Chapter 85: Ch 84 “Dirty Tactics”

"In the modern age, almost no person from lower classes is birth or come of age with a Talent relating to magic. From a population of ordinary humans of roughly one thousand, only five of them will even show the slightest inkling of magical talent with only one possessing high enough statistics in intelligence or wisdom to have any chance of even using the Talent. This is why almost all magicians have at least a few drops of noble blood in them. For a very long time, nobles with magical potential constructed their families to keep this gift in their house, not keenly accepting blood from families without this blessing. The largest and most influential Mana Houses often resupply their family with elven slaves bought from demi-human traders.

Many third, fourth and further, sons and daughters who were not married off often leave their families and venture out into the world alongside the many bastard siblings to join the many organisations hungry for magical talent."

Exert from "Talents and People" written in Oriripol by a student missing after suspicious circumstances.

 

 

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  An ever-thicking blanket of snow caused one of the undead to slow down as the snow began to reach her knees, her pale companion walked on the surface of the delicate snow leaving extremely shallow footprints behind, she would occasionally turn around to look at the struggling taller undead behind her.

 

"Is there something funny on my face?" Iris asked as she almost tripped on a tree root concealed under the snow.  

 

"No," The elf frowned at the girl's poor attempt at hiding her amusement. "Are we there yet?" 

 

"We should be there at twilight." The elf responded trying to judge the sun's position through the snowfall.

 

"When is that?"

 

"We will be there when it will start getting dark." Iris tried to explain.

 

"Soooo now?" Kia pointed at the sky.

 

"Ehh no," The corners of the elf's mouth moved to form a small smile seeing the girl goose-stepping on the snow as she stared at the heaven above them. "About half a bell I would say."

 

  Silently the two undead closed on the camp marked on their map. Through the veil of darkness, a small light flickered between the dark tree silhouettes slowly increasing in size and number as the sound of camp life slowly began to reach the two. 

 

"Stop," Iris grabbed the casually walking girl by the shoulder. "They will spot you if you are not careful." She said, pointing her finger at the pair of armed humans patrolling the woods. 

 

  Kia stopped as ordered, she stood there waiting for further instructions from the elf, who stared toward the two humans observing where are they heading through the blood-red leaves.  Realising the girl's confusion she motioned her to lower her posture sparking a spark of remembrance in the dimly glowing eyes. The undead were easily able to hide from the periodic patrols in the raging blizzard as they finally arrived at the edge of the clearing where the outpost was. As with all settlements in Edor, the outpost was sounded by the fence separating it from the outside wall this one in particular was a simple continuous heap of thorny branches with wooden scaffolding behind it acting like primitive watch towers. From behind the barricade, a melancholic song was sung by the oblivious humans.

 

"You still want to do this?" A pointless question left the elf's mouth.

 

"Yes." Kia answered. 

 

"Well, how do you want to approach this?" Iris asked, as a primarily melee combatant, she devolved judgment to the undead mage. 

 

"I think we should eliminate all humans outside and then quickly go inside and finish before humans can reorganise?" Kia said, hesitant in her plan, searching the elf's face for any reaction which she didn't find.

 

"No necromancy?" 

 

"B-but humans will see?" The confused necromancer tilted her head.

 

"I think we will be fine, you can use it today."

 

  Kia bobbed her head in acknowledgement of the tall cloaked woman. 

Iris crept forward with the mage staying in the trees conserving her mana, ready to engage if something went wrong.

At first, Iris slowly approached the two soldiers patrolling the southern side of the camp. She would freeze whenever she thought the two pairs of human eyes scanned the area around them. After nearly a quarter of a bell had passed she remembered her eyes were much keener than that of a human. She quickly picked up speed at creeping toward the two, feeling a strange thrill when doing so. The thrill of doing something new quickly progressed into a predatory instinct as she was about to pounce out from the darkness. 

For the first time in the undead elf's existence, humans will fear the monster they had created.

