Avyck3721
patreon
Ch 56
🕑 Added 2025-03-12 00:47:53 +0000 UTCPlowing through the crowd I join the rest of Faction LM and take my spot in a support role. Elise already has things well in hand before I even arrive.
At level 15 she chose the exact same barrier spell I use. It doesn’t quite meet the same standards and she can’t cover quite so many at once but it’s a great boost to our defense.
Combine that with my new aura ability and our defense is set up very nicely.
Offensively I’m also quite pleased. Especially with Ben’s new additions.
The wolves move strategically—darting in and out of the front lines, hamstringing targets, weaving back to safety. They are not racking up high kills but the contribution will still net them experience based on how the system recognizes kills.
Playing support I scan the battlefield searching for opportunities to contribute. Nick Is standing nearby launching shot after shot into the enemy ranks.
I still haven’t asked him where all his arrows come from. I make a mental note to ask later, for now I just admire his handy work. Each shot claims at least one zombie, sometimes even several as he uses a skill that pierces through several bodies at a time.
Collateral damage. Nice.
Most of our army is arrayed in somewhat of a tight oval supporting each other.
That is, most everyone is.
Alex stands several feet out from the rest swinging his spirit weapon claymore in wide swaths. His golden yellow blade hewing down enemy after enemy bodies pile in heaps around him but he keeps moving.
Throughout his slaughter he occasionally shouts out for Mischief to watch him work.
Whether or not Mischief cares or even hears is another story. But that doesn’t stop Alex anyway.
Even with their level advantage, the zombies are clearly a poor match for our group.
They have no armor. No weapons. No coordination. On top of all of that they seem to have seriously unbalanced stats leaning heavily to strength.
Their advantage lies in numbers—but numbers aren’t enough. They lack speed or reach.
Ellisons assessment that these monsters would lack a cohesive strategy proved prophetic. But not absolute. After pounding ineffectively against our outer defense the zombies adjusted their strategy.
Unfortunately for the zombies it was right back to one that they had already tried.
This time though since they are not hidden behind the ridge I’m able to get a view of the skill in action.
I watch as hundreds of zombies begin picking up rocks, most likely the rocks they had already thrown from the quarry. Arms bend backward at unnatural angles, stretching like catapults.
Then—they launch.
Softball-sized stones hurtle toward us, faster than an arrow.
This could’ve been a problem. But even though my dome doesn’t prevent the zombies from closing in and attacking close quarters it does wonders against their rock projectiles.
The rocks slam into the translucent dome, bouncing off harmlessly—some even hitting other zombies.
This fight is ours. Still, it’s not without cost.
A Guildian reaches to loot a corpse. A hand shoots up, grabbing his wrist.
The zombie’s mouth stretches unnaturally wide. A single chomp through Elise’s barrier, skin and bone alike.
His arm is gone.
I react instantly, healing him before he bleeds out. Through his screams his arm slowly magically begins to reform.
We adjust. From that point on, I’m the one to cast a barrier every time someone loots.
The battle drags, but we hold strong. There are no more real surprises. As things wind down I entertain myself by watching Durkil.
He swings zombies like weapons, I smile in pride. A page out of my own book. He makes it look a lot better than when I was swinging child sized chaos spawn. But nothing beats an original I console myself.
There is one more standout that catches my attention. Daevon’s lightning arcs through the horde. Scorching and maiming anything it touches.
Our own resident Sith lord.
And with every kill, we grow stronger.
This was a good start. No, this was a fantastic start.
We were fortunate to match up so well against this horde. It was basically an XP farm.
Again…this fight. Higher level monsters basically tailored fit to help our faction gain strength.
If the enemies were faster, more agile it would’ve posed a HUGE problem especially with their numbers…
Why did this same thought keep bothering me? Shouldn’t I be grateful?
For now I would be. Levels were enough.
-
It takes hours, but eventually, the wave slows.
What’s left is a few hundred stragglers—tired, predictable, easy. We cut them down with minimal effort.
And then—silence.
A sea of corpses stretches around us, unmoving.
To my relief, not a single casualty. There were injuries—some serious—but between Elise and me, we had everyone patched up before we even leave the anomaly.
Before heading out, we loot the bodies.
Since we’d been collecting throughout the fight, it doesn’t take long. Each zombie drops two or three UBCs, along with "Zombie Flesh"—an alchemy ingredient, according to the system.
This is the first time in a long time I’d seen a drop from looting besides weapons, armor or UBC’s. But then again this wasn’t a faction, it was something else. Mana spawns technically?
There’s no perfect way to divide everything fairly, so we settle for a free-for-all. It gets the job done faster.
Then, the system notification appears.
Congratulations on completing the anomaly challenge.
Rewards calculated based on contribution.
Calculation complete.
Rewards: 200 UBCs, Unholy Minor Shard.
I frown.
A shard? Another first. We already have literal piles of Chaos shards, it’s a letdown—it won’t work on my spirit equipment. Still, Jessica might find a use for it.
And 200 UBCs? Not exactly impressive.
Then again, I didn’t do much in this challenge—a little healing, a few buffs. No complaints.
Ellison has been checking in with his fighters, gauging our overall progress. I turn to him.
"So? How did we fare?"
He nods, satisfied. "Every single fighter gained at least two levels. Most gained three. Some of our elites—Durkil, Nick, Alex, and Daevon—all hit or passed Level 20."
I raise a brow. "Durkil?"
That does surprise me. The man fought half the battle with his bare hands, using zombies as weapons.
I can’t even imagine what he’ll be capable of with an actual, proper weapon.
Still, I shake my head. "It’s progress, but it’s not enough. This challenge was a gift. We bumped our average fighters to Level 17 or 18, and our elites are pulling ahead… but we need more. Before time runs out, I want at least 20 or 30 evolved classes."
I know firsthand—that’s a tall order.
The higher you level, the slower it gets.
But the flip side? Stronger levels mean harder challenges. Harder challenges mean better growth.
Ellison considers my words, then nods. "We’ll do our best. Let’s leave this challenge and move to the next closest."
I agree.
We step through the portal—ready for more.
