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Chapter 36 Next Time, Pack a Compass
🕑 Added 2025-01-12 13:00:04 +0000 UTCAs soon as I appeared, I took in my surroundings. While I doubted the Elves would drop me into a pack of monsters, I couldn’t be certain they knew what might await me here. Panoptic Sense spread out around me, painting the world in its signature way. Flickers of motion came alive in sharp contrast, giving me a detailed view of anything active within its range. The stillness around me was reassuring, though the occasional rustle or sway captured in the edges of Panoptic Sense kept me alert.
I had spoken to the Grand Elder about my concerns of people getting past Panoptic Sense while I was telling her my story. Her response was quick and to the point, I wasn’t paying attention to the ability. Long story short, she was right and if I paid closer attention to Panoptic Sense, I was able to see when there were smaller or slower movements. However, if I just let it run kind of in the background of my mind, it would filter out smaller and slower movements, as why would I worry about bugs or something moving slow?
Looking around at the clearing I was in, now that I knew there was nothing too dangerous in range of Panoptic Sense, I took in the sights. Around me were trees as far as the eye could see. Some bigger some smaller, little fruit bearing bushes could be seen here and there, and the sounds of the forest were alive. Birds chirping, the buzzing of bugs, and many other small things.
I also noticed that the sun was already starting to dip below the horizon. It was hard to believe that only this morning I was leaving from the city to try and hunt some boars or small game just to clear my head. I had definitely done that and more since this morning.
Setting up my camp for the night was a straightforward process: clearing a small patch of ground, gathering wood for a fire, and pitching my modest tent. The familiar motions of unpacking supplies and ensuring my surroundings were safe allowed my mind to wander. As I worked, I mulled over what needed to be done when I finally returned to Magnon, the flickering firelight casting long shadows on the forest floor. The first thing I thought of was trying to figure out who was trying to assassinate Robert. If I was able to figure that out, it could lead us to the information we needed to bring down the whole thing.
Unfortunately, I had no idea where to even begin to find that information. There were just too many places that the poison could have gotten into his meal that I had no where I could even begin. Which lead me to realize that my actual first step should just be to get home. With that Dungeon that had been hidden, I had confirmed that with the Grand Elder as well, my father would hopefully have a lead, and I would be able to go from there.
Deciding that, that was the best option, I grabbed a dish from my Inventory from one of the restaurants that Lilliana took me too, ate and got ready for bed. I knew I would need to wake up early the next morning and get a move on if I wanted to make it back in a decent time.
Waking up early the next morning, I just threw everything into my Inventory and headed to the Southeast. Not really looking for anything specific as I travelled, I went ahead and used Mental Reverie. I used the skill to go over everything that had happened over the last few days, and especially, to go over the conversation that I had with the Grand Elder.
She had been able to make her talent do things that made no sense, specifically because it was her talent. It made me wonder if I would be able to have The System offer my father and mother an ascended class, just because I wanted it to. Or whether I would be able to change how my skills worked, and yes, I tried to make Arcane Step teleport me to my house, but it did not work.
It also allowed me to remember that I was told to make sure I went Southwest, and not Southeast. Having only travelled about an hour at this point, I figured it would not matter, and I turned in the correct direction and headed toward home. Using Arcane Step to help speed things up.
Time seemed to just flow as I travelled, I made sure to pay closer attention to Panoptic Sense and it allowed me to notice animals here and there. One time I even saw a group of goblins that seemed to be foraging. I decided to just leave them to it and moved on.
One day of travel turned to two, and two turned to three. The only exciting thing that happened was coming across a dead beast that looked like a terrifying hybrid between a bear, a wolf, and a lion. Its sheer size—nearly twelve feet from snout to tail—was enough to make me pause, and the strange proportions of its body stirred a mix of curiosity and unease. Panoptic Sense traced its still form, confirming no movement, but I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of respect for the creature. Even in death, it exuded a presence that demanded attention. The encounter left me wondering what kind of life it had lived and what could have taken down something so formidable.
Its fur was a dark, blackish brown, blending into the shadows of the forest. The paws were unlike any I had seen before—longer than the squat, stocky ones of dogs, lions, or bears, yet still thick and powerful. They weren’t quite fingers, but the elongated toes gave the impression of something eerily in-between. The snout was distinctly wolf-like, though it was framed by a thick mane reminiscent of a lion’s. Its body was broader and more muscular, resembling the heft of a bear, while its tail tapered into a bushy tip similar to that of a lion. Even in death, with patches of its hide torn and the early signs of rot creeping in, the creature exuded a chilling majesty. If I had found the corpse fresh, I would have stored it in my Inventory, hoping to use its parts for something. Identify revealed it as a Nyxalith—a name I resolved to research further when I returned home.
The morning after I saw the Nyxalith, I packed up and began heading Southwest. It wasn’t long before I noticed an unsettling change: the trees around me were withering, their bark fading to an ashen grey and their branches hanging limp, as though drained of life. At first, it was just a few scattered among the living, but as I continued, the lifeless trees became more frequent.
