The following morning after waking up from the corrupted state that she had fallen asleep in the night prior. Olivia found herself with a surprising message in front of her eyes, which the system displayed to her.
---
[The Blood Crystal of a Tier I Horde King has been consumed...]
[+1,000 XP]
[Generating New Skill]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the skill Fire Manipulation!]
[Fire Manipulation: Active: Type: Offensive Skill]
[Tier I - Fireball]
[Uncommon Skill]
[Cast Time: Instant]
[Cooldown: 30 seconds]
[Damage: 154]
[Additional Damage: +15 Burning]
[Duration: 5 seconds]
[Description: You have the ability to conjure a fireball and cast it towards a single target. Not only will the fireball inflict damage upon successful landing, but it will also instill a burning affect which shall add an additional amount of damage per each second which it is active.]
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Upon looking at the message, Olivia realized she had gained another useful spell like skill which complimented her mage archetype perfectly. First she could conjure lightning, and now she could conjure fire.
I don't know exactly what is happening in Reno, but lately, as you already know, the undead there have been rapidly increasing in level. By now, if I'm not mistaken, the majority of undead should be Tier II and III, which differ from how the city was just a month ago.
There should also be a vast increase in Tier IV and V undead. Meaning we will have to be much more cautious when dealing with the undead. Especially since at the moment, I have no horde to take their focus off of us.
So, once you have all completed your breakfast, I'd like to stake out on this venture. Are there any objections to this?"
None of the women had anything to say. Instead, they were more interested in what skill Olivia had obtained, and because of this, the topic of conversation shifted to that for the remainder of their meal.
---
While Zane and the others began to lick their wounds and recover from the losses they had sustained in battle during the fight against Elysium for the sake of controlling Lake Tahoe. The Goddess had personally exited the Fields of Elysium for the first time since she established the massive haven.
She had decided to meet with Zane personally, and bear witness to what kind of settlement he had built that was capable of contending with one of her expeditionary forces. While her population consisted of roughly 100,0000 survivors, if not more than that. The mustering of 5,000 awakened soldiers was not an easy feat, even for Elysium.
For her army to have been mostly annihilated in the battle, it was a serious loss. Even if she had an additional 5,000 soldiers capable of fighting on behalf of the cult, she had still suffered losses that were close to 50% of her total force.
Perhaps if she were to rally what remained of her defeated army, and send it back to Tahoe with the rest of her army, she would emerge victorious. But the cost of such a thing would leave Elysium relatively defenseless.
And while the logical outcome was to pursue a peace treaty between both parties. The Goddess was prone to irrationality, judging by what her emotions were at any given moment. At first, she wanted to take such a reckless measure.
But there were outside pressures that controlled her base nature, and because of this, she was begrudgingly forced to accept Zane's call for peaceful negotiations. It was with this in mind that she had personally set forth on this journey to Gravestone to visit Zane, and settle their dispute with some form of settlement that would ultimately appease both parties.
However, upon arriving at the gates of Gravestone, the Goddess was surprised to see that the settlement was pitifully small. Its population was less than 1,000 people, and though all of them appeared to be awakened, the defended regions of the area had not even recovered from the entirety of the ruins which it was built upon.
The goddess stared at the gates of Gravestone with her jaw dropped, all while her servants tried to hail the local sentries. When it was made clear to the Gravestone guards that they had come to negotiate with Zane for peace, as requested. The guards informed the Emissaries of Elysium that Zane had gone out, and would not be back until later hat evening.
Because of this, the Goddess was forced to wait outside the gates of Gravestone until Zane returned. An act which she found to be nothing but insulting. Which she complained about to her shawled handmaiden with nothing short of the utmost fury a woman could manage.
"I can't believe this! He requested a ceasefire, and for negotiations to be had for a peaceful settlement. Yet the man had absconded off to who knows where? Does he not realize who I am? With such a pitiful settlement, I could easily crush him and everything he has built if I were so inclined!
Yet he has the gall to make me wait here for him? As if I'm some kind of common whore? I have half a mind to send this fool to meet his maker!"
Despite the furious tone which the so called Goddess of Elysium spoke with, her aide remained silent, and instead shook her head with a cold gaze in her eyes. This alone had caused the Goddess to calm her wrath, and instead sulk like a child, as she waited for Zane to return.
But it would not be until nightfall that Zane's Humvee pulled up at the gates, where he was surprised to see that Gravestone had visitors.