Chapter Eight: Fog

“I think this is a horrible idea.”

“Probably is.”

“We're going to die.”

“Most likely.”

“I don't want to die.”

“Nobody usually does.”

“So why are we still heading to the fog?.”

Without stopping my pace, I listen in, hearing various movements around me. Ignoring the sound of my and Jessica's boots striking the ground, as well as the bare feet of my undead…

WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

...and the giant beasts moaning in the fog. I focus my hearing, listening in to tiny legs scuffling on trees.

It seems to still be following me. A rather mobile little guy for his size. Didn't know spiders could jump so far.

“Because, as a [Hero], it is my job to jump headfirst into the unknown… and not because a god cryptically told me to 'not to fear the fog’.”

The sound of Jessica's footsteps immediately stop, but I ignore it and keep walking, listening to the little critter as it jumps from treetop to treetop.

Noticing that I am still walking forward, Jessica sprints past me and blocks my way. Her complexion slightly better today, the dried fruit and meat helping her gain a bit of color.

“What about me, I'll die if you die,” she says, pointing at my hand which holds the ring binding her collar to me.

I stop walking, smiling at her, thinking about what she would look like with quite a bit more meat on her bones.

God damn, I'm horny. What the hell is wrong with my hormones? Did Loki fuck up with this body? I feel like a horny teenager all over again.

Shaking my head, I dispel my sexual thoughts, mentally calling up my stats.

Quasi Eludo

Level 14 Necromancer

Level 29 Hero

Raise Undead

Advanced Analyse

Skeletal Renewal

Enhanced Undead

Bone Telekinesis.

Advanced Mana Sense

Strength

23

Dexterity

36

Stamina

32(34)

Perception

235

Endurance

14

Vitality

227(229)

Mana

700(1000)

M/regen

2.3(3.83)

Affinity

13

Intelligence

435(545)

Willpower

3047

Soul

4143

Robe of the Undead Caller(Rare): Halves All mana regeneration costs for undead upkeep. Does not allow additional Upkeeps.

Ring of House Kizor(Rare): +0.1 Mana regen, +200 mana, +2 Vitality, +2 Stamina, +10 Intelligence.

Ring of Enhanced Mana Regeneration(Legendary): Mana Regeneration +20%, +1 mana regen.

Necklace of Regenerating health(Rare): Applies Passive buff [Minor Regeneration]

Staff of Dark Blood(Legendary): Reduce cost of dark spells by 18%, +100 intelligence, Greater durability. Special Skill: absorb blood to temporarily increase max mana quantity+100 mana per liter.

Dagger of Bloodletting(Uncommon): An enchanted dagger which restricts blood from clotting.

Necklace of the Slaver(Common): +50 willpower on slaves.

Ring of Enslavement(Uncommon): Connects to a Collar Of Enslavement. Ability to restrict skill usage of a slave. Ability to know the exact location of a slave. Ability to end the life of a slave. The ring must be worn or slave will die after three hours.

Alright, so my Mana Quantity stat had seemingly increased with my [Necromancer] Level. Seems like 20 Mana per level. Decent I guess. The [Hero] class seems to be doing absolutely nothing though.

“Hey Jessica, I have a question.”

Her eyebrows rise up, a pout forming on her lips as I ignore her question.

“The [Hero] class, I don’t seem to be gaining anything from it even after several levels. My [Necromancer] class is giving me bonus Mana and [Skills]. What’s the deal?”

Blinking rapidly, a frown forms on her face, ”I… am not sure. The stories say that those with the [Hero] class always become named people.”

Named people…

“Jessica, you're forgetting that I'm not from this world. What the heck is a named person?”

Her eyes widen, ”Oh!, I’m sorry.” her face gains a reddish hue, ” A named person is someone whose strength is unrivaled.”

Does she mean the Strength stat? Or is it some kind of system achievement?

*Sigh* ”Can you please go into more detail?” I ask, rubbing my forehead.

Looking towards the ground, she quickly moves the hood from her robes over her head, covering her face.

She’s embarrassed… because she’s panicking around me… Dear god, I found myself quite the companion.

“A ‘Named Person’, are individual people who have gained significant levels in their class or classes. So much so that they rival armies.”

Armies… shit, I guess my plan to create an undead army to rule the world isn’t going to be enough... Well, if it takes significant levels to become ‘named’, then I guess I get a bonus considering I can train several classes without penalty due to the [Hero] class.

Cracking my neck back and forth, a nasty habit I gained when I was younger, I turn around and look towards the trees. ”Now then,” I say, my eyes moving towards a branch, and the critter hiding behind it.

“I know you've been following me. I noticed you since I first slaughtered those [Mages]…” I say, my eyes trained at the branch.

Flicking back her hood, Jessica looks up, ”Spider!” she yells, watching a spider the size of my fist reveals itself, crawling into view.

Ignoring her, I move out my hand, opening my palm, feeling a weird sense of camaraderie with the spider.

“I’m going to enter the mist, you can either follow me around, or you can come alongside me. Choose.”

The spider just watches me, its eight red eyes blinking, analyzing me.

Intelligent.

Having decided, the spider bends its legs, thrusting outwards, traveling several meters and landing perfectly on my hand, its head and eyes looking straight at me.

Weird, it seems to have black fur. I don't think that's normal for spiders.

“Got a name?” I ask, curious If it can communicate somehow.

The spider blinks, taps its legs on my palm, and then quickly travels up my arm, sitting on my shoulder, where the spider tattoo is located.

“Ok, fine, I’m calling you Peter,” I say, gazing into the spider’s red eyes.

Turning around, I find Jessica, her mouth agape, eyes watching the spider with fear.

“Jessica, this is Peter,” I say, pointing towards the spider, ”Peter, this is Jessica.”

