The Adventures of the Mask Maker

Reunion of Husband and Wife

Chidna was in her room in the Tavern recuperating on the bed. She looked at the large black egg wrapped in many blankets that nestled next to her. She could feel it...the child would hatch soon. Suddenly, Chidna coiled up - her senses alert. There was a familiar feeling...a sensation she had missed for so many years. She turned her head trying to sense where that familiar aura was. Upon finding it, she grabbed her egg and slithered out of the room. She slid down the stairs and out of the Tavern. An airship had just arrived from the horizon and was about to land. Chidna slithered closer as the ship landed...this feeling...could it be Gen?

As she looked on with hopeful eyes, a group of figures approached the rails of the ship and a ramp extended out from the ship to the ground below. As the group descend, Chidna could make out the people who had saved her as well as the mask user...Khaos...who promised her that he will save her husband. They're back from the rescue mission...could it be? As she looked on, Khaos approached her.

"W-Were you successful? D-Did you rescue him?" Chidna asked as she brought the egg in her hands close to her chest with anticipation.

Khaos looked at her and nodded, a smile plastered on his face. Chidna cried with joy as she heard his confirmation. She followed Khaos's finger towards the back of their group. Shouldered by two adventurers was a man of haggard appearance. It was her husband - Gen! At this point, Gen had seen Chidna as well. They looked at each other hesitantly, years of separation had made their reunion...awkward. Gen abruptly broke out of his trance as tears rolled down his eyes. He looked at the naga before him, a word escaping his lips.

"Chidna...."

Upon hearing her name, tears welled up in Chidna's eyes as she rushed into him. Gen slowly and weakly lifted his arms and embraced her...feeling her warmth. As he confirmed that she was real, Gen cried as well.

"Chidna...my beloved wife! I thought you were dead! How...how is this possible?" Gen asked as he looked at his wife lovingly.

"I was able to access some of your memories and through that, I was able to find out that your wife and child were alive." Khaos explained.

"Child?" Gen looked up in surprised and finally saw the large black egg in Chidna's arms. "Is this...mine?"

"Yes!" Chidna smiled. "This is our baby."

"M-My baby!" Gen smiled as he thought about being a father.

As the two looked at their baby egg, it suddenly trembled. Chidna squinted in surprise and exclaimed that the egg was about to hatch. Khaos told everyone to step back and give the future parents some room. After all, they need to be the first ones the baby sees after hatching in order for imprinting to be a success. Everyone stepped back but they all strained their necks to see the newborn baby.

*CRACK!* *CRACK!* *CRACK!*

A large piece of the egg broke away and a head poked out...it looked like a dragon's head?! As more and more pieces of the egg fell, the baby scrambled out with all of its strength. After acknowledging Gen and Chidna as its parents, the proud father and mother brought the baby over for everyone else to see. And what a sight it was!

The baby had a normal turtle shell with small spikes but its neck and tail were incredibly long. The baby had a dragon-like head with whiskers and horns. Its four leg were long and sturdy as well. What kind of hybrid creature was this? Khaos looked at Gen and Chidna expectantly, his eyes hinting his curiosity. Gen chuckled as he saw that everyone else were wondering the same thing. He told everyone that the baby was a rare hybrid called the Dragon Turtle.

"Have you decided on the little guy's name? Wait! Is the baby a guy or a girl?" Shadow asked.

"Ah...look at our excitement here. We nearly forgot to check the gender. Hold up a bit." Chidna replied embarrassingly as she checked the baby.

Suddenly, Chidna cried out in alarm. "The baby! There's no reproductive organs!"

"What?" Gen exclaimed in disbelief as he reached over and checked as well. "I-It's true! What happened?"

"I think I may know what the cause of this unfortunate occurrence is. It's probably due to this...." Khaos replied as he proceeded to explain about the baby's condition during Chidna's coma and how there may have been some side-effects from the environment. "...but don't worry, I'm sure someone in the Adventurer's Guild could have a solution to this problem."

"No! No need...although this can be considered as a setback, but Dragon Turtles were considered the strongest as asexuals. Maybe once the child had reached a certain power level, then the child can use its own power and choose what gender it wants to be. It's for the best. I don't want my baby to become a boy only to find out its behavior is that of a female and vice versa." Chidna rejected as she explained her reason.

"Okay. So what will you be naming the child?"

"We have decided this long ago. No matter if the child was a boy or a girl, we would name him or her Genna."

"Genna? Good name."

"Thanks."

"Well, you it's getting late, you guys should get something to eat. Come, I'll show you around." Khaos replied as he led the family of three to the Tavern.

"Okay! Nothing to see here, everyone go back to your business and your quests. We will also need to prepare for the final battle soon." Shadow replied as he motioned the crowd to disperse.

 

Whittling Morian's Treants

Hearing that Morian has awaken and that the adventurers were laying siege on his territory, I quickly headed towards the guild to check out the raid details. After confirming a few things, I left the guild and summoned Blackie and Agaricus. Once they arrived, I told them to go to the Rainforest Vale and kill a number of Treants and Ancient Treants. I specifically tasked Blackie to aim at their bodies and Agaricus to collect their leaves, prioritizing the leaves of the Ancient Treants. I plan to forge a few masks using those leaves. I also cautioned to Agaricus to look for a black Ancient Treant. If he can find one, I want him to not only take the Ancient Treant's leaves but also the seed that it will definitely drop. After issuing my tasks, the two supporters of mine immediately took off. As they headed for battle, I rushed towards the Tavern where Gen, Genna, and Chidna were staying. I need to heal Gen as well as explain to him what we want him to do for us. While I was explaining to Gen, Blackie and Agaricus had arrived at the scene. Immediately, they started attacking all kinds of Treants and Ancient Treants, burning them to smithereens and collecting their leaves.

After explaining what Gen needed to do in our siege against Morian, he agreed despite the worry Chidna had initially displayed. However, after some promises, we were able to persuade her to agree as well. I left the family of three to recuperate while I headed towards the battlefield. Riding a dragon made from Dragon Essence, I quickly arrive at the location. A little bit in the distance, I saw Blackie and Agaricus raining terror and fire on the enemies below. As I near my two supporters, I saw that they were fighting with a coal-colored Ancient Treant. Perfect! As Agaricus plucked the leaves from the Ancient Treant, Blackie attacked it with fire blasts. Seeing the coal-colored monster persisting, I rushed towards the monster and punched a ten-ton punch. With a thundering boom, my fist exploded into the tree monster, puncturing it. While my hand was still within the Ancient Treant, I enveloped some simple Fire Essence around my fist which lit the Ancient Treant on fire from the inside.

The Ancient Treant screeched in pain before collapsing. While it burned, I caught a glimpse of a golden pearl-like substance that fell from within the dead monster. Quickly, I picked the object up and examined it. Yes! This was what I was looking for...this was the Seed of Flora - a seed with unimaginable power if consumed. However, that was only one of its properties. The other one...the lesser known property...was that this seed could be planted and give birth to a Treant King. Pocketing the seed into my storage bag, I whistled for Blackie to land. With a leap, I hopped on Blackie's back with Agaricus and we flew towards Camp E behind Jungle Lord's Abode. Time to weaken this Immortal Monster and prepare it for the final kill.

 

New Subordinate

After the adventurers defeated Morian and Gen was chosen as the new guardian of the Rainforest Vale, the adventurers decided to head back to the guild to rest and celebrate. However, while the last remnants of the fighting force withdrew from the battleground, I quietly made my way towards the site where Morian had been killed. The scene of the death was still fresh as I could feel the death essence lingering in the air. Nevertheless, I was not worried as my goal was not affected. I closed my eyes and felt around for my Makers Essence. Now, in the past few quests and skirmishes with Morian, I had injected or mixed some of my undetectable Makers Essence with Morian's Essence. This was not only to spy on Morian, but also for something else...something more important...gathering rich Morian's essence upon Morian's death.

After a few seconds, I felt a sliver of my Makers Essence and followed after it. Upon arriving at a clearing, I found a large amount my Makers Essence all gathering in a pit. Entrapped within the layer of Makers Essence was over 80% of Morian's Essence. Nice! I jumped into the pit and started meditating. In a flash, I quickly absorbed the rich essence that used to be Morian's. With this boost in essence, my stats increased dramatically. However, something happened at the later stages of my meditation. A sharp, numbing pain coursed through my body. I roared with pain but no one could hear me. My body started transforming...transforming until I became a large turtle - about the size of a mountain. I had basically become a mini-Morian! Dammit! Is this permanent? I calmed my nerves and continued to meditate. Maybe, I will revert back once I absorbed all of Morian's Essence.

But...after many hours of absorbing, I did not completely revert back to my original form. My body had shrunk and become more humanoid, but I looked more like a turtle beastman than a human. What do I do now? As I pondered about my predicament, I recalled something from the past when I was sifting through information I had gathered from Morian with my Makers Essence. Morian...had a clone body! And a weak one at that! Morian had recently - in the past thirty years - created a clone body in case his main body had died like what had happened now. Maybe Morian's clone body could figure out what was wrong with me and how to cure me. Anyways, no one noticed the clone body because it was located somewhere else. In fact, the clone body is actually in Oakenlake Kingdom!