 

"It's so cold as if I was stuck up 'ecking ice trolls ass." A soldier desperately held onto his overcoat which violently fluttered in the wind. "What brain rot did command got to move our camp in this weather."

 

"I know, we haven't even raided the Firmusans before we were ordered. I am literally dying to eat somethin-" A female soldier started to complain before her face hit the snow.

 

"Juliet?" The man walked for a few more steps before he turned to see what happened to his companion. "!" The soldier gasped before he too joined his companion in the afterlife, accompanied by a loud snap of his spine.

 

  Iris didn't bother to loot the human corpses leaving them to be smothered in the ice-cold blanket falling from the sky as she circled the outpost in search of the remaining sentries.

Progressively each pair of sentries got easier to kill as Iris got more used to sneaking onto the frustrated humans in the horrendous weather condition that her undead body didn't care about. The only sound she made was the crunching of the snow which easily mixed with the soldiers' own steps.

 

  Iris found her ridiculous strength even with her relatively low level, extremely useful fighting humans at worst ten levels above her. Unlike her, most people regardless of race have to use some of their levels on classes which didn't help in combat leaving the soldiers to be powerless even if they theoretically outclassed her in both level and training.

 

  The tall undead's footprints looped around the outpost as she roamed the fringe of the forest rechecking if any soldiers had escaped her attention. She relaxed a little, heading to where Kia waited for her.

 

"Whose there?!" A sudden shout caused the elf to jerk in surprise as a lonely soldier emerged from the forest pointing a lantern at the elf while holding a basket of something in his free hand. "Identify yourself."

 

"[Mana Missile]" Iris shot a spell at the soldier, hitting him in the neck causing him to slowly slump over while staring at her as she heard the chime of the system notification.

 

  The risen lifted the small blanket covering the basket finding it filled with some kind of mushrooms which often grew on trees. She stood up and hurried to meet up with Kia.

 

  "Finished," Iris reported to Kia, who had ran toward the elf meeting her midway where Iris had thought she was. "Something happened?"

 

"I had a feeling something went wrong and I ran to you."

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"I was only spooked a little." Iris said, receiving a perplexed look from her creator and soulmate who knew about her immunities. "We should go in now before anyone suspects anything." She said pointing at the outpost.

 

  After Kia nodded, the two adventurers approached the thorn wall with two gates, each at the opposite side of the camp. No one stood guard at the western entrance and a guard standing at the scaffold tower was sound asleep sitting on a stool. Kia approached the gate and touched it.

A noise of metal bending to the mage's will sounded from behind the closed gate but before they entered the necromancer whispered a spell

"[Call Spector]" causing the wooden surface of the gate to be partially covered in ice. 

 

"IIIII sssserve." A hoarse voice emerged from the iced surface before a pale blue ethereal monster materialised. 

 

[Inspect]

 

[Spector of Winter's Midnight Level 33]

{A local manifestation of mana given form by caster's invocation. Highly varied depending on circumstances around the caster.}

 

  Iris inspected the summon, it was twelve levels above her level and resembled a human covered in torn robes and entangled in heavy metal chains. Its face was replaced by a vague blue mist instead of an actual face.

 

"Are you ethereal?" Kia asked a strange question with an answer staring right at her.

 

"Yyyyyes Mmmmaster." 

 

"What do you plan to do with this?" 

 

"You said humans don't use magic." Kia replied while the spectre hovered idly beside her.

 

  The three entered the compound finding most humans fast asleep with a few soldiers gathered around a fireplace playing cards. The outpost was a mix of permanent buildings and tents with a large yet simple building dominating the southern section. 

The spector hovered its way into the centre causing all the sources of light to begin to flicker away.

 

"What's happening!" One of the younger soldiers shouted, her startled gaze landing squarely on the approaching spector, causing her to open her mouth in terror but no voice came out.