The air seemed heavier here, carrying an eerie stillness that set my nerves on edge. My steps slowed as I took in the growing desolation, a creeping sense of urgency gnawing at me as I realized this decay was not natural. It started just here and there to begin with, but the amount I was seeing grew the further I went. Being that I was supposed to be pretty close to Magnon by now I as not happy with what I was seeing.
Slowing down and paying closer attention to Panoptic Sense, I scouted the area as best I could. If I noticed that the vegetation started to increase, I would stop and head back, trying to find the center of the dead zone.
After a few minutes of wandering around, I started to see movement in Panoptic Sense. Trying even harder to stay as quiet as possible I crept toward the movement that I was seeing. The rough size and shape I was getting through Panoptic Sense made me think of goblins. Upon seeing the creatures though, I realized that they were undead goblins instead.
Seeing that the goblins were undead made me think about how I should handle the situation. In most books, unless these undead were accidents, whoever made the undead would know if I destroyed them. However, comparing me to a rogue was like comparing trout fillet to beef steak. Ya both are meat but that is the only similarity. Without moving too much, I reached my hand in the direction of the undead goblin and tried to cast Arcane Armor on just my finger.
While it worked, it took a lot of effort to keep from letting the skill continue to cover the rest of my body. I wanted to see if my Arcane mana attracted the attention of the undead in anyway. Probably for the first time since coming to this world I wished that I had, had more time to study up on monsters.
When it did not immediately turn its attention on me, I let out a breath that I did not know I had been holding and then tried using Identify on it.
Zombie – Level 19
That was all it said—no rarity or additional information. Suppressing a sigh, I moved on to my next test. Once again, the creature had showed no response, so I decided to use Arcane Step to reposition. With careful precision, I teleported to the other side of the creature, ensuring I was hidden behind trees yet still within the effective range of Panoptic Sense. This allowed me to confirm that no other threats were nearby where I was teleporting to. Again, the creature remained completely unreactive, and with a growing sense of confidence, I realized I had found a way to safely maneuver forward.
Sneaking forward some more I used Panoptic Sense to try and find more movement. When I did, I would slowly sneak in that direction until I could make sure that I could Arcane Step past and move on. I tried to make sure that I was going in the same direction the entire time, but it was a little hard.
I should mention that this is taking a long time to explain all of this, and I was moving very slowly while looking around for what was the cause of the undead corruption, but the area was not that big. Maybe a grand total of a mile in diameter of the parts that were completely dead, with ten miles out having small signs here and there. If I had not been moving right through it, into the parts that were the deadest, I would probably have passed right by it. This was the reason that I told myself as to why no one had found this yet at least.
After another hour of slowly creeping past a few zombie goblins, I finally made it to the center, where I found a singular undead standing next to a cage with another of the Nyxalith inside. The undead creature’s cape was billowing, and it had on what looked like the clothes that The Shaolin Monks wore.
The creature stood roughly six feet tall, its unsettling form a grotesque blend of flesh and bone. Its skeletal frame was wrapped in a taut layer of translucent skin, stretched so tightly that every ridge and joint of its bones was starkly visible. There were no natural gaps in its forearms or calves; instead, the skin spanned the empty spaces, creating an eerie, almost membranous effect that failed to conceal the full anatomy beneath. The sight was both grotesque and mesmerizing, an abomination that seemed to defy the boundaries of life and death.
It had its arms raised high and in its had was a black wooden staff. At the top of the staff was a pitch-black crystal that was so dark that it seemed to pull the light into it. I could not hear it saying anything, but I could see the mana that was flowing and wrapping around the creature. I didn’t know what it wanted to do with the Nyxalith but I knew I didn’t want it to do it.
Equipping my shields I use Arcane Step to appear high in the air above the creature. The moment I appeared I used Arcane Armor and Arcane Surge. Bringing both hands as high as I could I used Arcane Manipulation to forge my Arcane Armor into a hammer letting myself gain as much momentum as possible before dropping on the creature.
Before I could deliver the blow, a sudden, forceful blast erupted from the creature. The impact felt like a tidal wave slamming into me, sending a sharp jolt through my entire body as I was hurled backward. My vision blurred for a moment, the world spinning as I collided with the ground, the breath ripped from my lungs. The sheer power of the blast left my ears ringing and my mind scrambling to regain focus, adding an ominous weight to the battle ahead. Its spell had completed and a black orb the size of a basketball slowly drifted down onto the creature in front of it. The orb seemed to expand and surround the creature before shrinking back down to the size of a basketball once more. Then it just drifted to the ground slowly and stayed there.
The staff in the creature’s hand crumbled into ash, fragments caught by the wind and swirling in ghostly patterns before disappearing. Its empty eye sockets locked onto me with a chilling intensity that made the air feel heavier. Seizing the brief moment of stillness it offered, I activated Identify, the information flashing before my eyes. Rolling back to my feet, I steadied myself, muscles taut, and assumed a fighting stance, bracing for what would come next.
Ravros the Damned (E)- Level 51- Revenant- Talent: Necromancy