I rushed towards Oakenlake Kingdom. Thankfully, though the kingdom had seen a lot of fighting and damage, it was still standing. I slipped in while the elves were busy reconstructing and headed towards the Mother Tree. Now here's the twist...did anyone remember that elf that was turned into a tree? The second prince - Morgal Oakenlake? Notice how his name was Morgal and not a name that began with Th- like Thrion and Thorhil? Instead, the name Morgal had Mor- like with MOR-ian? That's right! Morgal was...is the recently created clone body of Morian! Now, the main issue comes...how do I get Morgal to revert back to his original form? Well, that's impossible, but I have another way.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a treant leaf. I folded the leaf using a special method I chanced upon in the past and made a horn. This was the one-use, mini-version of the Treant's Horn. I lifted the small horn to my lips and aimed at the tree. With a breath, I blew the horn causing a leafy rasp to emit. This sound traveled to the tree and caused it to shake. With a deep sigh, the tree came to life and uprooted itself from the grounds. The tree of Morgal had became a treant! However, the effect of the Treant's Horn only lasts for an hour. I looked at the confused Morgal and described his situation to him. Then, I gave him two options - tell me how to revert back and become my subordinate or revert back to a tree in an hour's time. Obviously, Morgal did not want to become a tree again and so, he complied with the first option.

Turned out, I only needed to wait a few more hours before my transformation becomes complete and I revert back to my original form. I smiled with satisfaction at the answer Morgal gave me. I reached into my bag and pulled out all 121 Five-Colored Leaves I was rewarded for my participation in the raid against Morian and fashionably created a mask. This binding mask will not only keep Morgal in a tree-like humanoid form, but also have him submit to me for eternity. After reverting back and acquiring a new subordinate, I headed back to the guild to look for some quests.

 

War of the Avians - Plead for Help

It has been a few months since I last visited the North Mountains. I wondered for a bit on whether or not the war between the Firebirds, the Wyverns, and the Rocs had reached a turning point or not. Last I ventured into the battleground, I found that there was a falling out between the Wyverns and the Rocs. Not to mention, the Firebirds were at an advantage. Since there were no news of the war-bent beasts, I assumed that they have reached a standstill. Either that or the Firebirds were defeated. Nevertheless, this is worth checking out in order to determine and locate any possible future threats. I strode out the tavern after a hearty breakfast and looked towards the sky. With a sharp whistle, I called for my companion - Blackie, making sure to notify him to bring Agaricus along. I have some need for the slime...excuse me...polyp's abilities.

Seconds later, a black fiery dot appeared in the sky. With my Eye of Odin, I could clearly see that it was Blackie. As the dot grew bigger, I took a step back to give Blackie some room to land. After another second or two, the black Firebird variant landed gracefully...a black slimy head popped up from behind Blackie.

"We're here. What will we be doing today?" Agaricus spoke as the telepathic words entered my head.

"We'll be checking out on the war in the North Mountains." I replied, noting the aggressive annoyance Blackie showed for a brief moment. "Don't worry Blackie, soon, we'll end those monsters that have ruined your childhood. I promise you that."

The black Firebird bowed his head and chirped his thanks. After I checked my bag one last time to make sure I have all my supplies, I hopped on Blackie's back and we flew towards the North Mountains. As we took our time leisurely flying towards our destination, I observed the grounds below for any signs of suspicion. None...so far. Once we were only a few hundred meters away from the location, I caught sight of the extreme wear and battle-torn landscapes. The war had taken a large toll on the environment and needed to be put to a stop once and for all or else all of North Mountains and the surrounding regions could face certain destruction!

Upon seeing the North Mountains, I urged Blackie to descend. I didn't want to be spotted and get mistaken for an enemy by the paranoid and war-torn combatants. Once we landed near the foot of the North Mountains, I looked at the scenery behind me. I recalled last time that there were massive armies camped in the North Mountains and in the borders of the Great Plains. But, now, not a single soul in sight. Could the Rocs and the Wyverns advanced? Could they have pushed the Firebirds into the North Mountains? I strained my ears to listen for any sounds of battle...after a minute or two, I could hear some slight screeches. With my multilingual abilities, I was able to discern the screeches to be war cries of the various participants of the war.

"The fight is up ahead. Blackie, go scout the situation. Remember to fly low and avoid detection until I arrive." I whispered to the black Firebird. I turned towards Agaricus and replied, "You follow me. Stay behind me and don't attack unless I say so."

The two supporters of mine nodded their heads in agreement. Blackie leapt into the air and took off deep within the mountains while Agaricus and I ventured forth along the stony paths. Along the way, we caught sight of bodies strewn everywhere and a thick death lingered in the air. Blood and burnt smells cringed my nose as I looked around. To many, the bodies on the ground may look like rotting, polluting corpses. But to me, they were treasured materials ripe for the picking. I nodded towards Agaricus who immediately understood. He slithered towards the corpses and rifled through the parts, sifting the good materials from the waste.

While Agaricus was busy collecting materials, I surveyed our surroundings in case there were any stragglers. Suddenly, I noticed a slight stir from the corner of my eyes. I hurried over to the movement and removed some of the debris to reveal a Wyvern, its wings torn and a its stomach ripped open with guts spilling out. Even with its wound that can prove to be fatal for any human, the Wyvern was still filled with vitality. However, the Wyvern peered at me with frightened eyes. It was terrified of my presence as it could not defend itself if I was to attack it.

I placed my palm on the Wyvern and calmed it down as I spoke to it in the Language of the Dragons. "Calm down. I will not harm you. Can you tell me the situation here? What happened to the war? Where's the Wyvern Lord?"

"You can speak the Dragon Tongue? No...you even know of our Wyvern Lord! Y-You must be the Mask Maker."

"I am he. How did you know that?"

"The Wyvern Lord spoke of you. Please...you must help our Wyvern Clan...please!"

"Calm down. Speak. Tell me what exactly happened."

 

War of the Avians - Demon Bone Wyvern

"Those damned Rocs!" The Wyvern coughed as it spat out a curse, "They had withdrawn from the war. Sure we didn't care if they withdraw or not, but not only did they withdraw, they had also notified the Firebirds of our battle plans. Those wretched chickens!"

"What happened next? What of your clan?"

"When the Firebirds attacked...they took us by surprise. Tens of our brethren fell before we could retaliate. However, our blessed Wyvern Lord still managed to drive back the enemies. All the able-bodied Wyverns followed the Wyvern Lord and chased after the fleeing Firebirds. That was two days ago."

"And you don't know what has happened now?"

"You are very wise. That is correct. I fear for my lord and my fellow clansmen. Please...I heard you are an adventurer...please accept my request. Help save my clan."

The Wyvern coughed a few times and stared fervently at me. I looked into his eyes and replied, "I do not do things for free. What will you give me for my help?"

"I thought so...c-can I trust you to complete the request?"

"You can."

"Then, I offer myself."

"Yourself?"

"I am not stupid. I know that I have a few more days to live. Even if I survive, without my wings, I am nothing. Kill me and use my body as materials. That is you payment."

"Courageous!" I exclaimed when I heard the Wyvern speak its reason. "May I know your name?"

"I am Sulnu - daughter of Krosgund son of Erzegac."

"Sulnu...I, Khaos, disciple of Zero will uphold your request and accept the payment."

Sulnu smiled at my answer before her eyes waver and subsequently dim. Sulnu had finally let go as her soul departed from the world. I placed my hand over Sulnu's eyes and closed them. Then, with a wave of my hand, I reached out...and grab a hold of Sulnu's spirit. This move of mine surprised the ghostly figure. She looked at me with fear and respect. She did not expect that I had such a formidable ability. What surprised her even more was what I had said next.

"I can give you another life. Do you want to take it?"

"You...how is this possible? H-How can I hear you? How can I u-understand you?" Sulnu whispered, her eyes widened with shock.

"I am multilingual...that means I can speak the Language of the Dead as well. So, my offer still stands. What will you do?"

"I...my past life is done and I have no regrets. If you offer me a chance for another life, then I will gladly accept. I, Sulnu, daughter of Kros-...no...that was the past me. I, Sulnu, will serve you for the rest of my life. You have my word."

"Good." I smiled as I waved my hand once more and swiped Sulnu's soul into my storage ring.

Then, I turned my gaze to the dead Wyvern corpse and told Agaricus to disassemble it. After Agaricus completed the job, I tasked him to bring out all of the bones he had acquired so far today. Soon, a small mountain consisting of Roc, Wyvern, and Firebird bones appeared. I rummaged through the bones and began selecting. Now some may wonder what I am doing. Well, being an Undead, I have acquired some interesting abilities that I have not shown so far in my days as an adventurer. I felt that today was the day to display my hidden cards. After a good amount of time, I finished selecting the materials for my spell. Taking the bones, I rearranged them until I made a skeletal abomination. The skeleton before me had a Wyvern's head, four Roc wings, a Roc's front legs, a Wyvern's hind legs, a Firebird's body, and a Wyvern's tail. With that done, I reached into my storage ring and brought out Sulnu. Carefully, I held the soul in my hand while I activated my Maker's Domain.

