[Arc 2] Chapter 26: The Horseman of Darkness

Ehm, where did we leave off? Oh yes... THE KIGAL-NOTE WAS STOLEN!!

What gives!? Wasn't it supposed to return to the owner if it was taken?

Pushing those questions aside, I kept on running after the black-clothed sonnovabitch.

It's luckily not that fast, but they're gonna give us the slip if we don't do something...

"Garami! Over here!" - Mira

I looked over and saw Mira having decapitated a Skeleton Horse with Airgetlám... good thinking! Convert! And Create!

I wanted a Skeleton Horse first, but since there's a problem with it being all bone, I opted for a Zombie Horse instead already equipped with a saddle and bridle. Good thing I expected to find something ridable on this island and bought these from Armveil.

After removing one of the less-important accessories, I equipped the Smell Weaknning Ring so I could endure the stench of the Zombie Horse.

"We don't have the [Riding] skill, nor any experience with horseback riding ay all, so we will wait back at the Safe Area." - Alf

Works for me. I'm not gonna let this guy get away from the sin of stealing from me!

I raced through the streets while grasping the reins of the Zombie Horse. The black-clothed figure started to speed up as it saw me getting closer and closer.

Is it trying to lure me somewhere? Let's make it more difficult for it.

I shot Dark Bullets, [Gloom Bullets], Light Bullets, and [Glow Bullets] as harassment at mister Black-Cloth, while also changing to the more powerful Dark Spear and Light Spear when I got the opportunity. None of them hit.

Grr, is long-range not my forte after all? 

The Zombie Horse jumped above the many hinders in the path, thanks to the [Acrobatic]-, [Footwork]-, and [Riding] skills I gave it through the tripled Material cost, for a total of 600 Materials! ...Tch. So it was a trap!

I made the Zombie Horse jump up, just in time to escape the lance of the Skeleton Rider that stormed out from the side-street to the right... hey! It's Lancer! Not Rider!

They're even pitting D-ranks into this? And not just one. Several more Lancers, all riding a Skeleton Horse started to appear. No magicians? Were they expecting us all to arrive on foot?

The Lancers have gathered nicely into a formation, so why not take advantage of it? The Burst-type spells will make an explosion that affects even my Horse, so let's stick to Nether Magic's Turn Undead Field.

A larger magic array appeared in the area right in front of us. Right after we passed it, I activated the array, frying the Lancers and their rides.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Your level has increased. Reached Lv.31

You have earned 0.3 Skill Points

Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.3 Skill Points were earned.

Good timing!

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

The Party: [CRUSH THE SKULLS!] has been disbanded due to disconnection with the Party Leader.

Seriously good timing! That's the last EXP I could offer the other guys!

And Parties had a distance limitation? That didn't happen when Alf went fishing... is it because of the Dungeon? Must be. It's "disconnection", so the "signal" must be disrupted by something here. The energy of the Dungeon?

Gah! I don't have the time for that! Gotta focus on black-cloth!

As I focused my attention forward, I caught the glimpse of several Skeletons holding bows. Archers even? You have to...

I countered the Archers through a few Light Bullets of my own. As I passed them, the remains of the Archers got converted through [Necromatic Rite]... that's you, right? [Parallel Mind]-me?

The one and only!

If you got time to convert corpses, focus rather on blasting bones to smitheries! 

Won't that lead to us having too low MP for when we need it? 

I know that Rite doesn't only need scraps to work, but that doesn't mean... just making some Skeleton Fairies and focusing on whatever comes from behind.

Roger! Scraps of scraps, coming up!

I hate that part of me who wants to gain as much as possible...

The Skeleton Fairies jumped into my hood so they wouldn't be left behind by the fast-moving Zombie Horse. Since the back's taken care of by the Fairies and [Parallel Mind]-me, let's focus solely on the front...  but with a tad to the sides! Jump, Zombie Horse, jump!

*KA-BOOOM!*

An explosion struck the ground where we had just been. The Horse got knocked into the air by the force of the blast, but it managed to land without any problems. This horse's too talented!

"EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE." - Robots(?)

From the shadows of the corners emerged several ball-like robots... don't they look familiar to the ones I encountered in the Water-Knot?

On the 3rd Floor? Yup. Definitely.

