A Rattling Monster

We are in the middle of the day right now. And there is no movement coming from the outside. Except for the reorganization of the troops because of my guerrilla attacks, nothing at all. Since Oslo has no news for me, that means the assassin is still far from me. And my group of three skeletons is following me, doing nothing. I can't let them die right now. The good thing is, every skeleton has a spirit of their own. That means, they can all organize themselves with Oslo for the future operations. But they didn't get anything else besides that. No stronger or thicker bones, no additional strength or agility, just a mind. That's good, I mean, the smarter they are, the closer I am to have some lich or stuff like that. Probably need at least 4 more levels. I quickly calculate the number I would need and that gives a quarter of a million. That's a huge number. But that's logical too. I mean, I can't have instantly something that powerful. For example, even my acid I needed a lot of victims and now, since I am facing magicians, I see that it is not that powerful.

Against melee combatants or even archers, that's incredibly destructive and lethal. But versus mages? I didn't kill anyone in the last 2 hours. Every time my head is visible, there are three fireballs fired at me. Now I am only destroying every grid in the city, that way, I can more successfully ambush them. Because otherwise, I have to melt the grid, that gives them an indication that I will attack. Never good in a sneak attack to have to make some noises before doing it. Currently, one orb is only costing me a little more than 6 MP, which I can regenerate in 6 minutes. I have reached the 1MP regen/minute. Still, have 238 HP and 378 MP.

I can see now the slow in my growth. Only with my plague, I can gain another level. But now, I am fearing that the cure is already out. Sometimes, I spread five [Create Plague] in front of the missing grid. But I didn't receive anything telling me that it worked. Coming here was maybe a mistake. Maybe I should run again. But to go where?

(Not right here. I have something special to tell you. Another living being is inside the labyrinth of the sewers, and you can maybe consider it as both an ally and an enemy.)

Why? And what do you mean, one living being? Who will be stupid enough to go alone near me or the assassin?

(A dwarf, in full armor, blessed by the local priests, and with some strange vials inside his bags and some balls too. But like all the dwarves, he is really slow. And he doesn't look like he knows where the ratmen are. He is just roaming around, ready to battle anything.)

And why is he an ally?

(Because I can monitor him. The ratman following you just have your trail. He can't see anything else, like a dwarf coming his way. So if you manage to make the two encounter, they will fight. And I am not betting on the assassin to remain unscathed. That dwarf has the best equipment I have seen in this world.)

Better than those Krieg men in armor?

(Yes, there is something shining in his armor, his shield and axe. Looks like they have something else than just steel. That's why I say that. And he has different protections given by the priests or the magicians. Your acid will be useless on him; I am not even thinking that it will leave a dent on his helmet.)

So once again, I have to flee against someone stronger than me. When can I finally can face the world?

(Like I said, you only have my help. If you manage to have more power from Aria, you will be a lot stronger. But since she just ignores you, well, not going to happen. And don't even think about asking me to ask her something. The moment she notices that I am still attached at her world, she will try to expulse me. So no godly detection for you anymore.)

Ok, fine. I guess I will just permanently create new skeletons in the meantime. My hope of my two enemies getting injured and that I can execute them both is unlikely. One is a walking fortress apparently and the other is of the same race as me. But between the two, who is stronger? I really want to know. That way, we will have a better idea of the power that the assassin has.

So I try to predict the path of the dwarf and take the same road as him. Of course, it's is Oslo that is doing that. Unfortunately, even when we try to do that multiple time, either the ratman is too slow or fast, or the dwarf is not even walking in the predicted corridor at all. An entire day has passed, the dwarf left the sewers and I have gained another skeleton.

The night passes without an incident, time is a little boring. I can't do anything except keep running and hide my undead servants. When the dwarf finally come back inside my empire, I have a total of six skeletons warriors. The dead bodies of the previous guards are still underground, so I can retrieve everything necessary for the future invocations. I still have at least ten sets of armors and weapons available, I remove some that were too damaged or were found inside the dirty river.

A full day of cat and mouse, with three players this time. Not a single time, they meet each other. The closest was a five minutes' window where both have walked by the same spot. The situation is not improving. The day where a huge army arrives at Ronta is coming. And my gains are not enough. Some skeletons that can talk, three levels gained. And now, I am not even improving at all. No, I need to leave. It is too dangerous to stay more than even a single day here. Oslo, is the entrance of the sewer guarded?

(About that, I think you can forget. Not a very good idea if you ask me.)

So guarded, but that's my escape road, even if it is heavily guarded it can't be that much of a problem.

(Hundred humans, eighty crossbows pointed at the sewers, ten priests and ten magicians. That's the composition of the little army standing there. What did you say about that problem?)

That's a problem. Now I understand why they are confident with just guarding the sewer grids on the streets. Because it is my only real way out. I have more chance of getting out of Ronta by climbing the wall that leaving in the back entrance. But for that, I need to destroy the blockade put in place. And for that, I have an idea. First, Oslo, regroup the skeletons in the North of Ronta.

(Ok, but what do you want to do?)

A little surprise, I just hope that it will work, I have just the number of skeletons to do that. But I need to know if they can speak, I mean really speak, like scream something that is audible for the humans on the surface.

(What, you want to make the forces move to the North while you escape in the East or West?)

No something even better. But first number one.

-Yes, master.

Are you capable of talking not telepathically?

-Yes, master. What do you want me to say?

Great, great. Come first to my position and we will do something. But before doing this, I need to get rid of the dwarf. He is coming toward where the skeletons warriors are located. Guess I will finally need to make an appearance. Oslo, point me toward his location.

(Here we go, with Oslo.)

…

After a moment, I finally meet the dwarf, at a little more than sixty meters of distance. The moment he sees me, he instantly grabs something in his pocket and violently throws it at me. I, of course, run away quickly toward the South, not wanting to know what was that thing. The explosion behind me reveals its content. That was a bomb that he just threw. That was too close. Even if I am really quick, if we really met by accident, that huge explosion will have at least hurt me. But the good news is, he is following me. But now, I make sure that there is at least more than a hundred of meters between him and me. Not going to try to escape another bomb. Of course, the sound of the explosion is huge, I guess the entire city heard it. And the assassin too. I just need to get rid of both of them. And after rush back to the North.

"COME BACK HERE VERMIN! AN IRON BEARD IS STILL LIVING HERE!"

Well, your taunt master dwarf won't provoke me into a duel. I mean, I think no ratman has ever accepted a duel. Do they even know the word duel?