Immediately, a giant black dome expanded from within me and enveloped me as well as a five meter radius of my surroundings. Within the domain, the ghostly essence of Sulnu's soul flowed like oil. I rolled up my sleeves and began kneading the spirit essence while chanting incantations of Mask Making magic. After a shape of a mask was completed, I added a few drops of my Maker's Essence-filled blood onto the mask, changing the color to red. Chanting some more incantations of binding and strengthening, the reddish color diminished and the mask changed back to its original transparency. I placed the binding mask on the skull of the skeleton. However, before I released my hand, I started chanting another set of incantations. This was a set of magic chants that was discovered by me when I was searching the ruins of a well-known necromancer who tried to create life from the bodies of different dead dogs. Anyways, the contents of this set of chants was to give the creature I making certain capabilities. The only downside is that what those capabilities were, I have no clue. The chants allow the creature to acquire three distinct abilities randomly from a list of one hundred possibilities.

Soon after, I finished my incantations and a glow surrounded the skeleton. I stood up and backed away, giving the process some room to develop. Shortly, the glow intensified and I covered my eyes to avoid the flash. When the light diminished, I looked and saw the creature stand before me, looking at me with a curious expression...that is, if it had a face.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"A-A little weird...like I don't fit...." Sulnu murmured hesitantly.

"That's normal. After all, this isn't your original body. But, don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"If you say so."

"By the way, can you see your status?

"Yea...."

"Tell me what they are."

"Okay." Sulnu said before describing her stats to me.

After listening to her descriptions, I made a mental note on the summary of her status.

Name: Sulnu
Race: Demon Bone Wyvern/Undead
Affinities: Affinities change depending on bone type - currently Darkness, Unholy, Death, Fire, Wind, and Earth
Skills: Incorporate, Death Wave, Demonic Possession, Fireball, Wind Blast, Earth Pound

When I asked what each of her skills represent, Sulnu told me that Death Wave was basically unleashing a wave of pure Death Essence causing wither damage and slowly killing everything the wave hits. The wave travels a distance of 20 meters before dissipating. Incorporate allows her to take certain bones of enemies she had killed and use them as her own, taking in any skills of the enemies. The skills taken were limited to one per bone. The three spells - Fireball, Wind Blast, and Earth Pound - were results of the three different types of bones her body was made from. Finally, Demonic Possession allowed her to demonize and possess a certain number of creatures as her subordinates.

I was satisfied with her skills and decided to bring her along as we venture deeper into the mountains.

 

War of the Avians - Kill

About an hour later, we arrived at a cave in the middle of a mountain. We could see fire spewing out everywhere and hear sounds of fierce battle and screams of pain. Sulnu felt calm despite having previous close ties with the Wyvern Clan. When I asked her about it, she said that although the Wyverns were family once...they were now strangers. She explained how the apathetic feelings she have now may be partially due to the way she was created. She told me not to worry about it much since she did not.

I nodded in understanding as I turned my head towards the battle in the distance. I mentally sent a transmission towards Blackie, notifying him that we have arrived. After a few seconds, the black Firebird variant arrived and landed in front of us. He glanced at Sulnu as I introduced her to him. Knowing that the Demon Bone Wyvern is our ally from now on, he nodded his head and turned his attention to me.

"What of the situation?" I asked Blackie.

Blackie looked at me and sent a thought transmission, "There were deaths everywhere. The Wyverns have lost many of their warriors including their Wyvern Lord. The Firebirds have cornered the Wyverns in a ravine, toying with them and preventing them from flying out."

"How many Firebirds are there?"

"105 of them."

"Hmmm...did they notice you? Were you followed?"

"Obviously not."

"That's good."

"So, what will our plan be?" Agaricus interjected. Our minds were telepathically linked since we were in a party, so everything that Blackie had said was automatically transmitted to everyone else.

I looked up at the morning sky and pondered a bit. "Let's make haste. We need to take this time when the Firebirds were distracted and ambush them."

"Okay." Everyone agreed.

I looked towards the mountains and with a powerful leap, I landed halfway up the nearest mountain in front of me. Not turning around to wait for the others, I continued climbing the mountain. Upon arriving at the peak, I looked down and saw the Firebirds in the distance. I counted the number of enemies and found that there were 103 Firebirds. Strange...why was there two missing? Suddenly, a sharp squawk sounded as two Firebirds appeared from my blind spot and dove towards me. The noise alerted the other Firebirds as ten of them split from the main group and headed in my direction as well.

"Get ready for battle!" I humphed as I took out my skinning knife and lunged towards the nearest Firebird. I raised my left hand and aimed my open palm at the Firebird. "Freeze!"

The Firebird froze as thick ice enveloped the bird. However, due to its affinity to fire, the ice quickly melted. Nevertheless, that short period of time was all I needed. With a thrust, I stabbed my knife into the heart of the defenseless beast, ending its life instantly. As the Firebird fell, I did not look towards the second Firebird as it furiously pierced towards me. Just when the Firebird reached a foot away, it stopped abruptly. Its eyes widened with shock. It winced in discomfort and felt something was missing. The Firebird slowly looked down and saw a huge hole in its breast. A weird, black fluid protruded from the opening. This...what is this?

It was Agaricus. The polyp had used its skill, Devour, and consumed a part of the Firebird. As Agaricus's eyes met the Firebird's, he gave an eerie grin and dove into the opening. The Firebird squirmed as it could feel the polyp course through its veins, pain increasing exponentially and a numbing sensation erupted in its body. Suddenly, the Firebird let out a loud squeal of wretched pain...and then silence. The ten Firebirds that just arrived as reinforcements had witnessed the polyp's attack. They had heard the painful squeal of their comrade. Just as they could not stand the silence any longer and daringly approach the frozen-state Firebird, the flaming monster exploded. As guts and gore rained down on the surrounding area, Agaricus emerged from the torn corpse belching and patting his stomach. He had "devoured" all the nutrition and good things in the Firebird before "expelling" himself outwards.

The Firebirds hung there in silence, a hint of fear slowly crept up from behind them and placed a firm hold on their hearts. However, that fear lasted for only a moment as the Firebirds remembered who they were and the honor and bravery they displayed throughout their lives as warriors. With a sharp cry, the ten Firebirds charged towards the black polyp, talons and beaks out ready to pierce and tear.

 

War of the Avians - Annihilated

But they did not get the chance to strike. Suddenly, a sharp forceful wind pushed at them and caused them to steer off balance. They crashed into each other trying to regain their stability and tumbled to the ground. What was that? The Firebirds looked around in confusion, wondering where the wind came from. Was there a Roc nearby? Their sights finally landed on Sulnu after a few dazed glances. Was this skeletal monstrosity the cause?

"Who are you?" One of the Firebirds screeched angrily at Sulnu.

"Die!" Sulnu roared as she jumped towards the Firebirds and landed heavily in the center of the group.

The ground shook fiercely as cracks formed beneath Sulnu's feet. The Firebirds collapsed as their legs gave way. This! This was the Wyverns' special skill - Earth Pound! How did this monster learn such a move? But, before the Firebirds could think anymore, Sulnu lunged forward with her mouth open wide and she bit into one of the Firebirds. Even though, the Firebird in question had its body enshrouded with flames, the fire did not harm Sulnu. Sulnu clamped her mouth, refusing to let go of the Firebird and before the other Firebirds could do anything, she took to the skies. The other Firebirds flew after her screaming for her to let go of their cousin. Suddenly, a black streak flew past them. They veered their bodies and avoided the black streak. What was that? Before they could react, two Firebirds screamed in pain and plummeted down to the ground. What happened? The rest of the Firebirds looked at their fallen brethren and found that they were on fire...not with their own fire...but with a black fire. The black fire enveloped the two Firebirds, consuming their fire and continued to burn the two bodies to dust.

"Who did this?!" One of the seven remaining Firebirds roared as they scanned their surroundings.

"I think I know who did this!" Another Firebird exclaimed, "You remember that Firebird from back then? The black one."

"You mean...him?! Isn't he de-!"

Before the Firebird could finish, blood spewed out of its mouth as a claw pierced through its body. The other Firebirds gasped with shock as they saw Blackie perched on top of the Firebird, a menacing killing intent flooded the area. The other Firebirds shuddered as they froze in their spots, their bodies refused to move. Blackie surveyed the six Firebirds and with a glint in his eyes, Blackie disappeared in a black blur. Six whooshes...and six heads rolled to the ground. With a flare, all six bodies erupted in black flames, burning the bodies quickly and completely. All this occurred in a matter of minutes.

