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Chapter 4: Are You Dead?
Nocturne in B-flat Minor's Iron Wall Battle Hymn helped us navigate the gravest crisis, enhancing our defenses just as our armor began to corrode. Under the hymn's influence, our health regeneration slightly outpaced its depletion, establishing a favorable equilibrium that transformed what had been an excruciating battle into a manageable one.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the orc warlock Ding Ding Xiao Ge remained in an awkward state of irrelevance.
As we knew, a warlock’s servitor wasn’t a living entity but rather a magical projection of powerful extraplanar beings within our realm. It could be temporarily destroyed but not truly killed. Once Ding Ding Xiao Ge’s summoning spell cooldown ended, he immediately summoned the Ice Witch again. She supported us from behind with her "Ice Spear," remotely targeting and eliminating skeleton monsters.
Though potent, the "Ice Spear" fired slowly and didn't provide much assistance.
Beyond their servitors' inherent spells, warlocks themselves, as casters, possessed unique magical attacks. These adventurers, who brokered deals with formidable extraplanar rulers, seemed particularly fond of darkness. Their signature trick was unleashing shadowy projectiles to deal massive damage—a spell called "Shadow Bolt," both powerful and stealthy, difficult to defend against.
Throughout the fight, Ding Ding Xiao Ge continuously chanted spells, striving to gather shadowy magical energy in his hands, and then...
...crushed them in his palm.
Yes, he kept attempting to cast "Shadow Bolt," yet never managed to release one.
"Stop standing there like a fool! Attack already!" Seeing his bewildered expression, Millionfold, exasperated, shouted at the orc warlock, "Your witch is more useful than you!"
After crushing two more shadow magic orbs, Ding Ding Xiao Ge's dreamlike, drawn-out voice finally reached us:
"...I don’t want to either... My delay... is terrible... The skeletons I aimed for... have already been... killed by you... I have no... targets..."
"Then switch to another skill! Stop messing around! Do something!" Millionfold roared, eyes red, looking as if he wanted to swallow Ding Ding Xiao Ge whole, spit him out, and repeat the process. I guessed this because taurens had four stomachs and, like their unintelligent distant relatives, had a habit of regurgitating food.
Millionfold’s yelling reminded Ding Ding Xiao Ge. After his characteristic hesitation, he ceased his futile attempts at casting Shadow Bolt and instead began murmuring another unfamiliar incantation. Due to his peculiar "delay" magic, his voice dragged on comically, distorted. Clearly, this was a longer, more complex spell. Though I couldn’t understand the arcane language summoning extraplanar forces, it sounded sinister and evil—certainly not benign.
When he concluded the spell with a sheep-like "baa baa," a slowly swirling pale green mist descended upon us, enveloping our surroundings. Then, pointing his right hand above our heads—this gesture evidently finalized the spell—but such "post-action pre-effect" magic was nothing new to him.
If Nocturne's battle hymn marked the turning point, Ding Ding Xiao Ge's spell decisively influenced the battle.
The spell, named "Cloud of Decay," diminished the vitality and defenses of affected enemies during its duration. Though a simple, low-level spell, its impact on the skeleton monsters wasn’t negligible. When our battle teetered on a knife-edge, it became the straw that broke the camel's back.
The tactile sensation of slicing through bones softened immediately. The monsters’ hard skeletal shells seemed to lose calcium rapidly, afflicted with a severe case of "osteomalacia." As my "Swordtooth Shredder" gnawed through the now brittle bones, I could almost hear the sword's unsatisfied hiss: against these pitiful foes, this sharp weapon lost its edge, reduced to mere crude tools of slaughter.
The beauty of "Cloud of Decay" was its area effect, impacting every enemy within range, not just a single target. This mitigated Ding Ding Xiao Ge’s "delay" issues significantly.
This was remarkable: a simple, low-tier spell exponentially amplified our slight advantage, granting us absolute control despite outnumbered odds. Before our weapons and magic, the ferocious skeleton monsters crumbled like dilapidated walls, their broken bones clattering to the ground, only to be mercilessly crushed underfoot.
Combat was the adventurer's nature, a fervent passion coursing through their veins from the very source of life. Regardless of their strength, I believed that any peril could be overcome by these brave and clever individuals. As long as they fought, miraculous things would happen—there was no such thing as an inevitable defeat.
If this battle proved anything "inevitable," it was this: five people were always stronger than four!
