[Hollow King] Chapter 7: Undead Tactics (Patreon)

[Skill learned: Mana Bolt (I)]

Whatever he had shot snarled in pain, and the bush's white leaves rustled so violently that the red fruits fell.

It's big, and still alive. Lucas dropped his copy of A Primer for the First Circle on the stone steps and raised both his skeletal hands, ready to throw hands at whatever jumped out—only to realize how stupid he was being. An Elder Lich doesn't win fights by throwing punches.

Mentally running through his list of learned skills, he realized he should empower his Mana Sense. His overall vision narrowed and dulled at the edges, and the trees and bushes before him darkened, but he became far more aware of mana's flow and presence. A tight knot of mana floated beyond the bushes, and from what he could tell, it was denser than the goblin had been.

Its mana seems to be concentrated in its core, meaning it has mana but isn't using it to empower its body like I am. Lucas glanced down at his own arms, which glowed faintly with mana.

The bushes began to part as the pained snarling turned into a deep growl. Lucas backed up toward the tomb and pointed both fingers at the bushes. He didn't need to consult the grimoire this time, as the sequence happened automatically. He just had to think of using the Mana Bolt skill and adjust the parameters accordingly.

This time I'll double the mana to kill it in one shot.

Violet light raced along the markings of his forearms and gathered at his fingertip. It hummed with power, like a railgun, and firing off the spell was just as satisfying. The Mana Bolt tore through the bushes with a whip-crack that echoed loudly through the forest, sending nesting birds fleeing into the sky all at once.

[Mana Bolt (I) -> Mana Bolt (II)]

The monster squealed, and branches snapped as the bush was flattened, revealing what Lucas had struck.

A pig?

Well, not a pig. It was more like a boar from a nightmare. It came up to Lucas's hip, built like a barrel of muscle on four thick legs that looked better suited for a grizzly bear. Its back was covered in pale bristles that helped it blend in with the bleak surroundings. Two tusks as long as Lucas's forearm curved up from its lower jaw, sharp enough to impale someone.

It's not dead, Lucas realized, surprised. The first Mana Bolt seemed to have struck its flank, while the second supercharged one had torn into its shoulder. Black blood spilled freely from the wound, dyeing the white-leaf bush it lay on. Two beady eyes filled with pure defiance locked onto Lucas, and despite its injury, it tried to stand up again.

Don't you dare. Lucas took another step back. Those two Mana Bolts cost me a third of my entire mana pool. Just be a good boy and bleed out for me.

The boar let out a low grunt, and through Mana Sense, Lucas saw streams of mana head toward its wounds.

Shit. It's going to heal.

Lucas looked at his finger and then back at the boar, wondering if it was worth using another charged Mana Bolt.

After powering those wards, I only have enough mana left for one more Mana Bolt, and if the boar survives, I'll have to retreat.

Lucas didn't want to risk it. He had a better finishing move, but he had to strike quickly before it healed. Walking carefully down the frosted stone steps, he stalked around the boar, keeping his Mana Sense on to check for any sign of skill use, like the goblin's ineffective screech.

The boar snarled, its beady eyes tracking Lucas as he moved closer, though it didn't need to, as the frost crunched loudly underfoot.

Easy, boy—whoa! It snapped at him as he approached, jaws clacking shut an inch from his shin. Lucas almost fell over to avoid losing his leg. These were not ideal conditions for a shoeless Lich. It's like a darn alligator even while injured.

Thankfully, its thick neck left it with little mobility, so Lucas managed to get past its snapping jaws and planted a knee into its back. The beast tried to shrug him off, letting out a pain-filled snarl as it did so.

"Sorry about this," Lucas said as he grabbed onto the tuft of its neck with one hand and plunged his bony fingers into the gaping wound with the other.

The beast roared in agony as Lucas activated Death Touch, turning his mana cold and pushing it into the wound. The pale bristles around the wound turned a sickly gray as the necrotic mana he was pouring into the boar crawled toward its brain. The beast screamed in a mixture of pain and panic as it tried to throw him off, but Lucas managed to hold on until the beast stilled beneath him.

Something tore loose inside the carcass, and the world lit up.