The different ways these twelve Firebirds died did not escape the notice of the remaining 93 Firebirds. Quickly, the leader of the Firebirds nodded towards the group and immediately, 50 of them turned and rushed towards us. Immediately, I sent Sulnu a command. I told her to use her skill - Death Wave. Sulnu understood and took a few steps forward to meet the charge. With a loud roar, a deathly aura emitted from her body and swept over the fifty Firebirds. Although the skill was new and did not have enough killing strength, the withering power did slow down and even cripple some of the enemies. Nevertheless, all fifty Firebirds collapsed to the ground, Death Essence lingering on their bodies.

Without giving them time to recover, I sped forward and soared to the skies. Using an advanced form of Essence Manipulation, I pulled the fifty Firebirds together by pulling their essence together. Then, I raised my hand and called forth my Flames of Wrath. With a menacing smirk, I threw the fireball into the pile of Firebirds. Screams of pain and death erupted as the Firebirds tried to put out the undying Flames of Wrath. But, the Flames of Wrath could never be put out until the substances they are burning had been reduced to nothingness. I watched as the Flames of Wrath made quick work with the Firebirds, leaving behind nothing...not even ash.

 

War of the Avians - Face

The remaining Firebirds gaped in surprise and fear. Fifty Firebirds...dead...just like that. Seeing that they could not take the aggressive route, the leader of the Firebird decided to see if there was any way to offer a peaceful negotiation. The leader still hold some charisma power over his subordinates and when he flew towards me, his warriors looked on expectantly.

"This one is Pyre son of Ferno. We must have some misunderstanding and I represent my army and apologize to you for any inconveniences you have met thus far. We are currently at war with the Wyverns and it's nearing the end. May I ask you to give me some face and allow us to finish this war?" The Firebird leader greeted.

"You want me to give you face?" I slowly asked.

"Yes, please accept my reque-!" Pyre attempted to reply but suddenly, he felt a searing pain on his face. A thick liquid-like substance flowed down his face, wetting it. Pyre gingerly touched his face and winced at the pain. He looked at his fingers and saw...blood? Pyre gasped in shock and looked at the person in front of him. The Firebird leader couldn't help but notice the thing in the human's hand. It...it was....

"Sorry." I replied as I looked at the thing in my hand, "I only take faces."

"Kuuaaahhhh!!" Pyre screamed as he finally realized what was in my hand...it was his face. Pyre reached up and tried to cover his face but the pain stopped him. "YOU! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU, YOU MOTHERFU-!"

But that was all the Firebird could say before I beheaded him. I didn't really mind cursing...but if curses were directed at me, I tend to get...edgy. I looked at the remaining 42 Firebirds and flicked my wrist, signaling my supporters to destroy them.

 

War of the Avians - Ending the Battle

Without a word, Sulnu dashed forward and sent out another Death Wave towards the remaining Firebirds. Most of them were hit by the deadly wave of Death Essence, but some were lucky enough to react and ascend. However, they did not fly far when their bodies erupted in black flames as a black blur sped through their midst. The unlucky ones who were hit by the Death Wave fell to the ground below where they were met with a dark blob. The blob suddenly expanded and a suction force pulled their weak bodies towards the blob. This was a special skill of Agaricus called Devour. It allowed the young polyp to absorb everything and anything like a black hole. In just a matter of seconds, the remaining 42 Firebirds met their end.

Silence echoed the mountains. The Wyverns, having heard the commotion of the fight, cautiously peeked from the ravine they were trapped in. They looked with horror at the gore staining the mountains and confusion at how there were no corpses in sight. A brave Wyvern flew out of the ravine and landed a few meters away from me. The Wyvern looked at me curiously before turning its gaze on my companions. When it saw Blackie, it yelped in surprise and hopped back.

"Relax. He...We are not your enemies." I replied in the Language of the Dragons.

"I recognize you. You are the Mask Maker. Why have you come?" The Wyvern stated after swallowing his fear.

"I was requested by Sulnu to aid the Wyvern Clan in the war. I have completed the task."

"Sulnu? You know my daughter?! Where is she? Is she okay?" The Wyvern asked breathlessly.

"You are Krosgund son of Erzegac?"

"I am. Please tell me, what of my daughter?"

"I'm sorry. Your daughter has died like a warrior." I replied as I stole a glance at Sulnu who was standing behind me, impassively.

"T-That!" Krosgund stammered as tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away before gazing towards me, "She was indeed a good warrior. I am proud of her."

"Well. I have completed this task. I heard the Wyvern Lord was killed in battle. Who will be the one to take his place?"

"That will be me. I am the nephew of the Wyvern Lord." Krosgund replied after sighing once more.

"Well then, Wyvern Lord...if you need anything. You know where to find me."

"Yes. Thank you for your help. Though this battle is over, the war with the Firebirds is not. Once we regroup, we will strike at the Firebirds at their main base. As we have lost many of our finest warriors, we are a bit shorthanded. I was wondering if we could request aid from the adventurers?

"Um...I know I will help out as there is some hate between my friend and the Patriarch of the Firebirds. As for my fellow adventurers...I'll need to discuss it with the guildmaster. If I receive a confirmation, how will I contact you?"

Krosgund pondered for a bit before plucking off a scale from his body. He gave the scale to me and said, "I am giving you permission to use my scale, dipped with my essence, to make a mask. I'm sure with your capabilities, you will be able to make a mask that can communicate with me."

"You're right." I chuckled as I received the scale and stored it in my bag. "Well, take care. I'll be going."

"Thank you savior for helping us." Krosgund bowed as I climbed on Blackie and flew away with Sulnu and Agaricus close behind.

 

Siege Preparations: The List of Items

After ending the war between the Firebirds and Wyverns, I headed back to the guild to prepare for the next stage. As soon as I returned, I notified the guildmaster of the situation. However, because of our recent battle against the immortal - Morian, the guild was also short on able adventurers. It seems I will have to do this on my own. Thus, I decided to prepare. I needed my own army. It was time to call everybody...my supporters...and my allies.

Everyone! Listen up! I exclaimed as I sent a mental transmission to all of my supporters. It is time for battle. Everyone prepare and meet me outside the Tavern.

With that said, I decided to prepare some things as well. First, I went to the Tavern and bought a number of alcohol bottles. Then, I went into my room and decided to grab a few items from my bag. I need to make a few weapons, pills, and other things. Hmm...what kind of things should I make? Ah! Don't I still have a King Beetle mount? Such a low-leveled monster...it's definitely time for him to get an upgrade. In fact...maybe I should give a few of my weaker subordinates upgrades as well. Since there will be a lot of things to take out of my storage bag, I decided to activate my Maker's Domain. Once the domain was set, I began rummaging through my bag and pulling out a ton of things. Those things were:

1. x4 vials of paralyzing poison
2. x9 medicinal herbs
3. x4 antidote herbs
4. x3 vials of antidote
5. x2 kilograms of Demon Metal
6. x29 poor quality weapons
7. x3 Rhino horns
8. x3 Cyclops eyes
9. x5 tons of Rhino meat
10. x1 barrel of Rhino blood
11. x3 Yeti skeletons
12. x1 ton of Yeti meat
13. x1 barrel of Giant Bear blood
14. x1 ton of Giant Bear meat
15. x3 tons of monster meat
16. x1 Queen Beetle corpse
17. x1 King Beetle egg
18. x5 Ent twigs
19. x207 Wyvern corpses
20. x202 Firebird corpses
21. x78 Earth Guardian Dragon corpses
22. x51 Poison Guardian Dragon corpses
23. x92 Plant Guardian Dragon corpses
24. x1 Dual-type Earth and Poison Guardian Dragon corpse
25. x1 Sea Serpent bone
26. some sheets of Arachne silk
27. x1 large boulder of Living Stone from Crooked Mountain
28. x18 Vampire fangs
29. x1 Black Vampire metal knife
30. x1 skeleton from Dead Man's Rest
31. x1 Cloud Giant heart
32. x5 kilograms of Iridium
33. x5 kilograms of Orichalcum
34. x5 jars of Morian's Essence
35. x4 Morian's Essence potions
36. x1 jar of Poison Maggot slime
37. x1 jar of Frost Essence
38. x1 Frost Giant corpse
39. x19 good quality weapons
40. x6 Fire Giant corpses
41. x1 Refined Eternal Ice
42. x5 Werewolf corpses
43. x1 Fire Sword
44. x101 Roc corpses
45. x1 Lesser Kraken
46. x1 Lamia corpse
47. x10 giraffe-wolf hybrid Ash Beast corpses
48. x5 Sea Serpent corpses
49. x1 Living Golem core
50. x1 bottle of Lightning Wisp
51. x200 jars of Poison Essence
52. x200 jars of Plant Essence
53. x200 jars of Earth Essence
54. x1 young Desert Worm corpse
55. x1 Seed of Flora
56. x1 scale of Krosgund
57. Dislocation Technique
58. Thousand Poison Art
59. Earth Meld Escape Technique

 

Siege Preparations: The Blood Pill

That was a lot of items to take out. Initially, I wanted to take out the necessary items to make the things. However, when I looked at the surplus of corpses and whole skeletons, I decided to make a small army. This will take a lot of time...but yet again, time is irrelevant in the Maker's Domain. And so, I organized all the materials in place and began working. First, I'll make a number of concentrated blood pills. No...scratch that, I'll make one super concentrated blood pill. I glanced at the amount of blood I have and made a mental note.

