Polymath Redux

Chapter 27: PROJECT: Hellgate Part 4

Camouflaged naturally by their blackened appearances, several aimless crows flew steeply above the city in an unnatural manner. Far from trying to escape from the chaos below, they seemed almost to be surveying the carnage. In fact that's exactly what they were doing because these were no ordinary crows but summons from the [archer] skill category known as [Surveillance Spectres]. In game their function was merely to extend the map and track the movements of enemy players and detect invisible foes; however in the transition to this world they acted more like a physical extension of the summoner's body.

Mordred could see what they were seeing and even the smell, taste, sound and temperature could all be felt vividly. Currently he stood nearby the silver pillar of light where the Baliazoural magician that he had 'obtained' was channeling the spell from within. The magician was already dead but was temporarily brought back as an undead using the skill [raise dead]. The magician had lost a lot of his 'beauty points' of a living being after being reduced to mostly bones and flayed skin as the undead.

In a trance-like state the magician stood at the center of the silver pillar of light and in his hand was a small white stone. This item was known as a 'spell stone', a stone that temporarily stored a single spell to be used by another person, so of course in that specific stone was the fusion skill [Hellgate]. Should the magician and the spell stone be destroyed then the raging within the city would also cease and that was the final goal of the project.

With a miracle Morgana came to deliver their weapons to turn the tides of battle and with Irina spearheading an operation to take down this 'silver light' she would gain much more fame. Mordred himself would bear witness to this entire constructed play and so as to make sure nothing goes wrong he stood near the silver light with a watchful eye. Several high level skills were active to hide his presence; [Shadow cloak], [Prevent detection], [vanish aura] and [silent movement].

"Good, it's a stalemate."

This was the ideal situation for the city to be in for Mordred; they were still desperate even with those weapons but they did not lose hope. In fact it was Mordred who was rather impressed with their level of competence and tenacity at defending their home. They fared much better than even the players back at [Hellgana]; those players merely ran around like headless chickens awaiting their deaths. Such was not the case with the inhabitants of this world; they knew how to move around in a coordinated and efficient manner, knew their objectives and priorities and did not drop their morale too low.

However since Morgana had delivered the weapons it was time to start the second phase. Following a miracle is despair; it was necessary to break down their spirits a little further so as to show them that they were weak. That even with a miracle they were still powerless and in the midst of that revelation a single adventurer would rise and lead them to victory. That was the stage play that Mordred had outlined and Irina would be playing the leading role.

All of this was necessary to make the inhabitants of this city believe that Irina and Morgana were beings that they desperately needed. That they would do anything to be able to stay under the grace of their protection; to elevate them into sainthood, nay, to turn them into messiahs.

Mordred activated three high ranking [Necromancy] skills. [Summon – Infernal Cerberus], [Summon – Elder Lich] and [Summon – Greater Armored Hydra]. The grounds beneath Mordred shook violently as three massive figures emerged from the soil and tore apart the lands.

The first was a giant dog, burning so intensely that the air around it was being burnt as well creating a suffocating pressure. The second was a tall floating figure draped in a blood red robe. It was unremarkable in terms of appearance, merely a darkened skeleton in a robe but by its mere presence alone it siphoned the life of nearby objects. Flowers, grass and trees were withering each second that the Elder Lich stood. The last was the Greater Armored Hydra, a five headed serpent with extreme regenerative properties, not only that each of its breath carried lethal poison that could melt a fully grown man in seconds. The worst part was that it was its extremely tough external armor scales that were harder than titanium.