The Culling of Man: A litrpg adventure (Peril's Prodigy Book 1) by Craig Kobayashi (ereader android TXT) 📕

and Blight combination on Leviathan's Diminutive form had wreaked absolute havoc. Before she had ended their Friendship, Garath saw her HP was already down to 435/990 and dropping fast. The health bar on the nameplate affixed above her person leveled out to just over 50% as she downed her Endless Potion of Healing. She wouldn't be able to use it again for another ten minutes, but she recovered 99 HP immediately and would regain another 495 over the next sixty seconds.

During his dive from above, Garath saw the glowing eyes of another Necrologist for the first time. He could see why Daisy always seemed so nervous around him. Even the aura of darkness permeating off of this girl-child was unsettling. He imagined his own visage wasn't exactly cuddly, albeit a bit less considering the tiara and heart-shaped pendant over his chest, but he hadn’t even considered that he may have the same ominous vibe as the murderer below him.

His next move was to down his own Health Potion as soon as possible to start the cooldown period in the case that the fight lasted longer than ten minutes. His HP had already dropped by over thirty-percent during his time in crow form and he knew it would behoove him to stop taking 150% increased damage from Leviathan’s Plague as soon as possible. Garath tucked his wings tight to his sides and started his dive - descending unseen like a wraith in the night.

He landed down ten feet behind Leviathan, shimmered in to human form, then summoned the ruby Potion from his Items panel. He poured the sweet liquid down his throat and his HP jumped by 100 and continued to rise by 49 per second (between his Regeneration and the healing over time from the Potion).

"What the hell?!" screamed Leviathan, turning to face him. She moved slowly and without any hint of retaliation. "I send you a friend request and you just fly over here and attack me without a word? Who the hell does that? Seriously."

"Someone who intends to kill you," said Garath coldly. He was taken aback at first by the mind-fuck that this person, that had killed six of his friends, was a seventeen-year-old girl - but Garath didn't feel anything like himself. Between his raging need for vengeance and the effects of tainted soul just begging for her life force to increase his own power, all the Crystillium in the world wouldn't have been able to stop him from the decision he had made before he ever knew his prey was a child. He would kill her.

"When I saw you were a Necrologist too I thought maybe we could work together," suggested Leviathan. She took a step toward him and extended her hand. "My friends call me Levi."

Garath took a step back as she stepped toward him. He landed outside the range of the instant cast Blight on purpose and didn't intend to lose the damage over time battle going on even as they talked.

Standing only ten-feet from her, with the light of a full moon on a clear night, he could make out her features easily. She was even taller than he had originally guessed and was wearing black combat boots with a thick heel, bringing her to at least 6'5". The enemy Necrologist didn't have any items equipped that Garath could see, not even the Necrologist starting hat that provided +30 Mana. Instead, she was garbed in all black. Black, baggy pants with pockets and chains that hung sporadically, connecting her black combat boots to her black, tight Metallica t-shirt.

"I'm not going to attack you," she said, taking another step toward him and baring her teeth in an almost-friendly smile. Garath took another step back, causing Leviathan to frown. “Just think about it, dual-Plagues. Think of the Experience we could harvest.”

Garath wasn’t having any of her shit. He would be lying if he said the idea didn’t get his attention, but he wasn’t a murderer. His staff extended toward the towering girl-child as he started to cast Haunt.

“There are other ways to gain power, kid.” Garath paused, holding onto the Blood spell in front of him and considering briefly whether to offer her the opportunity to leave before he ended her. He decided against it. She would surely go on to kill more humans if he did, leaving their blood as much on his hands as it would be if he joined her - but without the Exp. No, he couldn’t let her go. Even if she ran, he would follow. Decision made, Garath released the Haunt and started funneling Mana into Creeping Death as the saunguine spectre flew screaming at Leviathan.

As far as his DoT spells went, leading with Haunt was definitely the best way to go. Not only did it keep the damage-over-time battle going his way, it also reduced the movement speed of his enemy by 30% - effectively making him 30% faster in their 1v1 deathmatch.

“Hey!” she shouted, the feigned smile departing her face and twisting into a cruel scowl. “Okay, fine.”

Garath pulled the Flayer and Fel Hound from his mind and into reality instantly. He didn't need to give a command for them to attack this time, they each could feel his animosity toward the enemy Necrologist and acted on instinct. The Flayer lifted off with an easy beat of its newly improved, larger blue wings and fired a Death Bolt at Leviathan. The Fel Hound's sharp claws tore into the ground as he bolted toward the target, sending large chunks of tall grass flying in his wake.

This wasn't Leviathan's first confrontation. As soon as Garath summoned his demons, she activated Black Blood. Unseen by Garath, tiny black droplets exited her pores and formed a black mist around her. He only noticed that she had activated the spell shield when his Flayer's second bolt of black energy impacted it, and ricocheted off. Inside her blood-formed spell shield, Leviathan began to cast.

Apparently, Leviathan had not bound her demons to this