Is that baron-guy here as well?

We won't know until we find out. Here are the Identification-results by the way.

Oh, you work fast, me.

The-he-he~.

Suicide bombers? Or living bombs?

Let's go with the latter. The former would be too sad of a fate for them.

Good point. Focus on blasting them with Fire-attribute spells. They lack that anti-magic plating thing some of the other bots had. Maybe they'll prematurely explode?

Oki-doki~.

Leaving the bots in the back to [Parallel Mind]-me, I returned to blasting black-cloth outta the sky. He tried to hide sometimes while I was busy with the constant reinforcement, but no way I'm gonna miss that aether signature. You've messed with the wrong owner of [Empyrean Eyes], black-cloth. I'll stalk you to the end of the world!!

---

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Your level has increased. Reached Lv.38

You have earned 0.3 Skill Points

Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 0.3 Skill Points were earned.

You weren't kidding when you said: "to the end of the world". As expected of me.

Alright, stop kicking the downed demon. I didn't think it would take my words that literally.

The chase's been going on for... half a day now? And been through equally much of the city?

The constant streams of living bombs died out at a point, only for them to be replaced with a large number of Skeletons, Zombies, and Geists. They ended up as rust on my Turn Undead Field. Heh~.

But we're not catching up to that guy. 

I know, I KNOW! Don't stress me! I've been going on with just Stamina Potions and level-ups to keep me from collapsing here! 

Good thing we had [Sleep Nullification].

Don't remind me about that.

I stopped the lance of a Red Skeleton Rider to my right with the Carnwennan's long sword-mode and made a head-shot on the Skeleton Goblin Rider on my left with the Thaumaturgy Revolver all while complaining about the situation.

The Goblin Rider fell of its lupin ride which made the latter stop in its track. They both got swallowed by the flames of the Flare Pillar spell from the Skeleton Fairy Fire Mage. Skeletons may have enough speed to catch up to the doped Zombie Horse, but their defense's too brittle. Their HP reached 0 fast enough to think it was an insta-kill.

The horse of the Red Rider was hit behind its knees by the Wind Whip spells from the Skeleton Fairy Wind Mage, making them collapse and get swallowed by another Pillar, along with a Turn Undead Field. Like the Goblin Rider and Wolf from before, their HP gauge was reduced to 0 in no time.

Both of them, the final remaining undeads of this sector, had finally joined their comrades in my Material collection.

The Material count must have reached the necessary number, as [Parallel Mind]-I made another Skeleton Wolf run along with the already-created one. They're the perfect escorts~. Just one was enough to take care of all the trash that tries to block my path, and now I've got twice the efficiency.

Shouldn't we try that again now that our gauges are full?

True. Since we're at Lv.38 now, who knows when we'll reach 39?

I made horsey jump up to the roof again by enhancing it with a Nether spell. Black-cloth saw us coming at him and started to throw magic spells of the Darkness- and Light attributes. 

We simply tanked the Darkness attributes at first since both I and horsey don't take any damage from them... almost. More proficiency for [Darkness Resistance] and [HP Auto-Recovery]~. It's only possible thanks to Dungeon Raider improving my recovery abilities that I can brute-force my way through them though. And that [Parallel Mind]-I have evolved [MP Auto-Recovery] into [MP Greater Recover], allowing her to cast recovery spells on both me and horsey.

As for the Light-attribute spells... not that easy. Both me and the horse's weak to them, so we've been dodging them or I've used Carnwennan to reflect them. It makes me feel like those warriors in a galaxy far, far away when I send the Light Bullets back to black-cloth. So cool! 

Cool or not, it's impossible to reach that guy when he gets that barrage going. And it continues until the building collapses and I have to evacuate to the ground. 

This time, I'm prepared for the assault. Instead of parrying the blasts, I used the Darkness Burst spell to countereffect the incoming spells. Horsey, charge!

Using its inborn [Charge] skill, the Zombie Horse rushed through the storm of magical bullets while I extended the effect of the Darkness Burst for as long as possible. It's hard work that tears on me mentally, and I'm already pretty worn out thanks to the extended period of fighting. My MP's slowly, but surely, being reduced despite all the cost reductions and auto-recoveries. This is getting bad...

Black-cloth, who didn't know any better, got visibly disturbed by our charge and threw more spells while panicking. Sorry to say this...

