Revenge of the Sorcerer King 3 - 24

Not sure what happened but here is the missing chapter.

Chapter 24

Alessa

I took a deep breath. The plains around the mountains between Kalia and Wenid were almost actively resisting the undead miasma around us. When I looked at the undead, there were a some that were obviously displeased by the fresh air washing off the mountain face. It went to show that undead were truly unnatural in this world, even if they were created by Siateth.

“I hate mountains,” Helena commented from next to me in the carriage.

“Why?” Maya asked with wide eyes.

Oberon chuckled and held up a finger like a teacher. “Because they are natural barriers of earth magic. Very resistant to death and unholy magic since the goddess Gaia doesn’t bless people but rather her mountains.”

“Should we be going through them?”

He waved the question away. “Its not like they will attack us. It will just be uncomfortable for a while.”

“Okay!” she exclaimed then when back to watching the landscape slid by.

I narrowed my eyes at the child. It was weird when she actually acted her age and tended to throw me off balance. I was doing my best to be agreeable with her since Oberon had one made a pact, and two needed her for finding Mercy inside the dungeon, but it was hard. As sad as it was, part of me felt she was a bigger monster than I.

“Do you think the Wandering City will back down without a fight?” Helena asked and I turned to Oberon.

“Hard to say. Some might believe holding the dungeon might be the only way to fight us in the long run. Dungeons are prime locations for training heroes quickly.”

“How many dungeons are there?” I asked looking to Helena for the answer.

“Known, twelve. Hidden, I’m sure that number is closer to twenty.”

“Why would you hide a dungeon?” I asked then the answer came to me. “Resources.”

“Exactly. Not many nations feel like sharing in recent times. There is always the chance of war.”

“It almost sad to see how little people change,” Oberon said with a sigh.

“What can you do?” Helena asked with a shrug. “There is always someone that wants what others have. Just look at Lucifer.”

Oberon ground his teeth. “Don’t remind me. I can’t wait to shove my foot so far up his ass, it comes out his throat.”

Helena snorted in humor. “Lucifer is probably the most powerful being in the world. I would level up some more.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“Talk like this makes me wonder when rather than if we’re going to Hell and Heaven,” I commented shaking my head. The conversations these two have would get most people thrown in a cell for lunatics.

“She’s starting to get it!” Oberon laughed patting my head. I scoffed at him for treating me like a child, but other than Maya, Helena and Oberon had several hundred years on me. Even if Oberon was dead for most of it.

I turned to look out the window at the mountains that we were coming up on. The Ketheria mountains were large enough that they had clouds blocking the view of their peaks. Green covered their foothills like a skirt, until you got to a large stretch of grey stone. Snow and ice covered the top making it look inhospitable for anything that wasn’t high level.

I once heard that a few dragons lived among the crags, but I wasn’t sure if they were true dragons or wyverns. Dragons were likely going to be the least of our problems as there were plenty of other monsters that called the mountains home. Trolls, for instance, but those were supposably rare.

“I wonder if the orcs will cause us problems,” Helena commented.

“Orcs?” I asked turning from the view. I knew the name, but had never actually seen one. They weren’t common in the west after all. From my I learned, they were prominent to the east and in Aitos.

“Picture a goblin only a lot taller with enough muscle to crush a watermelon. They possess high levels of Wrath and once they join a battle, usually don’t stop until they or their enemy is dead. A few clans call the mountains home,” she explained.

“Sounds lovely,” I said with a frown.

Oberon glanced out the window to the mountains in the distance. “I suppose it depends on how trade in the area works. I’m sure they must have a deal worked out with the Kalia and Wenid lordships. Of course, they might chicken out seeing such a large host of undead.”

Helena sighed and crossed her arms. “If only it went like that. Someone might tell them that Oberon the World’s Curse is down here, and they’ll come to issue you a challenge.”

“That would be quite the sight,” I said with a laugh. I pictured a large line burly men challenging Oberon one after another. Knowing Oberon, he could either accept them all honorably, or wipe them out with a wave of his hand. It really did depend on his mood.

“Keep laughing,” Oberon threatened with a low laugh of his own.

Oberon

The natural barrier of the mountains was tedious and annoying to deal with as an undead. While I barely noticed it, the undead under my command sent me their discomfort almost unintentionally. We were still almost three days out from the true base of the mountains, it would only get worse as we got closer. I put it to one side of my mind and completely ignored it after that. They only suffered some weakening, but nothing too dangerous to our forces.

Staring at the mountains was arousing a strong sense of nostalgia. I had crossed these mountains several times during my previous life. It was remarkable that over a thousand years later, they remained almost unchanged. Maybe a bit taller, but for something the size of a mountain, height got to the point of being relative.

Shaking the thoughts away, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my status. There was a decision that I had been mulling over since the capital battle. It was which upgrade to choose next. I was leaning toward Body since last time had gave me a sort of parched zombie appearance. While I was never one to be vain, it would be nice if it returned my body to something a bit more… more. Not to mention, it would increase my strength while diving the dungeon. Plus, I might be able to enjoy some nightly company if my body was restored further.

