"W-wait slow down, you said you watched a vision in a secret lair of a god…sacrificing themselves for their Chosen?" Cassi asked, wearing her skepticism on her face as we walked through the yellow-leaved, thin branched forest.
"As much as I want to give him infinite shit, the ole man in the noggin' remembers exactly which grotto he's referencing." Korbin said, placing a consoling hand on Cassi's shoulder like not razzing me was a lost friend.
"Yeah, the weird crystal-projector scanned my face, called m-"
"I know, it's fine." Korbin sharply interrupted, waving me off and speeding up his pace. I turned toward Cassi expecting to exchange a puzzled glance at Korbin's dismissiveness. Instead, she avoided all eye contact entirely.
"…right. Anyway, how long have you guys been linked up out here?" I asked, increasing my own stride and hoping to side-step the awkward silence behind whatever they're hiding.
"Pssh, not that long. Maybe an hour, give or take?" Korbin replied, looking over at Cassi.
"Yeah, though I did spot your fireball several minutes before we cleared out that entire valley." She said with a chuckle.
"I never claimed to be sneaky." Korbin shot back semi-defensively.
"You most definitely have. Like, a lot." I interjected, having heard that exact claim made unsolicitedly countless times over the last 13 years.
"Slander, borderline mutinous accusations!" Korbin replied sarcastically, pointing up to the cloudless skies for emphasis. All three of us shared a few laughs at his antics, giving me an opportunity to check on the event Live feed. Before pulling it up however, I noticed a rather odd system notification.
[Skill Aspect Discovered: Visual]
…huh, that's new.
My eyes scanned higher up on my notifications history, wondering if I'd missed one. Seeing as there were no new skills to be found anywhere recently, the only conclusion that made sense being it's a reference to that weird grey Flow-pathing notification. Still, I've never seen a…hint at a skill before.
"Hey, do either of you know anything about visual skills? I got this weird 'Skill Aspect Discovered' notification after my last fight." I asked, figuring the two of them had a good chance of knowing something I hadn't.
"You mean the one we finished for you?" Korbin jeered with a raised brow.
"No, the one before that." I replied in a dull, annoyed tone.
"Oh, yeah I have a visual skill." Cassi said after a beat.
"Meh, meh meh mehmehmeh meh." Korbin teased, copying Cassi's speech pattern with his annoying 'meh's.
"Did you ever see, like, pieces of the skill before you got it?" I asked, hoping to find some kind of lead to build this oddly helpful Flow-pathing into a full fledged skill from.
"No, not that I can recall. It was more a matter of discovery through disciplined exposure over long periods of time." Cassi quickly replied, her words speeding up with every other one uttered. I looked over and Korbin, who smiled watching me struggle to find any kind of answer in her word soup.
"…I'm not following." I finally replied. Cassi sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as we continued deeper into the forest.
"I thought about it until it made sense, and got the skill as a byproduct." Cassi replied, sounding annoyed at having to rephrase her explanation.
"Oh, duh! I have to meditate on it." I exclaimed, feeling insanely impatient for not even considering giving the skill and my mind the proper time to process everything.
"Can you cut that out man? It can't be good for your skin." Korbin said, tapping my shoulder blade.
"Stop what?" I asked, though my elbow jutting up and down by my turned face answered that plenty.
"Well I can't ask you to stop being an idiot, but if you could chill out on itching your back. The noise is making my spine crawl." Korbin requested, even as I relaxed my apparently sentient arm back at my side.
"Sorry, I didn't even realize I was uh…damn, it's pretty itchy though." I said, rolling my shoulder blades in hopes to rub my skin just enough to let the urge to itch subside.
"I'd say if it acts like any other infection, that typically means you definitely shouldn't scratch it." Cassi sarcastically warned through a half grin.
"Careful, you're starting to sound like our two-for-one faction leader." I replied.
"Did I die? Why are we shitting on me when I'm right here?!" Korbin questioned, pacing ahead spinning around to walk backwards facing the both of us.
"Is that not how you've treated me in 70% of our interactions with strangers since the 7th grade?" I countered, genuinely shocked at his audacity.
"Since 6th, Thomas. That reminds me, hey Cassi you know Tom's mom used to call him 'turtl-'"
"OKAY, officially oversharing my privacy." I hurriedly interjected.
