrails on each side of the bridge, so someone must have made them at least.

"Did someone make that bridge? With magic or whatever?" - Garami

"I haven't heard anything about that, and Earth Magic makes use of the ground around the caster, so if someone made that with magic, they would make the edge of the ravine collapse." - Jack

"Really? But that thing is safe, right?" - Garami

"It doesn't look any different from my time, and even if you couldn't make a whole bridge, repairs and modifications would still be possible, as long as you bring some earth with you, instead of using the bridge itself. Should still be safe though" - Jack

"It better. Because even if it collapsed, I'm the one who can create safety ropes, and you don't." - Garami

With that out of the way, let's ignore the skeleton that pales due to realize how much danger that bridge is for him, and him alone.

---

"You'll promise me that you're gonna catch me if the bridge collapses, right? Right!?" - Jack

"For the countless time, yes!" - Garami

My joke turned back on me. Jack's been pestering me for safety ropes, better said, safety threads, for all this time. Thank god the bridge wasn't too far-

*Bump!*

"Wah- that hurt! What the heck's this?!" - Garami

An invisible wall? Who puts something like that in front of an entrance?!

=====================================================================

Location Quest: [Dead Man's Bridge]

Description:

Due to unnatural reasons, the Velantas region is overflowing with Death-attribute aether, which causes undeads to spawn non stop. Defeat the Skeletons lurking on the bridge, to lower the total Death-attribute aether levels of the region.

Rank: F (Party)

Objective:

Bonus Objective:

Rewards for completing the main objective: 

Rewards for completing all bonus objectives:

=====================================================================

"Another Quest?" - Garami 

Aw, damn it all. I'm not even an Adventurer yet, and how many of these have I completed? Haven't I done more in total than a normal Adventurer already, if you look only at the difficulty of the Quests? Why do I keep on getting more of them!?

The info about the Quest is floating where that invisible wall(?) should be, in the form of a panel, like those in virtual reality games in sci-fi animes. Is it keeping me from entering without taking the Quest? The panel is more solid-looking than what [Appraisal], and the System Messages, uses, and Jack can see it as well.

"So that's why." - Jack

Don't understand everything on your own. Tell me about it too!

"I was thinking about this all the time, but there were way too many undeads in the region. Even if the drought caused by that 'Disaster' you were talking about, killed most of the forest, it would turn into a dead land, not a land filled with undeads." - Jack

He's got a point. Just taking away the water wouldn't give us such inflation of Skeletons. 

"And for why we're not allowed to cross the bridge, it's because 'crossing the bridge' is part of the Quest. Don't know why it's set up like this. Maybe this place collects lots of Death aether?" - Jack

"And the rank then? For the Quest, I mean." - Garami

"Most Quests, especially Location Quests and those given by the Adventurer Guild, is ranked after their difficulty. An F-rank is suited for newbies, but you could finish this thing by yourself. Lesser Skeletons are only G-rank monsters after all." - Jack

Jack takes up something from his pouches. A metal card? Looks like it's made of bronze.

"What's that?" - Garami

"This is an Adventurer Card. Think of it as an identification card, for Adventurers only. Glad this thing's still in one piece." - Jack

=====================================================================

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Jack Loupe has invited you to his party.

Do you accept?

Y/N

=====================================================================

"... What's this?" - Garami

"A Party Invitation. Only able to be given through an Adventurer Card. A group of six people can join forces, and fight together as a party. If one member of the party defeats a monster, then the other members get EXP equal to 20% of what that guy got, though, it's divided by the remaining members." - Jack

That's pretty neat. Just 20%, at worst divided in five, ain't all that much, but it's still a 4% boost of whatever the other guys kill. And for free even. 

"What if they work together to defeat the monster then?" - Garami

"Then the EXP is divided equally to all party members that contributed." - Jack

As expected from a (former?) Adventurer. He knows his stuff. But then...

"Why didn't you do that before? You could have gotten some much, much, needed EXP." - Garami

"I forgot, okay?! Returning to life, and turning into a skeleton, for then being blown away by the first intelligent person I met, does stuff like that to people!" - Jack

You're not so intelligent yourself, saying that straight to the face of that very person. 

