Soul Manipulation Lv2

(Passive) Reduce difficulty in controlling soul essence based on skill level.

(Active) Convert incoming experience into a different form of energy with efficiency based on skill level.

 

Soul Breaker Lv1

(Active) Apply soul manipulation to attacks to inflict random stat or skill level reduction on targets temporarily. Chance to inflict is based on the amount of soul manipulation applied, and potency is based on the power of the attack, with a fixed multiplier based on skill level.

Multiplier: 1 + (0.05 x Skill Level)

Duration: Skill level x 5 minute(s)

 

Blasphemous Resurrection Lv1

(Active) Forcefully return a dead person’s soul to its body no matter how damaged the body is. If the damage is not healed after the effect duration, the target dies and cannot be resurrected again.

Duration: Skill level x 3 minute(s)

Cooldown: 1 hour

 

Soul Core

(Material) Core used to create golems with high intelligence and will.

 

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[Looks like we’re out of the forest. Let’s take a few minutes break.]

 

The merchant representative said to Mike, the leader of the escorting players. The trees and vegetation were far apart and there were rock protrusions and small boulders here and there, but the space before the rocky mountain path was wide and open enough for them to have a clear view of the surroundings.

 

The merchants with their carriages and wagons gathered on a space with fewer terrain obstacles slightly away from the road, and the escorting players surrounded them. The scouts, excluding Elle who went ahead and was nowhere to be found, stood on high ground and made use of their detection abilities.

 

After a few minutes of resting, one of the scouts came to Mike.

 

[There’s a group of people coming in our direction from the forest behind us. Judging by their looks, I think they’re bandits. There’s around thirty of them, and they’ll arrive in five minutes or so.] Scout

[Good work.] Mike

 

Mike went up a rock where everyone can see him.

 

[Alright, everyone! A group of people that may be bandits are coming from the forest. Get to position! Half of the vanguards remain at the front and close to the merchants in case of an ambush!] Mike

 

Mike stepped down and wore his helmet.

 

Just as the scout said, bandits came after 5 minutes. It was enough time for the vanguards, including Mike, to get into position, but not for the ranged attackers to find vantage points in the rocky area. It was their mistake to not look for vantage points as soon as they took a break.

 

[Halt! State your business!] Mike

[We’re just passing by. Kekeke.]

*Smack*

[You dumbass, we’re far from the road to be just passing by! And what’s with the creepy laugh??]

[Ow..sorry, boss.]

 

A thin bandit, who’s obviously just a lackey, answered Mike, but he was hit in the head lightly by a big lion beastman about 2 meters tall and with an outgrown mane who the lackey called boss.

 

It wasn’t clear whether the beastman’s actions were genuine or an act. While the escort players were distracted, some of the bandits positioned themselves.

 

Most of the bandits had shabby hide armors, clubs, and rusted swords, but there are some that wore crude but tough looking armor or were armed with quality weapons which they held like experienced warriors. The lion beastman was armed with metal claws.

 

[Heh, looks like our guy was right. The white devil isn’t with them. Yo, fuckers! Leave the merchants, or lose your XP to us. It’s all the same to me.] Lion beastman

[Tsk, a player bandit. No wonder, a regular bandit group wouldn’t move like this. What do we do?] Dion

[Let’s take the initiative and attack them first. Rea-] Mike

*ROAR!*

[What?!] Mike

 

The lion beastman roared loudly, then he rushed forward towards Mike and the escort vanguards with a menacing smile on his face. He took huge strides and held his claws to his sides. The other bandits followed suit behind the lion beastman.

 

[Rearguards, attack! Vanguards, shields ready!] Mike

[Y-yes!]

 

The ranged escorts panickingly shot their guns and arrows aimed at the lion beastman from their hastily taken vantage points, but most of their shots missed. They didn’t realize, but the lion beastman’s roar was a skill with an intimidation effect that affected them.

 

*Roar!*

*Clang*

 

With a grunt, the lion beastman deflected the shots that didn’t miss with a swing of his claws as he continued to run towards the vanguards.

 

[Ice lance!]

 

A pointed piece of ice about a meter long was shot by a skilled magician among the rearguards. It passed through a small gap between the vanguards, and went towards the lion beastman’s head.

 

With a tilt of his head, *Swish* the ice lance passed the side of the lion beastman’s head. The ice lance that missed the lion beastman pierced through two bandits behind him.

 

The lion beastman got close enough to the vanguards that the ranged attackers who couldn’t get into proper vantage points won’t be able to shoot carelessly anymore. Before he got too close to the vanguards for their shields to block him and their swords and spears to stab him, he dug his claws to the ground and swung it towards the vanguards, which shot pebbles to their faces.