But we're the distraction!

A large wall of fire and wind emerged from the gap between the buildings, right in the middle of black-cloth's line of flight!

The trick is simple: I had the two Skeleton Fairies take a ride with the two Skeleton Wolves, who are even faster than the Zombie Horse thanks to being Skeletons. When they were in position, [Parallel Mind]-I had them use the Firewall and Windwall spells, creating this fabulous piece of work I'm seeing right now. 

Black-cloth, completely occupied with me and horsey until just now, couldn't react in time and flew straight into the wall of fiery winds. The Fairies must have run out of MP, as they turned off the spell just as I did right now. Urgh, around 15% left... too close! Where's my MP Potion?

While chugging down the potion, both to recover MP and a little satiety, I had horsey jump over to the collapsed black cloth. I quickly retrieved the Kigal-Note that had fallen out of their hands and returned it to shadow-form. Welcome back.

The cloth that had covered the thief until has been burned by the flames, so I could see their face...

Me? The face that was hidden until now was a carbon copy of my face. Horns, tear-like markings, and even the marks representing [Grudge Evil Eye] are there.

While I looked at the doppelganger, their face suddenly started to fall apart into dust, leaving behind a skeleton... not. It's a wooden puppet. Ashen-grey wood, but still a puppet.

Did someone mask this thing with my... data or whatever? That would explain why they could take the Kigal-Note...

Maybe...

Are you exhausted? 

Think so... this "me" is just the result of a skill... probably gonna need some time to recover...

Then do so. I'll take care of the rest.

'K... the doll's aether was detected somewhere else on the map... I marked the place where the "puppet master" should be...

Oh, thanks... and she's asleep. 

First, the map. The culprit was last seen... not too far from the castle. But, I'm closer to the Safe Area than that place, so let's regroup with the others before going there. Wait, I almost circled through the whole island in one go? ...I-I need a break, [Sleep Nullification] or not.

Speaking of skills, how do things look right now?

A-ha-ha-ha... I've got three stats that's surpassed the 500-line. Awesome! 

T-these last few days, especially these last hours, have been too hectic! Hmm? [Lesser Light Element]! You did it! I can finally... there are more titles? I ignored all the system messages while chasing after the doppelganger, so let's have a look at them before evolving any more skills.

Achievement Titles:

Hunting Titles:

Status Titles:

Several tons of Skeletons chased me just today, so no wonder that title advanced into Slaughterer. Inorganic Slayer must be from... the bomb-bots? And what about this one?

As a reward for assisting Death in retaining the ones who ignore the law of life and death, you are granted the ability to become a (potential) inheritor of the four guardians of Death, each assisted by a phantom horse of their own choice.

...What's this all about? Death? As in the Ultimate God? No, if that was the case, why didn't I obtain the Champion Skill of Death? Then, Death is a subordinate of the Ultimate God? And we can be a spiritual inheritor to their... riding styles? And from the description, it's those "Four Horsemen"?

Hmm... Let's force Mira to get [Riding] and [Tame] after this and confirm it. But we need to find more of those who "ignore the law of life and death". Are they talking about undeads, or is there something else going on here?

In the Skill Shop, [Riding] didn't get several choices to choose from, probably because I lack riding-related classes, but there's an extra category. When I accessed it, I found four different skills I could evolve [Riding] into. And they all need 10 Points, despite being only tier-2... one of them's grayed out?

Wait, let me gather all the information about them... what do you mean I can't Identify the skill options!? And the Kigal-Note's... of no help at all. Figures. 

This is mostly guesswork, but the skills and their potential requirements, based on if they're related to those Four Horsemen, should be...

Hmm... crossing out [Black Rider] that I can't take anyway, all these skills seems to be useful in one way or another. [White Rider] could have effects similar to the Royalty-skills, while [Red Rider] could turn horsey into a might of its own. If I can convert the dragons stored in the Kigal-Note, is it the birth of Dragon Knight Garami then?

Still, I'm gonna take [Pale Rider]. I'm no horseback fighter anyway, and the skill does seem to have great adaptability with Spectermancer. Also, can't Death be considered the ultimate assassin in some way? There are probably pros and cons for all the skills, but let's go with the best first impression.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Evolved skill: [Riding Lv.Max] into skill: [Pale Rider Lv.1].