With this successful experience, subsequent tasks became simpler. After a brief rest, we lured the remaining skeleton groups in batches, eliminating them one by one in the narrow walkway using the same tactics. For a while, Nocturne in B-flat Minor's battle hymn, "Eighteen Touches," soared majestically and solemnly above the cavern, occasionally accompanied by the elven druid maiden’s heartfelt praise:
"Can’t you change the tune?"
...
Before long, we eradicated all the aggressive skeleton monsters in the cavern, clearing the enemies around Robert Wilanster's lost hammer, paving the way for our orc warlock to retrieve the quest item.
Ding Ding Xiao Ge finally stood safely before the glowing red hammer. As he bent to pick it up, he suddenly froze without warning, as if time itself had stopped. I instinctively checked my palm to confirm it wasn’t some powerful "time stop" magic.
"Surely not, stuck here again?" Millionfold nearly despaired, moaning melodramatically. He rushed to Ding Ding Xiao Ge, anxiously pinching his cheek, "Brother, we risked our lives, took a long detour, slaughtered countless skeletons, turned this place upside down—all to help you complete your quest. We’re so close to finishing, you can’t disconnect now... All our efforts will be wasted... Wake up... wake up..."
Seeing no response, Millionfold urgently called out while lightly slapping the orc warlock’s face, trying to rouse him from unconsciousness.
The tauren’s method proved effective. Just as he was getting into it, a flash of red light blinded us momentarily. The hammer vanished from sight, and Ding Ding Xiao Ge’s right hand belatedly swept through the now-empty space.
"Stop... stop hitting me... I’m... not offline... but my face... is about to... swell..." Ding Ding Xiao Ge's voice suddenly came.
Millionfold paused, then apologized profusely, "Ah, sorry, sorry, I thought you’d dropped... acted on impulse..."
"Next time... if I lag... and someone hits my... face... I’ll... fight to the death..." Ding Ding Xiao Ge’s cheeks flushed, perhaps from anger or the slaps, his tone strangely cadenced, attempting to express fury but sounding resigned and gentle due to his slow rhythm.
...
After Ding Ding Xiao Ge successfully retrieved his quest item, we simultaneously turned our gaze to the last remaining skeleton in the cavern—the "Undead Robert Wilanster," quietly standing at a cave entrance.
If these soulless, death-denying decaying beings possessed any personality, this robust, short-statured skeleton might be a proud and reserved one. Throughout, he hadn’t joined our battle, even ignoring nearby skirmishes, merely watching—if he still had eyes—as we dismantled and shattered his companions.
During combat, once I accidentally neared him while fighting another skeleton. Prepared for his attack, I found he completely ignored me. He appeared different—not just in his stout build but in his eyes.
Like other monstrous skeletons, his eye sockets were empty voids. Yet, his darkness seemed profoundly deep, hinting at something magical and indescribable—a kind of...
...emotion?
Can you imagine? Just a skeleton. Yes, perhaps he moved, perhaps he wasn’t quite... skeletal, for some unknown reason. Yet, I saw emotions that should belong only to the living in his hollow eye sockets.
Complex emotions: pity, sorrow, self-reproach, regret... myriad painful feelings converged in that black emptiness. Absurd as it seemed, I believed I truly saw it.
"Looks like there’s another quest here," Nocturne in B-flat Minor pointed at the undead casually, "Who wants to talk to him?"
"I won’t, too scary..." Fairy Dropped Face First shrank behind Millionfold, half-peeking curiously toward "Undead Robert Wilanster."
"Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you!" Millionfold declared gallantly, standing in front. However, beyond protecting Fairy Dropped Face First, his resolve to "stand here" was evident. His trembling voice hinted at why he didn’t approach the skeleton.
"Fine, I’ll go," I said. As a warrior clad in heavy armor, I could withstand sudden changes better than a gnome bard with low defense.
Approaching the small skeleton, I felt oddly awkward—having just battled such hideous creatures fiercely, now facing him directly left me unsure what to say.
"Uh... um... Sir, are... you dead?" Asking a hollow skeleton "Have you eaten?" felt stupid, but my question seemed even dumber.
Originally, the four behind me stood ready with weapons, but hearing my query, they snickered softly.
Damn it, if you know better, why push me forward?
While I grumbled inwardly, the skeleton emitted a few soft clicks, turning his neck toward me:
"You’ve finally come, warriors from above. I’ve waited for you; thank heavens, the supreme deity heard my prayers..."
He spoke? He really spoke?
His voice was eerie and flat, each syllable monotone, devoid of conversational inflection. This icy, mechanical sound chilled me. I didn’t know how he produced it—it clearly didn’t come from his decayed vocal apparatus but seemed to emanate internally—though, in his current state, "internally" was debatable.
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