Hmm...I have Rhino and Giant Bear...I could use the blood from the fresh, well-preserved corpses...nah. I got other uses for them, let's just use Rhino and Giant Bear.

After I gave it some thought, I decided to use the barrels of Rhino and Giant Bear blood. Since the blood isn't from monsters, there were no toxins in the blood. I extracted the blood from the barrels and compressed the fluid before me. While I condensed the ball of blood, I chanted incantations of blessings and buffs in order to further enhance the qualities the blood will provide when consumed. What was a giant ball of red slowly darkened as it condensed into a black pellet. I took this black pellet and appraised it. Nice! This blood pill can increase the consumer's strength, endurance, and stamina by at least a level. Not much use for me but for one of my weaker subordinates, it would be extremely helpful. So, I put the pill to the side and mused over the rest of the materials...what should I make next?

 

Siege Preparations: Kalia and the Demon Metal Mark

Well, since King Beetle - let's name him Kabuto - is the weakest of my subordinates, I should make a few items to buff him up. I took the two kilograms of Demon Metal and started to flatten, heat, and temper it until I successfully refined the Demon Metal and purified it completely. Taking the slab of Refined Demon Metal, I began to knead it like dough while mixing it with some of my Maker's Essence. Then, I used my Flames of Wrath and started to heat the metal until it flowed as freely as water. As I kept the temperature fixed, I began to compress the liquid metal. This process was a little tough but somehow, I managed through and finally, I produced two vials of Heavy Refined Demon Metal.

Now, many may wonder what could I do with the two vials of liquid Demon Metal...well, I'm going to carve a mask. Masks come in different variations. There were the more generally accepted masks that people wear...and then there were the rarer and more obscure masks. Masks...in the most obscure term...is a pattern of some material used to cover or imprint. In other words, tattoos and even etchings can be considered as masks. In this case, I will be etching a 'mask' onto the King Beetle. This will only need one vial, so what should I do with the other vial? Remember, I have another King Beetle egg. That's right, I will hatch that egg within the Maker's Domain using heat from specially controlled Flames of Wrath mixed with a gaseous mixture of herbs and plants. Hopefully, I will be able to produce a variant King Beetle.

Well then, enough thinking, time to carry out the plan. First, I take the King Beetle egg and cast a few streams of Flames of Wrath, having them circulate around the egg. As I controlled the heat and the speed of the circulation so that every place received an even amount of heat, I threw all of the medicinal herbs, antidote herbs, vials of antidote, and vials of poison into the flames. The materials immediately disintegrated into gas. Trapped within the heat of the flames, the gas could only fuse into the egg. Now, I've never incubated an egg before and if it fails...well, I can serve it as egg tonic. Hopefully it doesn't fail though. Anyways, after a few minutes, the egg trembled. It's working?! I immediately cancelled the flames and set the egg on the floor. Cracks began to spread along the egg until *SNAP*, a piece of shell fell from the egg and an antenna emerged from the opening. The baby King Beetle struggled for a few moments before completely splitting the egg in half.

What crawled out of the egg was something different from Kabuto. I guess they can be considered a King Beetle as long as they are beetles and regardless of the type. For instance, Kabuto looks more like an ironclad beetle with one large horn. This new beetle, however, looked more like a tiger beetle with furry legs and two long feelers. The striped pattern on its exoskeleton looked like the stripes of a tiger. When it scurried out, I could sense a poisonous aura emitted from the King Beetle. But enough of that, the speed of the King Beetle was tremendously fast. I have never seen a beetle zip around like that! I decided to name him Kon. With the poisonous aura coupled with the incredible speed, this King Beetle clearly ranked at least in the A-rank...vastly different from Kabuto who was only a D-rank. Not to mention, Kon is still a baby while Kabuto is full grown.

Now that Kon was born, I quickly marked it with the Mark of Servitude. Then, I linked my mind with his so that we can communicate telepathically. Ah! Kon...is female? Then, I misunderstood...the egg I got wasn't that of a King Beetle but of a Queen Beetle?! This is wonderful! After all, Queen Beetles are at least five times stronger than King Beetles. I can't name her Kon anymore...let's call her Kalia. I looked at Kalia and probed her mind.

Kalia, can you hear me? I telepathically asked the Queen Beetle who was looking at me curiously.

Are you talking to me? Kalia asked.

Yes, you're name is Kalia.

Kalia...I like that name. Are you...mother?

Haha, no. I chuckled. It seemed Kalia is undergoing imprinting. I'm not your parent. I am your guardian. You can call me godfather.

Godfather...godfather...godfather.... Kalia murmured as she remembered my face. Once the imprinting was successfully finished, Kalia replied, I'm hungry godfather.

Here's some food. I replied as I reached into my storage bag and grabbed a few pieces of meat and vegetables.

As Kalia fed on the food, I drew a long thin needle from a pouch under my belt and swiftly inserted it into Kalia's neck, aiming for the pain acupoint near that region. With the needle in place, Kalia won't be able to feel any pain from the neck up and the needle won't affect Kalia's eating in any way. Alright! Now, I drew a small knife that looked like a scalpel and began to carefully scratch at Kalia's forehead. Soon, a pattern formed...it was the Mark of Transformation. I carefully poured a vial of Demon Metal into the cracks and spread the liquid until the indented pattern was filled. As the Demon Metal solidified, I placed my hand on the mark and chanted many incantations to increase Kalia's stats. Gradually, the Demon Metal shone a dark luster that enveloped Kalia, covering her like a thin layer of metallic armor. When the incantations came to an end, the light dimmed and revealed a transformed Kalia - her exoskeleton now a dark, iron-like color. Kalia, on the other hand, did not pay attention to her external changes and continued to happily gobble up the food. I patted Kalia on the head and expertly removed the needle. Kalia looked up at me curiously and, as if sensing something was different, looked at her body. When she saw her color change, she was a bit surprised, however, when she felt that nothing bad was wrong with her body, she continued eating.

After Kalia went back to eating, I silently appraised her again. The results were to my satisfaction. They were:

Name: Kalia
Race: Queen Tiger Beetle/Variant
Affinities: Poison/Earth
Abilities: Poison Gas, Antidote, Bullet Slam

Not bad for a child. Though the skills are lacking, Kalia will learn more as she grow older. Anyways, with that out of the way, I looked over the items left and pondered over my next step. Since there were a lot of corpses, I decided to apply the Mark of Animation on them in order to resurrect them. The Mark of Animation was exactly the same mark used on me when I died. However, with my current skill level, my Mark of Animation won't be as perfect as my master's. The corpses will resurrect, however, they will not have much free will. All that's left in them were battle instinct and mindless servility. Nevertheless, I began to arrange the corpses in rows and began marking them with the Mark of Animation. Hours later, all 763 corpses were resurrected. Looking at my small army, I nodded in satisfaction. Setting them aside in my storage bag along with Kalia, I looked at what's left of the things I had pulled out and laid before me.

 

Siege Preparations: Earth Meld Escape Technique and Dislocation Technique

Hmm...there were the three technique manuals that I got from a fellow adventurer a long time ago. Maybe it's time to study them. I reached over and grabbed the three manuals - Dislocation Technique, Thousand Poison Art, and Earth Meld Escape Technique. I flipped through each of the manuals and found that the Earth Meld Escape Technique was the easiest to learn. So, I began studying the technique. Earth Meld Escape Technique requires the user to be 'One with Earth'. Naturally, I am far from that. In addition, the quintessence of the technique is to join or meld with the earth in order to escape. So, I began meditating...focusing my mind and opening my acupoints. I began to absorb, ever so slightly, the Earth Essence from the ground. Weeks went by...months...years...finally, I was able to open my very own magic core. Unlike the magic cores of monsters, my magic core could house many magic acupoints. However, I needed lots of resources in order to unlock each acupoint. The first one is always the easiest as it only required the absorption of essence. In my case, I had unlocked the Celestial Earth Acupoint from the years of constantly absorbing Earth Essence.

Now that I had formed my own magic core and unlocked the Earth-Attribute acupoint, I can begin the second phase of training. Similarly to the first phase, the second phase also requires a lot of meditation. However, instead of meditating to open acupoints and absorb Earth Essence, this time I needed to focus on becoming one with the ground. Essentially, I needed to form solid connections with the earth beneath me...I needed to fuse with the earth. I don't know how long this will take but I have all the time I need. And so, years went by until finally...I became one with the earth. The earth was a part of me...and I was a part of the earth. We are all parts of a whole. When I awoke from my meditation, I found myself a few hundred meters below the ground, my body completely assimilated into the earth. I could freely move as if I had phase through the ground. So this was Earth Meld Escape Technique? It is worthy of its high rank.