 

"Quick someone get the lapiz lantern from the building!" A much older male voice shouted at the humans around the campfire. The veteran didn't see if his words were followed as he slumped back into his seat with his face decayed by a spell casted by the necromancer. 

 

  Iris didn't wait for the engagement to end as she sprinted toward the tents, killing the soldiers only waking up from their slumber with a simple thrust of her spear.

Screams filled the outpost as the disorganised humans tried to engage the allusive attacker, most of them ventured outside half-naked or partially armed leaving them at a severe disadvantage against the intelligent undead. Iris spotted humans desperately trying to kill the spector that was seemingly immune to damage as the living around it began to succumb to frostbite. A soldier wearing tribal clothes with a misfitting plate helmet swung a sword at the summoned undead, causing a rift to appear in the cold otherwordly body. The strange man began to furiously hack at the spector, who calmly wrapped its chains around the man's neck. Further undead were raised from the corpses of the perished soldiers which quickly saturated the battlefield allowing Iris free reign to stab at the Fallen from behind the undead meat shields.

 

  Hurried shouts came from the building in the southern portion of the outpost. A group of fully armed soldiers appeared from the building with flasks of white liquid which glowed in golden light. Iris swiftly grabbed the girl, who stopped fighting and stared at the flasks filled with a holy elixir which the elf instantly recognised.

 

"IIIII hhhad fffffailled!" The spector shrieked as he was drenched in the holy elixir instantly being vanquished from Niuran.

 

"Is this a horde or a necromancer!" One of the soldiers yelled, throwing the elixir over a wooden cart packed with crates and into a group of shuffling undead, killing them instantly.

 

"I think I saw a lich somewhere!" A Fallen replied.

 

"No, he didn't." The pale undead mage whispered to herself in response.

 

"Kia?" Iris whispered the pale undead in her clutches while hiding behind a pile of crates. 

 

"Can I try something?" The necromancer whispered, her tone being one of curiosity rather than fear or concern.

 

"If it kills them sure, but don't do something stupid." The elf responded. 

 

  The white-cloaked undead stood up at the same time as the strong wind hit the elf. The humans pointed their fingers at the approaching figure and hurled the last remaining vial at her. Their eyes widened as the luminescent liquid was deflected aside without the girl even lifting a finger. She casted a spell in the shape of a twin sickly grey skull, hitting one of the soldiers which caused him to visibly age. Iris charged the humans who dragged their aged comrade and began to barricade themselves inside. When Iris burst inside she quickly dealt with the barricading humans who panicked and separated from each other making them easy targets.

 

"I thought I said not to do anything stupid." The blood-covered elf walked out of the building and saw Kia crouched over the body of the strange tribal.

 

  The girl removed the full plate helmet exposing a black horn jutting out from his human forehead. Her pointing finger traced the large scar on the man's forehead causing Iris to notice a pattern in the presumably chaotic cuts. An ethereal white droplet dripped on the skin from a cracked vial the mage carefully held. Black smoke with a sulphuric smell slowly started to rise from the corpse causing the elf to finally understood the root of his effectiveness against the spector.

 

"It wasn't stupid, "The girl replied as she stood up from the smouldering carcass of the daemon-spawn. "Just dangerousness."

 

*Sigh*

 

"Here you go." Iris handed Kia all the stuff she thought was of some value to them. "I am confused, do you okay resurrecting corpses or are you not?"

 

"Were they put to rest?" The necromancer asked.

 

"No," The tall risen replied. "So it's only about if the body is buried?"

 

"Not buried but put to rest. I wouldn't awake a resting soul unless I had to." The necromancer answered as she took a large grey cloth used for tents and made it disappear.

 

"Aaa." The elf nodded, acknowledging the girl's strange  custom. She would think the body itself or the soul had greater significance than if the person was put to rest. She wondered what opinions might the girl have about some types of burials present in Edor but on quick reflection, the thought to ask disappeared, knowing how the girl reacted to the topic of burial.

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