The spider moves one of its legs forward and waves back and forth, causing Jessica’s eyes to widen further.

A moment pauses, only a word, barely audible, escapes from her mouth.

“Why.”

“Various reasons,” I say, walking towards the fog once more, passing the wide-eyed Jessica as her eyes are still focused on the spider on my shoulder.

A moment later, I hear her footsteps behind me.

“That spider-.”

“Peter,” I quickly interrupt.

“... Peter… what is it?” she asks hesitantly from behind.

I shrug my shoulders.

“Not sure. Seems like a very smart spider. First time I ever saw one with fur.”

“Fur, it has fur?” she asks from behind, finally noticing that its body isn't like a normal insect.

“Yes, Peter has fur, which is actually pretty soft. Not sure what he was doing here, but I think he's related to the spider tattoo on my shoulder.”

A loud inhaling breath can be heard behind me. ”I just remembered you had several marks.”

“Marks?” I ask, my eyes still focused forward.

“Marks are placed upon the bodies of people who are the servants of a god.” she explains.

“I have one on my lower neck of a white crow. It is the sign of the goddess Eir.”

Interesting, so each of those balls that I saw flying towards my newly created body is a mark of gods?

“Well, I have a spider and a wolf mark on my shoulders. My bottom back has an intricate picture of a fox. My upper back has some weird circle things and my legs have feathers.” I say.

“Oh, and I have no idea what the gods related to them are. The system doesn't even tell me.” I add.

Silence passes for several moments as she silently thinks, my own mind focused on the spider and the information I had gleaned about it.

What the hell is a [Scion of Anansi]? Anansi sounds like an African god… which it actually could be considering my patron god is probably Loki… and that spider mark on my shoulder might mean I’m also a servant of Anansi… this just gets weirder and weirder.

“The only god mark I am well familiar with is the one with the feathers on your feet. That is quite clearly the mark of the god Hermes. The spider and wolf I have no idea of. The fox seems like it could be related to the goddess Kumiho, but her mark has not been seen for centuries.”

“And the mark on my back?” I ask curiously, considering the sheer size of the thing when compared to the other marks.

“I haven't seen the mark, So I can't tell. You would have to show me.”

I’m sure you would like that, wouldn’t you?

A frown quickly forms on my face.

Way too freaking horny.

“I’ll show you later, we are kinda here,” I say as I stop right in front of what is seems to be a barrier keeping the fog from expanding out.

“Oh no,” she answers back, finally realizing how close we are, ”This is a horrible idea.” she quickly says, her eyes focused on me, pleading for me to change my mind.

Rolling my eyes, I take one look at her, watching her pleading gaze, wanting me to turn back. To do anything but enter.

I move forward, passing the barrier and entering the fog.

For several seconds I stand there, waiting just past the barrier, and nothing seems to happen, except the feeling of powerful energy pushing down on my soul, a feeling akin similar to standing in the realms of the gods.

I take a couple steps back, exiting the fog, smiling at Jessica.

“It’s completely fine, I haven't died yet, let's go.” I reenter the fog, ordering my undead to follow behind.

A second later and she quickly runs next to me, grabbing my robe, fear evident on her face.

Smiling, I walk forward, looking at my surroundings, finding long dead trees, rocks, no plants, and a plethora of skeletons.

Not undead, but just dead, as though they just fell over and died. No marks of getting killed or even eaten. The only things left standing are metals, all of which are rusted beyond recognition. Even my [Advanced Analyze] skill is refusing to activate.

*Thump*

Stopping quickly, my head swerves back, finding Jessica facefirst on the ground. Walking towards her while scanning my surroundings, I bend down and feel her neck, finding a pulse.

This isn't normal, she seems to have just passed out.

Turning my head, I am greeted with the sight of Peter, passed out on my shoulder, strings of web sticking his body to me.

Frowning, I call up the system.

Anima Nebula casts [Soul Sleep]

War of Souls activated.

4000 vs 4143

[Soul Sleep] resisted.

Anima Nebula casts [Soul Sleep]

War of Souls activated.

4000 vs 4143

[Soul Sleep] resisted.

Anima Nebula casts [Soul Sleep]

War of Souls activated.

4000 vs 4143

[Soul Sleep] resisted.

And the same message continues on.

I barely resisted it. No wonder people die from this mist. You need an insane willpower stat to stay awake.

Sighing, I bend down and lift her over my shoulder which isn't holding Peter.

With a firm grip on her ass, I walk deeper into the mist, my soulless undead following behind, unaffected by the mist.

____

Minutes pass by and the number of skeletal bones decreases drastically, the sounds of the massive beasts flying through the fog is becoming significantly louder.

One such beast, swerves downward, allowing me to analyze its shiplike size.

Anima Nebula- Level 200.

Created by the dungeon INAEQUO, these massive beasts fly through the air, negating gravity and constantly spewing a cloud which causes those who inhale to be attacked by [Soul Sleep].

iNAEQUO… that's a weird name for a dungeon, sounds Latin… and those things are extremely high in level. Good thing they aren't aggressive, otherwise I would probably be dead...

Continuing on, I keep walking forward, the fog becoming thicker and thicker, forcing me to only see a couple of feet in any direction.

Several hours later, the fog becomes so thick that my vision becomes blocked.

“I know you can’t hear me Jessica, but thank god you're not heavy,” I say aloud, the weird mental moaning of the beasts starting to finally get to me.

Several more hours later, right before I was about to turn back, I walk through a barrier of fog, instantly clearing my vision, only to be replaced with a system notification.

You have entered the Dungeon iNAEQUO.

As the first group to ever enter this dungeon, you are awarded an increased leveling speed until you choose to leave the dungeon.

You are currently on dungeon Floor 1.