 

The pebbles were blocked as the vanguards reflexively covered their faces with their shields or arms. That was enough for them to temporarily lose sight of the lion beastman.

 

*Roar!*

 

From below, the lion beastman thrust his claws upwards. He aimed at Mike and a shield vanguard beside him. Mike was able to jump backwards to barely dodge the claws that shallowly wounded him, but the same could not be said to the person beside him who held a shield and sword. The claws pierced through the shield that was held close enough to his body for the claws to stab deep into his chest.

 

[Kha!]

*Splatter*

 

The shieldman spat out blood, which splashed on the lion beastman’s face. Then, the lion beastman lifted the shieldman and threw him away from the rearguard healers and towards the other bandits that came behind.

 

*Thud*

[N-no..]

*Stab stab stab*

 

The bandits stabbed to death the shieldman that rolled over to their foot. When the shieldman stopped moving, they rushed towards the other vanguards that slowly surrounded the lion beastman.

 

*Clash!*

 

The bandits and the vanguards fought and held each other down as the lion beastman and Mike faced each other. The bandits had advantage in numbers, while the vanguards had rearguards to support them.

 

[Earth spike!]

 

The skilled magician struck the ground with the bottom of his rod that he held with both hands. Rock spikes came out from the ground and impaled some of the bandits from below, which killed them instantly.

 

*Rip*

[Aiiiiieee!]

 

One of the bandits shrieked when an earth spike came out diagonally and ripped something off of his crotch. Then other bandits, and even the male escort players, winced at the sight and had their hands subconsciously move to cover their buckling crotch.

 

[Whoops!]

 

The lion beastman rolled to the side, then a rock spike came out from the ground where he was. Mike didn’t miss this chance and swung his sword, which started to glow red, towards the lion beastman.

 

[Burn sla-]

 

Before Mike’s red hot sword could slice the lion beastman, *Bang* *Twang* he got shot by a sniper right in the head. It didn’t pierce his helmet, but it was enough to stagger him backwards and stop him from swinging his sword towards the lion beastman.

 

[Found you.]

[What th-]

 

Behind a boulder, *slice* one of the escort scouts slit the throat of the bandit sniper, who shot Mike, from behind before he could react. *Gurgle gurgle* The blood bubbled as the sniper’s desperate breaths went through his slit throat instead of his mouth.

 

[Boss, where’s the backup?!]

 

The thin bandit, who nimbly dodged attacks, shouted at the lion beastman. The number of bandits was dwindling, and they were getting pushed back. The lion beastman looked ahead where the merchants and the other group of vanguards that guarded the other side were.

 

[Fire arrow!]

 

The skilled magician shot a Fire Arrow towards the lion beastman while he was distracted. He barely dodged the fire arrow and lost his balance. Before he could regain his balance, Mike rushed towards him.

 

[Triple thrust!]

 

The lion beastman managed to block the first thrust and dodge the second, which Mike aimed randomly, but the third that Mike aimed to a vital point hit its mark, fatally wounding the lion beastman. He could’ve parried the first thrust, which would cancel the skill and force Mike into an intense recoil, if he wasn’t off balance.

 

[B-boss!]

[Grrr..]

 

With the sword still stuck to his body, the lion beastman grabbed Mike’s hand that held the sword with one hand, then he raised his other hand to slash Mike with his claws.

 

*Roar!*

*Stab*

 

A spear user who was freed after the number of bandits got reduced rushed in and stabbed his spear to the lion beastman before he could swing his claws down on Mike. The lion beastman’s arms lost strength, then Mike shook off the hand that grabbed him and dodged the claws barely. Mike received three shallow cuts on his cheeks.

 

The spearman pulled his spear off the lion beastman, then the lion beastman collapsed. Seeing this, the other bandits lost their motivation and ran to escape. The ranged attackers, wanting to redeem themselves, rained arrows and bullets on the escaping bandits. Only a few managed to escape.

 

[Phew, is it over?] Dion

[The lackey said something about backup..] Mike

 

Remembering what the thin bandit said and where the lion beastman was looking, Mike ran towards the front where the merchants and the second group of vanguards were.

 

There, he found no backup. Mike sighed in relief, but then, he saw that the carriage with a wagon of preserved goods linked to it was in turmoil.

 

[What’s wrong?] Mike

[Ahh, it seems one of the merchants had a heart attack because of the lion bandit’s roar. Unfortunate.] Merchant representative

[Grampa, wake up! Mommy’s waiting for us! *hic* *sob*]

 

Mike saw a girl in her early teens who was shaking the old man who died of a heart attack.