Now that I had learned the Earth Meld Escape Technique, I moved on to the next manual - Dislocation Technique. Dislocation Technique is a martial arts skill that allows the user to accurately dislocate his or her enemies' bones and joints. It required a strong background in human anatomy...especially bone and joint structures. There are 206 bones and 340 joints in the average human body. However, for rare cases involving people with high potential, they have been known to have 360 joints. In my case, I am one of the rare cases and thus I have 206 bones and 360 joints in my body. The technique manual was essentially a textbook detailing the different bones and joints in the human body as well as how each dislocation would affect the body. This type of martial arts skill does not only require extensive amounts of memorizing and comprehending, it also required massive amounts of practice. Thus, I began practicing the moves on myself. Some may wonder why I would practice such a painful martial arts on myself and not use one of the many soldiers I had resurrected. Well, one...they aren't human and two...practicing dislocation techniques on myself can serve as a form of body tempering...especially focusing on the bones and joints areas. Thus I began to practice. Years went by as my proficiency increments. Finally, after a decade or so, I mastered the technique.

 

Siege Preparations: Stein

Now, with two down and one left, I decided to take a break and do something else. I looked at the rest of the materials that lay before me and picked up the large boulder of Living Stone. Hmmm, what can I do with this? Should I make a mask out of it? No...it seemed...wasteful. As I glanced at the other items, I saw the Living Golem core. Aha! I can make myself a golem! But a simple golem would be useless in combat and could at most be served as an one-use shield, especially against the powerful monsters I will soon be facing. What should I do to make it stronger? Ah, I got it! With my plan in mind, I began to work. I took out my skinning knife and approached the two meter high boulder of Living Stone. I raised my knife towards the Living Stone and began to carve. About an hour later, the Living Stone became a stone skeleton. After learning the Dislocation technique, my understanding of the human skeleton had reached a profound stage. With my mastery, it was easy for me to carve a complete skeleton. However, for a stone skeleton, at best it could be considered as a mannequin of sorts. It can't display the flexibility that a human makes due to the lack of joints. To make up for this weakness, I cut up a number of Arachne silk - known for its elasticity and flexible strength - and attached them to the stone bones. Thus, the Arachne silk could be served as alternative joints for the golem.

Since stone is relatively weak, I decided to boost the stone skeleton's defense by plating it with Orichalcum and Iridium. Orichalcum is a legendary rare metal that has been known to contain unlimited power. In the ancient times, this metal was used as a power source. In other words Orichalcum will provide the golem strength, power, durability, and energy. Iridium is known as a very hard and resistant metal. It is known to resist high temperatures as well as corrosion. With Iridium, the golem will be able to have high defense, endurance, and resistance. With that in mind, I took the five kilograms of Iridium and the five kilograms of Orichalcum from the pile of materials. With Flames of Wrath, I loosened the bonds of the metal, making it easier to mold. Then, I enveloped the metals on the stone skeleton in three thin and even layers first with Orichalcum and then with Iridium.

Next, I take the Living Golem core, the Cloud Giant heart, the five Ent twigs, and the bottle containing a Lightning Wisp from the pile of materials. Now the Living Golem core, by itself, can reanimate a vessel but there will be nothing but mindless instinct for the golem. That is not what I wanted. I want a golem with instinct and a mind of its own. Thus, that is where the Cloud Giant heart comes in. Any heart would do but since I only have a Cloud Giant heart, well...it's the one I can use. And so, I started to crystallize the heart, while preserving its properties. To crystallize a heart, it will take years of waiting and the usage of a sticky resin made from plants. This process is known as nature polymerization. First, I take the five Ent twigs and crushed them into fine powder. Then, I mixed some of the Cloud Giant heart's blood with the powder along with some of my blood filled with Maker's Essence. I mixed the mixture until it became a sticky resin-like paste. Then, I covered the resin onto the heart, making sure that the paste was evenly spread across the heart. Next, using constant and continuous high temperature and pressure, I hardened the resin into amber. This process took five years to complete. Finally, with a crystallized heart, I compressed it until it became the size of a small ball. Taking the amber ball, I began fusing it with the Living Golem core. By fusing the two objects together, I was able to create a solidified artificial soul. A soul is generally a condensed form of emotions and instinct. The Living Golem core makes the instinct and the crystallized heart makes the emotions. Then, I inscribed a Mark of Deathsworn on it. This will make whoever holds the artificial soul have undying loyalty towards me. Then, I placed the core on top of the skeleton's sternum - in the middle of the manubrium region. I chanted incantations of binding and fusion as I pressed the core into the sternum. Once the core fused completely with the skeleton, two golden glows flickered in the skeleton's eye sockets. With three short flickers and one final burst, the skeleton sat up. It looked around, confused. Currently, the animated skeleton is only a mindless golem with nothing but utmost loyalty to me. What's next is to give it some free will and thinking ability.

To do that, I need a spark of life - the Lightning Wisp. The Lightning Wisp is basically a condensed form of Lightning Essence. Think about it, a condensed form of pure Lightning Essence was able to produce a wisp - a spirit with free thinking. With this wisp, I can grant my golem the ability to think and make decisions. Not to mention, there were many connections and relations between bio-electricity and consciousness. Of course, I'm not a master in this field, but I know enough to conclude that in order to give something 'consciousness', I would need some sort of electrical power source. Thus, I took the Lightning Wisp from the bottle and pressed it onto the skeleton's forehead. After a series of incantations of fusing and binding, the Lightning Wisp was successfully integrated into the skeleton. At first, nothing occurred. But suddenly, lightning coursed through the skeleton's body and stunned my hand. I backed away from the golem and waited for its consciousness to activate.

*Hong!* The skeleton shuddered as the lightning continued to course through its body. After a few seconds, something changed within the skeleton's glowing eyes. It seemed...brighter...energetic. The golem looked at me with curiosity and loyalty, a fine display of consciousness. I nodded towards it and told it that I am his creator. The golem bowed in gratitude for the chance at life. Of course, I am not done with it yet. After all, I have only finished creating the inner portion of the golem. What's next is the outer portion. Initially, I had thought before that just this skeleton was enough...but as I brought it to life, I thought...maybe...I should attempt to create a flesh golem similar to the legendary Frankenstein monster. Thus, the next step is to create the golem's flesh...and I have with me a plethora of flesh. I began digging through the tons of monster meat, looking for suitable parts for my golem.

After finding all the necessary body parts and the accessory body parts, I began attaching them onto the golem. I used special Arachne silk thread to sew and bind the parts together as well as attach them to the skeleton. As for the accessory parts, I attached the wings of a young Earth Drake and gave it armor-like plating from the appendages of various Mithril Scorpions. I even attached an Unicorn horn on the golem and its eyes came from a Phantom Nightcrawler. Once completed, I took the remaining flesh and compressed them...until a ball of flesh about the size of my fist appeared before me. At this point, I continued to squeeze and compress the ball of flesh. However, this time, I started chanting incantations of buffs and enhancements in order to boost the properties of the flesh ball while turning it into a flesh pellet. In addition, I dropped a few drops of my blood filled with Maker's Essence in order to nullify any negative effects the consumption of this flesh pellet could cause. Lastly, I ended the process with a small burst of the Flames of Wrath. This flesh pellet, when consumed, will grant significant boosts in stats. It can directly send an A-rank to S-rank. That's how potent this pellet was. I will feed this pellet to Kabuto in hopes of him breaking past his current rank and reach to about the same rank as Kalia.

Now that the golem was completed, I linked my mind to the golem and told it that its name, from now on, is Stein. Stein only nodded in silence. With a smile of satisfaction, I appraised the creature. The results were as expected:

Name: Stein
Race: Abomination/Flesh Golem
Affinities: Earth/Lightning/Plant/Nature
Abilities: Summon Lightning Wisps, Tunneling, Absorb Nature

Stein was an A-rank supporter with three starting abilities. I'm sure that as it grows stronger, it will gain more abilities. I was surprised that it gained the Lightning Affinity from the Lightning Wisp, but I guess that can be dismissed as a blessing. I sent Stein into my storage bag and moved on to the next preparation step.

 

Siege Preparations: Thousand Poison Art

Now that that was over, I decided to finish studying the last manual - Thousand Poison Art. As I flipped through the pages, I realized that the way to learn this art was simple. All I needed to do was to inject my body with many toxins...so much that my body develops resistances and an ability to produce my own poisons and antidotes. The book told me that I should start small...maybe with a weak spider bite and move up to something as strong as an Azure Kraken. However, I've already developed a strong resistance to poison. In addition, I do not have the required materials to learn this art step by step. So, I decided to speed things up. Taking 100 jars of Poison Essence, I pour them out into a large crater. Then, I submerged in the middle of the pool and began to cultivate. At first, the poisonous essence permeated into me with such painful intensity that I could not stand it even with my high resistance. However, as I gritted through, I was able to slowly adjust and get used to the pain. As the toxins broke down my body, my incredible regeneration quickly recovers what was destroyed. I sat in the essence pool for a good five years before my body was completely tempered by the poisonous essence pool.