That said, mind and soul both had their advantages. Mind strengthened my memories while increasing my magical capabilities. Soul would be useful for more advanced magics. Especially if I was dealing with gods or angels. They had a nasty tendency to strike at such things.

In the end, durability while in the dungeon won out and I decided to go with Body. I could feel my body changing as I meditated. I had been wondering if I could influence this step at all and was giving it a go now that I had a chance. Since I could only do this every forty levels, it wasn’t something that I could test out easily.

I could feel my body filling out as muscle and flesh, however dead, formed over my bones. The parched skin that was like paper before tightened and smoothed over taking a smooth sheen. My hair grew into soon reaching the between my shoulders and looking like a black night. I was glad that I was able to influence the transformation toward my younger years.

Opening my eyes, I took in my new form with my actual sight rather than my perception. It felt like I had my youth back. Clenching my fist, I grinned to myself. This was amazing. Forming a mirror from magic, I saw that my face had regained its handsome form. It might be a bit better than it was in my previous life. So, just a bit vain. I checked my status to make sure the transformation was complete.

Name: Oberon Dark Phoenix

Age: N/A

Race: World Lich

Level: 179

[Necromancy Basic Magic Mastery: Expert] [Basic Magic Mastery] [Sword Mastery] [Rune Mastery: Partial Lock 17%] [Advanced Magic Mastery: Partial Lock 17%] [Contract Magic Mastery] [Space Magic Mastery] [State Craft: Master] [Tactics: Master] [Aura of Fear: Master] [Aura of Awe: Master] [Cartography: Expert] [Scroll Crafting: Master] …

Followers: 114,452

Sin: Error! World’s Curse! EXP gain reduced by 66.6%!

Curses: World’s Curse, Ancestral Curse, Undeath, Yuin’s Resentment

Boons: Forgotten Knowledge, Master of the Unimaginable

Enhancement: [Body + 2] [Mind + 1] [Soul + 1]

I leaned back and laughed heartily and found that even my voice had been restored completely. The others in the carriage looked at me in surprise and then gapped as they took in my new form. I rubbed my chin with a grin. “Impressed?”

“Well… At least now you’re not that hard to look at,” Helena said pulling her fan out and covering her mouth.

“Master looks even cooler now! What’d you do?” Maya exclaimed looking me over.

“Just a bit of magic,” I replied rubbing her head and messing up her hair.

“Were you really that handsome before?” Alessa asked the least affected of the three.

“Probably,” I retorted dismissing the mirror magic. “Even if I wasn’t, I’m allowed to take advantage of my situation.”

“True,” Alessa nodded understandingly.

~~

There wasn’t much to do while we traveled toward the mountains. Thankfully, our stop at the capital had given me quite a lot of new reading material. Looting the mages tower and what remained of the palace had been an excellent idea. It was giving me a much better image of the state of the world.

As I had gathered, the mana density was truly greater than a thousand years ago. However, at the same time the purity was worse. The mages and other societies have no idea of the cause other than some guesses. The one that I felt was likely the truth was that while A.I.G.O. and the system that were in place, the fundamental properties of magic never changed.

Magic, or more accurately mana was thought to have a sort of mind behind it. With people lacking in their true understand of magic, they were no longer communicating with it and were rather just using it. The mana thus has begun to lose its connection to the peoples in the world.

According to the notes, none of the gods were able to tell them anything either. It looked like the mages and sorcerers were the worst off. Monsters were able still able to use mana on an instinct level and the change would affect them the least. It might take a few more thousand years, but I could see the day that the mortals were replaced by the monsters.

“It is truly ironic,” I mumbled closing the book with a snap.

“What is?” Maya asked popping her head up. I thought she had been asleep.

“That in trying to save the people of the world, a former hero might have caused them all to head toward extinction.”

“What is extinction?”

“The death of an entire species.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” she asked with a completely serious face. “They deserve to all die!”

“Maybe, but it has also affected my strength as well.” Even at level 179, my mana pool was still only a fraction of what it was before my death. Not only that, but my magic was limited by my level as well. I had found work arounds, but it was still annoying having to spend large amounts of mana on otherwise simple spells. Not that Heaven’s Fall was a cheap spell.

To add to that, while not nearly as big, level did play into physical powers as well. A level 500 would be a lot more durable than a level 200. Not to mention, faster and stronger. Training helped but leveling up served as a sort of short cut. More like cheat if I was honest.

“Can master fix it?” Maya asked tilting her head. For once she actually had the air of a child. It almost threw me off.

“Fix it?” I repeated tapping my chin. I had never thought about fixing the World Shift that the former hero caused. It would serve to balance the playing field with Lucifer if level no longer had meaning in the world.

I would have to find a source. I knew where a few of them were, but after a thousand years, they might have dried up or moved. They were natural phenomenon at the end of the day. Then I would need to get three gods to collaborate. While I wasn’t sure about Siateth, I felt he was just as annoyed by the system as I was. There was a good chance that he might be willing to help. Then there was Avenim. That was probably a fifty-fifty chance.

“I don’t know. Maybe,” I replied finally. I patted her head then leaned back and pulled another book from my pocket dimension. It pertained to the dragons. I was curious to see if they were still the strongest beings in the world or if that title had been taken by some other creature.

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