[Soul of the Frostback Boar harvested]

[Your Soul Level has increased to 3]

Mana flooded into him, making the markings flare brightly with violet light before settling. Lucas stood over the dead boar and flexed his fingers.

I feel notably stronger than before, and my mana pool has greatly expanded.

As someone who had spent years going to the gym for minimal progress and reached the highest rank in a video game during his youth, this instant boost in power was euphoric.

I... could get addicted to this feeling of leveling up.

And leveling up was everything to him right now. Being low level meant his mana pool was small, and the skills depicted in the grimoires he found were beyond him right now. It was also why he had to fear the Zenith, unlike Isolde Varrenhal, who had a pact with them. More importantly, it was what kept him from seeing Anna and Sophie again.

If I reach the tenth tier in spatial magic, I'll find Au to ask how to connect dimensions. And if he's somehow dead, then I'll continue Au's research myself. As a Lich, I should be able to eventually figure it out. He glanced to the side, beyond the flattened white bush, and saw the goblin's shattered remains. I'm getting ahead of myself. If the boar hadn't attacked my goblin first, it could have charged and obliterated me.

He placed a hand on the boar's head and was glad to confirm that its resentful ghost was still lurking, meaning it could be raised. I can't continue exploring this forest alone. It will cost a lot, but this boar should serve me better than the goblin could. Activating Raise Dead, he sank his mana into the boar's bones and used its flesh as fuel to carve the needed markings.

This is going to take a while, Lucas thought, but he didn't let his attention waver. The skill did most of the heavy lifting compared to when he had raised the goblin, but there was still so much more boar to bind to his will that it was still tricky.

He was halfway done with the spine, fully absorbed in the process, when something landed on the tomb steps behind him.

Another monster? Lucas stayed deathly still and kept his Raise Dead skill running. He was so close to finished, and the slightest distraction would have made this all a waste. He could hear it moving behind him, its claws clinking on the stone as it grabbed something.

[Raise Dead (I) -> Raise Dead (II)]

[Frostback Boar has risen as a Lesser Undead]

Lucas turned the instant he could—violet light crackled down his forearm as he prepared a Mana Bolt. The source of the noise turned out to be a black-feathered bird, thrice the size of a crow, holding his copy of A Primer for the First Circle in its razor-sharp beak.

"Hey!" Lucas shouted. "That's mine!"

The large bird spread its wings and vaulted into the air so quickly it practically teleported. The Mana Bolt Lucas shot struck the stone steps with a loud crack, sending up a plume of dust that didn't reach the bird, which hovered impossibly overhead without beating its wings.

Mana Sense suggested the bird was weaker than the boar but used its mana to empower its wings and eyes. Lucas could tell the monster was intelligent by the way it appraised him, which was bad news.

It was fast too. I don't think I can ever hit it with Mana Bolt. Lucas switched to Unseen Hand and reached out for the stolen grimoire. It was on the edge of his range, but he managed to wrap his spectral fingers around the book and tug. The bird resisted. He poured more mana into the skill to tug harder.

The bird cried out and flapped its wings. Lucas's rotten robes rustled violently as the bird shot into the sky until it was a mere black speck against the stars.

Fucker stole my grimoire! Lucas clenched his jaw in annoyance. At least I learned every skill within before it was taken, but I hate this feeling of being robbed. Though now I know to keep an eye on the sky.

"Follow me," Lucas commanded his new undead boar. He hadn't taken three steps before he heard a loud crack. "What now?" He spun around to see his boar had fallen face-first to the ground, its left leg jutting off at an awkward angle. "Ah..."

The boar was still injured from the Mana Bolt. Its shoulder was badly damaged, as was its leg. Kneeling beside it, he lit his hand with violet light.

[Bone Mending (II) -> Bone Mending (III)]

"All good now?" he asked the undead boar. It simply stood on all fours in response, wordlessly waiting for its next order. "I think I'm going to call you Tusky. Can you follow me?"

Tusky followed a step behind. Its massive skull, supporting the tusks, swayed from side to side as it trotted forward. Lucas found its movement rather amusing.

