Chapter 23: Revenge

Chapter 22

Revenge

June flashed back into her chambers, shaken from the experience. Images lingering from what she’d just seen still clung to the edges of her awareness, like the last glimpses of a dream. But unlike the lost time that often came with that groggy waking period, June didn’t get the sense that hours or days had passed. June cast the thought from her mind, and returned her focus to the task she’d been working on, her Nexus.

 She tried to form the image of her core, visualizing it sitting in the room with her, and it quite entranced her. Instead of the spherical orb of bubbling fire, a much more complex shape appeared. The orb developed first, but quickly gaining multiple layers. Rings formed out of scattered pieces circled her core like a series of rubber bands, floating just off the surface of her magical center. The bands didn’t have the runic formations she’d seen in Mukkrag’s visualization; they also lacked the shifting plates of mana as well.

She dismissed the visual, cutting the mana flow to the imagery. With purpose, she hopped up from the floor and charged out of her chambers. She had to check in with Mukkrag and get his input, figuring he was the best source of information she had. That also had the added benefit of not directly telling Varren what was going on. June also wanted to find a way to keep better track of time, adding it to the list of tasks to get done.

Like a gust of wind, June blew through the forge, heading back to the library. At a near run, she moved through the corridors, dodging around several more zombie drones as they shuffled along. Near to the library, eagerness took her, urging her on. Stepping past yet another gathering of drones, she scarcely noticed the armfuls of books and scrolls they were ferrying into the space. When June looked for Mukkrag, she noticed that the giant skeletal bookworm was absent. But the library wasn’t empty, rather it was bursting with undead life.

The zombified drones carried in large numbers of tomes and written texts, piling them onto the tables. They had piled dozens of tomes onto the tables. Amid the myriad of forms, the noise was constant. The slam of multiple books dropped onto polished wood wasn’t the only noticeable noise in the chamber.

That infernal tapping was back. The tapping was more of a clacking sound, like hard footfalls clattering across polished stone. June focused her attention on it, but it seemed to retreat as she tried. The more she tried to follow it, the further away it apparently became. Almost like the source was running away. June tried to follow, deeper into the stacks, only to be greeted with the usual forest of old texts and meticulously maintained shelves. June followed the diminishing noise around a bend in the path, only to nearly slam right into the Tome Lord themselves—their arms chock-full of different leather-bound tomes. In a flurry of motion, Mukkrag was depositing books onto shelves and moving effortlessly through the aisles.

“Welcome, our young prodigy. What brings you back so soon?”

With eagerness overflowing in her tone, June spoke, “I think I succeeded, but I’m so confused,” she admitted.

“Delightful. Should I instruct you on how to showcase your newly reborn core so that I may inspect it?” Asked the giant skeleton.

June nodded eagerly, following his motions as he guided her to an empty table. Amid the mess of tomes still being dropped onto the surrounding tables, Mukkrag and June began their work. As Mukkrag instructed, June forced the image of her Nexus into the fore of her mind, then envisioned it on the table in front of them.

The orb of fire was now surrounded by a visible, pulsing skin. Black and red bands of energy slithered around the core, curling like a mass of serpents. To June, it also appeared as if it had grown slightly larger.

Mukkrag’s burning, crimson gaze bored into the projected image. Silently, his own core appeared beside it. Compared to the massive spiraling form beside her core, Mukkrag’s magical center looked like the Sun next to a tiny moon. Twisting plates of energy blazing with Runes surrounded a dense core made of a rainbow of magical colors.

“This is called a Shard. It’s the evolution of one’s Nexus, one day you too will reach this pinnacle of power.”

“Wow...” June whispered, as further words died on her breath.

“I take it Bullin hasn’t shown you this?” Mukkrag asked, with an irritated tone.

Still lost in taking in the Shard's splendor, June shook her head.

“What a sad teacher. Varren will be most disappointed,” Mukkrag muttered, a sinister tone edging into their voice.

You are reading story Life’s a Lich: Who Said Undeath Was Fun? at novel35.com

Broken from her trance-like wonderment, June asked, “why?”

“I’m not sure how much I may reveal, but I will say this: his efforts to train new apprentices have gone poorly. He leans far too much on the kindness of others.”

“I mean, he’s been weird and cryptic, but so has everyone else since I showed up here,” June admitted. “It’s incredibly frustrating. I’d appreciate not having to parse what these weirdos are saying.” June regretted that last bit almost instantly, she had let anger get the better of her, making her words flow more freely. She froze, glancing over at the larger undead to gauge their reaction.

A silent glance between the two betrayed no anger or outrage, only disappointment.

“Like I said, I’d really appreciate having someone who would stop doing that and just give me straight answers to my questions.” June said, letting her tone turn gruff and annoyed.

A raspy laugh ripped from Mukkrag’s throat as they threw their head back. But before they could respond further, the skeleton’s skull snapped up, as if listening to some shout only they could hear.

“Ah, it appears we have a problem. There are some infernal interlopers treading upon the mouth of our fine home. And you may want to challenge them.”

“Why would I do that?” June said, wondering why she couldn’t just let the other denizens deal with the unknown attack.

“Because if you do as I ask, I will take you under my tutelage directly.”

The prospect of a new source of knowledge excited the hell out of June.

Before she could head to the surface, she needed to plan. `June pulled the map from within her Class Gem and planned her path. The upper levels of the map had changed noticeably. The first level of the dungeon was now flashing orange, rather than the tranquil blue shade she knew it as previously. Having surveyed the map, she found a stairwell leading up to where she wanted to go.

“What’s this area called?” June asked Mukkrag, pointing to the chamber directly beneath the distressed area.

 “The Crypt Maze,” said Mukkrag, peering at her map from behind her. “If you wish to respond to the attack, it’s best not to teleport right into the action, a sound plan.”

 

---