 

[Ohh..] Mike

 

With the game’s advanced AI, the way the girl moved and cried was very convincing. It was the first time Mike and the other players witnessed something heartbreaking in the game.

 

[The bandits mentioned a backup, so..] Mike

[Ahh well, I guess we better get going just in case. C’mon, Amy. We have to make sure we get your grandfather to your mother in Thirden.] Merchant representative

 

After some preparations and taking the drops from the bandits, the caravan hurriedly departed with only first aid on the escorts’ wounds. Despite the few casualties, the mood was heavy with the sobs of the granddaughter occasionally heard from the preserved goods carriage that was driven by a volunteer.

 

---

 

The caravan entered the rocky mountain road that was only wide enough for two single horse drawn carriages to move through side by side. At the sides of the path were steep slopes that can’t be crossed without proper climbing gear or capabilities, one downward and the other upward.

 

They fended off the occasional goat-like monsters that were very good at climbing cliffs, spiders as big as large dogs that could crawl on walls, or young harpies that flew towards them.

 

After a short progress, they reached a sharp turn ahead of their path. The rest of the path was hidden behind the upward slope that was steep enough to be considered a wall. The frontliners readied themselves in case of an ambush behind the wall. When the scout took a peek,

 

[Uwah!] Scout

[Hmph, took you guys long enough.] Elle

 

They found Elle who was in her black armor. She imposingly sat on a throne-like black rock with her legs crossed and her chin rested on one hand. Around her were numerous dead bandit-like people. Most were nailed to the ground or to the wall by a meter long black spike, Dark Lance. Some were diagonally cleaved in half, beheaded, squished, disemboweled, or distortedly rearranged. Her scythe stood on its own with its bottom stabbed into a bandit beside the throne. Almost the entire scene was mosaiced on the players who had their gore set to censored.

 

When the caravan halted, faint groans could be heard in the silence. From beyond the cliff, a few more bandits could be found being eaten by big vulture-like monsters. Their limbs were either bent in the wrong direction or had bones coming out. Some survived, and they were being eaten alive by the vulture monsters. The vultures were smart enough to start with the limbs to keep the food alive and fresh.

 

When Elle stood and took her scythe, the throne collapsed and returned to the ground in its normal color.

 

[Miss Elle! So this is where the bandit backup was. We would’ve been in trouble if they flanked us. Thank you.] Mike

 

Elle shrugged at Mike’s thanks, then she jumped at an impossible height, and with the use of gravity magic, she landed softly on the carriage roof that she rode on before, then she laid on her back. She closed her eyes and smiled at the sobbing sound that came from a nearby carriage.

 

With that, the caravan continued on its path after getting rid of the obstacles that were the bandit corpses.

 

---

 

(Thank these bandits for giving me a chance to deal with the preserved goods merchant. Still, a spy, huh?)

 

When Elle took care of the bandit backup, she kept a few alive for a while to interrogate. That’s how she found out about the main group of bandits that attacked the caravan, which was an opportunity for her to insert her invisible wires into the agitated preserved goods merchant and time the wires to wrap the heart tightly when something happens, which was the lion beastman’s intimidation roar.

 

The interrogated bandits also admitted that there was a spy within the caravan that was commissioned to provide information to the bandits. That was how the bandits found out that Elle separated from the caravan, though the report was incomplete, which led the backup bandits to come across Elle.

 

(So a quest on regular guilds to escort the caravan, on the Knight Guild to lead the escorts, on the Hitman Guild to deal with some participants, on the Spy Guild to provide info to the bandits, and maybe also on Bandit Guild to raid the caravan. Maybe there are also Merchant Guild quests related to this caravan. It’s pretty well thought out. But for the Spy Guild, a legit guild, to accept commissions from bandits is..I should look for this spy to find out more.)

 

Elle pondered while shooting Dark Lances towards monsters that slipped past the escorts without even looking. She was actually looking at the steep rocky slope above them while making fine movements on her fingers that had wires attached to it. Within the shadows of those slope rocks where the wires extended into, a spider five times bigger than the usual spiders emerged and stalked the caravan stealthily.

 

With Elle along, the caravan proceeded smoothly until they reached a spacious stopping point where they faced a path in the fissure of the mountain ahead. Within the fissure, they would no longer be in danger of falling on the cliffs. However, the path is dark, and those without skills or abilities to see in the dark would have poor visibility, and the use of torches, fire magic, or light magic would attract monsters.

 

[It’s about time you took care of your wounds from the bandit attack. How about we take a break here?] Merchant representative

[Okay.] Mike

 

Without anyone else noticing during their break, the giant spider entered the fissure above them.