Chapter 28: How Much Are You Paying?

Naomi had no idea her kin already knew she was working with an undead. Right now, she was sticking close behind Ambrose, terrified he might leave her behind at any moment.

Until today, Naomi had essentially grown up sheltered. She'd heard that the world was dangerous, sure, but she'd never seen it firsthand. Not until the hag appeared—only then did she understand the true nature of the world. And meeting Ambrose was the second great turning point in her life.

She'd heard of legends before.

Allegedly, a druid who reached that level could turn an entire city into a forest in a matter of minutes. A legendary druid's nature magic was as devastating as a natural disaster.

But that was all hearsay. She'd never witnessed it herself.

Now, Ambrose was showing her what it really meant to be a legend.

Dozens of small, misshapen skeletons moved in perfect formation under his command, like a disciplined army. They advanced relentlessly through the sewers, tearing through anything that crossed their path: slimes, fishmen, mutated crocodiles, and the like.

Whatever the creature, it was shredded to bits within moments.

The released souls became part of Ambrose's spell, feeding power into his growing army. He'd buffed his undead with spells like Bear's Strength and Cat's Grace, doubling, even tripling, their combat power. The leftover bones of slain monsters reshaped themselves into new malformed skeletons, swelling his ranks even further.

Naomi stared, dumbstruck. Even Alkhemia's city guard wouldn't stand a chance against this skeletal horde.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Ambrose's magical energy seemed inexhaustible. If this lich ever turned on her, Naomi guessed he could wipe out the entire Goldenvine circle before sunset.

Was this the power of a legendary lich?

Ambrose effortlessly directed his skeletal legion to sweep through the sewers like a black tide.

These were easy fights. Those sewer beasts had no magic to speak of, and raw muscle was useless against a sea of bones, especially when those bones had been modified for close combat several times over.

Each little skeleton looked roughly like Zha'kix Type I, with three legs and a crude set of claws. It was simple but brutally efficient.

No fancy techniques were necessary. They just charged forward and ripped apart anything before them. It wasn't as if Ambrose was trying to make skeleton monks.

Thanks to Raul's field testing, he'd been able to make a few optimizations. This batch, he supposed, was Zha'kix Type II.

With his magic running full throttle, Ambrose advanced swiftly through the sewers, his army swelling behind him until Naomi could no longer see where it ended. Then, all at once, he stopped.

"What's the matter?" Naomi asked, puzzled.

"Found it," said Ambrose calmly, pointing ahead.

Naomi squinted into the dark but saw nothing but pitch-black tunnel.

Ambrose didn't bother explaining. He simply sent his skeleton army charging forward.

Moments later came a chorus of shrill squeaks: rats. The skeletons had met the hag's swarm, and the battle began in earnest.

But within half a minute, the squeaks fell silent. Only the steady clack-clack of bony feet remained.

Clearly, the rat horde had been completely annihilated.

Ambrose's expression didn't change. He guided his troops forward again, until a distant, guttural shriek tore through the tunnels, a sound like a dying crow crossed with an owl's cry.

"That's the hag?" Naomi asked.

Ambrose nodded. "That's her. Looks like her little army's all gone."

"Huh... but why didn't she drag your skeletons into her illusion? Wouldn't that give her the advantage?" Naomi asked, genuinely confused.

Ambrose turned to her with a sigh. "You really don't know even the basics, do you? Right, you druids don't ever invest in intelligence. You cast by intuition, by 'borrowing nature's power.'"

Though druids were spellcasters like magicians, the nature of their spells was completely different.

"Fine, lesson time," Ambrose said, twirling his staff lazily. "Every self-powered caster needs to worry about energy expenditure. A large-scale illusion drains you constantly. You've got to keep manipulating your targets' senses every second they're trapped inside, right?"

Naomi nodded slowly. "That... makes sense."

"Exactly. An illusion is a clash between souls. Maintaining one consumes mental energy. That hag's already trapping a whole group of druids inside her illusion. She's stretched thin just keeping them bound. If my entire skeleton army charged in, do you think she could confuse hundreds of souls at once? Skeletons have souls too, you know. Her brain would pop like a melon, and her illusion would collapse instantly."

Naomi's eyes widened as she finally understood.

The hag couldn't influence that many minds at once, so she'd sent her rats to fight instead. Unfortunately, the rats hadn't even lasted half a minute.

Naomi flushed with excitement and shouted, "Elder Jones! I'm here to save you!"

Ambrose glanced askance at her. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that the illusion persisted, that no sound could get in.

Close enough, anyway. No point dragging this out.

He'd exaggerated the hag's strength earlier. He'd told Naomi she was unbeatable except by a legend, but that was just to scare the newbie druid a little. In truth, for a lich of his level, a hag was an easy foe that a snap of his fingers could take care of.

Ambrose's focus pierced straight through the flimsy illusion barrier and locked onto the hag's soul. One good blast of Ray of Frost and she'd be reduced to a popsicle.

Just as he lifted his staff, the hag shrieked, "Wait! We can talk this out! If I've trespassed on your domain, I'll leave at once! We're both creatures of darkness. Why fight? Surely we can negotiate!"

Her voice was sharp and shrill, making Naomi's ears ache. She turned to Ambrose, wide-eyed with worry.

Would he... actually listen to her? If Ambrose decided to switch sides, Naomi knew she wouldn't stand a chance, even with Sylvanas's blessing.

She swallowed hard.

Taking a deep breath, she muttered to herself, "No way. He's calm, rational, and even polite. He wouldn't betray me over a hag's words... right?"

Ambrose, without missing a beat, asked flatly, "How much are you paying?"

Naomi: (°ー°〃)

...Perhaps it was time for her to start running.