Next step is to temper my internal organs. I opened my mouth and began to consume the poisonous essence. At first, my body began to convulse because of the pain, but as time went on, I was able to withstand the destruction the Poison Essence was bringing to my internal organs. After I binge drank all of the Poison Essence, I began to meditate. Many years went by before I was able to fully absorb the Poison Essence. With the completion of the Thousand Poison Art, I can now freely produce my own poisons as well as my own antidotes. The only downside, as I found out later on, was that my arms had turned a dark purple as if bruised and my face had hints of green below the eyes and at the corners of my mouth. Nevertheless, everything else was the same. I can hide the green with a mask and the purple with long sleeves or gloves.

 

Siege Preparations: Grand Lich God

So, what's next? I scanned the rest of the items and saw the scale I received from Krosgund. I was told to make it into a mask to communicate with him if the Adventure Guild agreed to his proposition. However, that failed...so I guess I don't need Krosgund's scale now. I grabbed the scale and put it back into my bag. Maybe I should return the scale to Krosgund since it has lost its intended use. Once I put the scale back, I exhaled in exhaustion as I looked at the remaining materials. The essences I have out are to be used for my supporters. As for the three Yeti skeletons...I guess I have a few binding masks lying around somewhere in my bag. Hmm...okay, it's decided! Let's make some weapons!

I took the 29 poor quality weapons plus one of the good quality weapons and melted them. Then, I began to temper the metal pool by purifying it and removing all of the bad qualities. Next, I separated the large pool of liquid metal into three equal pools. I used each pool to shape and make a sharp and durable katana. Then, I began polishing the three blades, making sure to keep in perfect condition. After all, smithing isn't my strong point, so I need to place extra attention towards making and finishing the blades. While I was working, I noticed a sensation...a presence? Impossible, other than me, there shouldn't be anyone else in the domain. I looked around but I could not see anyone. I closed my eyes and tried to locate the presence. It seemed to appear near the pile of materials! I opened my eyes and step back in shock. In front of me was a skeleton...no, the skeleton from Dead Man's Rest! It stood before me, two blackish glows staring towards me...through me. It was as if it could see the deepest part of my soul. By habit, I hastily checked the skeleton's status and was shocked at my discovery.

Name: ???
Titles: God of Death/Harbinger of the Undead
Race: Undead/Grand Lich God/
Affinities: Undead/Unholy/Darkness/Death
Abilities: Summon Undead, Darken the World, Death Wave, Unholy Boost, Death Seal, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???, ???
Specials: ???, ???, ???

The name is blank?! And there were ten unknown skills along with three special skills! In order for this to happen, this Undead's level must be at least in the SS rankings. What is this Grand Lich God doing in the mortal world?

"Who are you?" I asked cautiously. If this skeleton is a high level monster, then human speech should be no problem.

"I am the God of Death, the Harbinger of the Undead, the Grand Lich God - End." The Grand Lich God replied.

"Y-You...what do you want?"

"You interest me. You...an Undead...acting like a human. Why do you do such a thing?"

"Because I am human."

"Idiot. Humans are weak creatures. They die easily and quickly. Each human life is only a moment in time. But we Undead, however, are eternal. Come! Cast away your humanity and embrace your Undead self. I command you."

"N-No...." I replied as I struggled to resist his command. The power of a Grand Lich God who is known to be the closest being to death and the Undead was tremendously hypnotic. It took my all just to resist.

"Why do you uselessly resist? What is so good about being a human?"

"Many things! But the most important thing isn't about being human. It is about serving under you. I am not a mindless zombie and you have no control over me. I am Khaos - Disciple of the God of Creation and Apostle of the Goddess Lady Luck! It will be you who will serve under me!"

"Hmph! A mere disciple dares to contend against me! Death Seal!" End roared as he made a few gestures. Suddenly, dark magic shot from below me and grabbed a hold of me.

All of my movements were sealed. I could not move...I could not think...I could not breathe. But...but I will not give up! My eyes flared up with determination and I roared in my mind. With a stroke of luck, the Grand Lich God loosened his hold of me in shock when he saw my determination and I was able to break free of the Death Seal.

"Interesting. Fine then, I'll give you a chance. Defeat me in battle and I'll submit to you. However, if you lose, you will become my mindless servant for all of eternity!"

"Who's afraid of who! Challenge accepted!"

Immediately, I unsheathed my skinning knife and charged towards the Undead. End smirked (or at least I think he smirked) and raised his hand. But nothing happened. End stared at his hand in surprise and quickly dodged the slash I sent his way.

"What happened?! How come I can't use Summon Undead?"

"Haha, that's because you are in my domain."

"That doesn't explain anything. Even in a mere human's domain, I can summon Undead - especially with three skeletons right there."

"But my domain isn't human made. It was given to me by my master - the God of Creation."

"Dammit! So that's why...curse you! Take my Death Wave!"

"Hmph! OverLuck! I sacrifice half my mana!" I roared as I used the double-edged skill OverLuck. This skill boosts my luck to the extreme at the cost of permanently halving one of my stats...in this case my mana. Luckily, mana is one of my more useless stats. Anyways, once my luck skyrocketed, the Grand Lich God's Death Wave suddenly lost its effectiveness.

"What! What happened?" End gaped in surprise. This was the second time his skills did not work. He refused to believe that it was a coincidence.

"At the cost of half my mana, my luck has reached its maximum. You cannot defeat me because my luck is better than yours. I use Plunder!" I explained before raising my hand towards the Undead. With a swipe, I stole one of his abilities. Lucky! I got the Summon Undead skill.

"Curses! If only I wasn't weakened!"

"Oh? You were weakened?"

"Hmph! Don't stick your nose in where it doesn't belong! Unholy Boost!" End snorted as he boosted his stats. Then, he rushed towards me with his fists raised and ready.

I snickered at the sight of the charging Grand Lich God. Trying to compete against me with fists? Laughable. Him a mage and me a warrior. It's clear who's going to win in a fist fight. End thrust his right fist towards me and missed. I had sidestepped to his back and gripped his spine. Hehe...its a good thing I learned that Dislocation Technique before this happened. With a sickening wrench, I completely dislocated the Undead's spine. All of his spinal discs were pushed out of place.

As End grunted in pain and collapsed to the floor, unable to move, I sneered at him. "Do you give? If not, I can dislocate more places."

"If I wasn't weakened, I'd have wiped the floor with you." End gritted through his teeth.

"Hmph! Even if you weren't weakened, I'd still win. In this domain, I am king."

"Dammit!"

"So, what will it be? Submit to me and become my subordinate or die and be resurrected as a Deathsworn?"

"Kuh!"

"Make your choice now while I still have the patience!"

End sighed dejectedly and responded after some thought. He agreed to become my subordinate. With no time to waste, I formed a spiritual contract with the Grand Lich God. With a powerful subordinate like End, I can finally see certain victory against the Firebirds. After I formed the contract with End, I marked him with the Mark of Servitude. Then, I appraised him again but somehow I still wasn't able to see the ten abilities that were censored, not to mention the three special skills. When I asked him about this matter, he proclaimed that it was because he was severely weakened when he fought against the previous God of Death for his position. After he raised his strength to peak condition, the skills will naturally be revealed. In addition, he will also gain three more skills that are specific to the God of Death position. Nodding in satisfaction at my gain, I dismissed End and stored him in my storage bag.

 

Siege Preparations: Toothed Greatsword and Fire Bow

After that was done, I went back to the three katanas I was finishing. Upon completion, I reached over to get the jar of Poison Maggot Slime. Then, I smeared the slime onto the blades in order to both preserve their quality and coat them with poison. I added a few drops of my blood filled with Maker's Essence onto the blades in order to keep the poison in peak condition forever. Next, I set the three katanas to the side and grabbed the eighteen good quality weapons. Similarly, like what I did with the poor quality weapons, I melt down the good quality weapons and began purifying the metal pool. After I completed tempering the liquid metal, I began to form it into a large tower shield. This shield will be given to Minos. I dropped some of my blood filled with Maker's Essence onto the shield in order to keep it in peak durability forever.

Next, I took the eighteen Vampire fangs, the metal knife from a Black Vampire, the Sea Serpent bone and the three Rhino horns. I've decided to use these materials to fashion a sword for Minos to use. Luckily the Sea Serpent bone was rather long and whole - about six feet. I can use it to make the sword. The three Rhino horns are about the same length as the bone - about seven feet long. First, I arranged the three Rhino Horns so that the longest one is on the ground. The Sea Serpent bone had been polished to provide a sharp edge with eighteen small slots and a larger slit at the end. I placed the bone on top of the Rhino horn and then, I attached the two shorter Rhino horns, one on each side of the bone. Next, I insert the eighteen Vampire fangs in the small slots and the metal knife in the large slit. With the toothed greatsword in near completion, I finished with a few touches like adding some blood filled with my Maker's Essence to increase the durability and effectiveness of the sword. As to why I attached the metal knife at the end, it was to not only serve as a handle, but also as a medium between the user and the Vampire fangs. After I appraised the metal knife, I found out that it was used as a sacrificial knife by the Black Vampires (whereas Black Vampires were the priests version of Vampires). When the sword attacks an enemy, the Vampire fangs will automatically suck in the leaking vitality and transmit it to the metal knife. Whoever holds the handle part will naturally get the vitality. Thus, this gives the toothed greatsword a drain-type ability. In addition, the greatsword can not only slash, it can also pierce using the three Rhino horns. After finishing this greatsword, I named it Depletion. Next, I moved on to the weapon I'm going to make for Ranger.

