Redo: Grimoire System in the Apocalypse

Geth cracked open one of his eyes and turned his head slightly. He saw a man slowly approaching him. To his astonishment, it was someone he'd planned to look for.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Geth asked while pushing himself a bit unsteadily to his feet.

The man chuckled a bit and responded, "You know me, I can't get away from the dark and gloomy."

The man was in his early 30's. He had a lean but muscular build, hidden beneath a long dark grey cloak.

A short staff was in one of his hands, and Geth could make out a dagger strapped to his side. His long dark hair could be seen hanging in a ponytail with his hood down.

A bit of stubble covered his jaw. He had a naturally merry look, even if his eyes portrayed a bit of sadness.

"Can I assume you're going by your old wizard's name?" Geth asked him.

The man showed a bit of a smile. Geth could feel the Mana circulating even more fiercely in the air as it rushed towards the man.

Geth used Inspection and watched as the Mana flowed in circles around him. The air picked up, and his cloak began billowing out behind him.

"That's right! I am Blazemancer! Ancient wanderer and seeker of truth!" The theatrical sight forced Geth to hold back his laughter.

The Mana died down. Blaze showed a genuine smile, "I've been wanting to do that for a while now."

Both of the men laughed. A similar scene had occurred during one of their D&D games. Of course, it hadn't been as dramatic.

"It's nice to see you doing well. How long have you been standing back there?"

Blaze placed his thumb and forefinger to his chin, "I managed to see you slaughtering tons of Zombies. I'm a bit jealous that I didn't make it here first."

"That long? Why didn't you join us?" Geth asked.

"And be torn apart by the rest of your party who hasn't met me? No thanks!"

Geth rolled his eyes and sat back on the ground. He still needed to repair the damage to his mind.

"Well, have a seat and wait for the others. I'll introduce you when they get back." He patted the ground beside him.

Blaze took a seat and began drawing in the air. Soon, several tiny eyeballs appeared, floating in the air, before flying out in different directions.

Geth was curious, but he could ask later. He needed to make sure he was in his prime if danger arrived.

As he began to focus on his mind, he noticed that the repairs were going more smoothly than before. Concentrating was more manageable, and it seemed that the cracks were recovering faster.

'I wonder if it has something to do with Blaze.' Geth ventured. The first thing he'd noticed was his friend's immense Mana pool.

The man was sitting just over 5,000 Mana. It was surprising since he was still only Level 29.

Still, what should have taken Geth 3 hours turned into one and a half. He managed to finish mending the cracks before his party made it back.

"So, what was with those eyes you sent out?" Geth asked him.

"I managed to pick that Skill up from a loot crate. There are loads of strange Skill Cards in the Undead Dungeons!

These Zombies were a bit above me, but I cleared two Skeleton Dungeons on my own. The eyes are a detection Skill. 

I can expend Mana to see everything in a particular area. The range is pretty broad, and they can give me an excellent aerial view."

Geth nodded, "What a helpful Skill."

"It's how I found you all. I've been monitoring the area since I noticed the Boss had gone missing.

It was wandering around the edges of the Dungeon about a week ago. I didn't dare try to clear the Zombies out with a Level 44 Boss being so close."

Geth's eyebrows raised at that, "So you've seen the Boss? Albus and I were trying to figure out how it escaped."

"Albus?"

"My Grimoire," Geth responded.

"Ahh, I see. Pleased to meet you, Albus. My Grimoire is Bael."

'Pleased to meet the two of you,' Albus sent the message through Bael.

"Anyway, what Bael and I believe is that the Boss was a Necromancer. The Sub-Bosses or other corpses constantly brought bodies to him.

Once the Boss left, all the other creatures just began standing there unless something living came close. We concluded that even the Sub-Bosses didn't have intelligence and were manipulated by the Boss."

"Hmm..." Geth stroked his beard. 'If it's a necromancer, won't it continue to raise corpses during its travels? But how did it escape in the first place?'

"Have you seen anyone else in the area for the past few weeks?"

Blaze didn't take long to think. His Intelligence seemed incredibly high, giving him an almost perfect memory.

"Exactly two weeks ago, a strange man wearing a dark cloak walked into the Dungeon. None of the monsters bothered him.

He walked towards the middle, said something, and then left. The other humans that have come by were attacked immediately, even after the Boss left."

"So, it's likely that person had something to do with the Boss breaking free. I wonder what they did to cause it. More importantly, why would they do something so dangerous?"

Blaze seemed to be thinking about it as well. It didn't bode well for the already low survival rate for humans.

"Did you notice any of the man's features?"

"No, he was wrapped in that dark cloak and never looked up. On top of that, a strange mist surrounding him made it difficult to see."

Neither had the chance to say anything else. A loud clattering sound came from close by.

Geth looked over and found Zolis running towards them after dropping some loot crates. She grabbed one of Blaze's hands and pulled him into a loose embrace.

"It's been so long since we've seen you.. Where's your wife?" Zolis asked while releasing him.