10 Skill Points consumed.

Blueprints for "Pale Horse" are unlocked for [Necromantic Rite].

Phew. I wasn't wrong. Except that it's better than I first thought! Don't get why the Darkness attribute's there too? Because it's stealthy?

I imminently dismissed horsey and the wolves-fairies duos and wanted to look at the new undead. Wow. It's ranked D+. And it needs... 1,000 Materials!? And that's the original sum!

So, it's the question of either quality or quantity... hmm? Wait, can't I also... and this one as well... oh? A race-limited variant? Or demon-related? I'll take it anyway.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Modified skill: [Control Undead Lv.Max] into skill: [Undead Servant Lv.1].

6 Skill Points and skill: [Tame Lv.12] consumed.

Evolved skill: [Lesser Light Element Lv.Max] into skill: [Light Element Lv.1].

6 Skill Points consumed.

Evolved skill: [Magic Power Operation Lv.Max] into skill: [Demon's Magic Control Lv.1].

10 Skill Points consumed.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Legacy Quest: [Black Light] can now be completed.

Do you want to retrieve the Quest Rewards? Doing so will result in some titles being merged.

...Checking, checking... yes.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Titles: [Light Technique User] and [Darkness Technique User]

have been merged into the title: [Black-Light Technique User].

...Ku-ku-ku... MWA-HA-HA-HA!!

Finally! FINALLY! One of the largest hinders in my way to Kur Kigal has been passed! Now I just need to find the rarest hinder, then I'm set!

Before that, let's test out [Undead Servant]. To start, let's make a Lesser Skeleton.

No visible changes... 

"Can you understand me?" - Garami

*Nod*

Oh! That's an improvement from the old undeads! They could only accept orders, not answer even simple questions like that.

"What would happen if I dismissed you, then summoned a different undead? Would it be you who's summoned?" - Garami

*Nod*

"Then, what if I summoned another undead when the skill leveled up?" - Garami

*Nod, nod*

"...It's always you who's summoned?" - Garami

*Nod*

...It's cloud-based. Skills these days are high-tech!

"I'll summon you like a Pale Horse then. No problems with that?" - Garami

*Shake*

After dismissing the Lesser Skeleton, I resummoned it as a Pale Horse with double the costs to give it [Auto-Mapping] and [Acrobatic]. It already had [Riding] and [Footwork] as starting skills.

The Pale Horse looks like a pale-white horse with a flaming, blue mane. The fire's not hot to touch, and there's no smell from it like the Zombie Horse. I Identified it more closely and found out it's a ghost-type undead, of the type: Corporeal Ghost. 

Most importantly, it's strong! In a muscle fight, it would lose to the Corpse Dragon, but add the skills, speed, and smarts, then this guy could probably win on his own.

I jumped up on it and set off for the Safe Area... what's this feeling? It's like I'm sitting on a cloud. A great difference from the hard and bulky Zombie Horse. Ghost-types are awesome! Wait, ain't this the first ghost-type I've ever made? 

.....Gotta favorite this one big time.

Greydra

Kigal-Note/Undead/Ghost: Pale Horse

Description:

Pale Horses are a special type of undead that serves Necromancers and less-important official figures of the Netherworld.

Some wild specimens are found both in the Netherworld and on the surface, and anyone who can tame these horses of death is granted a partner that will never betray them. On the other hand, Pale Horses will kick whoever they dislike to death, making them a dangerous steed for horseback fighters to take.

Appearance:

Pale Horses have a pale-grey body with blue flames acting as their mane. These flames also appear when the horse walks. Another notable characteristic is that its eyes share the same blue color as the flames.

Abilities:

Pale Horses are extremely dangerous for their racial rank, having many rare and powerful skills in their repertoire.

When compared to humans, the Pale Horse has a battle style similar to a magician that rushes around the battlefield, trampling their enemies while using various types of magic at those it cannot reach. Ghost Magic is recorded to be the most popular choice for Pale Horses.

Like other undeads, Pale Horses are weak to both Light- and Holy attributes. They also take much damage by being in the sunlight. This makes the Pale Horse take residence in deep and foggy forests where people normally do not enter.

Mira's comment: A super horsey!!