Then a deeper rhythm took over. The dull, distant percussion of something vast forcing its way through.
James leaned out over the battlements. The Verdigris Echo Dungeon rose beyond the trees: a stepped stone pyramid slick with moss, its upper tiers glimmering faintly where the System’s light caught on runes.
The ground between them stirred. Bone giants. Dozens. Maybe more. Their steps shook the earth in sync with that low, endless pulse.
The smell of pitch and oil filled the air. Sharp, ready.
Edward raised his hammer and slammed it once into the stone. “That’s our cue.”
James flicked open his deck. The Thorncat’s card slid forward, edges glowing faintly.
Play Card – Thorncat (Uncommon)
- Enhancement slot: Focused Boost → +4 Might
- Trigger slot: On Full Health → Augment (Thornhide) x2
- Commander Passive: +2 All Stats
Effects: Thorncat summoned.
The card flew.
As it passed the threshold, the familiar diamond film flashed first. A narrow band of deep crimson cut through it, tight and deliberate. Then green followed, brighter than before, layered sharp as glass.
Trigger Activated – On Full Health
Effect: Condition:Vulnerable debuff applied.
The Thorncat appeared in a low crouch, tail lashing. Spines stood proud along its back, emerald edges glinting in the torchlight. Its muscles were heavier now, coiled with purpose. When it lifted its head, its eyes caught the green glow and held it, twin shards of fire.
A warning pulse blinked across James’s interface.
“Noted,” he muttered. “Don’t get hit.”
The glow along the Thorncat’s back brightened to molten white. Energy bled from its spines in threads of heat. James followed through without hesitation.
Play Card – Quick Might (Instant)
Target: Thorncat Effect:+5 Might for 1 minute.
The Thorncat tensed, every muscle coiled tight. Then it fired.
Spines ripped through the night like tracer fire, detonating on impact. Bone, soil, and dust erupted in chain bursts, each louder than the last. The front ranks of skeletons didn’t so much fall as disintegrate.
James was gobsmacked. Fully a quarter of the bone giants vanished under that first barrage.
When he looked back, the Thorncat was gone. The stone where it had stood was scorched black and spider-cracked, still glowing faintly at the seams. The wall section behind it had a hole blown clean through, smoke curling from the edges where blue fire licked the shattered stone.
System Notice – Trait Feedback Detected: Spine Volley (Self-Damage: 5%)
Summon Forcibly Unsummoned. Card Cooldown: 48 hours.
James stared at the damage, heart hammering. “Right,” he muttered. “Maybe next time we start with something smaller.”
Below, the shattered remains of the giants glowed faintly. System markers for lootable material.
James didn’t trust that glow. Not yet.
He gestured toward Squire. “Clean them up.”
She chirped once and darted over the edge. The wall might as well have been a tree trunk. She flowed down it headfirst, claws finding every crack.
It wasn’t the giants that worried him. It was everything else: stray arrows, wild magic, friendly fire.
Play Card – Quick Agility (Instant)
Target: Squire Effect: +5 Agility for 1 minute.
Squire blurred. Her outline stretched and snapped forward, a streak of silver between flashes of spellfire.
James didn’t feel fear through Bonded Echo
Squire was loving this.
Still, the bone giants went down far easier than they should have.
For all their bulk, they broke apart like rotten timber. Scaled down. Anne was right.
Stolen story; please report.
System Notice – Bone Giant Defeated (37 Remaining)
System Notice – Essence Stabilized
James dismissed Bind again, even as the thought lingered. Maybe he was making a mistake. But the idea of tethering undead things to his will felt wrong. Too close to what he’d been fighting.
Given the number of skeletons and giants he’d faced lately, it almost felt like someone was trying to push him into that role.
Loot would likely mean more bone dust and splinters. He’d never tried He selected it now.
Harvested Level 4 Undead Bone Giants ×13
Crafting Material Obtained:Common Undead Essence
A new card shimmered into existence in his deck, pale green script crawling across its surface.
Resource Card – Undead Essence (Common)
Type: Use: Quantity:
James tilted the card slightly. Its surface pulsed faintly, like breath trapped in glass. “Interesting,” he muttered. “But not the time.”
He glanced toward the wall. And froze.
The giants were falling apart, but they were still If one of them toppled the wrong way and breached the rampart… the System might count it as reaching Hallowford.
They’d fail the quest.
He raised his voice, sharp and clear over the din.
“They’re weak! Let’s go get them!”
The Bronze ranks reacted instantly. Some vaulted the wall. Others hung and dropped. A few took the stairs, shields high, sprinting through the open gate.
Beyond the light, the skirmishers were already at the forest’s edge, ignoring his earlier order to pull back.