"Before we forget anything else, what're the details about this Quest?" - Garami

"Looking from the requirements, and my previous experiences with this type of Quests, we'll be locked in a battle against 100 Lesser Skeletons, then we need to choose, either to fight the boss monster that gets called upon or simply leave through the opposite exit.

"Both exits will be locked by this barrier after accepting the Quest, and only the opposite one will unlock after clearing phase 1. Meaning, there's no giving up in the middle of it. The barrier is impregnable, so it will withstand any attacks we throw at it. Don't be tricked by the wind and dust flowing through it. And," - Jack

Jack then picked up a rock and threw it towards the side of the bridge.

*Clack*

"As you can see, the barrier also holds for the sides of the bridge. This means we can't fall off the bridge during the fight, which is kinda a stroke of luck, but trying to climb under the bridge won't work either. We'll end up being blown off, and fall into the ravine, and our death." - Jack

Ooh! Jack sounding like a real Adventurer. And to think he already caught on my 'under-bridge' plan, he's on a roll now!

"Then, have we any chance for clearing the Quest?" - Garami

"Pretty good ones, if we do this with caution. As I already said, Lesser Skeletons are so weak, it's tragic. Even a hundred of them won't be a challenge, as long as you're careful.

"The second phase must be that a boss-class undead will be summoned, probably at random, so I can't say what will come out. We can still escape the bridge if it turns out to be something impossible for us to handle. We just need to be close to the exit, before killing the last Skeleton." - Jack

"But what if the Skeletons that's summoned numbers more than 100? The Quest could be that we need to take out a 100 of a 1.000 for all we know. And, we don't know if there will be more Skeletons during that phase 2 thingy." - Garami

"Could be, but they will probably just get caught in the boss' attacks, and they won't be any stronger, so think of them as moving obstacles that give EXP. Again, we can just escape after the first phase, if that's necessary.

"And in case they're more than a hundred during the first phase, dump some of those magic attacks of yours on them. Again, Lesser Skeletons are so weak that even I can take one out if it's a one-on-one fight." - Jack

"But there's a hundred." - Garami

"Then, I'll leave the remaining 99 to you." - Jack

Hey! He does have a point though. The bridge is a great shortcut on our way to the city, and if Lesser Skeletons are so weak, then I should be able to defeat tons of them, before running out of fuel. Even so...

"Before we challenge the Quest, there's some things I want to do first." - Garami

=====================================================================

Garami

Race: [Kur Kigal]   | Level: 3

Karma Value: -109

Skills: 70

Titles: 17

Skill points: 15.0

Main Class: Assassin LV18

Sub Class: Black Mage LV1

Sub Class: none

HP: 223/223   | MP: 517/517   | SP: 250/274

STR: 206   | VIT: 119   | MAG: 271

RES: 228   | SPD: 350 + 65  | DEX: 349 + 40

INT: 120   | LUC: 150

=====================================================================

=====================================================================

SKILL LIST

Ability Skills: [HP Enhancement (Small) LV1] [HP Auto-Recovery LV1] [MP Enhancement LV19]                                                              [MP Reduced Consumption LV4] [MP Auto-Recovery LV1] [SP Enhancement (Small) LV37] UP1                                            [SP Reduced Consumption LV2] UP1 [STR Enhancement (Small) LV2]  [VIT Enhancement (Small) LV1]                                                  [MAG Enhancement (Small) LV4] UP1 [RES Enhancement (Small) LV1] [SPD Enhancement (Small) LV5]                                                [DEX Enhancement (Small) LV4] 

Attack Skills:  [Dagger Arts LV0] SHARED [Katana Arts LV0] SHARED [Assassin Arts LV26] [Mana Burst (Darkness) LV2] [Steal LV2] 

Magic Skills: [Light Magic LV22] UP1 [Darkness Magic LV5] UP3 [Shadow Magic LV32]  [Ash Magic LV1] NEW [Basic Magic]      [Sigil Creation LV1] NEW

Crafting Skills: [Thief Tool Creation LV8] [Assassin Tool Creation LV5] [Weaving LV3] [Poison Synthesis LV30]                                  [Medicine Synthesis LV30] [Thread Synthesis LV30]

