Chương 259: Chapter 250

The battle didn't last long. With the number of high-level players and supporting NPCs – though most of them spent their effort protecting the carriages – the horde of undead, no matter how ghoulish they looked, was destroyed with little to no effort. The players reveled in the carnage and fought them while laughing and jeering at the weak monsters.

Sam instead focused on keeping the foul winds tainted with the magic of the undeath away from the transport vehicles as the magic in the wind tried to eat away the materials it was made out of. He watched as limbs and other body parts went flying as the players threw themselves at the horde with gusto and couldn't help but feel it was suspicious. This amount of undead, especially this type – low-level workers, miners, and such – was not a challenge to a group like this. Hell, he alone could have dealt with them.

Sadly, in this game, this didn't mean that the encounter or the event was badly designed but that something was afoot. His thoughts were soon validated.

"Don't falter!" came the cry from the friendly healer he sat next to, urging everyone to keep up the good work. Then she stepped next to Sam and began talking quietly enough that only he could hear over the noise of the carnage.

"This happens almost always when a bigger expedition enters the depths. The desperate and unfortunate are sent against the living."

"I assume a lot of people try their luck going down…" he murmured as he channeled mana into his shield. The foul wind visibly sparked with a sad display of gray-colored sparks as it continuously hit the outer edges of his shield. She nodded sadly.

"And end up as fodder for things that call this accursed place their home…" As she fell silent, a cheer went up amongst those who were on the frontline. Apparently, the undead army was destroyed. He was quickly instructed to drop the shield and return to the carriage – though the healers made sure his aura was on- and the caravan continued on their way, ignoring as black smoke wafted off the ground where the undead fell to their second demise.

Now that he had time to look around, Sam noticed that while their carriage was pristine, aside from the wear and tear of time, most of the carriages – especially those at the front of the caravan – were in a much worse state. Sam could see discolored wood, cloth turning into grayish-yellow rags, and a few spots of rust peeking out from joints. Naturally, his companion instantly noticed where his eyes wandered and let out a small chuckle.

"Now you understand why your skills were so important. Down here, even the very air is our enemy." She let out a sigh.

"And we're not even deep…"

"Why not enchant the equipment and tools?" She let another sigh.

"Why do you think?" Sam didn't really have to think about the answer.

"Money?" She nodded while staring at the walls of the passageway they were cruising through. The shadows from the torches and other light sources created a rather mystical (and creepy) shadow show on the smooth walls. When seeing it on the edge of his vision, Sam could have sworn he saw figures watching them with unnaturally wicked grins. But as soon as he turned his eyes it was all just a jumbled mess of shadows dancing, mirroring the fire in the torches.

"Money. The basic – cheap – enchantments work against this kind of wind, but the deeper you go, the better enchantments you will need. Nobody was willing to invest that amount of money when buying new vehicles is much cheaper."

"Well, I'd like to say I'm surprised, but…" Sam replied wryly as he shook his head.

'Sometimes, this game is too realistic…' The next stretch of the journey as the caravan headed deeper and deeper, became somewhat a routine. They would travel for anywhere between half an hour and an hour, then the expedition would be beset by increasingly grotesque-looking undead hordes. Sometimes, just like the first time, it was only one wave, but other times they had several waves with some bigger undead – usually 'made' from other undead being fused together – acting as the mini-bosses.

Meanwhile, the wind kept blowing, rotting away the wood transporting the players. Thanks to the tireless work of the healers and his own shield, most of the important carriages carrying the healing supplies were intact, but during the journey, they had to abandon several carriages as they became too damaged, or in one case, the poor lizard-thing tried to eat one of the appendages that flew off in the frenzy of fighting and choked on it before anyone noticed.

A lot of players were forced to walk or hang off the sides of the still-intact carriages as the remaining six-legged lizards trudged forward a little slower. Naturally, the NPCs were the first to get new seats when the wooden contraptions broke down. Still, nobody really complained, as all of these things were expected and Sam suspected that just as he did, most of the players had some alternative way to get around, but were waiting to unveil them at an opportune moment.

More importantly, Sam still hadn't seen one fight between players. Not over loot – no matter how meager it was; the undead were not the highest level but occasionally there were some diamonds in the rough for the discerning eyes – and not even over women. There were a few beautifully dressed mercenaries here and there, surrounded by their entourage of slightly less beautiful women wearing armor and scary-looking weapons, but none of the musclebound idiots tried to start anything.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. That, above everything else, hit the red on his weird-o-meter. They were who knows how deep and after at least two dozen undead invasions, where at the end the monsters were more shadow and simply bulk meat slapped into something resembling shape than humanoid monsters and there was still no sight of anything that would help Sam qualify for meeting the Herald.

Still, the chats with the healer – named Asa, born with the first light of the new year's sun – were mighty interesting. After joking and complaining about his lack of healing skills, the woman instantly began to teach him some basic things. Enough, that by the time they stopped for a longer break, he gained a new skill. [Field Healer: Level 0/25 (0%) (Passive) You gained enough experience with healing to not kill somebody. Probably. You also know your body better so you are able to take better care of it. Every action aiming to heal somebody is 1% stronger per skill level. Grants you 0, 1 health point regeneration per skill level.] Not something to brag about, but it was still nice. Plus, based on how the other NPCs behaved around Asa, she was probably important enough in the city that she could help him out if he asked nicely. Sam hoped that with a few lectures and some experience, he would be able to upgrade it into something usable.