James clenched his jaw. He didn’t want one of those giants falling against the wall and tearing it down.
“Fine,” he muttered. “Then we meet them halfway.”
They charged out of the gate, momentum carrying them into the open field.
This time, it was Edward’s chance to shine.
He’d clearly been waiting for the right moment to use whatever new trick he’d earned from the dungeon.
For most of the Bronze ranks, their weapons barely staggered the bone giants. Blows landed hard but shallow, cracking ribs or knees before being shrugged off.
Edward didn’t chip.
He swung his warhammer with both hands, shouting, “Shatter Pulse!” as it connected.
The sound that followed wasn’t metal on bone. It was a deep, gut-shaking crack. Fissures spiraled up the giant’s frame, light flaring in the fractures before the whole thing collapsed into dust.
Another swing. Another shout. Another detonation of shattered bone.
The Bronze ranks largely did their own thing now. The enemy numbers were manageable, and even when a warrior was forced to take a heavy swing, it didn’t kill outright. Weak. Each time Edward struck, the ground seemed to vibrate in sympathy, dust rising in little pulses.
The field was chaotic. Shouts, spells, and the crash of breaking bone.
Edward’s hammer carved through the giants one after another, every “Shatter Pulse!” punctuated by a quake that sent dust pluming upward.
James moved to the flank, keeping distance, eyes tracking for stragglers.
Charlie broke formation beside him with a snarl, darting ahead to intercept a half-toppled giant before it could rise. He hit hard, claws sparking against bone, jaws clamping down on an exposed joint.
The crack echoed through the night. The leg folded in on itself and the giant toppled… hard.
James winced at the impact, then saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
Squire was back, barely visible under the torchlight, darting between collapsed giants. She paused at each pile of remains, tiny claws tracing the glowing bones before they could dissolve.
James felt her excitement through the bond, bright and fierce.
“Good girl,” he muttered, even though she couldn’t hear him.
The fight was already turning.
With the Thorncat gone and Edward leading the charge, the rest of the Bronze ranks pressed in.
Firebolts streaked through the dark. Arrows hissed overhead. The last of the giants crumbled under the combined barrage.
When the last one fell, the field went quiet except for the clatter of bones settling into the grass. None of the bone giants made it to the wall.
Magical healing swept through the Bronze ranks. Quick pulses of light from the support casters stationed near the gate. Most wounds were scratches and bruises. One skirmisher had a crushed leg and would need a few days in the Silver Room, but was alive.
James wasn’t sure they had a few days.
Many had leveled, though none of his group. Everyone was happy, but a lot of them gave James wary looks now.
James walked over to Edward.
“Why’d you shout ‘Shatter Pulse’ on each hit? I saw that utility card of yours. You only needed to activate it at the start and it would work.”
Edward gave James a look that said he was being stupid. “It’s a Sonic attack James.”
James couldn’t help himself.
He laughed.
All told, they had defeated another four bone giants between them.
James looted the rest rather than harvesting this time.
Loot Obtained:
- Bone Meal ×4 (Bagged)
- Bone Shield ×1 (Rarity: Unidentified)
If the shield was magical, he couldn’t tell.
He really needed a way to see more details.
He to spend that upgrade point on Card Info next level-up.
At Edward’s insistence, James swapped out his wooden shield for the bone one. It felt heavier, colder. But balanced.
While the others tended to small wounds and bantered about the fight, James checked his cards.
Most were still cooling down. He’d burned through Quick Heal again to patch up a passing guildmate, and the Thorncat card was greyed out, faint static crawling across the frame.
Card Status – Thorncat (Uncommon):
Cooldown: 48 Hours
Condition: Magic Strain Detected
Whatever he’d done, it had drained more from the card than usual. He’d actually lost a full use. Maybe it was because the creature had died. He wasn’t sure.
Rough penalty. Worth it, though. He hadn’t even needed to call on his Greyfang.
They started back toward the gates where Janine was waiting.
When they crossed the threshold, the System chimed.
System Notice – Quest Completed: March of the Dead (Wave 2)
Reward: 10 Gold ×50 (Shared)
Bonus Objective Achieved – Before They Reach Hallowford
Reward:
Individual Reward – James Cooper
Stat Increase: Mind +1
For a moment, everything was light and sound and relief.
Then another prompt appeared.
System Notice – Wave 3 Approaching: Bone Drake (Level 10 Elite)
The laughter died almost instantly.
James looked up at the dark horizon and felt his throat go dry.
“Of course,” he whispered.
System Advisory: Squire’s looting efficiency now exceeds guild-approved safety standards.
Warning: Collateral nibbling may occur.