Active Skills: [Stealth LV14] [Silence LV5] [Shooting LV22] [Aerial Movement LV2] [Ghost Step LV11] [Bloodlust LV5]                [Thread Control LV50] [Ultima Thread LV23] [Thought Acceleration LV38] 

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Passive Skills: [Daggermanship LV1] NEW [Surprise Attack LV33] [Acrobatic LV18] [Magic Talent LV15]   [Battle Continuation LV4]  [Dismantling LV20] [Parallel Minds LV2] [Auto-Mapping LV2] [Golden Ratio] [Language Adaption]

Resistance Skills: [Darkness Resistance LV10] [Paralyze Resistance LV25] [Charm Resistance LV1] [Pain Resistance LV14]            [Faint Resistance LV3] [Heretic Immunity]

Perception Skills: [Magic Sense LV25] [Sense Foe LV23]  [Appraisal LV8] [Judging Eye] 

Leadership Skills: [Teaching LV1] 

Racial Skills: [Albino] [Kin Creation LV1] [Kin Promotion LV1] [Demonic Vault LV3] [Lewd Demon LV1] [Transformation LV14]  [Body Replica LV1] 

Unique Skills: [Hydra, Dragon of Poison LV4] 

Elements: [Lesser Light Element LV20] UP1 [Darkness Divinity] [Shadow Element LV22] [Ash Element LV1] NEW                          [Poison Element LV8] 

=====================================================================

I've been using magic while traveling lately, so my Light Element skill is able to graduate from being a Lesser now. The darkness spells were easier, as I could stack Night Vision spells on my self. Well then...ugh! Two skill points?! Fine, yes.

=====================================================================

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Skill, [Lesser Light Element LV20],

has been evolved into [Light Element LV1], by using 2 Skill Points.

=====================================================================

Alright then. And FYI, the shared skills that I got from Orimaru don't count as my own skills. Not yet, anyway. That's the reason for why they're at LV0, and why they're not being listed as my skills at my status page. Just count, and you'll see.

Then, what to do with the Quest? First, we need something that can blow away all those Lesser Skeletons  There's also the need for Jack to be able to withstand the Skeleton waves. Hmm...

"... and poison don't work on Skeletons..." - Garami

"Poison? Poison works on Lesser Skeletons." - Jack

"It works...? It works?!" - Garami

"Yeah. Unlike the Skeletons with classes, Lesser Skeletons are vulnerable against strong poisons since they're imperfect undeads. It's common Adventurer knowledge." - Jack

Sorry for not being an Adventurer then! But I heard something good, so I'll let that slip! Strong poisons, that's my middle name! With this, I can take them out on my own. Forget a hundred, give me 1.000, no, 10.000 of those weak-bones, or else it will be too boring! Ha-hahaha!

"Now, we just need some secret weapon for the boss. Hmm..." - Garami

"J-just so you know, unless the poison is on the level of rank C monsters, then it won't work on the Lesser Skeletons." - Jack

"Yeah, yeah, no problems." - Garami

"Ugh, I'm feeling it'll only be problems." - Jack

How rude. I'm not gonna fail if poison is available. And the wind is blowing constantly towards the west, so... kukukuku.

Now then, the countermeasures against the Lesser Skeletons are finished, let's take care of a secret weapon against the boss. If I'm able to beat it, I will do so in style, and receive the reward. 

"Hey, how many Living Weapons can a hero have again?" - Garami

"Like that sword of yours? There are several stories of heroes with weapons that turned into Living Weapons like yours, but from what I remember, nobody has had more than two of that kind of Living Weapon. All the other ones were rewards from Quests or Dungeons." - Jack

Two, huh. Just what I wanted to hear. Now then, time to receive those rewards I've postponed for too long.

=====================================================================

QUEST REWARD: Stop the Drought Maker

You will now receive the following rewards:

=====================================================================

Yahoo! As expected of Skelly and co! They have tons of interesting items! If there's a grave for them, I need to pay a visit once.