"Yeah, since..the 6th gra-, have you just not been paying attention?" Korbin charismatically asked, cocking his head and arching his brow to put his sarcastic curiosity on full display.
"'Turtle', huh? Is that better or worse than 'Sparky'?" Cassi asked through her devious grin.
"Call me that again and I'll tell Lonni the rats made me do it." I said to Cassi, trying and failing to hold back my grin.
"And why would Lonni in particular be the one you informed?" She slyly asked. Korbin and I exchanged a knowing look before breaking out in laughter.
"W-what?" She asked, smiling while sounding genuinely confused. Korbin and I exchanged a knowing glance.
"Yeah, that was the first hint." Korbin said.
"You definitely don't antagonize his open drooling." I added on.
"I don't know what you two are talking about." Cassi insisted, sounding far less gleeful at the topic.
"O-KAY, fine. His bad." Korbin replied, putting his hands up. I was about to do the same while adding another Lonni joke behind it for comedic effect, when I realized I was itching my back again. This time with much more pressure and vigor behind it, causing the scar to burn and radiate with heat.
*CLANK*
Cassi's hand extended out, snatching Korbin inside his armor. Korbin looked confused for only a second before his back foot sunk under him, revealing the cliff admittedly I wasn't aware of. Cassi yanked him back, allowing Korbin to get his footing.
"Damn, that could've fuckin' sucked. Thanks, Cass." Korbin said.
"Don't mention it…hey, do you two hear that?" She replied, standing still and putting a finger up.
"…urgh…"
"Is that a dying animal?" I asked, listening to the low, distant groaning.
"Could be a turtle." Korbin teased, looking over at me through a sharp grin.
"Literally how?" I questioned, as we stood on the simulation of an alien planet that apparently predates Earth.
"Sh, listen!" Cassi whisper-yelled, pointing back toward the cliff.
"…uugh.."
Walking closer to the edge, it didn't take long to spot where these sounds might've been coming from. Shoulder to shoulder, thousands of bodies clumsily meandered through a seemingly endless valley. Contorted limbs and trampled corpses squelched under the weight of the slow-traveling mob of undead, many lacking huge portions of skin across their body as well.
"Woah, why the fuck are there zombies here?! This is supposed to be a free-for-all." I questioned, feeling a bit peeved my promise at normal fighting was just a lie.
"Shit. Who the hell could put this kind of army together so quickly?" Cassi asked, switching fully into her General tone.
"It couldn't be just one. A full squad couldn't manage to form this volume of drones." Korbin replied with a sigh, reciprocating Cassi's sincerity.
"Okay, I'm clearly missing something here." I interjected, hoping to get caught up to speed sometime soon. Korbin rubbed his forehead before finally delivering on just that.
"Necromancers, Tom. What other class could manage this kind of thing?" Korbin rhetorically asked. My head tilted in confusion at his quick commitment to his 10-second glancing analysis.
"What?! That's an insane amount of bodies for necromancy. Plus, the system's been all kinds of sadistic with its surprises, how can you be so sure?" I asked, glancing between Korbin and Cassi who both refused to take their eyes off the sea of corpses. Korbin finally turns to face me, pointing down at the zombies.
"Those are people. Real people, I recognize a few faces." He said, shaking his head. I glanced over at Cassi who wore a similar disappointed, slouching posture.
"…this is the valley you two came from?" I vocally concluded, now earning a quick confirmingly guilty glance from Cassi.
"Part of it, I think we were a few more kilometers northeast of here when we hit the forest." Korbin answered after a short pause, cupping his hand over his eyebrows to block the sun rays.
"There weren't nearly this many people there either." Cassi quickly added.
"But wait, our corpses disappear here, I've seen it happen plenty by now. How could they possibly raise this many bodies in that time?" I asked, trying to find some sort of clue to where they came from. Korbin and Cassi both sighed, though more one of distress than annoyance.
"…well, if 4 necromancers can raise 4 bodies before they disappear within about a minute or two, that could leave them somewhere between 120 and 240 new corpses per hour, worst case." Korbin said, slowly breaking it down.