They were getting off the carriages, mostly to stretch their legs, but also to build a sort of forward camp for the expeditions. Apparently, there were some survey reports that the people on the topside wanted to confirm.

Asa gave him a little wave and with an entourage of two other healers left to have a meeting with the quartermaster as Sam helped unpack some equipment from their still pristine carriage while in the background one of the wooden supports on one of the other carriages gave up the ghost and crumbled under the weight it was carrying. The sound of the crashing transport vehicle echoed around them, soon joined by the curses of those who were still on it and the laughter from who were on time getting off.

Sam just shook his head in exasperation and found a spot where he could sit down for a little to check things over. All around him, people walked aimlessly, talking with each other or doing odd jobs as they set up the forward base. Some went even so far as to stand guard. Truly, the pinnacle of mercenaries. The first thing he did was to make sure Lucky was all right.

After a few seconds of directing his senses at his loyal companion, he was satisfied that the wolf was having the time of his life and returned his focus on his own improvements. [Perfect Mana Core is now Level 13!] [Mana Weaving is now Level 3!] [Unknown Sight is now Level 2!] [Mana Architecture is now Level 27!] [You gained the Solid Foundation subskill!] [Solid Foundation: Level 0/5 (0%) Your skills with mana provide you with a solid foundation. Your creations are more solid and stable. Decreases mana cost of maintaining them by 5% for each skill level.] [Advanced Clean I is now Level 5!] [Purification Aura is now Level 22!] [Pure Body is now Level 10!] [Cleaning Affinity is now Level 52!] [You gained the Precise subskill!] [Precise: Level MAX (MAX%) (Passive) No matter how small or big, you won't miss it.] A great amount of growth in his cleaning skills. Sam was still somewhat surprised at how effective those skills had become.

He knew, from his inherited memories that they were important, but to this extent? Or was this just his own skills showing their worth? [Wind Mana Manipulation is now Level 95!] [Greater Wind Affinity is now Level 87!] [Wind Sense is now Level 5!] [Steady Mind is now Level 3!] [Adamant Spirit Link is now Level 5!] [Spirit Protection is now Level 42!] [Bleedover is now Level 5!] He was glad to see that Lucky's effort was paying off with the skill growth.

He suspected that soon those same skills would become mighty useful. With the way they were losing transportation capabilities, he felt that soon the harmonious existence would be over. [Physical and Magical Resistance is now Level 3!] [Illusion Resistance is now Level 38!] [Corruption Resistance is now Level 42!] [Blood Magic Resistance is now Level 33!] Well, if nothing else, these few level-ups told him that his thoughts were correct. The bloody blood mages were here and ready to rumble.

Sadly, his mana sense was still curtailed by the dense walls of the underground. Sometimes he thought he sensed something, but then it vanished like an enticing smell on the wind. [Lucky is now Level 7!] Sam just smiled. His little wolf was growing stronger and stronger. A few minutes later, he noticed Asa returning with her aides, looking visibly distressed. She cut through the area toward Sam, hurrying while looking around anxiously.

He let out a sigh, patted his own knees, shaking off a little dust that settled on them while he sat there and stood up, cracking his neck. The healer arrived and spent a moment just taking deep breaths, before quietly whispering.

"I-I think something is wrong with the Quartermaster!"

"Oh?"

"I went to talk with him, but he kept repeating the same thing. It looked like…"

"Mind control?" Sam asked as he made sure to spread out his senses as he talked to his newly made friend.

"More like cactus juice," Asa replied.

"If you harvest it from the wrong one, it has a hallucinogenic effect that leaves the consumer susceptible to suggestions. Nomads use it for spirit journeys…" she explained worriedly. As he processed those words, he suddenly felt several spots where the mana began to flare. Then, in the next second, he also felt the mana of the surrounding people – while the mana of the NPCs stayed tepid and calm – swirl with excitement.

He looked up, then around as Asa continued to expand on the effects of the cactus juice nervously and watched as all the players present were looking in his direction. Well, his and the healers.

"Well, Asa, that's fascinating and I hate to interrupt your explanation, but would you mind looking up?" Asa's head snapped up as she looked around wildly, her eyes widening with realization. Sam sent a call-back message to Lucky and chuckled a little.

"It seems we have been surrounded." One of the mercenaries grinned savagely, yanked off something from their armor, and threw it away into the dirt. Sam was instantly hit by the disgusting 'smell' of blood magic. Instantly, everybody followed the first guy, artifacts hitting the ground one after another as the cloying blood magic began filling the passageway.

"Ma-master Samuel, I do hope you have a plan?" Asa asked, trembling, as she shuffled behind him.

"I've never been keen on violence."

"That depends. How do you feel about an incredible amount of violence?" he asked absently as he measured the enemy forces arrayed against him and prepared for a fight.

"Well, if it means I get home to my grandchildren, then I'm all for it!" she declared vehemently while still whispering from behind Sam.

"Good. Because I doubt we're going to solve this peacefully," he stated as one of the players grinned and began to laugh.

"It is time my friends to complete our task! Let the blood…FLOW!"