While I was planning the grave visit, the rewards came in the form of a treasure chest. This isn't the pattern where the reward is a hidden boss in the form of a Mimic?

"What's that? A Quest reward?" - Jack

"How did you guess?" - Garami

"All Quest rewards come in the form of a treasure chest. While you can't put stuff into them, they will contain all the rewards you received from the Quest. The chests disappear after you've emptied them though, so some keep the chests with poor rewards as trophies. And one can carry the chests with any kind of item bags, or so I've heard. Never owned an item bag before, so..." - Jack

Aren't you getting too much into the professor-role lately? If what Jack's saying is true, then... it worked! I could push the whole chest into my storage! And it only uses one slot! Good, good. I was thinking of burying the rewards here, and come back for them a later date, with a carriage or something, but this is more efficient. 

"So, I can take out the rewards, but can't put them back inside?" - Garami

"Yes, that's right, but don't start telling me what you're planning to do. I've got a really bad feeling about this..." - Jack

Coward. But he's right about me planning something. Now then, what kind of stuff is strong against undead amongst the stuff here?

---

Web-bombs, check. Potions that expires in an hour, check. Full HP, MP, and SP, check, check, and check! Secret weapon, Living Weapon number 2, 

=====================================================================

Name: Raoul

Race: [Treasure Mimic]   | Level: 1

Owner: Garami

Karma Value: 0

Skills: 14

Titles: 1

Skill points: 1.0

HP: 100/100   | MP: 210/210   | SP: 0/0

STR: 0   | VIT: 70   | MAG: 80

RES: 70   | SPD: 0  | DEX: 10

INT: 100   | LUC: 110

=====================================================================

=====================================================================

SKILL LIST

Ability Skills: [MP Enhancement LV1] [MP Auto-Recovery LV1]

Magic Skills: [Light Magic LV1] [Holy Magic LV1] [Illusion Magic LV1]

Passive Skills: [Magic Enhancement LV1] [Holy Enhancement LV1] [Concealment LV1]

Resistance Skills: [Holy Resistance LV1] [Curse Resistance LV5] 

Racial Skills: [Living Treasure] [Holy Rosary] [Transformation LV1]

Elements: [Holy Element LV1] 

=====================================================================

Check! 

"A mimic? Why a mimic? Why a rosary? Shouldn't it be limited to weapons? Are all the heroes using monsters as their equipment? A mimic..." - Jack

The Skeleton/Adventurer who's mind broke due to Living Weapon number 2? Unfortunately, check.

Can I blame him? After showing him that a symbol of being a hero(Living Weapons) being the worst symbol of broken dreams for Adventurers (mimic)? Probably not, but I'll do it anyway. 

It came as a surprise for me as well, that the Dominion Rosary turned out as a mimic. I was thinking it would be something like a Cursed Living Treasure. And the reason for trying it with an accessory instead of a weapon? Because there's nothing that looks 'undead-buster', amongst the weapons of the late Moonlight Melody. That doesn't mean I would take a vacuum cleaner if that was possible. 

I also checked if I could get even more Living Weapons or mimics, but it didn't work on the staff I tried it on. I don't want to fill up my storage anymore, so I'll keep the rest of the reward in the treasure chest to save space.

The name comes from an alias that a famous phantom thief used once, and is also the same thief's real first name. This thing looked like something he would have aimed for.

The Dominion Rosary was made of some silver-like material and looked like a regular rosary, and with a golden circle going through all four arms, close to the center. When it turned to a mimic, the rosary gained a blue gem on the intersection. It has a long, thin stripe in the middle, which makes it looks like a cat's eye. There were such stones back on Earth. but this one looks like a real blue eye. 

If we're talking about Raoul's performance, then he gets an A+ from me. The [Living Treasure] skill lets me make use of any skills that are related to what kind of treasure Raoul is. Therefore, Raoul can share all his magic skills and all Holy-type skills. You heard me, all Holy-type skills! Even the [Holy Element]! Isn't this a cheat? Heroes are real cheaters. I'm so gonna upgrade him so that I'll get those skills myself!

"A mimic? A mimic? A mimic? A mimic..." - Jack

Aw, great. He's starting to sound like a broken recorder now. Guess I'll cut him some slack. Here, some medicine for your broken mind.