"Okay, that's fair and it has been more than a few hours now. But, not nearly long enough for them to make…that." I said, pointing at the endless ocean of undead wandering the valley below. Having been to a few stadiums pre-integration, I could recognize the difference between roughly 1000, and 10,000+ pretty easily. It's estimating past that margin where it gets dicey, discerning between groups of tens and hundreds of thousands of people apart. But this feels obviously too much for 4 people to have scraped together.
"That's my concern as well, it implies someone extremely overqualified is here." Korbin replied, scanning the valley.
"Or that a significant number of necromancers have allied with one another." Cassi added.
"Don't be ridiculous, necromancers are the last class to sustain a temporary alliance. Too feral by nature." Korbin emphatically countered.
"How hard could it be if they're set up this nice? I can't imagine arguing over who's army will fan the leaves or pour the lemonade will end in more than tears." I proposed, in defense of Cassi's theory. Her's made more sense to me, especially since Hayden is friendly enough. Plus, the idea of fighting someone overpowered enough to make the army alone just doesn't sound appealing right now, with how bad my back is itching at least.
"Oh that's right, you guys met one and decided they're the poster child for necromancer preferences and behavior." Korbin argued with a scoff.
"In any case, we need a plan of attack if we want to deal with this problem now before their undead army grows too much larger." Cassi pointed out.
"You're really pushing for that 'Captain Obvious' award this year, huh? I say we scout the exterior drones until we find a gap and…" Korbin began rattling off a long, convoluted scouting plan while Cassi and I shared an annoyed glance. I looked back down, noticing a small strip of dirt left alone at the bottom of the surprisingly shallow cliff. Not to mention the slide-like-slope the cliff side adopts after a few feet, painting Cassi's save earlier far more dramatic than I initially thought.
"…and after we've gathered enough foliage similar to the biome below, we could fashion a camouflage that should keep us incognito from zombies and their masters ali-"
"Nah." I said, taking one step to the side and shoving Korbin over the cliff. Cassi didn't seem to react to the move, indicating she might've considered something similar.
"Mutinyyyyy!" Korbin hollered as he fell below, twisting and landing on his feet with relative ease. I could clearly see him glance around at the slow approaching corpses, shrug, and toss a fireball into a group of 5 undead, dismembering several.
"Better idea, we carve a path through these poor vessels until we find every last necromancer responsible for their forgone exit from here." Cassi said, brandishing her bo staff and getting in a runners stance a few paces from the cliff.
"Finally you're starting to think tactically." I sarcastically replied, barely catching a glimpse of Cassi rolling her eyes before I dashed past her and leapt off the edge. Korbin's fiery attacks quickly diminished the space I'd knocked him into, forcing me to make room with a Lightning Bolt to the top of a zombie's head before stomping down on their shoulders.
*CRUNCH*
The corpse crumbled under my body weight, spewing a dark sludge from their open wounds. Spinning off the squished body, my blades slashed through 4 surrounding zombies' necks. I raised my hand to launch a Lightning Strike through another zombie's metal plated chest, instead having to block my face from the spray of dark sludge as Cassi landed atop the corpse.
"This way!" Cassi called out, popping a zombie's skull with a twisting swing of her bo staff and front kicking another back into a group of undead, knocking them over. Snatching a zombie's chomping skull between my blades' chains, a surge of Lightning mana flash-burned through its rotten skin as I pierced one edge through its spine. Hearing a loud moan behind me, I let go of the zombie and fired out a side kick that pierced through my flanking undead opponent's stomach. Ripping free from the corpses' organs, my boot slammed into another approaching zombie before Ripple Stride carried me through the closing path Cass and Korbin continued to pave.
Leaping over the leg flying off the zombie Korbin slammed to the dirt, Lightning Strike surged my momentum forward piercing my blade through another undead's neck, the wound destroying their throat allowing me to transfer smoothly into a flourish of dismembering slashes to the surrounding group of 5. Ducking under a zombies wild diving grab attempt and rolling them over my shoulder, I stabbed the prone zombie through the eye before sliding around a second chomping corpse and slicing its head off in one spinning slash.
The ground rumbled as Korbin's fireball crashed to the dirt, my twin blades still slicing and stabbing through every ounce of rotten flesh in my vicinity. The itching across my back has quickly evolved to a constant burning that makes ripping through these zombies all the more cathartic. Leaping up and slamming the back of my heel into a zombie's skull ripping off its chin, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a cloaked figure hurriedly shuffling away between the hoard in the distance.