"Hopefully you last longer than the goblin," Lucas muttered as he followed the winding road and scanned the bushes with Mana Sense. He caught a few small ones in the distance, but their mana was like fireflies at night, and they fled before he could get close enough to figure out what they were.

Not worth the mana to hunt anyway, Lucas thought. He was after more worthy prey, like goblins or boars.

***

The tomb sat far higher up than Lucas ever realized. After what felt like hours, the towering evergreens lining the frost-covered dirt path gave way to a spectacular view over a valley that was shrouded in low-hanging clouds and trails of smoke.

Wait, is that Kyle's town? Lucas fed more mana to his eyes and focused his gaze. Dots of light, possibly from houses, glowed in a concentrated mass at the valley's center. Oh yeah, there's a wall and buildings!

The wall was a ring of sharpened logs about twice his height. If he had to guess, the town couldn't have more than a few thousand people, since it was much smaller than the cities he was used to on Earth.

I can't see any undead uprising... or people, for that matter. It's too far away to be sure. Either way, the town was the last place Lucas wanted to go. Killing a single boar was his current limit. A whole town of people hunting him down was far beyond his capabilities right now. I should stick to the mountain, and the goblin settlement seems nearby.

For the last half an hour or so, he had caught goblin-sized mana signatures on the edge of his range, but they always fled before he could get closer. But now, they were standing their ground in the trees above. He counted three, all with mana signatures greater than the first goblin he defeated.

"Not running anymore?" Lucas called out in Goblinese. Power crackled down his forearm as he pointed his finger at the nearest one. "That works for me—"

A stone whistled out of the dark and struck his hand, ruining his spell before it could form and splintering his bony fingers. He had been so focused on tracking their mana signatures that he had been totally blind to the mundane weapon.

A rock sling? Lucas thought as he began to repair his hand with Bone Mending—only for a second rock to impact his collarbone with enough force to make him stumble a step. Frustrated, Lucas canceled Mana Sense and watched the treeline. The moment he heard another whistle toward him, he pointed and summoned a Lesser Barrier.

The stone shattered against the shield crafted from hardened mana, but the shield also collapsed. As the grimoire noted, the skill Lesser Barrier prioritized speed of deployment at the expense of durability, and it was only rank I, so that was to be expected.

[Lesser Barrier (I) -> Lesser Barrier (II)]

But the mana cost hurts. I can only block a few rocks while they can keep flinging them from the safety of the trees. To fight back, I need Mana Sense to see them. But if I do that, I can't block the rocks...

While distracted, another rock struck him in the skull. It wasn't enough to knock him over or break him, but it gave him an idea. Lucas yelped as he pretended to stumble, trip over Tusky, and fall to the frosted ground.

A few more rocks pelted him while he was down.

If they were empowered with mana, they might be enough to shatter my bones. Lucas thought as he let them think he was dead. But they are nothing but mundane rocks. I can simply repair the damage later with Bone Mending. But for now, I'll wait to see if they grow complacent.

After a few more rocks rained from above, the goblins seemed to buy his act. All three of them dropped down, and their leader cautiously approached him. It looked like the scavenger that had almost stolen his crown, but was closer to the size of a teenager than a child, and wore a loincloth. A half-empty pouch holding rocks swung at its waist as it stalked closer until it dared to stand on his chest and stare down into his hollow eyes.

"Are you really dead?" It poked him with a filthy finger. "Hard to tell."

"What a stupid question to ask an undead," Lucas said as violet flames flared to life in the hollows of his eyes. The goblin yelped as Lucas grabbed its neck. The sleeve of his rotten robe fell, revealing his forearm that was crackling with violet light as he activated Death Touch.

The goblin screeched as the necrotic mana sank into its flesh, turning it gray.

Lucas ignored it and stood, hoisting the goblin into the air as its legs kicked uselessly. Had he met this larger goblin when he woke up, he would have died. But now that he was Soul Level 3, he had the strength to do this.

The other two goblins' eyes went wide.

"Tusky, kill the one on the right," Lucas commanded, spinning up a Mana Bolt spell in his left arm to take out the other. He wanted to make this quick, before more goblins could arrive.