"A mimic-blub! Are you trying to drown me!?" - Jack

Hmm? I was just feeling generous. Who would say no to a liter of medicine?

"Ready to go?" - Garami

"Heh? Didn't you have some preparations to do?" - Jack

"Already finished." - Garami

I turned back to the Kur Kigal-form and used the extra limbs to help me mass produce the bombs, and medicines. I finished sharpening some of the knives I had taken from the Skeleton Scouts, making them usable for throwing, if that proves necessary.

"Was waiting for you." - Garami

"Oh, ehm, sorry. But, is that thing gonna be alright? It's a mimic, you know?" - Jack

Mimics have the worst reputation amongst Adventurers, or so it was written in the Kigal-Note. Even Jack has had bad experiences with those.

"It's alright. Then, let's go." - Garami

"Hey, wait!" - Jack

I'm tired of waiting. I placed my hand on the barrier in front of the bridge and accepted the Quest. Jack came after me, while grumbling, and we entered the bridge.

Just as we had walked a few meters, the bridge started to shine due to countless magic circles that appeared. From the circles, several Skeletons emerged. Most of them, around 90%, had either bone-clubs or were barehanded, while the remaining ones were the usual classes Skeletons. 

"Wait a sec, isn't this way too much?" - Jack

"Maybe they had Death aether in surplus? Getting more summonings due to that?" - Garami

"Crap, you're right. There's probably not many people that come out here. What shall we do?" - Jack

Don't panic. This is my, and Raoul's time to shine. Orimaru won't do any good against these guys, so he's staying in his sheath for now. 

"Deadly Poison Dust." - Garami

I stepped forward, making sure that Jack stayed a good amount of space behind me, and created tons of poisonous dust, for then throwing it towards the bridge filled with Skeletons. As I experienced during my last battle in the Water-Knot, the Deadly Poison Dust skill integrated into Hydra, lets me create the poison dust, and control it to a certain degree.

The cloud of poison covers the bridge and all the Skeletons. Many of them started to fall to their knees while grasping their throats in pure pain. The classes Skeletons were unharmed, so I'll take care of them myself.

"Turn Undead." - Garami

The LV1 spell from [Holy Magic], an anti-undead skill that purifies them, and making them ascend. Holy magic users must be the worst nightmare for undeads if only those who want to improve their spells.

The Skeletons hit by the spell were bathed in a silver-whitish light, and after the light show was finished, they fell to the ground, defeated. I'm kinda worried they will rise again, but the plus-side is that I've gotten more materials than if I had pummeled them.

"Y-yikes..." - Jack

"You stay back there, and try not to be hit by a stray shot." - Garami

"As you wish!" - Jack

Now then, the poison cloud takes out the Lesser Skeletons, and the ones with classes will be sent to their next life with my holy magic. In case I end up low on MP, I'll let Raoul take over while I take a small break. Let's not forget to throw some more poison on them. Mustn't forget about the Skeletons in the back of the bridge. Kukukuku...

Greydra

Kigal-Note/Race/Undeads: Zombies

Zombies are corpses that have returned to life through the exposure of high amounts of aether.

Zombies don't regain the bodies of when they were alive and must live on as half-rotten corpses. A zombie's greatest strengths are their inability to feel pain, their ability to move their body, no matter how much damage that's inflicted on it, and their Plague-attribute attacks.

Zombies are known for the rumor, that if you're bitten by one, you will turn into one. This is only half-true. A zombie's bite will inflict the Plague-debuff, a type of poison that tears the victim's body apart from the inside. This does not automatically turn them to a zombie, either if they're still alive, or dead, and the Plague-debuff is possible to be removed.

Zombies are especially weak to fire. If their bodies get burned up, they cannot recover from it. The fire weakness is even stronger than their weakness towards the holy-attribute.

One needs to destroy the bodies of high-ranking zombies if one wants to kill them. A lower-ranking zombie will be killed as long as their head gets crushed.

There exist two different types of zombies, like:

Jack's comment: Among the regular types of undeads, zombies are the worst to fight against.

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