"GOT ONE, That way!!" I excitedly yelled, pointing a blade before activating Tidal Flurry. Water Mana immediately took hold of my momentum, pulling me forward as I furiously cut and slashed my way through zombies two at a time. Cassi's towering figure surfed beside me atop her own watery wave, curving into a large group of undead, spinning her bo staff like a helicopter then bouncing it off their skulls one at a time. Acknowledging her fun, I slipped out of Tidal Flurry to give her space and resumed carving our path ahead. At times it felt like my feet sank into soft sand, while others I felt the district waft of an open fire. Then again, Korbin's fireballs tearing through the clumps of undead at my sides are probably the culprit there. Still, it became increasingly difficult to remind myself why we were here.
"Stamina break, rendezvous at the stone pillar!" Cassi called out from behind. Looking up over the beheaded corpse in front of me, I immediately spotted the towering stone pillar in question and angled my violent progress accordingly. It didn't take long for me to reach the large rock, turning back to find my friends relatively hot on my tail.
"Up, climb!" Korbin ordered, pointing up. Angling my forearm, the end of my grapple hook whizzed through the sky before latching onto an edge along the pillar's stone face. Leaping and yanking hard, I swung up and dug my boots and hilts in standing up against the wall, my grapple hook slowly retracted as I walked up the side. The pillar shook violently as Korbin slowly caught up, slamming his orange fists into the pillar as he climbed up. Seeing as though I couldn't reach the top of the pillar, I decided to skip worrying about Korbin knocking my hook loose and sprinted up the line. Pulling on the line and leaping past the hook, its prongs pulled free as I reached up and snagged the edge with one hand.
"Shit!" I said, feeling my grip rapidly slipping. Kicking off the rocks, I managed to snatch the edge with my second hand before pulling myself up atop the pillar. Korbin was the first to meet me atop the surprisingly spacious platform, followed swiftly by Cassi.
"Took you long enough." I teased, checking a watch I don't own. Korbin's eyelids fell nearly shut as he walked by, shoving me casually off the side. Not totally shocked at his aggressive response, my grappling hook fired up latching onto the edge. With one long swing and a Lightning Strike, I managed to land back on top of the pillar staring Korbin directly in the eye.
"Hey there bud, what kept you?" Korbin sarcastically asked.
"Wanted to get some fresh air. Hey, why are we stopping anyways? I'm personally still okay on mana." I said, wondering if we would've caught that necromancer by now.
"I don't know, ask the boss-lady." Korbin replied, sounding annoyed.
"This is as good a place as any to get a feel for how long this goes. Plus, I get to show you that visual skill." Cassi said, sitting down on the flat stone and closing her eyes. Almost immediately, a small translucent orb shot out from her head, hovering high in the sky. "
"Woah, what is that?" I asked, looking down at Cassi whose eyes were now rolled in the back of her head.
"My Spectral Eye, it's a skill that lets me extend my spirit into another vessel, and scout the surrounding region." Cassi's body replied, though her answer implied that her spirit was currently hovering over our heads.
"That's honestly so friggin' cool. Why have you never used this?" I questioned, glaring up at the rippling clear orb of energy.
"I have, several times now actually. Last time you were busy working with Phanthu's simulation." Cassi's body replied matter of factly.
"Hey, WE won, remember?" I shot back defensively.
"Mhm, and you got a personal prize at a private meeting with who afterward?" Cassi countered with a sly grin. The memory of Phanthu's true godly form sent a shiver down my back, earning a chuckle from Korbin.
"At any rate, you two should rest while I scout ahead. Shouldn't take me long to find the necromancer you saw if they're here." Cassi added, her eyes still completely whited over.
"You two are the ones who n-…actually yeah, I could probably use a good meditation." I said, realizing I had the golden opportunity to explore whatever skill hint I unlocked. Korbin let out a long exhale before laying down on his back, locking his hands on his chest.
"You do that, sparky. You two just let me know when we get back to a good time." Korbin said with a big yawn and settled into a nap. Unwilling to argue over the nickname after that near miss with 'turtle', I immediately plopped down next to Cassi and began swaying side to side. I felt a smile crease my lips as the sound of waves crashing along my internal place of peace's beach slowly filled my ears. That, and the quietly confronting skitters of some old friends.