Since Ranger is an archer, I decided to use the Fire sword, the three Yeti skeletons, and the three Cyclops eyes to make a Fire bow. I melted the Fire sword with my Flames of Wrath and tempered it by removing any impurities. Then, I compressed it while steadily decreasing the temperature until a red metal ball was formed. This was basically a Fire orb. I then flatten the orb a bit so that the shape will be more elliptical than spherical. Next, I took the three Yeti skeletons and turned them into bone sheets. I added some of my blood filled with Maker's Essence onto the bone sheets while chanting incantations of flexibility, durability, and strength. Next, I began layering the sheets and compressing them until a large bow was made. I attached the Fire orb at the center of the bone bow. This will grant the arrows that are shot from this bow to be packed with fire damage. Now, all that's left was the string. I heard from a master craftsman years ago that the lens of a Cyclops's eye can be made into glass-like tubes. Then, couldn't I make these lenses into strong glass-like string? I began digging at the three eyes and removed the lenses. The rest of the contents, I discarded as waste. Then, I took the lenses and started finely cutting them into long tube-like pieces. I braided the three long tube-like pieces to make a strong rope-like string. I used this string to attach to the bone bow. Finally, I was able to fashion a large bow for Ranger to use. I added some more blood filled with Maker's Essence to keep the durability and flexibility at its peak condition forever. Then, I tested it out. When I pulled the string, a magical fire arrow appeared. Amazing! With this ability, Ranger won't run out of arrows. I named this bow - Shooting Star.

 

Siege Preparations: Seed of Flora

Finally, I was done. All that's left are a few hundred jars of essence, the refined Eternal Ice, and the Seed of Flora. I reached over and picked up the golden orb known as the Seed of Flora. Once I plant this seed, I can grow a Treant King. However, the method of incubating this seed is different from planting normal seeds. Instead of earth, I needed pure Earth Essence. And so, I made another crater and poured all 200 jars of Earth Essence into the crater. Then, I dropped the Seed of Flora into the center of the crater. Nothing occurred.... Maybe the process takes some time. I sat by the pool and waited...and waited...and waited. Twenty years had passed by in a flash. Did I do something wrong? Why isn't anything happening? Could it be...a dud? Just when I was having my doubts, a domineering presence erupted out and filled my domain. This! It came from the Earth Essence pool!

A huge whirlpool appeared from the center of the pool as the Earth Essence was ferociously sucked into the center of the whirlpool. I could see a glint of gold from the center. The golden glow intensified as more and more Earth Essence was absorbed. It's here! Finally! In a matter of seconds the entire Earth Essence pool was completely sucked dry by the Seed of Flora. However, just as I was expecting a large Treant to pop out from within the seed, something unexpected happened. The seed cracked and split open, revealing a small bud. What? All that Earth Essence and all those years and all I get is a bud?! No...wait, that isn't right. I recalled something. This bud was only the intermediate stage. I need to begin nourishing the bud with Nature Essence as quick as possible in order to bring out the best results. But I don't have Nature Essence...dammit! I can only use the next best thing. Plants and Poison are all part of Nature. I grabbed the 200 jars of Plant Essence and the 100 jars of Poison Essence and dumped the contents onto the bud. As soon as the essences touched the bud, the essences were immediately absorbed. After a few minutes, the jars were completely empty. The bud had bloomed into a small green tree. It was not enough. What can I do now?

I thought and pondered. Wait! What if.... I've decided. I will feed the sapling my Maker's Essence. Maker's Essence is a special form of essence that can be used as a substitute for anything. Although it isn't pure Nature Essence, it can at least produce similar qualities. There was nothing left to lose. If I didn't feed the sapling, it will become a tree. If I feed it with the wrong kind of essence, it will lose its form and self-destruct. Either way I will not obtain a young Treant King. That's why, I rather take the risk instead of doing nothing. I placed my hand on the sapling and began injecting my Maker's Essence into it. Thankfully, I have a surplus of Maker's Essence or else...whew, don't want to think about the consequences. Anyways, the greedy sapling seemed to like my essence. It's a good thing the Maker's Essence was compatible with Nature Essence. As the sapling continued to drain my essence, it began to mature. This process went on for a year or two.

Finally, the sapling finished sucking away my Maker's Essence. Its skin began to change - from green to brown and finally to dark blue. Because of my essence, the color of the sapling deviated from the original black hue to that of a dark blue color. The sapling grew into a young tree. The roots stretched out and began to intertwine. They began to resemble legs. The changes were quick and apparent. The young tree quickly became a human-like Treant. It was the birth of a new Treant King. I shall name him Fior. Fior had dark blue hair, light blue skin, dark green eyes, and looked like an early teenager. He wore clothes made from leaves and bark. A wreath of leaves perched on his head. I marked Fior with the Mark of Servitude and linked my mind with his. Then, I appraised him:

Name: Fior
Titles: Child of Nature
Race: Treant King
Affinities: Nature/Earth/Poison/Plant
Abilities: Summon Nature's Warriors, Earth Bend, Poison Mist, Plant Snare

The skill weren't bad for a young Treant King. I can't wait for him to mature and see what new and better skills he will acquire in the future.

 

Siege Preparations: Upgrading my Subordinates

After finishing growing the Treant King, I dismissed Fior and stored him in my storage bag. Then, I deactivated the Maker's Domain. Once outside, only a few seconds had passed. I could immediately sense that my other supporters have already arrived and are waiting outside. I grabbed my bag along with the leftover materials on the ground and headed outside. I looked at my supporters - Blackie, Kabuto, Ranger, Minos, Morgal, Tyn, Agaricus, and Sulnu. I approached Tyn and gave him the jar of Frost Essence and the refined Eternal Ice. I told him to consume them and absorb their strength. Tyn obediently complied and began cultivating the items. While he was busy meditating, I gave Ranger the Fire bow - Shooting Star - and one of the poison katanas for him to use. I gave Minos the towering shield and the toothed greatsword - Depletion.

Next, I approached Kabuto and gave him the blood pill. He immediately consumed it and after a few minutes, he was able to fully absorb the contents and boost his overall strength. Now, he is strong enough to eat the flesh pellet. So, I gave him the flesh pellet which he quickly consumed as well. Because the flesh pellet was refined from a few tons of meat, the processing of this pellet would take at least an hour. While Kabuto cultivated and absorbed the flesh pellet, I brought out the other subordinates I had in my storage bag as well as the 763 monster army. I gave the two poisoned katanas to Stein for him to dual-wield. Then, I took out the jars and potions of Morian's Essence and handed them to Morgal, who immediately understood my intentions. He quickly opened the containers and consumed the contents. Being a clone of Morian, Morgal was able to quickly absorb the essence with no incompatibilities. Once he finished absorbing the essence and increasing his powers by two-fold, I glanced towards Tyn and Kabuto to see if they had finished as well. It seems that Tyn and Kabuto had finished. That's good.

Finally, I headed over to Kabuto and commanded him to stay still. Then, I reached towards my pouch and pulled out a long acupuncture needle. I jammed the needle into Kabuto's neck, sealing off any pain receptors from the neck and above. Then, I took my scalpel and etched the Mark of Transformation on Kabuto's forehead...right above his horn. I carefully poured the last vial of Heavy Refined Demon Metal into the cracks and spread the liquid until the indented pattern was filled. As the Demon Metal solidified, I placed my hand on the mark and chanted many incantations to increase Kabuto's stats. Gradually, the Demon Metal shone a dark luster that enveloped Kabuto, covering him like a thin layer of metallic armor. When the incantations came to an end, the light dimmed and revealed a transformed Kabuto - his exoskeleton now a dark, iron-like color. Satisfied, I removed the needle and withdrew it back into my pouch. Kabuto gazed at his transformation and grunted happily at his sudden increase in power. I appraised Kabuto and was satisfied with the results.

Name: Kabuto
Race: King Beetle
Affinities: Earth
Abilities: Piercing Horn, Earth Stomp, Roar of Titans, Gigantification

Not bad! I'm surprise Kabuto's rise in ranks from D-rank to A-rank allowed him to unlock the abilities Roar of Titans and Gigantification. After everything was completed and prepared, I sent out a widespread mental transmission to everyone. It was time to set out! I jumped on Blackie and we marched towards the North Mountains.