The Tree of Ascension: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Peril's Prodigy Book 2) by Craig Kobayashi (ebook reader 7 inch TXT) 📕

unused Attribute Points into Wisdom, then opened his MENU panels and navigated to his Skill tree to take a look at what new options became available to him.

He was not left wanting.

Raise Skeletal Warrior

Summoned Creature - Undead

Cost: (.3x Base Mana)

1 second cast

No Cooldown

Effect: Raise the bones of the dead to fight on your behalf (maximum:3) until their final death. See the Summoned Creature partition of your MENU panels for further information.

***Requires a full set of bones.

Cost to Unlock: 5

Unused Skill Points: 20

Lord of the Hellflies

Active

Cost: 536 Mana (.55x Base Mana)

10 Meter Range

3 second cast

15 Minute Cooldown

Effect: Summon a swarm of Hellflies to destroy your enemies. Swarm lasts for 30 seconds and will cause 927 (Acid) damage (3x Wisdom Attribute) over its duration.

Cost to Unlock: 5

Unused Skill Points: 20

Boiling Blood

Active

Cost: 485 Mana (.5x Base Mana) 485 Health (.5x Base Health)

15 Meter Range

Instant Cast

1 Hour Cooldown

Effect: Increases the base damage of your Skills by 50% for one minute.

Cost to Unlock: 5

Unused Skill Points: 20

Garath almost choked. All three were amazing! He really hoped he’d have a chance to use Boiling Blood and follow it with Lord of the Hellflies soon, doubling the already insane base damage of 3x his Wisdom Attribute. With a few mental flexes, Garath purchased all three.

Do you wish to purchase the Skills:

Raise Skeletal Warrior; Lord of the Hellflies; Boiling Blood?

Yes or No

Total Cost: 15 Skill Points

Unused Skill Points: 20

Garath chose ‘Yes’ to confirm. With corpses aplenty littering the ground, Garath put his new Skill, Raise Skeletal Warrior, to good use. He chose a dead gnoll and then funneled Mana into the one-second cast. In a grotesque display, the bones of the gnoll ripped themselves free of the flesh and sent blood spraying everywhere. Once free of the body, most of the bones came together to form a human shape, while a few were transmuted into a bone sword and shield. For a moment, the bones hovered in mid-air. Then, its reanimation complete, the skeleton snapped to attention, taking hold of its sword and shield with a jerk.

Several seconds later, three animated skeletons, each armed with a bone sword and shield, stood at attention, facing the little white Necrologist. Garath was confused. The skeletons were not shaped at all like gnolls. They were clearly human skeletons. He shrugged. The Skill description didn’t mention what species his Skeletal Warriors would be.

With his demonic posse now bolstered by the undead, Garath felt like he could take on anything. He couldn’t wait until they found the next group of enemies so he could unleash a horde of Hellflies on their asses too.

His Manabar was slowly refilling as Auto and Sharon both bent to pull the silver necklaces from the bodies of the two Necro-Shaman. They looked at each other, nodded, and yanked on the chains.

The second Necro-Shaman Key has been accepted.

One of you must use it to pass through the door in the next 30 seconds.

For each Key that reaches its expiration here, one member of your Party will be chosen at random to stay in Chuchusullay permanently.

When all five Keys have either been used to open a door or allowed to expire, some, if not all, are allowed to retire.

The third Necro-Shaman Key has been accepted.

One of you must use it to pass through the door in the next 30 seconds.

For each Key that reaches its expiration here, one member of your Party will be chosen at random to stay in Chuchusullay permanently.

When all five Keys have either been used to open a door or allowed to expire, some, if not all, are allowed to retire.

Garath dismissed the prompts and his gaze shifted to the matching set of free-standing doorways that had again appeared from nowhere. After a quick ‘see you soon’ all the way around, the Party split up, two walking through their respective doorways and into the blackness beyond, and two left standing on the dirt path winding through the gnoll encampment. The gnoll-head icon next to Garath’s Healthbar caught his attention as a small number 3 appeared in its top-right corner. Curious, Garath willed more information to appear and read the details.

2 of 5 Keys have unlocked a door, a boost you receive will help you through more.

3 of 5 Keys have unlocked a door, a boost you receive will help you through more.

The Forgotten’s Blessing (3): +60% to all damage dealt, -60% to all damage received. The Forgotten’s Blessing will remain active for the remainder of your time in Chuchusullay.

The white cat looked up at the young Archmage. *Alright, kiddo. Me and you now. You ready for this?*

“Almost,” Daisy told him. “Is it okay if I make another Mana Battery? I had to use mine.”

Garath nodded his tiny cranium. While Daisy channeled her Mana into creating a replacement Mana Battery, Garath explained how the two of them would use his little army as a barrier between themselves and any enemies they encountered along the way. Unfortunately, the few Undead Gnolls that had risen to fight from the hidden Skill, Death’s Medium, fell back to the ground in that time, never to rise again. He gave her instructions to shift into her fastest form and run back the way they came if things got too hairy, and wait for him to contact her over the Party communication channel. After a token effort of claiming she could take care of herself, Daisy agreed. A few minutes later, the two of them continued through the gnoll encampment heading south on the dirt path with Garath’s summoned creatures leading the way.

Chapter Twenty-Four – Peril’s Pitfall

The path took them east, following the island’s southern coast. After a few minutes the path took a hard left, leading them north toward the center of the little island. The flickering of approaching torches tipped Garath and Daisy off to another patrol unit. With the Dungeon team’s two most dangerous damage-dealers each receiving +60% to all the damage they dealt, the pair